Is there profit in what you do? Do you add a financial benefit to the bottom line? Can this be represented in numbers (increase in revenue minus total costs of what you do, including all overhead).
I went to the office in South Park this morning to retrieve my laptop and cars were being towed to make way for a street fair that's happening today. As I'm sure you have all experienced, being towed in such a hassle. I'm wondering what the profit is to the city, or is it a cost and the car just needs to be removed? If the car needs to be removed, is there a better way to make that happen, maybe not, but it's worth thinking about.
Here are the numbers associated with a tow, that come to mind:
Revenue generated by the tow:
The parking ticket - $100
The check to the tow yard - $180
Anything else?
Total - $280
Here are the costs (all estimates):
The officer on duty at overtime pay, for the 15 minutes to issue the ticket, with overhead - $50
The costs of the truck, with overhead - $75
The payment to the tow-yard - $75
The back-office processing of all the stuff that needs to happen to process payments, etc - $50
Processing
of vehicles that are never retrieved and/or court sessions for those
that fight the ticket - $30 (I made this up to make the numbers work,
but there has to be some of this going on).
Revenue = $280
Cost = $280
Profit = 0
Headache to vehicle owner = massive.
It seems to me that it's about a wash - everyone loses, or at least no one wins and the owner of he vehicle definitely loses - perhaps at an all in cost (including time and opportunity costs) of $500.
As an owner, I would be willing to pay $100-$200 to avoid all that hassle associated with a tow, and the city would make more profit - let's call it an idiot tax (credit to Jack Ryan for the term). Perhaps I opt into a service that includes having my phone number on a sticker such that I can receive a call to correct the mistake of leaving my car. I bet that half of the people who were towed this morning would rather have tossed on their PJs, walked downstairs, handed over a $100 and gone back to bed, as compared with what faces them today.
These numbers may be hogwash, but think about your next set of financial decisions in this way - is there a more profitable, less typical and less painful way to generate more profit?
I'm just sayin.
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