First-come, first-served

First-come, first-served (FCFS) – sometimes first-in, first-served and first-come, first choice – is a service policy whereby the requests of customers or clients are attended to in the order that they arrived, without other biases or preferences. Those who wait for the event or service in line may stand in a queue. The policy can be employed when processing sales orders, in determining restaurant seating, on a taxi stand, etc. In Western society it is the standard policy for the processing of most queues in which people wait for a service that was not prearranged or pre-planned.