Just the other day, I was standing in line waiting for my laté at one of those cheeky cafes found inside many retail stores when I noticed a sign. The sign read, "if this line is at capacity, please check back when another social distancing spot opens up." I had experienced this sort of phenomenon when I was at the L.A. Anime Expo in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, for the four days, 350,000 people descended on the L.A. Convention Center for the annual Anime Expo. Not only were there lines to get into the main convention center, but once inside, there were even more lines to contend with and navigate. The main hall hosted booths and vendors selling every kind of merchandise, from pre-release to ultra-rare limited edition robots and action figures. Some vendors set up complete stores with their own separate entrance from the main convention.
I remember my first time attempting to get in line. There would be someone standing there with a sign telling everyone that the line was capped that people should come back when the line became uncapped. The only problem was that you couldn't wait around nearby until the waiting-line opened. At first, this was attempted but was quickly squashed due to the number of people starting to hang out. I pretended to be shopping nearby, and after several failed attempts, I managed to get in line, to wait another 2.5 hours in line to get inside to find that most everything was already gone. That year I also experienced lines that started where they ended, stretching over one and a half. I could step out of my hotel and step into line. The line weaved back and forth, around the Staples building and down several streets. At one point in the convention, I stopped to look out and take in the crowd. I felt terrible for the people who had taken the time to dress up only to stand in the warm sun for what seemed to some an eternity. I had made plans from my 2018 adventure to get in and go right to my booths before lines of buyers filled and capped the lines. Even with a plan, I was still stuck waiting, but this time I didn't have to wait seemingly forever.
If Covid-19 is sticking around, then how we conduct business and present ourselves has changed everything regarding our sphere of influence. If the line now can only handle 3/4 of what it used to, then it's fair to say that profits have been cut by 1/4 as well. For example, if a business was making a go of it by maximizing everything they could to serve as many customers as they could in a specific time frame and are now told that they have to practice social distancing and have to reduce the number of people that can be in the same room then to obtain the exact numbers something has to be done. Either they; one, the company has to evolve to meet the changing environment and society. What this means is they have to increase their operating hours to be able to service all the customers and cut the time it takes to service and helps customers to not only make the same margin but to increase the income, for now, additional overhead that is spent in keeping the business open and going where it would otherwise close.