Black Friday is the first day of shopping for the Christmas Holiday season or the day after Thanksgiving. The color Black means retailers make a profit; in other words, retailers are in the black, they are making money whereas retailers in the red means retailers are losing money.
My Black Friday store was Best Buy. The store priced a 19 inch Samsung flat panel widescreen monitor for $129.99. The regular price was $249.99. All of the other retailers had great deals. The Best Buy monitor caught my attention and I needed a monitor for dual monitors when I use my laptop O__^ The store opened at 5:00 A.M.
I woke up at 2:30 A.M., went to 7-11 at 2:50 A.M. to purchase a Twinkie, Baby Ruth, and Orange Juice for breakfast, and arrived at Best Buy at 3:15 A.M. When I arrived, there were people with tents and sleeping bags. I guess a few families Thanksgiving tradition was participating in Black Friday. The weather conditions were very cold with the temperature in the low 40s.
When I lined up, the line started to move forward. WTF @__@ Somebody told me the Best Buy workers arrived to their shifts and people tried to enter and move forward to get a voucher. Minutes later, Best Buy employees told everyone must be in single file line to issue vouchers. Vouchers were available for the door buster items. No voucher, no door buster item. I saw Milpitas police stopped a car for a traffic violation. I think Milpitas police needed to reevaluate their priorities such as the more important Best Buy line. Throughout the early part of the line, only one Milpitas police officer provided security.
At 4:00 A.M., Best Buy workers issued vouchers. The front of the line was chaos. People who received no voucher were mad. At least one person got arrested. A Milpitas police van drove to the front of the line. Five minutes later, the van drove off. I was in the middle of the line and the front line was out of my sight. Other people in line were in groups and sent one person to check out the front line. They said the front was chaotic :X
Around 4:30 A.M., only three door buster vouchers reached my line. No chance for the $400.00 laptop, LOL. Someone asked what line I was in. I told him, “Best Buy. Sorry. End of the line over there.” I wonder if he wanted to go to Borders because I was at the front of Borders *__* Or maybe Wal-Mart which was on the other side of the park. And I saw a mother with her baby. WTF, man. The group behind me were making jokes such as the baby couldn’t cry because the mouth was frozen shut and saying that was child endangerment.
5:00 A.M. came and the line moved in a single file. Three Milpitas police officers were watching the front doors. I entered the store at 5:20 A.M. Best Buy let people in the store in groups. I rushed to the monitor section and all of the monitors on sale were gone. I walked forward to the PC section and the monitors shelves were gone. I saw one customer climbed up the shelves to a stack of Samsung monitors. The Best Buy worker said those Samsung monitors were a different model. Another customer looked at the ad said otherwise. The Best Buy worker looked a second time and confirmed the Samsung monitors were the ones on sale. The worker made everyone line up single file to wait for the ladder. There was pushing and shoving. The customer in front of me brought his wife and two kids. The kids were being squished. I told everyone to stop the pushing and shoving. What did the father do? He focused on the monitors. *Shakes head in disappointment*
The ladder arrived. There were 12 Samsung monitors. The customer in front of me wanted four because he brought his wife and two kids. The Best Buy worker said no. The father wanted to sell the monitors for a profit someplace else $-\ I got the fifth monitor and went straight to the cashier. At 5:40 A.M., I drove back home lucky I got a monitor. I was lucky because some customers took the wrong monitor they thought were the ones on sale, and it explains why the monitor shelves were empty.
Somebody told me the reason for the voucher system is because one time Wal-Mart had $20.00 DVD players and one person was trampled close to death. The Best Buy line control was great compared to me at Fry’s in Black Friday’05; on the other hand, I overheard two people say last year was more organized.
Next year, I feel the major retailers must have more Black Friday items on the website. Less crowds at the stores and much easier to shop. Yeah, right :-| To the people shopping on Black Friday, respect the workers. The workers are paid crap, yet they come to work. I just hope the stores give them something as appreciation and as a thank you. Next year I shop on-line and pay the shipping and handling. If the item I want is available in store only, I find a substitute even if the price is a little higher. It wasn’t worth it.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Workplace X Factor
What is the ultimate factor when choosing a company to provide a service? The service can be technology, law, real estate, taxes, sports, or even automobiles. Also, let’s say you’re visiting the company’s site. You walk to the kitchen with the team to get a drink of water from the water cooler. There is a problem. The water cooler is out of water. All of the water bottles are empty. The water cooler is the ultimate factor when choosing a company. If the company’s water cooler is out of water, then you refuse the company’s service.
The water cooler is the location where workers get up from their work areas to hang out. Gossip or water cooler talk is given. On the other hand, workers talk and chit chat to get to know each other better, know their family and friends, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and thoughts. The water cooler is the offline Blog. Share you thoughts drinking water. The water cooler is a magnet for workers. Workers must move around to get their water.
The kitchen sink is full of dishes. No problem. The workplace is messy with lots of papers. No problem. The closet is full of old computers. No problem. The bathroom smells as if someone did a dump. No problem. The water cooler has no water. Problem.
Water is important for workers to concentrate. It’s important for our bodies, our soles and our well-being. Companies must provide water to meet the needs of the workers to work effectively.
The water cooler is the Workplace X Factor.
The water cooler is the location where workers get up from their work areas to hang out. Gossip or water cooler talk is given. On the other hand, workers talk and chit chat to get to know each other better, know their family and friends, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and thoughts. The water cooler is the offline Blog. Share you thoughts drinking water. The water cooler is a magnet for workers. Workers must move around to get their water.
The kitchen sink is full of dishes. No problem. The workplace is messy with lots of papers. No problem. The closet is full of old computers. No problem. The bathroom smells as if someone did a dump. No problem. The water cooler has no water. Problem.
Water is important for workers to concentrate. It’s important for our bodies, our soles and our well-being. Companies must provide water to meet the needs of the workers to work effectively.
The water cooler is the Workplace X Factor.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Potluck
O__o Today I voted in the 2006 mid-term elections. I waited one hour to vote. A couple of booths experienced technical difficulties. Before I voted, I requested the poll worker to reactivate my card to make sure the card is active while voting. I’m going to miss calls from President Bill Clinton and Clint Eastwood telling me who to vote LOL!
O__o Help, call the police. If you’re in a situation where the last means of communications is writing, then write “Help, 911” or “Help, call police” on paper, cardboard, or anything. There are places where people can buy help banners. And remember when the U.S.A flag is flown upside down, it’s a signal for help.
O__o Do you want an investment that costs $6.00? Purchase the “How To Be Popular: You’re Never Too Young or Too Old” booklet by Abigail Van Buren aka Dear Abby. Send a check or money order for $6.00 written to Dear Abby and a business-size, self-addressed envelope to the following address (postage is included),
Dear Abby
Popularity Booklet
P.O. Box 447
Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0447
Also visit www.dearabby.com for additional information and other booklets. I read a few pages and I learned something already. I learned to stop mumbling and never sell to your family and friends no matter how strongly you believe in it.
O__o 13 time all-star and 4 time NBA champion Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal formed a Miami-based real estate company in September 2006 named The O’Neal Group. O’Neal’s company plans to enter the real estate markets in New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California. O’Neal’s private real estate portfolio is valued over $50 million.
The basketball player played for the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to the Miami Heat after the 2003-04 season. O’Neal won the NBA MVP in the 1999-2000 season. O’Neal is a reserve police officer for the City of Miami.
O’Neal is one example thinking ahead for his retirement $-)
O__o Help, call the police. If you’re in a situation where the last means of communications is writing, then write “Help, 911” or “Help, call police” on paper, cardboard, or anything. There are places where people can buy help banners. And remember when the U.S.A flag is flown upside down, it’s a signal for help.
O__o Do you want an investment that costs $6.00? Purchase the “How To Be Popular: You’re Never Too Young or Too Old” booklet by Abigail Van Buren aka Dear Abby. Send a check or money order for $6.00 written to Dear Abby and a business-size, self-addressed envelope to the following address (postage is included),
Dear Abby
Popularity Booklet
P.O. Box 447
Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0447
Also visit www.dearabby.com for additional information and other booklets. I read a few pages and I learned something already. I learned to stop mumbling and never sell to your family and friends no matter how strongly you believe in it.
O__o 13 time all-star and 4 time NBA champion Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal formed a Miami-based real estate company in September 2006 named The O’Neal Group. O’Neal’s company plans to enter the real estate markets in New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California. O’Neal’s private real estate portfolio is valued over $50 million.
The basketball player played for the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers before being traded to the Miami Heat after the 2003-04 season. O’Neal won the NBA MVP in the 1999-2000 season. O’Neal is a reserve police officer for the City of Miami.
O’Neal is one example thinking ahead for his retirement $-)
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Here Is Why The St. Louis Cardinals Won The 2006 World Series
The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-1 under manager Tony La Russa. The championship gave the Cardinals ten World Series championships and their regular season record 83-78 is the lowest win total for a champion. The win gave La Russa two World Series championships and he's the second manager to win a World Series in the American League and National League. How did the underdog Cardinals win? Focus.
In Game 2, Tigers' pitcher Kenny Rogers was spotted with dirt-like substance in the first inning. The umpires asked Rogers to wash his hands. In the second inning, his hands were cleaned. Pitchers use foreign substances such as pine tar to get a better grip on the baseball to pitch more effectively. Any pitcher with foreign substance or other objects are subject to ejection.
Substance or no substance, Rogers dominated the game enabling the Tigers to win Game 2 and even the series 1-1 heading to Game 3 in St. Louis. After the game, La Russa downplayed the incident telling the media the Cardinals were focusing on Game 3. Focus. The key word. The team focused on winning the series and Rogers never affected the team. I bet when the team flew to St. Louis, the Cardinals forgot about Rogers and focused on the championship.
I learned a lesson on life. Focus. The Cardinals never lost sight of their goal. The team focused on winning. Distractions, criticisms, anything that could have caused the Cardinals to lose focus failed. The Cardinals kept the Rogers situation and potential controversy aside. Also, the Cardinals took advantage of the Tigers' poor defense. If the Cardinals lost the World Series, the team blamed themselves for losing their focus.
Keep the focus when working on goals, assignments, and completing responsibilities.
In Game 2, Tigers' pitcher Kenny Rogers was spotted with dirt-like substance in the first inning. The umpires asked Rogers to wash his hands. In the second inning, his hands were cleaned. Pitchers use foreign substances such as pine tar to get a better grip on the baseball to pitch more effectively. Any pitcher with foreign substance or other objects are subject to ejection.
Substance or no substance, Rogers dominated the game enabling the Tigers to win Game 2 and even the series 1-1 heading to Game 3 in St. Louis. After the game, La Russa downplayed the incident telling the media the Cardinals were focusing on Game 3. Focus. The key word. The team focused on winning the series and Rogers never affected the team. I bet when the team flew to St. Louis, the Cardinals forgot about Rogers and focused on the championship.
I learned a lesson on life. Focus. The Cardinals never lost sight of their goal. The team focused on winning. Distractions, criticisms, anything that could have caused the Cardinals to lose focus failed. The Cardinals kept the Rogers situation and potential controversy aside. Also, the Cardinals took advantage of the Tigers' poor defense. If the Cardinals lost the World Series, the team blamed themselves for losing their focus.
Keep the focus when working on goals, assignments, and completing responsibilities.
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