Why? Because they can.

I have a friend who is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who is working as a waiter in a local family-owned restaurant.

I eat at this restaurant almost weekly. And I've always considered the owners (two brothers) to be nice guys. That was, until last week.

I'm going to say for the record that I have great sympathy for illegal immigrants. That applies especially to people who were infants when their parents immigrated.

What really got me angry was what my friend told me last night. Sitting outside with me on a faded green bench, he explained his dilemma.

The restaurant had not paid him a base hourly waiter's salary for 11 weeks. Eleven weeks!!! As he said this, he hunched over, ran his fingers through his dark curly hair and stared at the concrete bellow him.

For the last 11 weeks, my friend had to scratch together his living from the tips he got serving tables.

"Why did they do it?" I asked.

"Because they can," he said. "They know I'm stuck, just like the other guys they've hired."

The restaurant doesn't appear to be having financial problems. They installed all new tables and chairs just last week.

"I'm going to stand up to them tonight," he said. "I'm going to tell them I'll quit if they don't put me back on salary."

As we went back into the restaurant I gave him a hug and wished him luck. I also made sure to write down a fat tip on the credit card slip.

When I checked my bank account the next morning, the restaurant had charged me only for the price of the meal. I'm guessing that they kicked him out without even giving him his credit card tips.

Blog about the worst business decision and mistake you've ever made.

We've all made dumb business decisions. Taken jobs we hated, told off a co-worker when we shouldn't, overslept too much, worked too many hours with little return, and...we've all been there, done that.

By sharing your worst business decision and mistake, you show the world how you've grown, learning from the mistakes you made. Sure, you earn a few scars, but it is the scars that define who we are today, as well as are the symbols of where we've been.

I've made my share of business mistakes, and do. Business is part of the lessons of life. One of the worst came on the seventh anniversary of my company at the time, many years ago. Things were going great, but I wanted to make a change. I decided to shake things up and do a total restructure. I wanted more adventurous clients, willing to move into this new technological world that was forming, and embrace the social the Internet was creating with the introduction of email and online user groups to the average person. The web hadn't started, but the Internet was on the way in that direction. In the process of restructuring, I took on a client I knew couldn't be trusted. With this popular and newsworthy client, the launch of my new advertising company would only benefit by such association, right?

Wrong. I threw massive time, money, and energy into their company, promoting them from a community business to national, working towards international coverage through the Internet and traditional marketing and advertising media. By the end of the first year, my accountant quietly told me that we'd put so much energy into that single client, we'd reduced our client base to only a few rather than grow. The others didn't want that association I was counting on. What was worse, the client hadn't paid in seven months. Promises to pay were lost in the energy of the media frenzy, glamor, and paparazzi.

A week later, the client disappeared. Phones disconnected. Accounts closed. Vanished. Creditors turned to me as if, by association, I was responsible for their unpaid bills. We tried to track them down, eventually bringing in the police, but it was three years before they reappeared only to be out of reach.

In those three years, I totally changed my entire business, and my way of thinking about business that has led me to my business style today. Trust is there, but it is now cynical, waiting for the proof and payment before investing my time and energy. I understand clearly that talk is cheap. Action speaks loudly. Listen. The truth is always spoken if you are paying attention. Pay attention.

I also don't waste time, especially my client's time. Having been on the other side, I see the bigger picture. The direct style so many of my clients and readers appreciate comes from that time when I wasted so much time with cheap talk and little follow-through action. Direct. To the point. Listen. Learn. Decide. Get it done. Next?

I also learned that risks can have terrible outcomes, but also terrific rewards. After working long hours with little sleep, and damaging my health, to pay off all the debt, I closed down the corporate part of my life. I went freelance, jumping off another cliff into a whole new world. In the end, the loss was to my benefit as my clients know that I have the business experiences, and losses, and am wiser for the lessons learned. They win because I lost so much in that single year long experience.

We all make mistakes in everything we do. That's part of learning. I want you to blog about your business decision gone worst, not just wrong, and the lessons you learned and how these mistakes changed your life.

These blogging challenges are published weekly and are an attempt to kick your blogging ass. They serve to challenge your thinking and efforts in blogging and blog writing. To participate, start challenging yourself now. Today. Go for it.

Past Blogging Challenges

• Blog Challenge: Blog Your Passion
• Blog Challenge: What is the Most Unusual Blogger You’ve Found?
• Blog Challenge: Blog Your Dash
• Blog Challenge: How Do You Judge a Blog Post as a Success?
• Blog Challenge: What’s Your Blog’s Story?

Site Search Tags: blog challenge, blogging challenge, worst mistake, business mistake, business, writing, blog writing

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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, the author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.

Infomercials are a common form of paid programming that are immediately familiar to anyone who has had a sleepless night and ended up channel surfing at three in the morning. They offer fantastic deals on revolutionary products, but only if the viewer calls within the next thirty minutes. Most consumers don’t realize that they are able to legally make that statement because the people manning the phones have an elaborate system of stopwatches and time charts to keep track of whenever the infomercials are shown. Has it been thirty-one minutes? Sorry, you’re out of luck.

Many infomercials use minor celebrities to help hawk their garish products. Unsure about purchasing a full set of Ginsu knives? Well, what if we told you that Gary Coleman uses them for his home meals? And he’s here right now to demonstrate them! Thought that’d get your attention. Infomercials also tend to use such catch phrases as “You can do it too!” and “But wait, there’s more!” to help draw attention. If you’re really lucky, they might even offer to throw in a extra pair of salad tongs with the purchase. (That’s a twenty dollar value, at no additional cost!)

Amazing products that have been sold in infomercials:

- The Bowflex home gym
- Oxiclean!
- The Veg-O-Matic
- Malt-Shop Memories (a doo-wap collection)
- Tooth whiteners
- Buns of Steel exercise tapes
- The Smokeless Ashtray
- Girls Gone Wild videos

I have already purchased one corset and one handbag from her. In FEBRUARY I paid the most money I have EVER paid for a corset and with her help designed what I hope will be the most gorgeous corset in my humble collection... Notice I said that was in February. 6 months ago...

The time quote was 8-10 weeks.. and then about a month and a half ago many people were informed she was 5 weeks behind. So that would be a max of 15 weeks from order to completion. That is less than 4 months... I have been waiting for SIX.

One month ago, I emailed her to ask if she had even started mine yet. I told her that if she hadn't I would accept a partial refund (minus paypal fees) instead of the corset since it had been so long I scarcely remember what I picked out anymore!! She said she was "nearly finished" with it. Again, note that that was now one month ago.

On the Order Status page which was last updated yesterday, my corset is still 3 production "phases" away from being complete. AND there have been several people who ordered after me (that were NOT rush orders) that already have their corsets.

If that wasn't enough to chap my ass, she posted not one but TWO freakin' corsets she made for a photo shoot on LiveJournal. If she is so freakin' behind, why is she fucking around with sample pieces??? Shouldn't she be working on the corsets she has ALREADY been paid for?!?!

AND - she was also seen on LJ bitching about not having money because she hasn't had any new orders in nearly a month.... Umm... DUH!!! If you make people wait twice as long as they were quoted and then do promotional work instead of the work you have already been PAID to do, people aren't going to be lining up to work with you!! Get a clue...

Like I said, I have bought from her before and been more than satisfied. Because of this, I have sent at least 3 customers that I know of her way. I suggested her and now I feel like an ass for doing so.

Why is it that the most talented ladies have to be the ones to fuck up so bad?? Creations L'escarpolette made the most exquisite works of art I have EVER seen!! Unfortunetly, she got behind herself and started ripping people off horribly and does not (to my knowledge) sell anymore because she soiled her own name. Now this with SugarKitty. Thank goodness my other go-to gal is a very small "business" and I really don't see this nonsense happening with her. (I hope)

Shannon... if you read this somehow someway, I realize that you have had a really rough couple of months and I really do have sympathy for all you have been through. HOWEVER, do you think that if I just decided to start slacking off at my job because of personal issues that that would be ok? Hell no it wouldn't !! You were paid to do work.. that is your JOB.. your BUSINESS. And business and personal matters must always be kept seperate. This is HIGHLY unprofessional and I am so entirely disappointed in this whole situation...

:(

Nobody seems to understand that when we don't have any customers, that's when we lose our revenue.

No revenue means... no money to pay everything.

I sent out an email last week to encourage everyone to make cold calls this week. I monitored the phone lines all week and they weren't actively lit up. I did hear someone make calls though. And he's the one who cannot successfully close a sale. I admire his determination though.

Let me introduce my team.

Doc Ock - He's a consultant. Flies in and out of town. We had a major misunderstanding last August which left me hurt so bad that I contemplated quitting. I decided to stay for the sake of my MD and the rest of the staff. I will leave when the time is right.

Gloria - She's one of the stronger backbones of the company who joined this company together with Chandler, Florence and me. Acts as the middle-person between me and the rest of the staff. I am a bit skeptical of her 'submission' to me but she's efficient in her work, so that has to account for something.

Chandler - Don't be fooled by his humble and meek personality. He has a degree in Human Resource Management! Yet he chose a different career path to make a living. I personally feel his PR needs an overhaul. It's been the one thing that I bring up every appraisal - year in, year out.

Florence - Assists Doc Ock whenever he's in town. Other days, she does her paperwork (which she obviously hates doing) and sometimes multitasks. She's resigning at month end, her last day will be on August 30, 2008. We're going to miss her but I do hope I find a replacement soon. I'm still hoping she will reconsider staying. I hate the recruitment process!

Jonathan - One of the new kids who just joined last year. Had his vision repaired early this year and now serving his bond. Ha! He and Gloria work well together. They're both reliable. But I notice he's been showing disinterest in his job lately. Maybe he hates multi-tasking. It's hard to tell. His actions seem to say that he dislikes multi-tasking.

Iris - She is the the company's asset. Without her, the company will not succeed. She's also new, just joined last November. She was doing part time before that. She makes me proud - when she joined, she was so timid. Now she's a confident belle. That's after sending her to 2 training stints in 2 different branches. She needs to speak louder though. Her voice is almost like whispering.

Jenny - Hmm.. what shall I say about Jenny? Pretty young one, joined last March. She was supposed to take over my administrative duties (I had been juggling between 3 duties - admin, marketing & managing). She fooled me into thinking she's bright. From Day 1, I told her to pay attention and take notes. A notebook and a ring file were given for her training purpose. Neither one were used or referred to. She took a few pieces of blank A4 papers, clipped them in the middle and turned it into her notebook. Well, ugly notebook is better than no notebook. Jenny amazes me. I don't know where she keeps her brains and common sense. Notes have been provided to her, and she fails to refer to them every time. Tell me: should I keep her or should I let her go?

And finally, me - I graduated from the School of Life, having worked in the financial industry for 9 years, in the education industry for almost 3 years, and now in the health industry. Not very colourful, eh? It's a good exposure though.

So today wasn't a very good day. We had no bait and the collection in the Sales Report is very discouraging. And to think we've been here 3 years! Just our luck oil price increased this year. I must find ways to improve our financial condition. Being Christian, I seek divine intervention in handling a lot of things in life - work included. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord"

And so, I must stand by those words.

Flo & Iris trained Jenny who grabbed the opportunity to avoid me (I had moved to the table in front of her so we didn't have to switch on the aircond). I think Jenny is not happy unless I do something about it. What should I do?

[Ms. Manager]

It's all part of our post 9-11 reality enforced by the Transportation Security Adminstration. But as CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, thousands of travelers have complained that some of these screenings can become abusive and even x-rated.

For arguing with a TSA agent, Robin Kassner wound up being slammed to the floor. She's filed a lawsuit.

"I kept begging them over and over again get off of me ... and they wouldn't stop," Kassner said.

And it wasn't enough for another woman to show TSA agents nipple rings that set off a metal detector. The agents forced her to take them out.

Mandi Hamlin said, "I had to get pliers and pull it apart."

In Chicago, people like Robert Perry are subjected to exhaustive security checks. He was patted down, his wheel chair was examined and his hands were swabbed, all in public view in a see-through room at the security checkpoint. Perry, 71, is not alone

"It's humiliation," Perry said.

Perry was also taken to a see-through room by a TSA agent when his artificial knee set off the metal detector.

"He yelled at me to get the belt off. 'I told you to get the belt off.' So I took the belt off. He ran his hands down over and pulled the pants down, they went down around my ankle," Perry said.

At that point, Perry was standing in his underwear in public view. He asked to see a supervisor. That made things worse.

"She was yelling 'I have power, I have power, I have power," Perry said. The power to stop him from flying to Florida with his wife that day to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

"It makes you feel like you have no rights," Perry said.

Perry said he always alerts TSA agents about his metal knee and wonders why they can't just check his leg.

"If somebody told me that I would save the people on the airplane by taking my pants off out in public out there, I wouldn't mind doing it, but this was not necessary," Perry said.

TSA officials said that when the metal detectors go off, their agents must resolve what caused the alarm. But experts have said it's important to use common sense when balancing security and customer service.

Carlos Villarreal, former director of security for the Sears Tower, said proper training is crucial. "When you're wanding somebody and you can identify which part of the body set of the alarm, that should be sufficient to clear a person," Villarreal said.

But all too often, it's not enough for 16-year old Michael Angone. She frequently flies as a member of the Chicago Children's Choir.

"I've had to completely take my pants off and show them like my entire leg," Angone said.

As a baby, Angone was diagnosed with cancer. Her parents, both Chicago police officers, had to have her leg amputated. She said she always warns TSA security agents that her prosthetic leg will set off the metal detector, but many insist on doing an embarrassing full body pat-down.

"I feel like I'm being felt up in public," Angone said.

Her father Bob Angone wanted to know, "What's the reason for all the feeling up, you know the groping at the back of the neck, the chest, underneath the bra, all the groping on her body, her buttocks?"

CBS 2 News asked the TSA those questions, but got no answers.

"The key word here is reasonable, and they have gone off the track. They are not reasonable," Bob Angone said.

The TSA declined to comment on the Angone and Perry cases, but the agency has announced that soon, passengers who set off an alarm that cannot be resolved will have a choice: Agree to a physical pat-down or what some believe is an even worse invasion of privacy.

This fall, O'Hare International Airport will get its first advanced digital x-ray machine. It allows TSA agents to see through clothes and discover any hidden weapons. Critics have likened it to a virtual strip search.

A spokesman said that out of 2 billion passengers screened nationwide since 9-11, there have been only 110,000 abuse complaints.

As for the nipple ring case, TSA did change its procedures regarding body piercings.

OPEC is an acronym for Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OPEC was formed in 1960 in Baghdad, Iraq with five founding member countries. Currently OPEC is a cartel composed of 11 oil producing countries.  Current member countries include: Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

OPEC's stated purpose is said to serve three main functions:

1) Help stabilize world oil prices (is this happening????)

2) Ensure oil producers achieve a reasonable rate of return on production

3) Ensure a stable supply of crude oil for consumer use.

OPEC has a current goal of $27 US per barrel of oil.

HOW MUCH CRUDE OIL DO THE OPEC COUNTRIES PRODUCE?

Collectively these countries hold approximately 77% of known world crude oil reserves. In terms of daily crude oil production OPEC countries currently produce about 41% (24.2 million barrels per day) of the world's crude oil. The oil exported by the OPEC countries accounts for 55% of all oil traded internationally. OPEC countries also represent about 15% of total world natural gas production.

HOW DOES OPEC SET OIL PRICES?

OPEC does not "set" oil prices. OPEC manipulates the free market price of crude oil by setting caps on the oil production of its member countries. Twice each year, ministers from each OPEC country meet in Vienna, Austria to review the status of the international oil market and to forecast the future oil demands in order to agree upon an appropriate crude oil production level.

Editor's notes: So much for the need for OPEC.

The internet giant's StreetView website will allow anyone in the world to type in a UK address or postcode and instantly see a 360-degree picture of the street.

It will include close-ups of buildings, cars and people. Critics say the site is a 'burglar's charter' that makes it easy for criminals to check out potential victims.

The pictures also show people leaving and entering hospitals, health clinics, adult shops and hotels. Although their faces are deliberately blurred, many could still be recognised by their clothing and hair colour.

The site was launched in major American cities last year.

Google has confirmed it is now in the process of photographing Britain as part of the Street View project.

Cars emblazoned with the company's logo and carrying massive 360-degree cameras have been spotted circling the streets of British cities in recent weeks.

The data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's office, is so concerned about StreetView that it has written to Google demanding privacy guarantees.

A Google spokeswoman said: 'Google works hard to make sure that our products respect both users' expectations of privacy, and local privacy laws, in each country in which they are launched. Google Maps Street View is no exception.'

StreetView is designed to complement Google Earth, a collection of satellite pictures that covers every square mile of the globe.

Google Earth has come under fire for the level of detail in its overhead pictures, which have become enormously popular.

The pictures don't just show which homes have swimming pools or tennis courts, they can reveal the model and colour of cars, whether gardens have furniture and even sunbathers lying outside.

His response:

[23:48] Wayfinder Wishbringer: Katt, I am fully aware of the dealings between you and Eren and as Founder of Elf Clan I have about the same postion toward you as you, as Founder of your paper had toward Eren:  I know how to deal with people like you.  Bite me and take your piddling, immature, drama-queen attitude elswhere.  I came online just to deal with this matter.  Consider it dealt.

[23:49] Wayfinder Wishbringer: You were contacted by an advertiser with concern over an advertising issue.  Your response was threatening, insulting and abusive.  Elf Clan shall have no further dealings with the Messenger.  That is MY decision.  End of discussion.

In reading the e-mails by Eren, I was struck by the similarities between Eren and Wayfinder's writing style and word choice, as well as the fact that we had had the same exact problems with Wayfinder in the past. When I got these IMs from him, I was convinced. I let him know about the "Spoonful of Sugar" post.

His reply? [23:54] Wayfinder Wishbringer: Very well.. now it gets legal

I simply replied that it sounded fun. Sorry, I am not intimidated by threats. I'm sure that was frustrating for him, as he typed in a rather lengthy reply:

[23:57] Wayfinder Wishbringer: You broke the first rule of journalism:  never take personal issues public.  This was a private business matter.  You took it public.  You think you're the only person with a blog?  We are a group.  You're supposed to be a professional paper.  I assure you Ms. Kongo, I am just as capable of writing an article as you... but you have the disadvantage of being a professional paper looking like an idiot.

[23:58] Wayfinder Wishbringer: So if this is how you wish to do things, I'm going to handle the matter very simply... by publishing the fact that a supposedly professional newspaper took a personal snit public.  Enjoy your evening.

And then my reply:

It was not a personal snit. It was an attack on us, followed by an empty threat, led by YOU, who was using an alt to deal with us instead of your main, because we have had exactly these problems with you in the past. The blog is where I express the OPINIONS I keep out of the factual accountings in the newspaper. Don't tell me about the rules of journalism. I know them far better than you ever will.

As I said, I'm not involved in any of the Elven communities. Really, the only thing I know about them is that the sims are some of the most beautiful ones in Second Life. But apparently, one of the sims we have covered previously is one in direct competition with the Elf Clan.

I guess Eren isn't content to slur only the M2:

One more response Phoenix, then I'm going to let you folks go your way and we'll go ours, and good riddance.  The only turmoil caused within Elf Clan... has been directly from Elf Circle.  It resulted in the founder of Elf Circle being banned from our group for misappropriation of group funds and lands, and several of their officers receiving the same treatment.  If you folks were the reporters you claimed to be... you'd be aware of that.

Elf Clan now is one of the largest fantasy groups on Second Life.  We've grown from one to eight sims in one year and we are known for our friendliness to visitors and SL newbies.  Our group is also one of the most harmonious, peaceful and drama-free groups I've come across on Second Life.  The only reason we have ever had any turmoil in the group... was from dealing with people like you and Katt.  And that's the bottom-line truth.

Drama free? I doubt that...

P2 copied me on the e-mail, and I was shocked. This person, Eren Padar, accused the M2 of showing favoritism to some other Elven group, among other things, and was just downright nasty. Read for yourself:

Phoenix, I just checked out our ad in the Metaverse Messengers.  To be plain, I am very disappointed.

I followed MM instructions specifically, and sent a high-rez JPG ad as per instructions– to exact measurements.  I just checked the ad copy I sent you, and it is pristine.  Why then, does the ad look out of focus and blurry in your magazine?

I also notice that in the same issue, an Elf Circle sim wins “sim of the week”, plus a lengthy article, and I am once again struck by the same thing that has hit me in the past:  Metaverse Messenger is obviously not the place for Elf Clan to advertise.

I’m the Market Manager for Elf Clan Fantasy Market.  We had planned a significant set of ads over the next year.  In addition I had planned personal advertising for my company Dragon Forge.   All such plans are cancelled.  In the future, we will take our advertising business to other SL magazines.

Phoenix wrote replied with a very nice response. I was and am very proud of him. It has to be frustrating to deal with someone who appears to be completely unreasonable. His reply:

Eren, I’m not sure what to tell you. You seem to be accusing us of some sort of favoritism toward Elf Circle, which is bunk. Sim of the Week is selected by a dedicated staff and neither Katt nor I have anything to do with that process.

As far as the ad is concerned, there is always some degradation of images when saving to a PDF, unless you are willing to accept a gargantuan (and I’m talking 50 MB +) final PDF file, so yes, your ad will not always look quite as crisp as it does initially. We process everyone’s ads in an identical fashion.

Sorry you feel the way you do, but I also feel your anger is misdirected.

I wish you the best in everything that Elf Clan does.

P2

Eren again replied, but apparently, accusing us of favoritism wasn’t enough. He/she had to add to that by saying that we altered the ad.

Well,sorry but I’m looking through an entire issue of ads and they all look fine, and I get to ours and it’s JPEG reduced blotchy.  Only one I saw in the entire zine that looked fuzzy and bad.  Since I sent you a to-the-pixel measured ad in perfect condition, “pdf format” doesn’t explain the mess.’

If there’s no favoritism for Elf Circle… glad to hear it.  Not sure the evidence supports the claim, but whatever.  The only evidence I’m really concerned with is the quality of our advertisement… and I’ve been professionally involved in advertisement in RL for too many years to believe that’s just how it came out.  Sorry. That ad was poorly produced and its resolution and quality altered. It reflects poorly on our group and makes it look bad in the presence of other ads which look far better.   That’s not what we paid for.

P2 surely has the patience of a saint. He again replied nicely, and even threw in a week of free ad space. I don’t agree with that, however. If the problem with the ad was our fault, then yes, we should do whatever we can do correct that. However, we can’t give free ads to everyone who is less than satisfied with how the ad comes out. Many people would use such a policy to gain free advertising on a regular basis.

P2’s reply:

We don’t change a thing about ads that are submitted with the following exceptions:

a) If an ad is at a resolution other than 300 dpi, I will resample it (this should only have a positive effect, and wouldn’t have produced what we’re talking about here, and I don’t recall whether that was necessary with your ad or not)

b) I will sometimes adjust brightness and/or contrast if it appears that an ad will be too dark (this was definitely not the case with yours).

I will be happy to add a week to your ad run and see if we can’t resolve this issue for you, but I assure you that nothing about your ad was altered.

P2

I don’t like it when advertising clients are unhappy. I eagerly make changes when they are requested, from ad placements, to page placements, etc. I will try my best to accommodate clients. Why? Well, not only do I want them to continue to purchase ad space, I want them to be successful. I want those who advertise with the M2 to have flourishing businesses.

But if someone is going to write nasty e-mails to defame us professionally, I am not so willing to assist. In my opinion, the kiddie gloves should have come off when Eren said we altered the ad. Oh em gee! *insert sarcasm* Those of us at the M2 are immersed in a conspiracy against the Elf Clan! How wicked of us…

Why on earth would we alter an ad? I have no professional or personal ties to anyone in the Elven community and neither does P2.

So my response was not as nice as P2’s:

I compared the ad that ran in the M2 versus the ad you sent. Yes, there is a remarkable difference. I then compared the Farhaven (on the same page as yours) original ad versus what ran in the paper. There too was a remarkable difference.

I’m sorry you are dissatisfied. If you had come to us politely with these issues, we would have bent over backwards to assist you in discovering the problem and fixing it. But accusing us of favoritism (how is that possible when the Eledwhen column writes about the Elf Clan frequently?) and then going so far as to say we altered the quality of the ad only means we won’t be working with you anymore.

Keep in mind that the M2 has 35,000 readers, far more than any other publication in SL. With the very popular Eledwhen Wonders column, a large segment of that readership is the population YOU are trying to reach out to.

One last thing, I assure you that I have absolutely no reservations in telling the entire SL community what a disdainful, disparaging, mean, hateful and rude person you are.

She heatedly replied, under the impression that I was threatening her (wtfbbq?). She also seemed to be rather clueless as to who owns the Metaverse Messenger. *scratches head at that one before adding Eren’s email to this blog post*

LOL Kristen, since I now have a copy of your email… and the unprofessional attitude shown there, there are only three things I have further to say to you:

1. As an advertiser, I have a right to contact your staff with misgivings about the professionalism (or lack thereof) of your staff.
2. Threatening an advertiser with with “I have absolutely no reservations in telling the entire SL community what a disdainful, disparaging, mean, hateful and rude person you are” is about as vile and unprofesional as a person can get, an only serves to cement and verify my prior opinion of your staff.
3. Your drama queen attitude and threatening manner gives my ne reason to believe that my initial impression regarding your zine was incorrect.
4.  I will be forwarding a copy of your email to other members of the Metaverse Messenger for review.

Be advised that if you should decide to take this private business matter public… my response will be put publicly publish a copy of your email.  If that is how you wish to run your business… you will find there are repercussions of such attitudes.

Had you responded in a professional, business manner, we could have resolved this issue.  As it is, I will contact Phoenix and inform him there shall be no further business involved between our agents.  I have nothing to be ashamed of in my initial missive.  I am nothing more than a dissatisfied customer with reason to question paper policies.  Welcome to the business world.  Your attitude madam, is shameful.

Oi! I’m laughing… “…had you responded in a professional, business manner…” Perhaps she/he means I should have behaved like him/her?

*sighs* I will climb to the top of the highest building to shout out the fact that I don’t know everything there is to know about business. But I do know that if you have an issue you want someone to fix, the surest way to sabotage yourself is by being ugly to whoever it is you are dealing with.

Eren should have, could have wrote, “Hi Phoenix. I was not happy with the way the Elf Clan ad came out. Would you please work with me in improving the appearance of the ad? Also, I noted that another Elven community was SOTW. How does that work? How can I encourage the M2 to cover Elf Clan more?”

We would have jumped at the opportunity to assist someone who addressed in that manner. We don’t expect anyone to bend down and kiss our feet because of what we do. But we DO work very hard and producing a paper every week.

So remember, a bit of “nice” in your business dealings can go a long, long way.

Regards,

Katt

]]> http://greenidesign.wordpress.com/?p=20 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:55:12 +0000 greenidesign http://greenidesign.wordpress.com/?p=20 Stumbled across this blog that had a link to an interesting little resource.

It depicts 101 ways designers can help save the planet.

With some useful tips, like saving files in PDF formats as often as possible (saving paper), giving green clients a break, promoting ethical logos and generally being environmentally aware. Alongside the more obvious tips: turning your computers off at night, turn off the lights etc, Design : Green gives you links to numerous green agencies and organisations that designers, writers and agencies can join to acknowledge and promote their green credentials.

Some may still dismiss green consumerism as hippy or wishy washy, but that is generally the voice of the older generations and pretty much anyone who agrees with their pulpy mental state, is simply showing their age. These tips are fresh, informative and have a social conscience - yes there is a business behind this blog, but business doesn't always = bad (we will come to this another time). Green efforts should and deserve to be acknowledged.

One point to mention however is this is obviously an American based blog with a few Seattle references and New York contact details. If Seattle means nothing to you, or you haven't watched enough 'Fraiser' as I have to feel like you know that place inside out, just don't read those bits - or maybe think outside the box and replace the word 'Seattle' with wherever you are standing. Go on, I know you can. "Google map it" if your still confused....

Dork note: Don't you just love the way Google is now a verb... No? Just me? Meh... again another time!

Skyland Trail, Atlanta GA – Bitter staff, preoccupied ($$$) executive leadership, ineffective management, poor treatment of staff, several claims of racial discrimination all affect client recovery and adds to the bill for treating clients.

I am an employee of an Atlanta-based NPO, George West Mental Health Foundation d/b/a Skyland Trail. I've only been here a couple of years on the clinical side yet it seems as though I've watched the entire evolution of man happen here with all the comings-and-goings of staff. In fact, I haven't seen this high an attrition rate in my 20-year career. At any given time 25% of the staff is either being welcomed aboard, being wished a farewell or in some cases, just come up missing with no further explanation. I mean, are these people still alive? What happened to them? Should we all be concerned?

Should a Mental Health Foundation – a clinical operation dedicated to the treatment of mental health disorders, experts in the field of counseling, nationally recognized for building self-esteem, problem resolution and restoring quality of life – have so many problems with employee satisfaction? Many of the employees have established relationships with clients and deal with them professionally on a daily basis. Can a someone please respond with how this revolving door of staff affects a client when their treatment team is continually changing? Maybe this is a question for our Medical Director, Dr. Raymond (Ray) Kotwicki, MD, MPH.

Some of the problems can be attributed to the Executive Team. Basically, the team is comprised of 4 people: Elizabeth (Beth) Finnerty-Martin, John (Ricky) Padgett, Dr. Raymond Kotwicki, MD, MPH, and a new addition, Connie Lombardo.

Beth works really hard at satisfying the board and pushing to get our many millions of dollars in the door. If you only knew what kind of requests the board makes (esp. Mr. Mark West) you'd fall out of your chair. She is so focused on satisfying him and his friends (i.e. Board of Director's) that I don't think she realizes that her interaction with staff from an operational stance is limited to basically one meeting every 3 months. These meetings are two-fold. 1. We see that she's still alive and breathing; 2. We get to find out the winner of these two awards (completely rigged) for employee and client recognition. Then we go around the room and a token four or five of the executive team's favorites speak out about their respective areas of accomplishment and Beth quickly tells them, "thank you guys for all you do for Skyland Trail" – the usual. The meeting quickly comes to a halt and we waste a few hundred on bad food.

Ricky is the company's CFO. It is his job to make sure that all the bases are covered and that the company remains in good financial and operational standing despite some of the "questionable transactions". He presents himself to be this down-to-earth, country, hospitable, everyday kinda guy – but just wait until the shows over and the curtain falls. He is everything but those four descriptors. You see, he has a certain social circle at work. With him you're either in – or you're out. When you're in (and I've been "in" at one point), life is bliss and you enjoy the all of privileges he can offer. One of them is bigger annual raises (trust me, the people that get them don't have a problem letting us 3%-ers know about it); regular promotions; constant acknowledgement for great effort by the executive team; and additional liberties like comp-time, budgetary flexibility, etc. The rest of us ("outs" - yeah, I'm an "out" right now) get the opposite.

Dr. Raymond (Ray) Kotwicki, MD, MPH is a good guy… until you get on his bad side – better yet, if Ricky or Beth have it out for you, you better be sure that he'll have it out for you too. They kind of operate like a 3-headed beast. He's hardly ever at work and does ¼ of the work he originally was hired to do. Yet, he's continually praised? I'm sure the guy's salary is minimum six-figures for 10 hours per week? How can a non-profit justify this?

Connie Lombardo is kinda "not so much". She is our VP of marketing and development. She's been here half a year, and she hasn't raised a single penny of new capital? It makes me wonder what the heck she does all day beside harass her staff with administrative tasks she feels she's too good to execute (like stamp an envelope), micromanagement like you wouldn't believe and a totally fake personality that kind of makes you cringe when you speak with her. She is very deceptive and will cover up her mistakes by placing the blame on her staff and others. Is this an example a leader should be setting? A friend of mine that works in that building has constant complaints about watching her unfairly distribute work among her staff, instances of discrimination, and she even goes as far as being just downright condescending and rude - I've seen it for myself. She apparently thinks she walks on water (and so do Beth and Ricky, both of whom give her constant praise). But, if a person can perform these miracles, shouldn't we have pulled in at least $500.00 in new revenue from her efforts? I don't get it. I'm sure she's close to the top and from my view (and my co-worker's view) her salary is a complete waste! Even if she only made $350, 000 per year, we just wasted $175, 000 in six months!!! How can we, as a non-profit, justify this? -Oh yeah, I think she's been designing envelopes or something for the past couple of months. And she's doing a great job? Connie Lombardo. Great name.

Other complaints include a worthless benefits package, unfair treatment among staff, uneven workload distribution, a huge divide in salary between staff and management (from what I read, someone in HR is constantly sending HR print jobs to our pirnter LOL) and the company refuses to promote from within (except if you're on the A-list). Skyland Trail is a clinical operation that has a primary care clinic built-in to its program, yet staff cannot get adequate medical needs of their own met? I know several employees that need medical attention but cannot afford to pay the high deductibles and the bills that will result in seeking medical attention. This has been in the top 5 main complaints for a number of years, yet it remains to be unrecognized by the executive team. Why even ask us to fill out employee surveys if the plan is ultimately doing nothing with the information? This is like the fourth one I've submitted with the same crap on it. Maybe I should submit my concerns to the board - or better yet, to our donors. Our finance people and executive staff would probably all jump out the window at the same time.

There have been numerous openings that would allow staff to grow into positions that provide a better wage and an opportunity for career advancement. It has been a trend for the company to continually choose to hire under qualified, outside candidates instead of seeking qualified in-house staff to promote despite the employees' constant applications to these openings. I don't get it. What's the problem? It is a common understanding among staff that the only way to advance is to seek employment with another company, yielding a very high attrition rate. In all, the company would much rather hire and train an under qualified candidate from outside the organization as opposed to recognizing the good work and capabilities of existing staff.

I believe this can be a great company if the games would stop at the upper levels. The belittling and condescending attitude from management has to stop in order to get back to the business of rehabilitating our clients. How can staff of a mental health organization effectively treat clients while suffering from mental and emotional stress? Our clients end up suffering greatly and their treatment plans drag out because of the constant instability. What's greater is the cost incurred by our clients and their families in paying for the additional time for their family member to recover in our program. This is a shame and a great disservice to our community. It is my wish that our executive team and the board would connect at the ground-floor level and resolve these issues, treat people fairly and run this as a mental health rehabilitation center it's named to be and not just a cash cow.

It isn't that low interest rates have done much good. Mainly, these low interest rates have supported the bankers' bottom lines instead of being used to save banking customers and consumers any money on their interest. Low interest is just another way that the Federal Reserve has bailed out the nearly-collapsed banking and mortgage industry.

The Fed has signaled that it is unlikely to cut rates further and may boost rates if inflation gets out of hand. Well...inflation is out of hand, but the Fed has their magic hand on the percentages. They will never get entirely out of control thanks to creative central banking.

The common line is that bleak news keeps investors from stepping into the market. What market? We are, after all in a overall slowdown. Investors that are still around are watching their backs and find very little worthwhile investing in that is truly significant. The world of creative banking has the cure for deserving investors. Wise investors are wisely wary.

The tougher and more appropriate message would be that the Fed won't continue to bail out Wall Street at all. Wall Street has been helped enough. Let them reap what they have sown or better yet, look at the theoretical law that touts "survival of the fittest" in the animal kingdom. The business world isn't designed to be bailed out. Bad business decisions need to be honored with "come what may".

"Confidence" will be a temporary problem. We will all survive long-term and the bad business decision makers will be gone and hopefully living in trailer homes on the prairie or the barrios where they belong without continuing to infect the lives of Americans and global economic policy the world over.

what bothers me, and in fact causes me to say he sucks, is the Donald's ability to use his marketing skills to circumvent traditional business principals. [Maybe I am just jealous. That's what the ney-sayers will say!] During this process, I am willing to bet one hundred too many of our genius 'masses' will attempt to imitate. After their imitation fails, I (taxpayer) will be left to pay for it...so I do have a stake in this you see.

Before I go further, I will say that I enjoy his show and watching him in action. DjT's feud with Rosie O'Donnell is perhaps one of the funniest things going in what today is classified as news. How can you not chuckle at the absurdity of it all regardless if you choose a side?

Niceties aside, my argument comes in three parts and follows:

DjT ignores the traditional employment of bankruptcy filings. Instead, DjT thinks that bankruptcy in his case is shameless. I suggest that it is shameful. Manipulating the legal system to escape $544 million in debt during the collapse of Trump Hotels and Casinos should have been avoided at all costs as all bankruptcy filings. While DjT suffered little, many suffered greatly. Mismanagement caused the loss of jobs for hundreds. It caused loans to be defaulted on. It hurt our economy in a micro-economic sense. It hurt all of us. Have a sound business plan before entering into business ventures. Bankruptcy is not a good thing. DjT can be shameless..

Real business success is achieved through incremental improvements. DjT blinders allow one to believe business success is all about shock and awe (YOU'RE FIRED!). This is not the case in 99.999% of what we do. Trust is earned, outcomes are accumulated, results are proven. People should be given the chance to prove their metal. Hasty firing decisions are never advisable. Patience breeds insight. Insight allows for measured action in accordance with environmental factors. Build your business at a planned rate. Don't grow faster then you can accommodate for. And certainly don't force your company into unbridled growth at any cost. DjT doesn't have time for this though. It makes for boring television afterall.

Small businesses and enterprises are the pulse of our economy. You cannot overlook this. Trump is famous for big things and all that entails. Real business should not be like this. Real business in most cases can't be like this. Few are lucky as DjT in having the enormous capital with which he began. Focus on the small things. Practice good customer service. Build repeat business. Make people feel good about doing business with you. DjT thinks its all about the tangible and sense manipulation. I am here to cheer for the small business. To support the practice of fundamentals. To champion the cause of marketing sensory deprivation. Enough already. Your company is huge and flashy. We know it....we paid for it. If this isn't an excuse to choose a small business, you are probably a smart business person. -- you know, more logical reasoning should be used then that. One last fact - all business start somewhere...as a small business perhaps?

Final thought: what I am saying here is that NOBODY should ever look to DjT as a business model. If nothing else, his is morally flawed. I pine for the day that Trump finally confesses to being a smarmy actor rather then the smarmy business man he purports to be. In the meantime, i will continue to enjoy the sophisticated banter between the Don and his lady, O'Donnell.

Almost every day, during my years as a reporter, I or one of my colleagues were asked to do a "localization." That meant we would take a national story that indicated a trend and get a local angle on it. Most often, that national slant came via an AP article. Sometimes we didn't cite AP at all, but I guess that was OK because we were subscribers. I hated doing stories like this.

During my days as a photo editor I was party to a different AP practice. We would frequently be called and asked to provide a photo to AP, often at the request of another member newspaper. We knew that other member was most often a nearby competitor and we seeded our photos with outs to indicate such nearby rags were NOT permitted to use our work. Heck, if they wanted photos they could have sent their own people. But an AP editor would call one of our top editors and then we would be told to cough up the picture(s). When we complained because the competing newspaper hijacked our image, AP told us they couldn't do anything. When we complained because the picture carried an AP credit, they said: tough. You see, AP has a policy of replacing the credit on every image it sends across the wires with its own. That isn't a copyright violation, apparently, because we are subscribers and the contract compels us to regularly drop trou and grab our ankles at the Associated Press' request.

Long story short, borrowing without credit is a typical newspaper/AP business practice. Which makes their complaint more than a little hypocritical.

But their position is also idiotic. Quoting an AP article can help bring an audience to AP. Slapping down those who draw attention to AP won't help bring an audience (at least a happy one) to AP. Given the place old-style organizations like AP are currently occupying, chasing away an audience doesn't seem prudent.

But as Jeff Jarvis points out, the whole concept of AP may have passed it usefulness. In the old days AP was the distribution network for articles. Sure they wrote some of their own, but most of their business was passing articles around from member newspapers. That they took credit for them even though they didn't create them wasn't considered a big deal because otherwise none of us could get those articles to fill our pages.

Today the internet not only does that distribution job better, it can allow users to go to the source rather than accept a bastardized and borrowed AP version. Jarvis rightly says it is always better to go to the source. And with the internet anyone can set up a network that allows sharing of those articles that come directly from the source.

AP apparently doesn't get it. They seem intent on gouging our their eyes and cutting off their tongue in the hope of saving face. Good luck with that. And good riddance.

Warning Stay Away From Parallels Desktop Once You Buy You Have To Purchase all updates really sucks $79.00 each update called company and they gave me the run around emailed them 4 times not even a response back i love my mac but find another company to work with. 
Mac Pro... Here Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac

Parallels Desktop Warning To All Mac Users!!
 
Parallels Desktop Warning To All Mac Users!! Bad Business  
Maybe Next Time They Wont Screw Good Customers  
very unhappy customer.  ]]> http://ballyblog.wordpress.com/?p=2576 Sat, 31 May 2008 06:18:08 +0000 ballyblog http://ballyblog.wordpress.com/?p=2576 US coffee chain Starbucks has come under fire for a new logo that critics say is offensive and overly graphic.

The Resistance, a US-based Christian group, has called for a national boycott of the coffee-selling giant.

It says the chain's new logo has a naked woman on it with her legs "spread like a prostitute... The company might as well call themselves Slutbucks".

Starbucks says the image - based on a 16th century Norse design of a mermaid with two-tails - is not inappropriate.

Rather, the image is a more conservative version of the original Starbucks design, which hung above the chain's first store when it opened in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1971.

'Rubenesque'

It says the raunchy image - the longstanding logo for Pike Place bags of coffee - is appearing on some of its cups as part of a promotion, and will remain "for several weeks".

Howard Schultz, who bought Starbucks in 1982, described the emblem in his memoirs as "bare-breasted and Rubenesque; [it] was supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself".

Although its share price has plunged in recent years, Starbucks has 16,000 coffee shops in 44 countries worldwide, employing more than 170,000 staff.

The chain has just opened its first outlet in Argentina.

Based in San Diego, the Resistance claims to have more than 3,000 members across the US and has gained a reputation for espousing diverse conspiracy theories

I don't know about you, but sometime I want to reach through the phone and choke them with the cord. I bet some of you are thinking... "He is one of those people that calls everyday to check on something." Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I actually am not. I don't pester people, if they were supposed to get back to me, and haven't, I give them them benefit of the doubt. I assume they have not heard something to tell me yet and I wait. I don't call six times a day wanting to know if something has changed. Every now and again, I run across someone who has manners and good customer service and it catches me off guard.

So, I guess the point of all this is because I want to vent and whine a little about the fact that this goes on a lot and I have been experiencing this a lot recently. It just seems like customer service is a lost art form anymore and businesses are not teaching that as one of its core values and beliefs. Have they forgotten that word of mouth advertising is the most powerful form?

Today,  I finally got fed up. let me tell you I find there's not much which is more annoying than reading " used ford probe-$200 then when you click on the link only to discover the vehicle is actually selling for $2000. first of all nobody likes to be tricked into clicking on this type of listing, when we fall for these tricks once we then do not visit links like it again. This goes for those people who list items for $1, or $2 or the ever so clever $24 when the real price is $2400 If you really want to sell that vehicle. How about listing it honestly, instead of deceptively? while we are on the subject, To all those people who list a car as " drives good, low miles, along with about 7 or 8 good things then drop a bombshell like "no engine, or trans issues. no one wants to buy your car for $600 only to have to spend $1000 to $3000 to put a new engine or trans in it. If they were going to do that they would likely buy a better car for say 1600 to 3600.

                  This subject is something that absolutely ticks me off to no end. Why do corporations feel they have to "trick" people into buying their "crap" for example why do stores put sales like buy one get one free why don't they say (I'm gauging you so bad that I can afford to sell you two of these for the price of one and still make money) they should then cut the price all the time.
           To all those stores who are offering to pay your sales tax and interest for 12 months, and the ones who offer no payments for 4 years. Stop it. these are merely tactics to trick you into buying shit you don't have enough money for and shit 90% of you don't need or even want. I can go on like this all day, but think about this unless your one of those "me, me, me people(no offense) "if you need to finance something like furniture, appliances, or used cars, then you'll end up paying more for the item than it actually is worth and in the case of furniture chances are by the time you get around to paying off one couch (in 5 years) you probably won't like it and then start the process all over again.

Share with me some of you're experiences with corporate mind control, more commonly known as advertising

Growth expert and widely acclaimed speaker Steven S. Little has and he says stupid systems, pointless procedures and ridiculous rules are holding organizations back from realizing their full potential. In his cogent, crisp and humorous new book, THE MILKSHAKE MOMENT: Overcoming Stupid Systems, Pointless Policies and Muddled Management to Realize Real Growth (Wiley; hardcover, May 1, 2008), Little makes a compelling case that companies need to get out of their own way to achieve and sustain real growth.

Built around a frustrating but true story of Little's difficulty in ordering a simple milkshake from a hotel’s room service, despite all the ingredients being on hand, the author explains how well-intended systems meant to increase satisfaction can often produce the opposite effect for both customers and employees. The milkshake metaphor moves well beyond merely another tale of poor customer service to a compelling illustration of how the very nature of organizations themselves is the greatest barrier to growth.

The “Milkshake Moment” is that precise instant in which an organization’s individuals realize that they are allowed to do the right thing—to serve the interests of others in order to grow the organization—instead of following the status quo that actually stifles growth.

Little demonstrates that only when we remove our own self-imposed barriers can we begin to seize growth opportunities in any organizational setting. "When organizations encourage individuals to challenge the way things have always been done," says Little, "they open the path for new and better ways of meeting the needs of those they serve."

The book identifies five key ingredients to creating milkshake moments in organizations of all sizes and shapes: Foster "grow" instead of keeping the status quo; Put Purpose Before Profit; Solve the "people problem" problem; Insource Critical Judgment and Decisions; and Care for Customers. Little further offers up a profile of today's ideal growth leader.

With clarity, wit and the brevity appreciated by any business reader, THE MILKSHAKE MOMENT a guidebook to real growth for the 21st century organization.

About the Author:
Steven S. Little is a speaker, consultant, and writer on the subject of business growth and the future of opportunity. The former President of three fast-growth companies, he now speaks to thousands of owners and managers each year. Little is also the author of the The Seven Irrefutable Rules of Business Growth published by Wiley in 2005. He lives in sunny Wilmington, North Carolina and historic Merida, Mexico.

 

For more information, contact: Jocelyn Cordova 201-748-6249 jcordova@wiley.com

The Milkshake Moment By Steven S. Little Wiley; May 2008; $19.95 ISBN: 978-0-470-25746-3; Hardcover

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