As 2021 progresses, and many persons and businesses seek to regain lost ground due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions last year, using all the time available productively is paramount.
Therefore, for many persons, waiting in line to do business anywhere, may not only be frustrating, but a literal waste of time that could have been spent more productively.
This is a notion not lost on attorney-at-law, Franklin Halliburton, who recently had to visit the tax office to do business and ended up spending hours, for what, he thought, could have been a transaction that should have taken no more than an hour.
“I went to the tax office to renew my motor vehicle registration certificate and it took me [almost] four hours to get through,” he bemoaned. “I was there from 8:30 a.m. to midday.”
From navigating traffic to waiting in line, many professionals and businesses can lose productive time, explains Wendell Smith, general manager of the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA). Although there has been no formal measurement of the productive time businesses in Jamaica lose when its employees or agents have to wait in line during work hours, Mr Smith surmises that the time lost is perhaps very significant.
Media reports locally have pointed to the seriousness of the problem and its effect on the economy. In the US, it costs businesses $130 billion in employee productivity, according to a 2014 study by ClickSoftware, a tech company that creates customer management tools, such as Salesforce.
The information and communication technology professional, now mobility expert, notes that the adage “time is money” remains a truism and, therefore, the less time people need to wait in line, the more man hours can be saved and invested in efficiency and productivity.
His company, which offers free document renewal valet services for its members, including, vehicle fitness and registration renewal, is invested in saving time for businesses and persons who want to use their time more productively.
“If we haven’t learned any other lesson in 2020, we have learned the importance of avoiding lines, not only for safety and convenience; but to save time that could be spent creating new ideas to pivot, or making our businesses more efficient, as we navigate this challenging period,” Mr Smith said.
JAA also offers fleet management services to businesses that purchase membership, which, in addition to registration renewal and fitness, businesses that own vehicles, can also benefit from vehicle servicing, procurement and even the management of the sale process of old fleets- activities, which again can cost businesses a lot of time.
“Getting a vehicle serviced, for example, can be an all-day activity. Again, this is time lost, especially for small businesses, which do not have time to waste, especially at this time of the year. Therefore, they have the option of using our valet services to get this done. We will collect the vehicle, get the service done, and return the automobile to you along with the receipts,” Mr Smith explained.
Membership in the JAA can be accessed through purchasing directly from the mobility company through its website, calljaa.com; however, businesses, which access a JN Bank Visa Infinite Business Credit Card receive a US$100 JAA Gift Voucher that they can use to purchase any JAA service, including membership for one year to access the range of JAA services, including document renewal that could save them more time.
