Me
For just going along with the raise in prices and not doing anything except conserving where I can.
For not writing congress and bitching them out
For being dependent on this fuel source
For knowing the gas companies put out the word to the major news and gov't. agencies that prices are going up, and like blind effing sheep, we accept it and watch the $$$ meter on the pump spin faster than an Atlantic City Slot machine.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Real Mission of a Corporation
Most Corporations in todays world have forgotten one simple fact, they are in the customer service business.
Comcast and Verizon happen to use skinny metal wires or fiber optic cable surrounded by a thin covering of plastic, a couple of metal connectors and a computer that records the stuff the tv stations show. That in a nutshell (IMHO), is how their business is conducted.
EVERY single corporation, business or self employed individual all share the same basic fact - your true mission statement starts with:
I am going to service my customers by... being on time, accurate and providing the best (fill in the blank).
Call me Sumi naive, but that is what I truly believe.
WRONG! Take the cable/internet industry. The consumer in their eyes has unlimited time to wait around for appointments, wade through voice mail hell, be put on hold for hours at a time to try to talk to completely overworked, manipulated uncaring or poorly trained 'customer service agents'.
The consumer is usually considered to be ill-informed, angry, and completely out of step with the reality of the situation.
Almost all of the companies I deal with need more customer service reps with better training. The only exception I can add to this mix is Apple, their customer service is a model to behold, no wait times, available supervisors, and a real caring about you and their products. Oh yeah, and Nordstrom's.
So this got me to thinking. Look at this:
Edward Whitacre Jr, CEO AT&T, salary with compensation, 2006, $60.7 million
Gary Forsee, Ceo, Sprint & Nextel, salary with compensation, 2006, $21.3 million
Ivan Seidenberg, CEO Verizon, salary with compensation, 2006, $21.3 million
Now, if each of these guys, contributed back to their company lets say 50% of thier salary earmarked for customer service training and new hires, I have a feeling things would be much different on my side of the phone line.
Oh crap, I forgot, it's the paycheck they receive, not the customer service thats important to them. After all, so many of these CEO's are not in it for the long haul... nope, silly me... they are here just long enough to get their name out there (power! celebrity! ego!), long enough to get on some Boards (fun! easy money! free vacations and private planes!), long enough to fatten their bank accounts (retirement was never so good!), and just long enough they can get away with robbing the company of its core values, and dumping the mess on someone else's shoulders.
And that in a nutshell is my problem with todays Corporate America.
Comcast and Verizon happen to use skinny metal wires or fiber optic cable surrounded by a thin covering of plastic, a couple of metal connectors and a computer that records the stuff the tv stations show. That in a nutshell (IMHO), is how their business is conducted.
EVERY single corporation, business or self employed individual all share the same basic fact - your true mission statement starts with:
I am going to service my customers by... being on time, accurate and providing the best (fill in the blank).
Call me Sumi naive, but that is what I truly believe.
WRONG! Take the cable/internet industry. The consumer in their eyes has unlimited time to wait around for appointments, wade through voice mail hell, be put on hold for hours at a time to try to talk to completely overworked, manipulated uncaring or poorly trained 'customer service agents'.
The consumer is usually considered to be ill-informed, angry, and completely out of step with the reality of the situation.
Almost all of the companies I deal with need more customer service reps with better training. The only exception I can add to this mix is Apple, their customer service is a model to behold, no wait times, available supervisors, and a real caring about you and their products. Oh yeah, and Nordstrom's.
So this got me to thinking. Look at this:
Edward Whitacre Jr, CEO AT&T, salary with compensation, 2006, $60.7 million
Gary Forsee, Ceo, Sprint & Nextel, salary with compensation, 2006, $21.3 million
Ivan Seidenberg, CEO Verizon, salary with compensation, 2006, $21.3 million
Now, if each of these guys, contributed back to their company lets say 50% of thier salary earmarked for customer service training and new hires, I have a feeling things would be much different on my side of the phone line.
Oh crap, I forgot, it's the paycheck they receive, not the customer service thats important to them. After all, so many of these CEO's are not in it for the long haul... nope, silly me... they are here just long enough to get their name out there (power! celebrity! ego!), long enough to get on some Boards (fun! easy money! free vacations and private planes!), long enough to fatten their bank accounts (retirement was never so good!), and just long enough they can get away with robbing the company of its core values, and dumping the mess on someone else's shoulders.
And that in a nutshell is my problem with todays Corporate America.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
gut instinct ...
When I started using my Dog Trainer...wait let me rephrase that...
When I started using a people trainer for my dog, we discussed nutrition and how important it is for our pets. I truly did not understand the power of a well balanced diet and what a difference it can make. Even my Vet's kinda poo-poo'd the Holistic diet I fed them 2 times per day... raw beef or a protein, steamed veggies, supplement and kibble. The dogs and my cats loved it.
As I went for the yearly exams my vets would simply smile as I reexplained their meals, giving me the 'isn't that nice' smile. Their eyes said 'I can't believe you actually think spending all that time and money feeding your pets that stuff could be anywhere near as healthy, as the over priced processed bagged and canned kibble I am trying to get you to buy because the feed companies tell me its good stuff and I can make a lot of money off you on a monthly basis keeping you coming back for more' look.
In the years that have followed, a wonderful little girl who chose Linda as her best friend named Gigdet became part of the group. At 18 months of age, she already had 3 nasty urinary tract infections, and her most recent Urinalysis showed high levels of crystals, tri-phosphates and all sorts of bad news that could be life threatening if not taken seriously. The vet said she had to eat a special diet (that only the vet sold) with a base protein of chicken, which we knew her to be very sensitive to.
'What about her scratching?'
'Use Benadryl'
'But I don't want her to be a Benedryl baby!'
'We can find other anti histamines then.'
'What about her supplements? Vitamin C?'
'Do not use them any more'
'She loves broccoli and carrots and veggies... what about them?'
'No'
HUH?
Wait, your telling me this bag of stuff and these cans are the only thing she can eat for the rest of her life, even though I know she craves veggies... raw beef... cooked shin bones??? Yep.
Linda and I looked at each other and said nothing.
I knew, Linda knew... no way, there is something seriously wrong with this limited thinking. As we switched her diet over to the Vet formula, Gidget itched, scratched, bit, chewed her paws, had problems sleeping and was 'stealing' veggies and proteins from the other dogs bowls. We bought stock in Benadryl.
We talked, then called Dr Kennith Fischer of the Hillsdale Animal Hospital.
I also got to thinking, if an animal in the wild needs a certain type of protein or veggie that is what they eat. If something causes an unpleasant reaction in their body, they learn not to eat that food source. So why then, would Gidget be eating a food source Linda knew was bound to cause a long term harmful reaction??? And, what she was craving, telling us she needed, was not 'allowed' to eat? It made no sense.
Off we went to Dr Fisher. After an hour interview he changed her diet from the bag o' itch to her old diet with some refinements... back to the meat protein, back to the veggies, supplements and now whole grains.
After 2 months we noticed Gidget had NO TEAR STAINS! NONE! She used to have stains that came down her face and practically dripped off her whiskers. Her eyes were bright and shining, her coat started to get sparkles, become softer, she lost less fur. Her scratching and itching lessened, she was... happy eating her beef, bones, spinach, vitamin c., broccoli and carrots.
Then the big one, the biggest test of all.... her next urinalysis... After 3 months of this diet, with virtually no itching, absolutely no poultry products, and all those ingredients the old vet said she could not have... the results were in.
She had no tri phosphates, and her crystals were in the low to normal range.
If Gidget hadn't been stealing the food she needed, if the proof was not in front of my very eyes, I would not have believed how important this part of dog care is. Just think, all those suffering pets on heavy duty anti-biotics, anti-histamines, anti-whatever pills, limited boring, inadequate diets could simply be cured by us listening to their gut.... those pets know it, why don't we?
When I started using a people trainer for my dog, we discussed nutrition and how important it is for our pets. I truly did not understand the power of a well balanced diet and what a difference it can make. Even my Vet's kinda poo-poo'd the Holistic diet I fed them 2 times per day... raw beef or a protein, steamed veggies, supplement and kibble. The dogs and my cats loved it.
As I went for the yearly exams my vets would simply smile as I reexplained their meals, giving me the 'isn't that nice' smile. Their eyes said 'I can't believe you actually think spending all that time and money feeding your pets that stuff could be anywhere near as healthy, as the over priced processed bagged and canned kibble I am trying to get you to buy because the feed companies tell me its good stuff and I can make a lot of money off you on a monthly basis keeping you coming back for more' look.
In the years that have followed, a wonderful little girl who chose Linda as her best friend named Gigdet became part of the group. At 18 months of age, she already had 3 nasty urinary tract infections, and her most recent Urinalysis showed high levels of crystals, tri-phosphates and all sorts of bad news that could be life threatening if not taken seriously. The vet said she had to eat a special diet (that only the vet sold) with a base protein of chicken, which we knew her to be very sensitive to.
'What about her scratching?'
'Use Benadryl'
'But I don't want her to be a Benedryl baby!'
'We can find other anti histamines then.'
'What about her supplements? Vitamin C?'
'Do not use them any more'
'She loves broccoli and carrots and veggies... what about them?'
'No'
HUH?
Wait, your telling me this bag of stuff and these cans are the only thing she can eat for the rest of her life, even though I know she craves veggies... raw beef... cooked shin bones??? Yep.
Linda and I looked at each other and said nothing.
I knew, Linda knew... no way, there is something seriously wrong with this limited thinking. As we switched her diet over to the Vet formula, Gidget itched, scratched, bit, chewed her paws, had problems sleeping and was 'stealing' veggies and proteins from the other dogs bowls. We bought stock in Benadryl.
We talked, then called Dr Kennith Fischer of the Hillsdale Animal Hospital.
I also got to thinking, if an animal in the wild needs a certain type of protein or veggie that is what they eat. If something causes an unpleasant reaction in their body, they learn not to eat that food source. So why then, would Gidget be eating a food source Linda knew was bound to cause a long term harmful reaction??? And, what she was craving, telling us she needed, was not 'allowed' to eat? It made no sense.
Off we went to Dr Fisher. After an hour interview he changed her diet from the bag o' itch to her old diet with some refinements... back to the meat protein, back to the veggies, supplements and now whole grains.
After 2 months we noticed Gidget had NO TEAR STAINS! NONE! She used to have stains that came down her face and practically dripped off her whiskers. Her eyes were bright and shining, her coat started to get sparkles, become softer, she lost less fur. Her scratching and itching lessened, she was... happy eating her beef, bones, spinach, vitamin c., broccoli and carrots.
Then the big one, the biggest test of all.... her next urinalysis... After 3 months of this diet, with virtually no itching, absolutely no poultry products, and all those ingredients the old vet said she could not have... the results were in.
She had no tri phosphates, and her crystals were in the low to normal range.
If Gidget hadn't been stealing the food she needed, if the proof was not in front of my very eyes, I would not have believed how important this part of dog care is. Just think, all those suffering pets on heavy duty anti-biotics, anti-histamines, anti-whatever pills, limited boring, inadequate diets could simply be cured by us listening to their gut.... those pets know it, why don't we?
Monday, April 7, 2008
How to Handle a Problem-Republic of China Style
1. Do not admit there is a problem.
2. Blame the West and subversives, enemy of the state, or anyone else, and still do not admit there is a problem.
3. Say 'We are looking into these baseless allegations'.
4. Arrest people.
5. Execute someone... 'See there is no problem'
2. Blame the West and subversives, enemy of the state, or anyone else, and still do not admit there is a problem.
3. Say 'We are looking into these baseless allegations'.
4. Arrest people.
5. Execute someone... 'See there is no problem'
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Adios Fios
This is it, for the last time I am no longer putting up with these piece of shit Motorola DVR boxes that are not working, shows not being taped, power buttons not turning on or off. How many boxes in 3 months am I supposed to be hassled about to find ONE that works? How many times do I have to be on the phone? How many missed appointments do I have to deal with? How many more lost internet connections due to wireless routers that are marginal at best causing me to lose valuable business and pleasure time can I accept?
NONE...NO MORE...FINITO..HAD IT...YOUR OUTTA HERE!
I called, of course got put on hold, of course there was no supervisor to talk to on the first call, of course was told when I finally got through to a wonderful customer service supervisor, that she would write in my file to waive the early cancellation fee, but there were no guarantees that it would be waived.
I called Comcast, yes its a bit more money, but this time, the phone was answered promptly, and really nice intelligent person helped me ...
This Monday, as of 2pm, Freedom from Fios!
Thank You Mrs. ____ From Verizon, I do not want to leave you name because you were honest with me about the dumb as a brick management who may not waive the termination fee. I told you about the blog, and this is a huge thanks, for helping as much as you can. This is alos a huge thanks to all those reps at Verizon who put up with the crap.
One thing I have discovered when calling Verizon is, you can have frustration in your voice. The reps are well aware of what is going on, commiserate with them, explain you understand how Verizon is not serving their employees and creating difficulties in dealing with their clients because of the management, short staffing, phone prompts from hell designed to keep you on longer , and incomplete information. Tell them you understand how difficult their job is, they will treat you all the better for that little bit of understanding. Once the rep realizes that you understand how completely out of touch with reality Verizon's management towards its employees and customers are, problems have a chance at getting solved.
And that my friends, if you really think about it, sums up every problem with Verizon.
NONE...NO MORE...FINITO..HAD IT...YOUR OUTTA HERE!
I called, of course got put on hold, of course there was no supervisor to talk to on the first call, of course was told when I finally got through to a wonderful customer service supervisor, that she would write in my file to waive the early cancellation fee, but there were no guarantees that it would be waived.
I called Comcast, yes its a bit more money, but this time, the phone was answered promptly, and really nice intelligent person helped me ...
This Monday, as of 2pm, Freedom from Fios!
Thank You Mrs. ____ From Verizon, I do not want to leave you name because you were honest with me about the dumb as a brick management who may not waive the termination fee. I told you about the blog, and this is a huge thanks, for helping as much as you can. This is alos a huge thanks to all those reps at Verizon who put up with the crap.
One thing I have discovered when calling Verizon is, you can have frustration in your voice. The reps are well aware of what is going on, commiserate with them, explain you understand how Verizon is not serving their employees and creating difficulties in dealing with their clients because of the management, short staffing, phone prompts from hell designed to keep you on longer , and incomplete information. Tell them you understand how difficult their job is, they will treat you all the better for that little bit of understanding. Once the rep realizes that you understand how completely out of touch with reality Verizon's management towards its employees and customers are, problems have a chance at getting solved.
And that my friends, if you really think about it, sums up every problem with Verizon.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Losing 15% of your market before the item leaves your warehouse...
We recently purchased a JVC Everio camcorder. We researched it, talked to other people about it, did all the things necessary to make an informed decision, or so we thought. We forgot to ask the BIG question...
Is this Mac compatible? Aren't the days of asking that question over?
When I think back on the decision making process I really wonder why we even HAVE to ask that question considering the following:
According to macobserver.com, Apple computers now make up 14% of the computer market share.
According to Macworld.com by 2011, Apple will double its market share.
MOST graphic designers, music industry people, and artists use Apple computers (according to alot of different sources).
What this means is simply, right now, today, at this very purchasing moment AT LEAST 15% of the market who would even consider buying this camera, will not. Those 15+ out of every 100 users are being told by JVC your not worth our time.
I am not sure why JVC is so (fill in the blank) to create an easy program to interface with the incredibly easy and intuitive Mac features of plug it in, download it, open the file in iMovie or QuickTime and have fun. I guess it is easier to create a program in that wonderful, easy to use uncomplicated piece of trash called Vista (Of which 75% of users recently said in a poll..they hate or sucks, take your pick).
Let me think about this... if I went to my boss and told him/her that "we developed this great camera, in cool colors..its gonna be huge! It's small, compact, easy to use, records to a hard drive so no extra discs or cards are needed, all the cables are included...and its boxed and ready to go. Oh yeah, it's not Mac compatible, no big deal though, that's only 15% of the market, so don't worry..we will still move tons of units..."
My boss would look at me and say 'You're fired' for gross incompetence, another term for being a major stupid short sighted brain dead idiot.
*******
By the way..this is a wonderful video by Brain McGonagill helps with this problem, and gives some really great tips on working with iMovie.
http://www.simplesurvivalmoves.com/JVCEverioInstructions.mp4
check out some of his other great Mac tips as well.
and this free plug in works too:
www.squared5.com
high quality converter for MPEG files, quicktime and transport systems
Oh yeah, you also need to buy a $20.00 plug in from Apple...
Way to go JVC.
Is this Mac compatible? Aren't the days of asking that question over?
When I think back on the decision making process I really wonder why we even HAVE to ask that question considering the following:
According to macobserver.com, Apple computers now make up 14% of the computer market share.
According to Macworld.com by 2011, Apple will double its market share.
MOST graphic designers, music industry people, and artists use Apple computers (according to alot of different sources).
What this means is simply, right now, today, at this very purchasing moment AT LEAST 15% of the market who would even consider buying this camera, will not. Those 15+ out of every 100 users are being told by JVC your not worth our time.
I am not sure why JVC is so (fill in the blank) to create an easy program to interface with the incredibly easy and intuitive Mac features of plug it in, download it, open the file in iMovie or QuickTime and have fun. I guess it is easier to create a program in that wonderful, easy to use uncomplicated piece of trash called Vista (Of which 75% of users recently said in a poll..they hate or sucks, take your pick).
Let me think about this... if I went to my boss and told him/her that "we developed this great camera, in cool colors..its gonna be huge! It's small, compact, easy to use, records to a hard drive so no extra discs or cards are needed, all the cables are included...and its boxed and ready to go. Oh yeah, it's not Mac compatible, no big deal though, that's only 15% of the market, so don't worry..we will still move tons of units..."
My boss would look at me and say 'You're fired' for gross incompetence, another term for being a major stupid short sighted brain dead idiot.
*******
By the way..this is a wonderful video by Brain McGonagill helps with this problem, and gives some really great tips on working with iMovie.
http://www.simplesurvivalmoves.com/JVCEverioInstructions.mp4
check out some of his other great Mac tips as well.
and this free plug in works too:
www.squared5.com
high quality converter for MPEG files, quicktime and transport systems
Oh yeah, you also need to buy a $20.00 plug in from Apple...
Way to go JVC.
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