Behind The Counter
Why you are asked the same question three times in one visit
Repetition at a counter is usually three different questions wearing identical words, and each one is doing…
· 4 min read
Amrita Kohli
Contributing editor, What Nobody Explains
12 articles
Queues & Waiting
Why one line feeding many counters beats a line at each counter
The single queue is not merely fairer; it is measurably steadier, and the reason is variance rather than…
· 4 min read
Queues & Waiting
Why the clock measuring your wait starts later than you think
Published waiting times are measured against a defined start point, and the gap between that point and your…
· 3 min read
Small Print
Why the terms have a version number in the footer
Document control is the unglamorous machinery that decides which version of an agreement governs, and it…
· 4 min read
Unwritten Rules
The distance at which holding a door becomes an obligation
Door-holding runs on an unspoken distance calculation, and almost everything awkward about it comes from…
· 4 min read
Behind The Counter
The self-service machine moved the work rather than removing it
Automating a counter transfers effort to the customer and concentrates the exceptions, which is why the…
· 3 min read
Small Print
What the governing law and jurisdiction lines are doing at the end
Two short sentences name which country’s rules interpret the document and where any dispute would be heard…
· 3 min read
Small Print
The clause that says nothing said beforehand counts
An entire agreement provision draws a line around the document and declares that everything outside it…
· 3 min read
Small Print
The clause that says the rest survives if one part fails
A severability provision is a repair instruction, telling any later reader what to do with the document if…
· 4 min read
Unwritten Rules
How long you have to reply before the delay means something
Every channel carries an expected response time that nobody publishes, and the message is read against that…
· 3 min read
Unwritten Rules
How a queue makes an exception for somebody who obviously needs one
Letting a person go ahead is an improvised piece of triage with surprisingly consistent rules about who may…
· 3 min read
Unwritten Rules
What a noticeboard is for, given that hardly anybody reads it
A board of pinned paper survives in buildings full of screens because it does three jobs no messaging…
· 3 min read