Snippet from Wired Mag, UK (Aug 2009)

You probably know your hourly rate at work, but what about the rest of your time, the time spent not doing work: shopping, queueing, waiting on the phone, eating lunch, watching TV, drinking in the pub? Paul McCrudden decided his every minute was worth money, and set out to reclaim it from every company he spent time with over a six-week period this summer.

Between June 15 and July 31, McCrudden used Daytum to record how he spent his time. Then he wrote letters and invoices to all the brands he’d encountered, arguing that they should pay him because his patronage is valuable to them:

“My time on this planet is valuable to me. But more importantly, my time is valuable to you. In our attention economy, my presence in your café helps your company in a number of ways. For example, it attracts other customers to you because they see that your brand is popular – especially so with an ABC1 male (or however you’d define me these days.) And it means I’m not spending time with your competitors. My attention and time in your café ultimately helps your bottom line and market position.”

McCrudden charged his time at a rate of £102 per hour, but offered companies a 75 per cent discount on that rate (“as I appreciate that my time is not spent in the same way as it is with my employer”). He invoiced 50 companies, asking Transport for London for £531.25, Sainsbury’s for £97.95 and the Killers for £178.50, for his attendance at their Hyde Park Concert.

Amazingly, Pret A Manger responded by not only paying his invoice, but also adding £22 to cover the price of his lunches, a nominal amount to cover interest, and even an extra £1 to cover the inconvenience of having to walk to the post box. Other companies to respond include Boots, whose customer care department said they thought their Advantage Card points were enough of a reward for their customers’ time, and Cranberry, whose managing director sent McCrudden an invoice of his own to cover the time spent reading his letter and website.

- Sarah Dobbs-

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2009-08/19/how-much-is-your-time-worth.aspx