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Professional Line Waiters
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I hate waiting in line. Ask my lovely wife what happens when we’re at the grocery store, I start wandering around. I hate waiting in line because you’re not actually doing anything. You’re just waiting. With so much out there to do, waiting for something to happen just seems like such a waste of time. The only time I like waiting in line is if I’m tired and don’t want to do anything… then waiting in line becomes an excuse to not have to do something. 
So I wasn’t surprised to discover you could pay someone to wait in line for you. This happens a lot in Washington DC when you need to get into a hearing, such as a Congressional hearing or judicial hearing, but can’t actually stand in line yourself. While I’m sure many places just get an employee to go stand in line for them, you can actually hire someone from one of the many courier services around the city. Here’s a line standing service offered by Washington Express and it’s actually an ingenious service to offer since many of the folks who would use a service like this are probably willing to pay a lot for it. More importantly, since they do this often, chances are they know the optimal time to start waiting in line so you don’t get screwed out of a seat. The last thing you want to do is wait in line for an hour and find out you were the first one excluded from a hearing.
How much does it cost? The page said $40 per hour, $50 if it’s the Supreme Court. Another service, linestanding.com, charges $36 per hour with a 2 hour minimum. Not a bad gig if you can get it!
I don’t know how much the line waiters get paid, I’d guess around $15-$20, but it’s not demanding work, as long as you can stand all the waiting.
(Photo: saitor)
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That’d be a perfect job for me. I could take a lawn chair and read a book or two. I doubt the wages would be quite that high here in Idaho, though.
Yeah, probably not as good in Idaho versus Washington DC.
Wow those are some crazy prices just for paying someone to hold your spot in line. I think some bum on the street would take a much lower rate. As long as you can keep yourself busy with a book or smart phone, I think it would be pretty easy work.
Hm…career change?!