Category Archives: CEO Princeple

Removal of AM From New Cars

Posted in Auto Quality Control, Being woke, CEO Princeple, Left Turns, Politcal Opinion by

There would seem to be panic over the concept that auto manufacturers are going to remove AM radios from their new cars. It would seem to some that it would be panic to talk radio. I guess I can see their point. There are some benefits to AM radio in modern society. However, it’s not that bad as it looks.

When I was a young man (mid 1960s), I had an AM/FM radio that neatly fit in my shirt pocket. And, guess what? It wasn’t all that expensive. It ran on a couple of double A batteries and for its size, it sounded good, especially with an earphone. I am sure they could build something like that today. It would be quite easy to make it so it could have Bluetooth or a USB connection. Or, of course, it could simply plug into a large powered speaker.

The folks that want AM would still have AM. They wouldn’t let the lack of AM in their car get in their way. On the other hand, it seems to me that the auto manufacturers wouldn’t gain that much by discontinuing the AM. Eventually, people will discover they don’t need the entertainment centers at all. My guess is that Auto dealers make a bunch of money off those things. If People say, we don’t want it, they don’t make a dime. A person can go down to the neighborhood auto radio installer and put one in that does have AM as well as a few other bells and whistles.

Actually, putting those AM radios in a car probably cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $10-15. Do they really want to risk the loss of customers and or sale of options for the savings of so little. Maybe. I don’t know. Whoever makes the decision just might be a dem. They don’t mind losing money, as long as it isn’t theirs.

As an aside. I sort of wish I had that old radio. It was a Zenith. They just don’t seem to make them like that anymore. It’s a shame.

Numbers

Posted in CEO Princeple, Customer complaints, Uncategorized by

I can remember the first time we got a phone, about 1958 or so. It had a little place where a piece of paper was inserted under the plastic. When the phone man installed the phone, he put the paper with the number on it under the plastic and none of us in the family had any problems remembering the number.

Of course, already we have an adage, that is to say an old saying, relating to it. We never remember our own number because we never call ourselves. Well, when I was younger, I didn’t have a problem remembering things. Now that I have trouble remembering my name, these cell phone companies expect me to remember my number, like that’s going to happen.

There is no convenient slot or piece of plastic to put a number under. In addition, most cell phones are black, making it difficult to write something on it. So, every time someone asks me my number, I suggest I call them and they use the caller ID.

No. That’s dumb. Sometimes it’s next to impossible. I suppose I could carry a card around with the number on it but I’d only lose it. Or worse, I’d still have it but I might spend fifteen minutes looking for it. Now there’s a thought for folks standing in a long, long line.

I do have something of a solution. My phone has a note pad. Mostly, I don’t use it. However, it does now have my number. Now, the trick is getting to that note pad while I’m in that long, long line. Do you have any idea how impatient people can be? And, of course, they angrier they get, the more difficult it is for me to find it.

Now, will those phone companies ever put a place for a number on a cell phone for me? Will they ever put something in the phone OS, that would make it easy for me to look it up? I don’t think so, leastwise until enough of us old folks start complaining. We need to tell them, no one remembers their own number. We need just a little help. Please. It’s not as if we are asking for a complete redesign of the phone. Just a small simple modification.

I suspect the first company that makes the modification will benefit greatly.

A Little Hint for the Wise

Posted in Abuse of Power, Biden, Cancel Culture, CEO Princeple, Climate Change by

I heard an ad the other day from a charity, please send money. We need it especially bad because of climate change. Sounds to me like a blatant lie. You want to send money to folks like that?

I heard another ad. Please do business with us because we do what we can to prevent climate change. Sounds to me as if they have bent to the pressure being applied by the dems. I think I’d prefer to go done the street and make my purchases from someone else, someone who isn’t going to bend to the pressure from Old Joe and his cronies. On the other hand, it might be worse. The folks that run that run that company might actually believe that hogwash. Don’t sound too bright to me.

Hint: some of those that you are speaking to in those ads have brains. Some have not been deceived nor will they be. Some of us won’t buy the lie spread by the libs and communists. There are some of us who will not give in to “woke” charities and we prefer to avoid doing business with woke businesses. Think about it, at least close to half of us are Republicans. Many of us are conservatives who actually know how to think. Would intelligent people really want to chase off close to half of those who hear the ads. Dumb!

I wonder if these companies might have too many customers that they are trying to rid themselves of a few. Are the charities receiving too many donations? Sound really crazy nuts to me.

As for those who are republicans, or those who can actually think, maybe it is a good time to start paying attention to where your money is going. Maybe that money would do better in the hands of folks who are not so easily deceived.

Just a suggestion, a hint.

Seeking an Answer

Posted in Being woke, Biden, Cable TV, CEO Princeple, Crazy Nuts, Customer No-Service, Going Green, Liberals, Politally Correct, Socialists by

If I may digress. This post reminds me of a song, “A Lover’s Question,” sung by Clyde McPhatter. I certainly am not a country/western music fan, but this one is pretty good. It’s got a good tune, some thoughtful words, and yes, even the backup group is good. It’s the kind of song that just might haunt you all day. You might even find yourself singing it without realizing it. More than that, you might find yourself identifying with it. If you can, you might look it up and play it, it is well worth your while, even if you don’t like country music.

I came to the above title from name of the song in a somewhat roundabout way. Originally, I started with “A Customer’s Question.” Didn’t feel that was apropos. I mean, we are speaking business, not love relationships. I was still somewhat tempted. It is kind of a catchy title. Nonetheless, I decided to use something not quite as good, but more accurate.

Now, getting down to the question and the reason for it. I would really like to know why big corporations like to (figuratively) shoot themselves in the foot. They make decisions they know are going to affect their bottom line and they do it without much true consideration. Consider Budweiser. Those that have read my post very long know that I don’t approve of alcohol at all. But this, this is really dumb. They have lost, what 7 billion dollars just to make a commercial that is friendly to homosexuals and unfriendly to their customers. And now, they can’t even issue an apology. The best they can do is march their Clydesdales out and hope for the best. I am sure that their stockholders have had a few things to say about that. They have likely said that they are desperately seeking an answer to why they did such a dumb thing. (Why did they do that?)

At one time, I had Xfinity cable and internet. I likely still would. However, one day, they started calling my home and suggesting we need a box for converting digital TV to analog. Don’t know if it was intentional, but they left both the wife and me with the impression that there would be no charge for it. We said no. We have but two TVs and they were both hooked up to cable. After the sixth call, one that I took, I agreed to let them send it. However, just to make sure there were no misunderstandings, I said that the first time they bill me for it, I’d pack it all up and take to the local store. They did, and I did.

They shot themselves in the foot. Why did they do that? It wasn’t so much the amount. I suspect that I could have returned the little box and had the cost removed. It’s the idea. They were dishonest. I told them what I’d do, and I did. My guess is that they didn’t care. At that time, they likely had enough customers, losing one or two wouldn’t hurt. I don’t know. Maybe they did have too many customers and they decided to prune a few.

I went to AT&T for cable and internet. Oddly they don’t love their customers either. I lost service so I called them up. Because I could not give them a 4-digit pin number, they refused to fix it. Fine. No problem I told them. I asked for an address to send the equipment and disconnected that day. Why did they do that? I guess they simply did not want to keep the over 2 hundred a month I was sending them. It must have been well decided on their end because I talked to two managers on the phone. Naturally, no face-to-face conversations here. No such thing these days.

It happens in local businesses too. I no longer go to McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Walmart. They have proved to me that they all have too many customers. So, Walmart has lost around two to three hundred a week. Sometimes more. They’ll never miss it. If they were to read this post, they’d not care. It would seem that they don’t like their customers. They just put up with them so as to make their billions off of us. I now go to Kroger. Maybe I spend a little more, but the service is far better and friendlier. Why did Walmart do that?

I could likely write thousands of words on this subject. I would suspect that there are many more who could. Those guys up in those board rooms just don’t seem to get it. They really do need customers. When they lose them they will lose their income. They just don’t seem to get it.

Being woke might impress one group of people. Going broke. Well. That could be a problem.

Face-to-face…NOT

Posted in Awkward Situation, CEO Princeple, Computers, Crazy Nuts, Customer No-Service, experience, Phones & Cell Phones by

At one time, I really thought that the phone was a wonderful thing.  When the cell phone came out, even better.  But it would seem that, as with all wonderful inventions, they can be good or bad.  A hammer, when used to drive a nail, is a wonderful thing.  When used for murder, not so much.

Okay, I agree.  I overdid it, not a little but a lot.  However, sometimes the extreme is a good thing when illustrating a point.

I have heard that Alexander Bell, the inventor of the phone, would never answer his phone during dinner.  As I think it over, maybe that was a good idea, whether he did or not.  The old door to door sales man has been replaced by the telemarketer.  No one seems immune.  During a recent visit to my doctor, he got two robo-calls.

I’m sure they are much more of a bother to him than to me.  Yet, he must answer.  It just might be an important call.  We have all somewhat become a slave to the wonderful invention.

It is quite common for me to receive phone calls from Memphis offering to buy my house.  I don’t live in Memphis.  Don’t want to sell my house.  I must have something to keep the rain off me.  Maybe roofs aren’t so important in the desert of Arizona, but here in the Mid-South; they are something of a necessity.

I think the worst thing about phones is that they have virtually destroyed the face-to-face relationships, both socially as well with business relationships.

The other day, I went to answer my cell phone and when I touched the thing in the wrong way, it displayed the internet screen.  I rarely use the phone for internet, only when I can’t get to a computer.  The screen is too small for my 73 year-old-eyes.  It is common with my not-so-smart phone.

So as the phone continued to ring, I continued to fumble.  I easily got rid of the of the internet screen, but there were no buttons to answer the phone.  So.  I missed the call.  Just as well.  It was a telemarketer.  But what if it was that guy that wanted to give me a million dollars?  I think I would have been very angry with that phone company and the character that designed that stupid phone, the one they call a smart phone.

So.  Today I went down to the store where I bought the phone.  I told the sales person there I wanted to drop the line.  I have a good flip phone that works much better for my purposes.  He said that he couldn’t do it.  I had to call customer service, on the phone.

So much for face-to-face service.  Of course, if I wanted another phone, they would have had me all set up in roughly twenty minutes.  I would have walked out of the store with a new working phone, a smart phone that would really be dumb.  They don’t carry the flip phones.  They have to be ordered.  Takes 7 to 10 days to get it.

Soon after getting home, I called customer service.  I explained that I wanted to drop the line and why.  The lady I was speaking to hadn’t an idea what I was saying.  She immediately started trying to say she might be able to reduce the price of my service.

I explained I wanted the line deleted, like right now.  “Sorry.  Can’t do that.”  Better to talk face-to-face.  They obviously did not want to lose the line.  After I reminded her that there are many other cell phone services, she stopped that ploy.

Still, in about a year, when I no longer have to pay penalties, I just might go to another service.  I am currently paying 200 a month.  I think I just might be able to find somewhere that will provide pretty good service for 50 or less.  Still.  Push-come-to-shove.  I am going to have to admit to it.  The days of talking to a person, face-to-face are gone.  In essence, the corporations have decided to use the hammer for something other than a nail.

They Get Paid for That!

Posted in CEO Princeple, Fast Food by

The wife and were busy eating in a restaurant. She pointed to the speaker above us and said, “They get paid for that.”

She was, of course, referring to annoying, repetitive noise coming from above. It reminded me of the days when I worked in a restaurant. At that time, the company had a special radio that played pleasant music for our customers. Don’t know so much about what customers thought. They never said one way or the other. On the other hand, I knew exactly what the other employees thought about it. It would seem some folks like repetitive noise.

The point is, some of us really would prefer quiet as appo to repetitive noises, especially the yelling kind. Maybe it would be better if we stopped paying for junk.

Then again, I just might start bringing in my noise canceling head phones. After all, it is their function. Of course, if I did that, there would be no more conversing with my wife as we eat. I don’t much like that. I would rather the restaurant not pipe in the annoyance.

The No Cable Saga

Posted in Cable TV, CEO Princeple by

Those following me already know that I’ve abandoned cable service. It was because I couldn’t arrange a service call but they were about to raise ridiculous fees significantly. Being as we live totally on Social Security, being as the costs of living living were skyrocketing, we would have had to unplug anyway.

I also disconnected internet, same outfit, same reason. It just so happened T-mobile started providing internet for 50 a month. So I traded a cable/internet bill of almost 300 for an internet bill of 50.

Naturally, I don’t get near the selection from the antenna, but it really isn’t all that bad. Oddly, what I missed was the DVR. I had no way to record programs or pause programs when I got a phone call.

So, I went to Best Buy and asked if they had a solution for me. When I foud out they sell DVRs for $50, I bought 2. One I installed on the 30″ living room TV. The other went on the 23″ in the bedroom. The bedroom TV is not digital capable so, in that case, it restored the use of the the older flat-screen.

So, now if I can just figure out what to do so I can get channel 5, NBC. Shame. They do have a few decent shows.

The DVR doesn’t come with a disk, but a 10 dollar 32 GB USB thumb drive took care of that. (Or, if you prefer, you can attach an actual hard drive)

As my aside, it’s a real shame. Some outfit could come up with cable service for strictly local stations. Maybe they could charge fifty a month and still make money. It just might encourage the big outfits to drop their rates and provide better support. Let me revise that. Provide some support.

3 Hr Futile Attempt to Replace Turn Signal Light

Posted in Auto Quality Control, CEO Princeple, Customer complaints by

What sort of sane engineer makes things intentionally so difficult? I am normally a reasonable man. I can tolerate quite a bit, but the guy that designed 2008 HHR rear turn signal really has some serious explaining to do.

Why do highly educated people do things like that, anyway? It makes me wonder if they enjoy the thought of causing common folks like us frequent frustration. I wonder what psychologists call folks such as that. I’m sure they have a neat name for them.

Then, on the other hand, maybe it’s those in management. Maybe they don’t like the untrained performing even the simplest maintenance. I can’t say. Your guess is probably better than mine.

I still want to talk to that engineer. He should still know better.

I Don’t Do Surveys

Posted in Being woke, CEO Princeple, Christian values, Crazy Nuts, Customer complaints, Gathering false infomortion, Politally Correct, Truth, Twitter by

I have had a little to say about surveys already, but maybe it is a good time to revisit the idea. The problem with the surveys is the wording of the questions. Many times, there is no true answers. They ask true false questions when the reply is neither true nor false. They ask multiple choice questions when they don’t have my answer listed. Unfortunately, they do not include a choice of none of the above.

Generally, after the 1st 3 or 4 questions, I know the purpose of the survey and who is behind it. Without doubt, the questions are worded to benefit those sponsoring the questionnaire. Indeed, the survey is obviously intended to affect opinion more than determining opinions.

The promp for me writing this is a request for my cellphone phone provider to take a survey. Thought about taking it just to gather evidence. You think, maybe those questions just might be worded without bias? I think not.

On the other hand, if you want my opinion on my provider, I will be glad to tell anyone. But don’t expect it to be either rosey or horid. However, there is one thing I would like to tell one and all. They have included some things on the phone that I cannot remove. For instance; I can’t remove tic toc. There are holidays on the calendar that cannot be removed. Perhaps worst, I keep setting the ‘do not disturb ‘ function unintentionally and without knowing it. As a result I missed 5 calls, 3 of which were important… sort of the reason I carry a cell phone.

It does make me wonder if that was in some way on their survey.

And, oh yes. I am still wondering how I turned the do not disturb function on. Just maybe I’ll find out one day…hopefully before I miss another important call, as when my wife is desperately trying to call me.

Water Spots

Posted in Advertising, CEO Princeple, Customer complaints, FOC, GMC, Microsoft Windows problem, Pride, Priorities, Reporters by

Over the years, working in the Marines and then in a few different civilian organizations, one thing I have learned is the importance to detail. Being a large picture person, I realize that I must constantly remind myself of the importance of dotting all the “i”s and crossing all “t”s with precision.

Maybe one of the best examples I’ve heard is the story of the couple that went to a classy restaurant where they were given nice flatware wrapped in high quality napkins. Once the couple took the flatware in hand, they noticed water spots on the flatware.

They each took a few seconds and the nice napkins to rub out the water spots and soon the spotless eating implements were set neatly in place. They then sat and enjoyed the dinnner. When done, they left without mentioning the water spots at all. Then, of course, they never returned.

As for me, the water spots would have not mattered. On the other hand, I have seen folks that would have asked for “clean” silver. Then others would have simply walked out before ordering.

Regardless of anything else, it is an example in 2 ways. First, as in a previous post, it speaks of competition. It seems, in this case, the lacking in one detail causes the loss of repeat customers. There are any of dozens of such details that can cause a restaurant owner, or any such businessman grief.

Worse, the managers might not be aware, which brings me to my second point, the un-voiced complaint. Every owner, every manager should seek complaints vigorously. Otherwise, how will he become aware thar something needs correction?

If the couple in the little story complained, the restaurant might have still lost the customers, but it might allow the correction before the loss of others.

Yet, I look this way and that way, and I find one business after the other where the owners seem to continue to try to remain oblivious to any problems in their business. In the long run such businesses will surely suffer. They may continue but not strong as they could. Mostly, they will fall behind the competition.

It would seem to some that encouraging complaints from a customer is contrary to success. However, how can a person hone his ability to compete if he doesn’t see where honing is truly necessary.

You might consider the following. There are customers that will notify the management of of a messy restroom and those who won’t. On the other hand, there are businesses that will clean the restroom when notified and there are others that basically say, “So what.” There are those who simply don’t care about customer complaints, even when they are meant to be helpful.

The question, “Do you really want to lose customers over water spots?”