This kills me.
A while back, I posted about the ridiculous notion of those absurd tip jars you see popping up at every service establishment. The saga continues.
Seems now, with the rise of debit card use (swipe and go), these purveyors of the $5 cup o' java feel they are really being slighted now. Apparently, if you believe the article's author and sources, people tip less when using a debit card.
My response? No, they don't. They simply tip more accurately.
Many (self-included) use debit cards for all manner of transactions -- dinner, airfare, gadgets, etc. I still tip handsomely for good service -- when warranted.
Me getting out of my car, standing in line to order, paying, then standing in line to receive my order, hardly justifies a tip in any language. Some say, "well, they take extra care in making my coffee." Are you kidding me??! You're already paying nearly a minimum wage hour for that ONE cup of coffee -- how much "extra care" can possibly be warranted??
I say, "let them eat cake." Or drink coffee. Or whatever the best way to paraphrase that message...
And in the interest of full disclosure, the Starbucks mentioned in my earlier blog DID, in fact, finally remove the tip jar from the drive-in window. that's something, I suppose.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
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 D. Kevin Berchelmann View my profile here |
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Did I mention that I HATE traveling?
Don't get me started on my latest "airport-TSA" story. I'm trying to block that out, and you really don't want to hear it.
Back at the hotel, I ordered light room service, having worked well past lunch with a client. Here's the telephone conversation:
Me: Yes, and I'd also like a glass of water.
Her: Dassani or Perriere?
Me: Just a glass of water, thanks.
Her: Sorry, sir, we have only Dassani and Perriere.
Me: No (a little agitated), just a glass of ice water.
Her: Sir, I'm trying to explain, we have only Dassani and Perriere.
Me: You don't have a GLASS??
Her: Well, I suppose we do... you just want, like, out of a faucet?
To coin Bill Engvall, "Here's your sign..."
And while I'm at it...
Who designs hotel room electrical outlets? Only 9 in the whole place, 7 or 8 of which are occupied by one hotel device or another. We have to make decisions like, "reading light, or telephone charger?" What's up with that?
And finally, a delicate mention: 70% of all air travelers are men. Why, then, have airlines not done anything about the toilet seats that simply cannot stay up, slamming down at the most inopportune times?? Men know what I'm talking about here...
Why do these things things occur? Leaders let them, that's why. The hotel room service clerk was obviously trained on this dialog, to sell more $4 water bottles. The electrical outlets are scarce because someone in charge didn't ask travelers about it -- merely designed for the hotel's convenience. And the airplane toilet seats, well, I don't know exactly, but if I ever find the moron who did that...
Cheers.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Back at the hotel, I ordered light room service, having worked well past lunch with a client. Here's the telephone conversation:
Me: Yes, and I'd also like a glass of water.
Her: Dassani or Perriere?
Me: Just a glass of water, thanks.
Her: Sorry, sir, we have only Dassani and Perriere.
Me: No (a little agitated), just a glass of ice water.
Her: Sir, I'm trying to explain, we have only Dassani and Perriere.
Me: You don't have a GLASS??
Her: Well, I suppose we do... you just want, like, out of a faucet?
To coin Bill Engvall, "Here's your sign..."
And while I'm at it...
Who designs hotel room electrical outlets? Only 9 in the whole place, 7 or 8 of which are occupied by one hotel device or another. We have to make decisions like, "reading light, or telephone charger?" What's up with that?
And finally, a delicate mention: 70% of all air travelers are men. Why, then, have airlines not done anything about the toilet seats that simply cannot stay up, slamming down at the most inopportune times?? Men know what I'm talking about here...
Why do these things things occur? Leaders let them, that's why. The hotel room service clerk was obviously trained on this dialog, to sell more $4 water bottles. The electrical outlets are scarce because someone in charge didn't ask travelers about it -- merely designed for the hotel's convenience. And the airplane toilet seats, well, I don't know exactly, but if I ever find the moron who did that...
Cheers.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Forced Ranking -- Good or Bad?
Forced ranking, as a methodology for managing and improving performance, is neither good nor bad... it's just another method.
Used as part of an integrated process, it can be very powerful. The problems we see with things like this are contextual; we hear about some successful company -- GE, Yahoo, Sun, EDS come to mind -- using this, and ask, "Can we do that here?"
The answer, of course, is "Yes, provided you bring the entire process that makes it work." It's not just a couple of chapters in an airport business book -- it's the whole enchilada.
To implement forced rankings without the process and structure to support it -- management development, career pathing, internal coaching & mentoring, multiple opportunities for assignments -- is truly a recipe for failure.
It's like organizations that read Welch's book, and immediately think how smart it would be to whack the bottom 10% of performers each year... only to discover the results weren't nearly as successful. It's because Welch did that as part of an extensive employee development process; by the time a bottom-feeder got whacked, s/he'd been given myriad opportunities, development efforts, and still came up wanting.
So, as a component of a total strategy, Forced Rankings can be an excellent tool for performance improvement; the best can see what their "competition" looks like, in a manner of speaking. As a non-contextual program, however, it will likely crash and burn.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Used as part of an integrated process, it can be very powerful. The problems we see with things like this are contextual; we hear about some successful company -- GE, Yahoo, Sun, EDS come to mind -- using this, and ask, "Can we do that here?"
The answer, of course, is "Yes, provided you bring the entire process that makes it work." It's not just a couple of chapters in an airport business book -- it's the whole enchilada.
To implement forced rankings without the process and structure to support it -- management development, career pathing, internal coaching & mentoring, multiple opportunities for assignments -- is truly a recipe for failure.
It's like organizations that read Welch's book, and immediately think how smart it would be to whack the bottom 10% of performers each year... only to discover the results weren't nearly as successful. It's because Welch did that as part of an extensive employee development process; by the time a bottom-feeder got whacked, s/he'd been given myriad opportunities, development efforts, and still came up wanting.
So, as a component of a total strategy, Forced Rankings can be an excellent tool for performance improvement; the best can see what their "competition" looks like, in a manner of speaking. As a non-contextual program, however, it will likely crash and burn.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Someone Turn out the Lights...
Regardless of what you hear about compensation largesse, CEO’s lead a precarious existence. In my mind, though there are always exceptions, they generally earn every penny. And are held accountable for everything. Some examples, all from just this past week:
FedEx Corp’s CEO Ken May will resign effective March 31, to “refocus <his> energy on my family, friends and other personal interests." Yeah, right.
Reality? FedEx stupidly bought Kinko’s in 2004, and has struggled to make money with it. Unsuccessfully, obviously, and someone’s got to pay. Thanks, Ken.
The Mobile Division of Motorola gave walking papers to President Stu Reed. After resignations from a half-dozen key mobile executives.
Reality? Moto is in an executive meltdown, and has no rudder for leadership vision. Why not whack another?
Reebok president and CEO Paul Harrington will resign and "relocate to
Reality? Orchestrated board departure due to slumping Adidas results, mostly from the Reebok division. Successor named at same time. Lesson: don’t buy a bad company and expect good things. Hello, this is rocket science?
National Public Radio’s chief executive Ken Stern is leaving the media organization effective Friday, March 7. By “mutual agreement," apparently. Stern had 10 years w/NPR, the last 2 as CEO, growing viewership to over 26M, and financial reserves and endowment growing by over 2,000 percent.
Reality? Stern clashed with the board, wanting to grow in markets that the board didn’t have an interest. No contract extension for you. Let’s be clear: his performance was simply INCREDIBLE. And yet, he’s still unemployed.
Tough job, CEO…
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Coffe Break
So, what’s up with Starbucks?
Sales are down, so they schedule a training day and whack the U.S. boss? I don’t get it.
Not that this “economy” stuff really keeps me up at night, but I would think that a $5 cup of joe could be at risk if household finances get snug… not sure that training all the servers and replacing the U.S. President (oops, my bad; she “resigned to spend more time with her family”) will change that.
Now, I’m obviously “into” professional development, so the training part had merit, as a continuing effort, not a stand-alone –things-will-be different event. Problem is, they didn't clarify to their public, so all these bloggers and news folks are saying "I don't see any difference."
And then they ticked me off… I get a half-dozen emails a week from Starbucks; they couldn’t TELL me they were closing stores for a half-day? Geez louise…
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Sales are down, so they schedule a training day and whack the U.S. boss? I don’t get it.
Not that this “economy” stuff really keeps me up at night, but I would think that a $5 cup of joe could be at risk if household finances get snug… not sure that training all the servers and replacing the U.S. President (oops, my bad; she “resigned to spend more time with her family”) will change that.
Now, I’m obviously “into” professional development, so the training part had merit, as a continuing effort, not a stand-alone –things-will-be different event. Problem is, they didn't clarify to their public, so all these bloggers and news folks are saying "I don't see any difference."
And then they ticked me off… I get a half-dozen emails a week from Starbucks; they couldn’t TELL me they were closing stores for a half-day? Geez louise…
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Show me da money!
Had a previous client ask about negotiating with a potential high-level employee. Said it seemed like it was “just about the money,” and he was becoming disillusioned with this candidate because of that feeling.
Negotiations are just that -- negotiations. They aren't always a single exchange.
The same argument could be made about companies -- if they won't pay more, is it just about money, then?? Shouldn't the company's motivation be something greater than the short-term salary cost?
Candidates and employers have the same objective in a compensation negotiation -- only 180 degrees apart. It's not a value judgment on either side. Both have needs, desires, and preferences. I'm being a bit facetious just to point out that, as long as negotiations are productive, and the person is a good fit, keep going. Many people, especially those more senior, are trying to get the best possible deal in exchange for their efforts. It doesn't make them "all about money," it could simply mean they are trying to maximize their value.
Also, detailed agreements at the start stage can go a long way toward preventing misunderstandings and missed expectations later.
It doesn’t have to be a win-lose situation. Negotiate in good faith; be strong, but do what’s best for your organization, not your ego.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Negotiations are just that -- negotiations. They aren't always a single exchange.
The same argument could be made about companies -- if they won't pay more, is it just about money, then?? Shouldn't the company's motivation be something greater than the short-term salary cost?
Candidates and employers have the same objective in a compensation negotiation -- only 180 degrees apart. It's not a value judgment on either side. Both have needs, desires, and preferences. I'm being a bit facetious just to point out that, as long as negotiations are productive, and the person is a good fit, keep going. Many people, especially those more senior, are trying to get the best possible deal in exchange for their efforts. It doesn't make them "all about money," it could simply mean they are trying to maximize their value.
Also, detailed agreements at the start stage can go a long way toward preventing misunderstandings and missed expectations later.
It doesn’t have to be a win-lose situation. Negotiate in good faith; be strong, but do what’s best for your organization, not your ego.
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Out with the old, In with the new...
Reinvention is necessary for us all. I have a new blog, and a new look.
I'll continue to post regularly, and may expand my ramblings to include other things that simply interest me. Forewarned is fore-armed...
Would enjoy seeing your comments on any of my posts, at any time. Dialog is better than monologue, though I'll tell you in advance, I probably enjoy my opinion more than yours.
There's a shocker for you, eh?
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
I'll continue to post regularly, and may expand my ramblings to include other things that simply interest me. Forewarned is fore-armed...
Would enjoy seeing your comments on any of my posts, at any time. Dialog is better than monologue, though I'll tell you in advance, I probably enjoy my opinion more than yours.
There's a shocker for you, eh?
KB
Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/
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