I was in a really tight scheduling situation. I needed to make the first sitting at the sushi bar at Sushi Kashiba. But I couldn't get out of work in time to get in line in time. So I broke down and decided to hire a TaskRabbit to wait in line for me.
Yes, woe is the poor person who can't get to an ultra exclusive dinner in time. You must have a tough life, huh buddy? Yeah it's tough dealing with first world problems, but that's a post for another time. Anyways, I broke down and decided to PAY SOMEONE TO STAND IN LINE FOR ME. I am still sort of disgusted with the very idea of it. But there was no other way to get it done. It was going to be out first night out on a date since our first child was born and an important relationship milestone. It was a big deal, so as a guy who takes pride in his ability to do a little romantic gesture for his wife, this dinner date was important. How much do you pay someone to STAND IN LINE FOR YOU? How do I determine what the market rate is for STANDING? I would think that paying someone $10/hour to stand is very reasonable. What special skill is needed to be in a line? Of course it's different if there is a middle man who needs to take a cut. Then there are possible credit card fees if you don't pay in cash. And if you pay with cash, then there is a high chance that there will be no income taxes paid by the stander. So what is reasonable? I don't know how I landed at paying $20/hr for someone to STAND IN LINE FOR ME. Maybe the rate was partially auto-suggested by TaskRabbit. But all I know is, my task was not completed. No one was interested in getting paid $20/hr to STAND IN LINE. But apparently, it's actually not $20/hr because his "take rate" was not high enough. In other words, as I saw it, our middle man was taking too much of a cut. And for this guy, it was too cold and windy that day. Woe is the man who has to endure adversity to earn a wage. "I would much prefer if you paid me to sit on my couch all day" said he. "Oh, by the way, I need more money to stand versus sit." Later on, as I recounted my experience, someone pointed out that it wasn't as much of a problem with what I was willing to pay. It was mainly a problem of distribution. How does a person who would gladly get paid to stand in line, get work with TaskRabbit? Do they even have internet access? Do they have a smartphone? Do they have affordable transportation to get the location to stand in line? Is TaskRabbit doing any advertising to that sub-sector of people who would gladly accept the take rate? Is TaskRabbit taking an egregious cut of the transaction? So many un-answered questions in my trial use of TaskRabbit. Overall, I was not satisfied because my task wasn't completed and there are too many lingering questions. As for Sushi Kashiba. It was fantastic. Arry is old friends with Suzuki-san. Please say hello from Arry if you happen to go for an amazing sushi experience with him. BTW, Shiro Kashiba is a local celebrity. He has a well known connection to Jiro.
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AuthorMy name is Dae Yu. Archives
October 2020
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