Life goes on. And once more I will have to brave the dark and the spiders as I make my way up to the main canal to open the flood gates. OK, it’s not that dark yet, but it will be next month at this hour.
My oldest daughter had one of those terrible BSOD’s events the other day. (Blue Screen of Death) Of course her computer is no longer simply a Solitaire playing toy, but a valued tool…with important stuff on it. And with no backup. A fate that can happen to any of us. Very few are prepared for the BSOD. Are you?
Anyway; I took the failed computer to a local business to see if they could revive it and/or save the contents. After handing the box over to them, I asked the usual question; when? I was told that it could be about a week and that was what I expected to hear. But then, he told me that for an additional $5 per head, he could move the computer to the head of the line. There were 12 computers ahead of ours. 12 x $5 = $60. Or, I could wait a day or two, check and see where we were in line and then make the decision to jump. He pointed to the order form I had just signed and sure enough, there was box to check if wanted to use this option.
How clever! What a great business model! Suddenly I could see a thousand ways this could be used in all sorts of businesses. ‘You want your car smogged today? Well, you’re in luck…only 3 cars ahead of you. That will be $15.’ Or how about this, ‘A table for two? We can give you immediate seating for just $30 this evening.’ (I know…they already do this in
Expanding on this theme, you could notify all of those who had been jumped that they had an opportunity to reclaim their place in line…for the usual $5 a head. Or perhaps a flat $100 insurance policy that would guarantee you no less than second place. The opportunities are endless!
We elected to not use the ‘jumping’ option and of course the computer is still in line.
Hmm? Another thought. What if she called and found out that she was no longer in 12th place, but had slipped to 17th?
Can you imagine the riots if you tried to pay the airline or the theater $5 to cut in front of each head in line? Or having to pack your groceries back in the cart from the conveyor belt because the guy at the end paid to get ahead of you? There could be "cutting wars" between people trying to get to the front of the line. But it does sound like a good idea when you wait in line for the ladies room. Paying for the first in line would be an easy decision.
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