What would you pay for an alibi to let you miss work, provide cover for an affair, or pretend you are somewhere that you aren't? Most of these services can be provided starting at $75 from a business called the Alibi Network. From the website:
Alibi Network is a cutting edge full service agency providing alibis and excused absences as well as assistance with a variety of sensitive issues. We view ourselves as professional advisors who understand our clients' unique situations. We explore various approaches with our clients and implement the best solution based on each individual case. We understand your need for privacy and we are completely discreet and confidential.
It's a fascinating business idea that, according to the Internet archives, goes back to December of 2005. Do you consider this unethical? Even though they won't provide alibis for illegal activities, I lean towards yes. I can see a few examples that aren't so bad - like if you were traveling to a dangerous part of the world, and preferred to tell your spouse you were just in Europe, so as not to cause too much worry. But even with my utilitarian leanings that doesn't seem quite right.
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of their customer base by job title and location. In a world with plenty of Jeff Skillings and Dennis Kozlowskis, I'm sure they aren't hurting for business.
Rob,
I agree with you, I see a big ethical issue with this. Organizations are already full of enough lies and B.S., so this is the last thing needed. Organizations need more ethics, not less.
And, after all, if aren’t a good enough lier to do it yourself, you shouldn’t be lying in the first place.
- Travis
I’m pretty sure this has been around as a “volunteer” service since even before 2005. Lies corrode trust and organizations and markets and relationships depend on trust.
The idea’s been around since at least the 1992 SNL “Jiffy Express” commercial ( http://snltranscripts.jt.org/92/92djiffy.phtml ):
“When it has to be there overnight, call the other guys. When it had to be there three weeks ago, call Jiffy. First, we’ll backdate the receipt. Then our technicians will age the package, according to your specifications. We can stain it, soil it, recreate delivery mishap and trauma.. even simulate international misrouting.”
With any significant scale this strikes me as a lawsuit magnet. It essentially deals with hyper emotional subjects: trust, integrity, lying, etc. In business, usually where there are strong negative emotions created there are lawsuits.
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You know… do we need to f&*k up our society more than it already is? This is completely unethical. How can we outlaw something as harmless as smoking marijuana, but allow this type of junk? In my opinion, something like this can cause our society to self-destruct…. and the people who are responsible for these businesses need to be locked away. Do we want to live in a society without trust - that is horrible!!!