For years, my husband and I have stayed at Best Westerns. Usually we get a decent room at a good rate. With the customer rewards card we have earned several free nights. That has come to an end. We recently paid over $159 a night for a Best Western room that had wallpaper peeling, doors missing locks and ceiling falling in.
For our recent trip from New Mexico to California for a job test, I used Priceline to get our rooms. I got rooms at Hotel Arizona in Tuscon and Radisson Suites in Covina for $38 a night plus taxes. Both hotels blow Best Western out of the water. The best was the Radisson Suites with great wireless internet access, 2 TVs, pool, spa and kitchenette. The regular price for the Radisson Suite was $87 plus taxes. Still a better bang for my buck than Best Western.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Sore Head
My head is so sore from beating on google to get access back to this blog. I finally succeeded today. Now I can post more of my rants. I am sure a few of you have missed them.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Performance Based Bonuses
The concept is good but in practice it has been proven to not work. People have done whatever it takes to get performance based bonuses. This has included falsifying documents, fudging the numbers, creating shell companies, ponzi schemes and hiding losses to just name a few.
Energy
Oil industry did whatever they had to to hit bonuses in the 1970s. Some even went so far as to dump tankers of oil in the desert to create a shortage of fuel. The direct result was higher prices to the US public. Then we had Enron and the games their employees played. Bouncing electricity back and forth between different states creating a false shortage to increase prices. California has paid outrageous power prices created by those bonuses.
Real Estate
Realty agents and realty appraisers started inflating property values so they could get a more money from their sales. It took a few years before sub-prime mortgage companies appeared on the scene to get their share of performance bonuses. The outcome of these performance bonuses is hundreds of thousands of consumers with mortgage that are underwater.
Banks & Credit Card Companies
Energy
Oil industry did whatever they had to to hit bonuses in the 1970s. Some even went so far as to dump tankers of oil in the desert to create a shortage of fuel. The direct result was higher prices to the US public. Then we had Enron and the games their employees played. Bouncing electricity back and forth between different states creating a false shortage to increase prices. California has paid outrageous power prices created by those bonuses.
Real Estate
Realty agents and realty appraisers started inflating property values so they could get a more money from their sales. It took a few years before sub-prime mortgage companies appeared on the scene to get their share of performance bonuses. The outcome of these performance bonuses is hundreds of thousands of consumers with mortgage that are underwater.
Banks & Credit Card Companies
Banks and credit card companies got sucked into lending more and more money without being realistic in the effect it would have on businesses. They learned that charging high interest rates allowed them to generate growth to meet performance bonus requirements.
The average consumer has been the loser when it comes to bonuses based mainly on performance. There needs to be some form of checks and balances when it comes to employee bonuses. Limiting the amount would be a good first step.
The average consumer has been the loser when it comes to bonuses based mainly on performance. There needs to be some form of checks and balances when it comes to employee bonuses. Limiting the amount would be a good first step.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Foreign Workers in the US
It seems businesses want more and more foreign employees brought into the US. I am all for it as long as there are 2 Americans are granted foreign work visas in other countries. For example, for each scientist brought to the US on a work visa, 2 American scientists would receive visas to work outside the US. It is reasonable to assume that if foreign workers want to work in US, then there are American workers wishing to work in other countries.
This would mean that if there are 5 Chinese seeking US work visas, China would have to offer up 10 work visas for US citizens. So many of our jobs have already been sent overseas. It is time for us start sending American workers to those jobs. If a country will not allow Americans to work there then we should not allow citizens of that country to work in the US.
This would mean that if there are 5 Chinese seeking US work visas, China would have to offer up 10 work visas for US citizens. So many of our jobs have already been sent overseas. It is time for us start sending American workers to those jobs. If a country will not allow Americans to work there then we should not allow citizens of that country to work in the US.
Stimulus Watch
Stimulus Watch dot org allows you to see many of the programs that could easily get money from the stimulus package. This site was created by the Obama administration to help track where the money goes and to hold public officials accountable for the funds. Listed are projects in the following programs:
Others have taken the time to create a map that compares jobs created by the projects to unemployment rates across the US. It is interesting to see the correlation in a graphic format.
Now is the time to use this site to let your opinion be heard.
- Airport (529 projects)
- Amtrak (50 projects)
- CDBG (4028 projects)
- Energy (1378 projects)
- Housing (634 projects)
- Public Safety (1505 projects)
- Schools (1066 projects)
- Streets/Roads (4724 projects)
- Transit (807 projects)
- Water (4029 projects)
Others have taken the time to create a map that compares jobs created by the projects to unemployment rates across the US. It is interesting to see the correlation in a graphic format.
Now is the time to use this site to let your opinion be heard.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Praising Good Customer Service
It is too easy to get hung up on the negative experiences we have as a customer. We forget to let people know when we receive excellent customer service. One company that can be proud of their customer service is Olive Garden. I have eaten at several Olive Gardens in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Texas. The service and food has always been outstanding.
It is normal to leave a nice tip if you like the service when dining out. That is as far as most people go towards acknowledging good customer service. Last week my husband and I had lunch at an Olive Garden in Humble, TX. It is a great experience from the time we walked in the door. We were seated quickly. Our waitress, Ashley, was friendly and attentive. The food was exquisite. Just leaving a tip did not seem to be enough.
As we were leaving, I asked speak with the manager. You should have seen the looks between the employees. The thoughts of "What did we do wrong?", "Was something wrong with the food?" and "Who messed up?" could easily be seen on their faces. I patiently waited for the manager to appear. Even the manager was apprehensive as to what form of complaint I was going to have. Instead of a complaint, I shook her hand and congratulated her on the awesome service and food we had received. You could have knocked her and the employees over with a feather. A customer had taken the time to personally thank them for an excellent dining experience.
Remember when you are dining out to not get trapped in the tunnel view of what was wrong. Take the time to find the good things that occur during your experience. Inform the manager when you have a good experience.
It is normal to leave a nice tip if you like the service when dining out. That is as far as most people go towards acknowledging good customer service. Last week my husband and I had lunch at an Olive Garden in Humble, TX. It is a great experience from the time we walked in the door. We were seated quickly. Our waitress, Ashley, was friendly and attentive. The food was exquisite. Just leaving a tip did not seem to be enough.
As we were leaving, I asked speak with the manager. You should have seen the looks between the employees. The thoughts of "What did we do wrong?", "Was something wrong with the food?" and "Who messed up?" could easily be seen on their faces. I patiently waited for the manager to appear. Even the manager was apprehensive as to what form of complaint I was going to have. Instead of a complaint, I shook her hand and congratulated her on the awesome service and food we had received. You could have knocked her and the employees over with a feather. A customer had taken the time to personally thank them for an excellent dining experience.
Remember when you are dining out to not get trapped in the tunnel view of what was wrong. Take the time to find the good things that occur during your experience. Inform the manager when you have a good experience.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Outrageous Bonuses for Executives
President Obama has the right idea by capping the bonuses for the executives of the companies receiving bailout funds. $500,000 is a good limit. Enforcing it may be an issue but there are simple ways to ensure compliance. One would be "special performance bonus taxes" on bonuses over $500,000 for both the company and the employee.
The employee would have to pay 50% on every dollar over the $500,000 limit. This tax would be separate from income tax and non-refundable. The tax rate for the business would be 100% for each dollar over the limit and also non-refundable. Income generated from this tax would go directly to paying off the national debt.
Let's use a $6,000,000 bonus to a CEO for an example. A bonus of that size would generate $8,250,000 payment towards the national debt; $5,500,000 from the business and $2,750,000 from the CEO. Looking at past outrageous bonuses given by businesses applying for bailout funds, the national debt could be paid off in just a couple of years.
If the company can only afford a total of $6,000,000 in bonuses for that employee then they need to pay the employee $3,250,000 and a tax of $2,750,000. The employee would pay $1,375,000. This would still generate $4,125,000 for the national debt. It is simple, if a business firmly believes that someone has performed well enough to get an obscene bonus, then national debt should also benefit from this stellar performer.
The employee would have to pay 50% on every dollar over the $500,000 limit. This tax would be separate from income tax and non-refundable. The tax rate for the business would be 100% for each dollar over the limit and also non-refundable. Income generated from this tax would go directly to paying off the national debt.
Let's use a $6,000,000 bonus to a CEO for an example. A bonus of that size would generate $8,250,000 payment towards the national debt; $5,500,000 from the business and $2,750,000 from the CEO. Looking at past outrageous bonuses given by businesses applying for bailout funds, the national debt could be paid off in just a couple of years.
If the company can only afford a total of $6,000,000 in bonuses for that employee then they need to pay the employee $3,250,000 and a tax of $2,750,000. The employee would pay $1,375,000. This would still generate $4,125,000 for the national debt. It is simple, if a business firmly believes that someone has performed well enough to get an obscene bonus, then national debt should also benefit from this stellar performer.
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