"they've got people deliberately milling about doing nothing" //
But that also means that those who need to get a quick lunch have a window towards the end of the cost penalty period in which they can breeze through the line and more easily get a table.
I like the idea in general, but presumably it's the employees own time they're wasting.
Surprised it's not a graduated system, like a normal curve with a plateau over the traditional dinner hour.
Do Goldman also allow staff to have flexibility in their work hours - that would tend towards reducing choke points like this I imagine.
But that also means that those who need to get a quick lunch have a window towards the end of the cost penalty period in which they can breeze through the line and more easily get a table
Doesn't seem that way. From the article.
"If you find yourself in the cafeteria sometime around 1:20 pm, ... the cafeteria area between where the food is collected and where you pay is quite crowded. The Goldman lunchers are chatting with each other, waiting for the final minutes to tick down until they can save a dollar or two."
In other words, if you want to breeze through the queue, you have to come after the 1:30pm queue for the cashiers has subsided. If you want to get a table, you may have to come even later.
In general, I find this to be a bizarre and overly complicated solution to the basic problem of 'time wasted in queues'. There are may other ways to tackle this but it doesn't surprise me that an investment bank thinks manipulating prices is the 'right' way to do it.
Do Goldman also allow staff to have flexibility in their work hours - that would tend towards reducing choke points like this I imagine.
Well, the trading hours of the markets determine, more-or-less, the required work hours of many employees. However, successful traders will be at work both before and after the market trading day to preview/review the events of the day.
Comments
But that also means that those who need to get a quick lunch have a window towards the end of the cost penalty period in which they can breeze through the line and more easily get a table.
I like the idea in general, but presumably it's the employees own time they're wasting.
Surprised it's not a graduated system, like a normal curve with a plateau over the traditional dinner hour.
Do Goldman also allow staff to have flexibility in their work hours - that would tend towards reducing choke points like this I imagine.
Doesn't seem that way. From the article.
In other words, if you want to breeze through the queue, you have to come after the 1:30pm queue for the cashiers has subsided. If you want to get a table, you may have to come even later.
In general, I find this to be a bizarre and overly complicated solution to the basic problem of 'time wasted in queues'. There are may other ways to tackle this but it doesn't surprise me that an investment bank thinks manipulating prices is the 'right' way to do it.
Well, the trading hours of the markets determine, more-or-less, the required work hours of many employees. However, successful traders will be at work both before and after the market trading day to preview/review the events of the day.