How I built an automated bouncer for my energy brokerage
😇 The problem with being nice
I’ve got a broker. Let’s call him Raj.
Raj is productive; 77 contracts since October. Not bad. But Raj has a habit: he looks something up, forgets to save it, then looks it up again. And again. And again.
192 lookups. 122 unique meters. 70 duplicates.
That’s a 36.5% duplicate rate; worst of all my brokers 📉
Every duplicate lookup hits paid APIs 💸
Every stale browser session he leaves open creates timeout noise ⚠️
Every “quick question” on WhatsApp costs me 15 minutes I will never get back ⏳
So I did the polite thing and sent him a message:
Hi Raj; noticed you’ve done 58 lookups vs 11 sales. Looks like you’re doing a lot of duplicate lookups. We have WhatsApp functionality to send results to your phone. Don’t be crying if the free model is removed if abused.
His response?
ok
Classic Raj 🤷♂️
🧓 The old way doesn’t work
I’ve tried the whole “be nice and educate” routine:
- Explaining nicely; goes in one ear, out the other 🗣️➡️🗑️
- Sending reminders; ignored within 24 hours 📭
- WhatsApp warnings; “ok” then back to old habits 🔁
- Being patient; just trains the behaviour 🐕
The older I get, the less fucks I give about hand-holding grown adults. I’m not running a daycare. I’m running a business.
If you want a friend, get a dog 🐶
👻 Enter the Ghost
I built Ghost OS during ACL reconstruction recovery in 2025 🦵
Started with zero coding experience. Now it’s a FastAPI platform with 100+ endpoints, quietly handling most of the repetitive nonsense 🤖
But automation alone isn’t enough.
Automation without enforcement is just a polite robot.
Ghost needed teeth 🦷
So I built something I call the Wallet Educator 💳
💳 The Wallet Educator
The rule is simple:
All lookup results are cached for 7 days.
If you try to look up the same meter with the same data tiers inside that window, you don’t just get the result again.
You get this:
🔒 You looked this up 3 hours ago
Results are cached for 7 days. To reduce duplicate lookups, repeat views require 2 credits.
💡 Tip: Check your WhatsApp for the original result.
[Open WhatsApp] [Pay 2 Credits to View]
No arguing ❌
No explaining ❌
No “bhai please” ❌
Want the data again?
Pay up. 💰
📊 The numbers don’t lie
I pulled historical usage and ran the “what would this cost now?” scenario.
| Broker | Duplicates within 7 days | New cost |
|---|---|---|
| Raj | 47 | 94 credits |
| Anuj | 14 | 28 credits |
| Nina | 1 | 2 credits |
| Sonia | 1 | 2 credits |
Raj currently has 24 credits. At his current rate of sloppiness, he’ll burn through them in days and have to buy more 🔥
The man who was too tight to pay is about to fund my semi-retirement 🏖️
⚙️ The beautiful thing about systems
Systems do not get tired of repeating themselves ♻️
Systems do not feel guilty 😐
Systems do not waste 15 minutes on “quick questions” ⛔
Systems do not care if you are upset 🤷
When Raj comes back from holiday and hits that locked screen for the first time, I will not be there to explain it.
The UI explains it for me:
- What happened; You looked this up 3 days ago
- Why; Results are cached for 7 days
- How to avoid it; Check your WhatsApp
- Your options; Unlock for 2 credits
Self-service education 📘
Zero effort from me 😌
🧠 The philosophy
Every business owner eventually learns this:
| Method | Your effort | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|
| Explaining nicely | High | Low |
| Sending reminders | Medium | Low |
| Warnings | Medium | Medium |
| Hitting their wallet | Zero | 100% |
You can send 100 WhatsApp messages trying to change someone’s behaviour 📱
Or you can make their wallet feel the consequences 💥
Guess which one works.
🏷️ The tagline
When Raj complains about the new system, he can talk to the Ghost 👻
The Ghost says nothing.
He just charges 2 credits 💳
🎯 The takeaway
If you are spending your time:
- reminding people to do things properly
- explaining the same thing over and over
- hand-holding adults who should know better
- being “nice” at the expense of your sanity
Stop ✋
Build a system 🏗️
Give the system teeth 🦷
Let the system do the parenting 👶➡️🤖
You are not here to be friends.
You are here to build something that works without you.
And if someone doesn’t like it?
They can talk to the Ghost.
He gives even less fucks than I do. 👻🔥
—
P.S. The WhatsApp feature is free. Use it; or sponsor my retirement 😉
