The waiting list is eleven weeks. The price hasn’t moved in two years.

A long backlog feels like proof of demand. Often it is proof that someone else is deciding who gets served, and on what terms.

By Steve 4 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The waiting list is eleven weeks. The price hasn’t moved in two years.

A queue is flattering. It suggests the market has voted, the offer is right, the problem is capacity rather than demand. It is also one of the few business conditions where the owner can be simultaneously busy, profitable-looking, and quietly losing the argument on price, mix and reputation at the same time. When demand exceeds capacity, the work gets allocated one way or another. If price does not do the allocating, delay does. And delay allocates on a criterion nobody in the business chose: patience. A queue is an allocation…

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