Professional Queuers

March 30, 2016 in Daily Bulletin

The Economist took a look at an exciting Italian startup:

  • Italians spend 400 hours a year – almost one business month – in queues, primarily for paperwork.
  • This is estimated to cost the economy €40 billion.
  • One entrepreneur decided to ease the burden by offering to find people who will queue for as little as €10 an hour.
  • Potential employees are given a five-hour course over Skype where they are taught about the procedures required for various documents that they’ll likely queue up for.
  • Of course hiring a queuer requires…more paperwork, including paying for welfare contributions, thus adding to the root of the problem.

Read more here.

Source: The Economist