Saturday, February 19, 2011
Coming Soon-Mardi Gras
I leave in a few days for New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras and ride with the Krew of Eve in Mandaville, La. This can only mean that I'll have tons of new material upon my return. Till then, laissez les bons temps rouler!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Happy Driving
Each time I leave work I encounter a situation where traffic backs up several lights of those of us needing to make a right hand turn onto the freeway (highway for my Southern friends). And each day as I patiently wait my turn in that lane, I see 5-10 other cars squeeze their way into the lane up near the ramp as if they forgot that this was going to be their turn and as if the rules of the road did not apply to them.
It is 5:10pm. You are leaving work. You are familiar with this route. You do not get a free pass to the front of the line just because you are you. They rules of the road do, in fact, apply to you. You are not special. And if I didn't drive such as nice car, you might find that you have to trade paint to sneak in next time.
I don't have road rage, I'm the one who waited patiently in the correct line of traffic. I just don't have to leave room for you to move in. I'm perfectly fine riding the tail of the car in front of me as safely as I can to see to it that you don't get an opprotunity to zip in front of me and cut me off.
If you are someone who does this, please stop. You're really not going to get home any faster than I do. Because I will pass you in my sports car on the two lane ramp before you ever make it to the freeway. Happy driving.
It is 5:10pm. You are leaving work. You are familiar with this route. You do not get a free pass to the front of the line just because you are you. They rules of the road do, in fact, apply to you. You are not special. And if I didn't drive such as nice car, you might find that you have to trade paint to sneak in next time.
I don't have road rage, I'm the one who waited patiently in the correct line of traffic. I just don't have to leave room for you to move in. I'm perfectly fine riding the tail of the car in front of me as safely as I can to see to it that you don't get an opprotunity to zip in front of me and cut me off.
If you are someone who does this, please stop. You're really not going to get home any faster than I do. Because I will pass you in my sports car on the two lane ramp before you ever make it to the freeway. Happy driving.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Contractors
I am in the process of getting quotes for a new fence for our backyard. I invited one local business and one major home improvements store, Home Depot, to my home to place bids.
Mike's Fencing was about to come out the day after I contacted them, were on time and pleasant to have at my home. They left a bid without too many questions and I felt very comfortable with them and their product options. They also called to follow up on their proposal.
Scheduled a week later (presumably because they're sooo busy) was the contractor for Home Depot. This guy was late, although he called. I found this guy very pushy and too much a salesman...which is a lot considering I've been in sales myself for over 10 years. He asked to see the other quotes which I felt was rude. He also said he was obligated to show me the Home Depot product but that it was not of high quality. He went on to push his own line of products. He also made a point to tell me how busy they were and were having to schedule at least 3-4 weeks out. It's important to note that I have a deadline that needs to be met for this project. He asked me for specific dates, which is good, but I went to get my own calendar and he tried to get me to come back to look at his. I have my own calendar and appointments that I need to be mindful of, I found it presumptious of him to think that his calendar would suffice.
What is most concerning is that he was using the Home Depot brand to sell himself and his services while at the same time disparaging the Home Depot product. He also used the fact that he was with Home Depot as a reason not to buy from a local business. This also alientated me because I have spent my career helping local businesses compete in local markets via their advertising choices.
So I have some advice for the large retailers out there:
1) Be careful which contractors you choose to work with, they may not be working for you at all
2) Disuade those contractors from using your brand status as a reason for someone not to go local, it is desperate and tacky
I think I'll be going with the local business, Mike's Fencing for this project.
Mike's Fencing was about to come out the day after I contacted them, were on time and pleasant to have at my home. They left a bid without too many questions and I felt very comfortable with them and their product options. They also called to follow up on their proposal.
Scheduled a week later (presumably because they're sooo busy) was the contractor for Home Depot. This guy was late, although he called. I found this guy very pushy and too much a salesman...which is a lot considering I've been in sales myself for over 10 years. He asked to see the other quotes which I felt was rude. He also said he was obligated to show me the Home Depot product but that it was not of high quality. He went on to push his own line of products. He also made a point to tell me how busy they were and were having to schedule at least 3-4 weeks out. It's important to note that I have a deadline that needs to be met for this project. He asked me for specific dates, which is good, but I went to get my own calendar and he tried to get me to come back to look at his. I have my own calendar and appointments that I need to be mindful of, I found it presumptious of him to think that his calendar would suffice.
What is most concerning is that he was using the Home Depot brand to sell himself and his services while at the same time disparaging the Home Depot product. He also used the fact that he was with Home Depot as a reason not to buy from a local business. This also alientated me because I have spent my career helping local businesses compete in local markets via their advertising choices.
So I have some advice for the large retailers out there:
1) Be careful which contractors you choose to work with, they may not be working for you at all
2) Disuade those contractors from using your brand status as a reason for someone not to go local, it is desperate and tacky
I think I'll be going with the local business, Mike's Fencing for this project.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Google Street Maps
I saw the Google Street Maps vehicle today in San Bernardino, CA. Prepare to moon the world, So Cal.
See it here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/GoogleStreetViewCar.JPG/800px-GoogleStreetViewCar.JPG
See it here:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/GoogleStreetViewCar.JPG/800px-GoogleStreetViewCar.JPG
Monday, February 7, 2011
Super Bowl Sunday
A day for eating, drinking, tweeting, gambling, facebooking, criticizing and enjoying the company of friends and family. Isn't life great.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
I'll start with a Peep
Mr. Important
We've all met one, worked with one or, heaven forbid, had one in the family. This is the guy who is the expert on everything and carries multiple electronic communication devices and yes, one is still a pager. Unfortunately this is also the guy who calls back to the office to tell the "secretary" (Business Analyst who happens to be female) to get a fresh pot of coffee brewing because he is bringing a client in for a meeting, slurps the coffee, then calls home to his wife and tells her via the answering machine to pick up (because she is not allowed to answer the phone otherwise).
I've met several of these throughout my years but none has topped my first. Sam (that's his real name) went as far as to call on my clients and pretend to be my boss on top of being smelly and spending all his time dreaming up "big" ideas that would never come to fruition. He should have got off his ass and sold something (we were in sales). He was about 25 years older than me but we were at the same position in our careers and that bugged him. He was Mr. Important, of course he should be viewed as my superior.
Mr. Important is closely related to Mr. Techie, Cheap Bastard and Know-it-All.
Tell me about your Mr. Important.
We've all met one, worked with one or, heaven forbid, had one in the family. This is the guy who is the expert on everything and carries multiple electronic communication devices and yes, one is still a pager. Unfortunately this is also the guy who calls back to the office to tell the "secretary" (Business Analyst who happens to be female) to get a fresh pot of coffee brewing because he is bringing a client in for a meeting, slurps the coffee, then calls home to his wife and tells her via the answering machine to pick up (because she is not allowed to answer the phone otherwise).
I've met several of these throughout my years but none has topped my first. Sam (that's his real name) went as far as to call on my clients and pretend to be my boss on top of being smelly and spending all his time dreaming up "big" ideas that would never come to fruition. He should have got off his ass and sold something (we were in sales). He was about 25 years older than me but we were at the same position in our careers and that bugged him. He was Mr. Important, of course he should be viewed as my superior.
Mr. Important is closely related to Mr. Techie, Cheap Bastard and Know-it-All.
Tell me about your Mr. Important.
Peeps, Places and Things-the Beginning
We all come across people, places and things in our daily lives that make us stop and stare or sit and cry or just double over in laughter. The purpose of this blog is to experience those moments together. Feel free to post your own and we will all laugh and appreciate how great and funny life can be. So let's begin.
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