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Restaurant owners know a long line outside a new eatery is the kind of bait most foodies can’t resist, but don’t assume everyone in that queue is as clued-up as they look – some of them may have been paid to stand there.
A new app called Surkus is paying people anything from $25 to $100 to attend events at bars, restaurants, nightclubs, festivals, etc, The Washington Post reports, in order to create an instant buzz.
“So many companies know their core demographic, but they don’t know how to get a hold of those people,” says Surkus founder Stephen George, who describes the service as a kind of “online matchmaker” connecting young people to nightlife. Thus far it has 150,000 users in five US cities.
Discrection is promised, thus you won’t be able to tell who is being paid to be there or not, so next time you see a long queue snaking out of a new ramen joint or BBQ spot, just approach with caution: you never know who’s on the payroll.
