Waiting limbo equals a new business opportunity

By accident, I may have stumbled onto a new business opportunity. But let me lay some background before I share my secret. We moved last weekend, and one of the dreaded chores associated with a move is the disconnection and connection of services such as telephone and utilities. This is because it necessitates grabbing a number and waiting, waiting, and waiting until the number comes up.

PTI moved me through their process at a brisk 35 minutes; however, the next stop was CUC…yikes! As I stepped into the door, there was a long line of people. The number I grabbed was about 20 away from the number being displayed on the wall, and it did not appear that the customers were being processed at a breakneck speed.

There’s nothing that says you have to wait insufferably at the CUC premises in person before being served, right? So our tactic is to leave, complete several tasks, and then return. After about an hour and one-half I had finished my tasks, and when I returned I was within 4 of the number served, which took another 15 minutes. Time management experts advise people to carry a paperback book to read while they’re waiting to maximize wait time, but one could read half a book in one hour and 45 minutes, or watch an entire movie in that time.

I was told that the reading on my meter three weeks ago was 45570 and our bill for last month would be over $400. This was outrageous since we’ve been very frugal with electricity and our average billings for the past few months were closer to $150. So I grabbed another number as I left CUC to read the meter at the vacated house. The meter stated 45328, which was 242-kilowatt hours less than the reading they had on record three weeks ago! (Warning: be sure to check your meter periodically so CUC does not make a “mistake” that could cost you hundreds of dollars.)

I took a picture with my cell phone and raced back to CUC to confirm my finding and question their meter reading ability, but when I entered the door the line was still huge, and there was a big gap between my number and the current number being served. I drove home, ate, and did a few things before returning an hour and one-half later. This time I only waited five minutes before being served.

So what’s the business opportunity? Consider all the money that ticket scalpers make. These are people who buy tickets to a concert or special event, and then resell them outside the event at a hefty markup. Established companies that engage in this type of business call themselves ticket brokers. Demand determines the prices that are charged and there are no restrictions on how much ticket prices can be marked up.

Ticket resale is a form of arbitrage that allows scalpers to make a profit when event organizers charge less than the equilibrium prices for the tickets. In the case of our new business opportunity, there is virtually no risk because there is no cost for the numbers available that determine your status in a waiting line.

You’ve probably heard the saying: “time is money.” Well, imagine going to CUC and seeing a huge line waiting to be served. If you’re a busy person and dread waiting one to two hours for your number to pop up, then it might be worth your money to save you some time. If a person approached you to sell a numbered ticket that would place you at the front of the line, would it be worth $20, $10, or $5 to save one or two hours of your precious time in waiting limbo? If the demand is great, you could even auction off the ticket to the highest bidder.

Make sure you get a business license to make your new business venture legit. When you’re asked what you do, you can tell people you are a ticket reseller, or if you want to be really fancy call yourself an “arbitrageur” using a thick French accent. It’ll make an impression, especially if you hand them a slick business card with your impressive new title.

If you’re in charge of a nonprofit organization or club, you can have kids grab a few numbers and scalp tickets outside of CUC. People would be happy to donate to your organization or cause for a numbered ticket that will shorten their wait time. It sure beats making them try to balance on a cement road divider during rush hour traffic at the intersection on Beach Road to ask for donations.

There are a lot of possibilities with this business opportunity and only a couple of downside risks. On my second visit I only had to wait five minutes before being served, and there were a few irate customers behind me yelling something in Tagalog to my service rep. He said something back to them and held up my ticket number in an attempt to calm down the mounting tension. The other downside is if CUC gets their act together so there are less “customer service” issues for people to complain about, or the line gets shorter because they learn how to serve customers more efficiently. But, you and I both know that will not happen for a long, long time.