Shell & Air Miles - Making It Hard To Collect

Air Miles
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

If I remember correctly filling up at the gas pump for a total spend of $20.00 or more got you double air mile points a few months back.

I guess the program got to expensive for Shell & Air Miles so they have bumped up the total amount of spend to $30.00 to get double air mile points.

Shell is making a bunch of cash of us and won't share.

On a side note: Rumor has it that Air Miles have such bad employee churn rates (turnover) at the company that they are offering employees large buckets of Air Miles just to keep them loyal! Could it be that when you have to give Air Miles out for free you got to make up the spend somewhere else - Let's Make The Customer Pay

Men Cream Out For Body Care...

Cream
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

I had a boss who used hand cream (Vaseline - Intensive Care) every time he went into a meeting with a vendor. He did this diligently and even got late for meetings just creaming up his hands!

Ok so I admit my former boss may have had a problem with hand cream! But it does look like more men are using facial/body care products to groom themselves with. Skin care for men is becoming a business to be IN presently.

Bath and Body Care Recipes for Men

Marketing to Men

Behind Every Good Man is a Great Product

Honda 2005 Handle-Gate

My girlfriend and me noticed that my HC05 has a driver side top handle!

So it got us wondering, laughing ('cause yours truly was acting the fool with the handle!) and discussing why the driver side of a Honda Civic 05 would need a handle?


Maybe it's there in case the drive knows he has no other recourse during a skid and has to clutch on to the handle for dear life?

Maybe it's there because "Chuck" down at the Honda Assembly plant decided that he had nothing better to do?

Maybe it's there for use when cruising the streets of Toronto - One hand on the wheel and one on your cruising driver side handle?

Maybe the handle is used when the door suddenly pop's open of your Honda and you are forced to hang by it James Bond style?

Maybe the handle is there for those amongst us (the LOOSERS) who would rather hold the handle as a pacifier than steer their cars (Come up to Agincourt and you may think all drivers have these pacifier handles?

Why do you think my Honda has a driver side handle (As shown in the picture above)?

Mr. Lobo

Gun Violence - The Killing Fields Of Toronto!

Left are alleged gun dealers in Toronto while on the right is a picture of kidnappers in Iraq. Chilling similarities.

Excerpt from: Terrified patrons flee as bullets spray crowd

"A handful of "idiots" regularly show up at dances and parties with weapons but are turned away by security guards. They're kids, they're young punks, 19 or 20," he said. They drink all day and smoke all day and go out at night looking for trouble. It's just a small portion of the community and they make it bad for everybody else."

- Gun violence in Toronto has escalated in the last few years

- Even with tight gun laws in Canada guns are still finding their way across the border

- Charges for gun smuggling into Canada are a joke!

- Youth violence is in most cases accompanied by gun violence

- Toronto gangs are becoming more violent and organized

------------Additional Stats & Info------------

Staring Down The Barrel – CBC Investigative Feature Story

Approximately 3,000 guns are reported missing, lost or stolen each year in Canada, by definition falling into the wrong hands. (Source: http://www.guncontrol.ca/Content/FirearmsMisuse.html)

The Metropolitan Toronto Police Service's report on gun related crime found that in 1997, of the 2304 firearms seized by police, rifles and shotguns figured prominently at 41.7% while 52.8% were handguns, 1% machine guns, 0.5% machine pistols and 3.9% were unknown.( Metropolitan Toronto Police. 1998. Report on Gun Related Crime - Emergency & Protective Services Committee Request. April 2.)

Canada's border with the United States is a site of concern for arms smuggling. In 2000, 820 handguns, 130 shotguns, 166 rifles and 13 antique firearms were seized by Canada Customs officials. This is probably not representative of the true scope of the problem, however, since officials usually check only 3% of cross-border traffic. Firearms tend to flow into Canada from states with loose gun control regulations, such as Ohio or Florida. (20) Handguns, which may be easily concealed and transported, may be purchased for $50 to $100 in the US, and resold in Canada for $200 to $400 or more. (21) Frequently, Americans caught smuggling firearms into Canada are simply detained until they pay a $500 fine. (20). (Tom Godfrey, "Have Gun, Will Travel", Toronto Sun, 30 October 2002. Michele Mandel, "Rise in City's Gun Deaths Matches Increase in Illegal Firearms", Toronto Sun, 3 November 2002. http://www.research.ryerson.ca/SAFER-Net/regions/Americas/Can_JY04.html)

Google - Blogger Needs More Juice

Google Juice
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

The folks over at Googgler (Google + Blogger) have addressed the crappy Blogger speed issue over the last few weeks. What is of interest to me is the following:

- Not a lot of Public companies admit there is an issue this quickly and provide concrete steps to rectify the pain point

- They are feeling the same pain as all the other Bloogers out there when they have to make a post - This makes it personal and palatable

- They identify the issue of their servers needing more Juice and are working to solve it

Kudos go out to the team at Googgler for their efforts.

Mr. Lobo

Please see below the Blogger post:

"I just recieved an email from a Blogger user named Wayne asking if we were going to address some of the slowness issues with Blogger. We do still update Blogger Status (although there was a recent glitch with it). Performance is a huge priority for us and we're adding a bunch of new machines right now to speed things up. New machines are not an issue because here at Google we can add them quite smoothly as needed. The real issue is power - actual electricity, if you can believe it. So now we're adding more power in addition to more machines.

We use Blogger for this blog and many of the people on our team use Blogger for their own, personal blogs. We don't have a super-special employee server that gives us preference over anyone else so we are just as frustrated with slowness and performance problems. That being said, we are just as eager as you to make this fix so things will be fast again."

Gemma Communications Back For More

"Gemma's goal is to create an environment of sustained, controllable growth all the while focusing on our people, clients and ethical reputation"

Tag line from the Gemm Commuincations Web site – This is what I call MARKETING BULLSHIT!

Seems that soon after I started complaining about Gemma Communications and their blank Auto-Dialer call's they stopped – Then last night at 9:00 p.m. we get another Gemma Communications blank call! Just when you thought they got the message it seems that they are at it all over again.

On a side note: I have noticed a lot more traffic to my Blog from "Gemma" specific search results. I predict that in the next few months my Blog entry on Gemma is going to be one of the major drivers of traffic to my site. The amount of bad publicity coming to Gemma Communications in the months ahead makes me go – "Muuhahahaahahahh – Suffer and Die You Auto-Dialing Cesspool"

Olives, CousCous & French - Morocco Calling!

Coastline
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

Below is an email excerpt from a friend who was flying the skies of Morocco a few days back. If you want to see additional pictures please click through from my flickr.com album on the right column of this Blog.

"We had the opportunity to see Casablanca (in transit) and Rabat (the capital) which is where we flew out of.
For those contemplating on a trip to the African continent i definitely recommend a stop in Casablanca/Rabat. It's a beautiful place with a long
line of beaches overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. (see picture)

It's an Arabic country with a lot of the French connection (including wine and alcohol!)...so if you want to practice your French (the real deal not the Quebec kind)or just get a big dose of French speaking polite and laid back people, Morocco is a place to visit.

The flying was fun as all of it was over cultivated land this time as opposed to the barren desert on my
last trip. No military observer sleeping in the back seat to worry about but a few military airspaces to
deviate around. Some of our flying took us approx. 6-8 miles over the Atlantic so we had to be prepared for any emergency by flying with life jackets on (see pic) since we were low level (500 ft above ground level zipping around at 110kts - 200km/h)

The Moroccan delicacy is CousCous or Tajine...a sort of stewed dish of vegetable meat etc...They seem to
love Olives in that part of the world and there's tons of Olive gardens around. Your guaranteed to be
presented a plate of Olives as an appetizer when you visit any restaurant...some are even pickled with a spicy twist to it!"

Mango Tree Of Knowledge

Ice Cream Maker,
originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

As a child I was taken to my Grand Mothers Bungalow which was in Pune (Pune is the equivalent of cottage country in Canada) to spend the summer with my family.

My Grad Mothers garden which surrounded the house was my playground from the time I woke till I was told it was time to sleep. There were adventures all around me and everywhere I looked was a wall I just had to climb.

We had an annual Mango day that ended with fresh mango ice cream - homemade. We climbed the mango tree in the garden and collected as many ripe mangos as we could. There were no harnesses or ropes to hold us as we climbed. We learnt from our mistakes and from the years of climbing before.

We took direction from the elders below to reach the best mangos and climbed with enthusiasm and abandonment. Once the mangos were collected and the elders felt that we had run out of steam we were asked to come down off the tree. So down we went using the same branches we used to get up into the tree.

Once safely on the ground the mangos were cleaned and pureed. We then went about churning the mango and cream mix to make mango ice cream. This took us anywhere from 2 to 4 hours of churning (we did this under the mango tree in 30 C temperatures) while we shoved ice around the center drum that housed the mango & cream mixture (see picture for ice cream marker). We (all the aunts, uncles and cousins) took turns churning the ice cream pale.

Once done (we got a seal of approval from one of the elders of the house) we broke open the ice cream pale and had fresh homemade ice cream.

Thinking back on those days I learnt some useful lessons:

Working in a team to reach a set objective is an effective management style (fresh homemade mango ice cream)

We were allowed to make mistake - cut's and bruises were part of the learning process

You always make sure that you have a mental map of the tree so that you can use the same branches to come back down

However high you climbed you still needed direction from others to reach the best mangos

You picked the best mangos because you knew you were going to make ice cream at the end of the day

Always remember it's not how high you can get - its how much fruit you can collect to make the climb worth your while

Georgia on My Mind

Ray,
originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

I watched Ray over the weekend. Mr. Robinson (Ray Charles Robinson) was pure genius. It's unfortunate that he lived during my time and I never got to see him perform live.

Three thoughts crystallized out of watching the movie:

- I should pay closer attention to artists who make a difference.

- I need to realize what my story is and tell it.

- What part did cocaine play in the genius of Ray Charles?

Proud To Be A Stanislite

Cardinal Ivan Dias
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

There has been a lot of talk about which Cardinals from the total of 117 are the front-runners for the position of Pope within the present pool.

What is of interest to me is that one of the forerunners is a Cardinal Ivan Dias from Mumbai, India (He speaks 16 languages). Cardinal Ivan studied at St. Stanislaus High School (Kindergarten to 10th Grade) the same school that I went to. He also lives in the same area of Bandra that I belonged to.

Read more about the local re-actions: http://www.mid-day.com/metro/bandra/2005/april/107064.htm

All The Best Cardinal Ivan

Mr. Lobo - PSYCHOGRAPHICS TEST

PSYCHOGRAPHICS TEST

I fall into the Contented Traditionalists bucket (13% - Whooo Hooo!). A well adjusted, happy individual.

Now you know how to sell and/or market to me. Take the test and leave me your comments on what bucket you fall under.

Mr. Lobo

She Can Do My Taxes Anytime

Softron Notepad
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

Yesterday while I hurriedly looking for a sheet of paper to write a telephone number on I came upon a Softron notepad. My girlfriend's family did their 2004 taxes with them.

After jotting down the information on the white side of the sheet I flipped it over and my eye was immediately drawn to the woman on the left bottom corner. She definitely had no reason for being there other than to attack my attention - nor could or would she help me get a better tax return but she took up most of the real estate on the sheet!

What is Softron selling me? I guess a pretty woman, well endowed, with a flat stomach and an odd frigging smile (who looks Easter European - maybe!). When in fact they should be selling me on their tax services, trustworthiness, speedy returns, accessibility (available in most if not all mall's) and affordable filling charges.

Talk About A Surprise!

Naomi Harris
Originally uploaded by Mr.Lobo.

Surprises For Today

- The Don Valley Parking Lot was pretty close to being a highway today at 6:45 a.m.

- Britney "I Got Speared" Spears has admitted to being on stork watch

- URL's that I mail to my work address are being deleted as SPAM

- Naomi Harris' Photography (http://www.naomiharris.com/index.cfm)

Gemma The Porn Star

We have been getting constant calls from a "1-800" number for a few months now. I do not have a problem with receiving a few unsolicited telemarketing calls that have a person you can talk with but to receive calls that are blank? This is very frustrating and time consuming.

So today (after I received another blank call) I decided to do some online digging of my own and here's the scope:

The company calling at all times of the day is "Gemma Communications Corporation".

They have office in Toronto & Montreal. I have called their office number and asked to be put on their "Do Not Call List". Will this work? Well I'll keep a call score and let you know in a month's time.

As with shady telemarketing firms like "Gemma Communications" there is no way to reach a company representative and you only know them by a voice mail voice prompt.

It should be made mandatory that these companies have all their senior management business and residential phone numbers listed for customers to reach them all times of the day as well (This would a ton of fun too!).

I feel helpless to their telemarketing barrage and hope my attempts at getting on that "Do Not Call" list work. Wish me luck!

I found this great Blog on Gemma Communications they give you some great tips to get of telemarketer call lists:

http://jim.roepcke.com/6980


Mr. Lobo

P.S. I have also entered my telephone number into the CMA's (Canadian Marketing Association) "Do Not Call" list and hope to be solicited less frequently!

Yes, You Can Be Fired For Blogging!!!

Fire Me Please

Images like this can get you fired and should NEVER be used in a Business Blogging scenario. Most if not all Bloggers who have felt the wrath of their Legal/HR departments have used pictures or flowery language to portray and/or describe the daily events with their company.

5 key things not to do on your Blog (if its related to work):

1) DO NOT post pictures of yourself or other employees in compromising situations
2) DO NOT write about your boss or your bosses boss
3) DO NOT write about your frustrations at work
4) DO NOT link to other "funky ass" Blog's (even though you like Bondage does not mean your HR/Legal Department will find that entertaining)
5) DO NOT write about your office affairs and/or crushes

If you feel the need to do any of the 5 things above please make sure to post anonymously, change key names and/or blank out key pictures.

Bon Voyage

You Don't Clean The Streets - We Don't Pay

Vito Spatafora Town of Richmond Hill

Vito Spataforais - Councilor for Ward 1 Town of Richmond Hill, York Region. That's his mug shot on the right.

Why do I have Vito's Mug on my Blog?

Well because he's guilty of not maintaining essential Oak Ridge road snow removal services that we pay taxes for. We seem to be the last Ward that any government services get to when there are snowstorms!

I have also noticed that road cleaning is done right up to the Bayview & Stoufville intersection and the rest of the road is left to the "imaginary cleaning party".

The Richmond Hill municipality border ends at Bayview & Bloomington they need to make sure that services are provided to all taxes payers till that border.

I plan on taking pictures of services gone wrong and posting them on my Blog for all to see with flowery commentary to read.

Vito's website can be found at: http://vspatafora.com/index.html (if you feel the need to browse on over)

Blogging – The Forrester Foot Print

Charlene Li - lead analyst at Forrester has made an excellent knowledge resource available to the general Blogging/RSS Reader public that I recommend you take some time to absorb. Free stuff like this does not come easy and is worth its research weight in gold.

Extract from Charlene’s Blog:

“Forrester has been doing something called “VideoViews” for about two years, where analysts “talk” about a particular topic. I thought you’d like to see the one I did for the report, “Blogging: Bubble Or Big Deal”. The link to the report has links on the right to the video and the MP3. You can also get to them directly here.”

http://www.cramereventmedia.com/webcastinfo04.asp?projectID=3&webcastID=575

Tango Part II – The Final Saga

So I get a call from the Facilitator @ Richmond Hill Honda whose name is Carol, a pleasant lady with a great phone manner about her.

Carol seems to get Customer Service but then again it could be a customer engagement tactic – Agree with the person complaining on the phone throw in a few “yes I agree” and “we should be doing things better” and all is well and good.

Carol did listen very patiently and provided a point of view on customer service at RHD which consisted of an apology for the crappy customer service, acknowledgement of sub-par waiting area amenities and the need to update the dealership services to better address customer requirements.

She say’s that the location will be going through a face lift sometime this year to make things better and that my recommendations will be taken to a general team meeting that she has every month with key Dealership managers.

What this means for Mr. Lobo – He will be taking his Honda somewhere else for his next service appointment.

My First Tango With Honda Dealership Customer Service

Whoo Hoo! I am now a proud owner of a Honda Civic 2005 (HC05). I really do love the color of the car – Steel Gray (very manly!)

I took my HC05 in for a service appointment (Type A – Oil & Filter Change) on Monday and here’s how the day went down:

- I called Honda at 7:45 a.m. to get an early appointment.
- The girl on the line tells me that they have three appointments and one is a “waiter”
- I ask what a “waiter “ means – She say’s that is when a person is coming in for something small and waits in the lobby for their work to be done
- Since we have only 1 “waiter” at 8:30 a.m. I ask to be put on the list. She agrees, which means that they do take more than 1 “waiter”
- So I get there and there’s no person to talk to. I am told to go to the “Service” area with a ton of signs but no receptionist
- By this point I do not know who to talk to as everyone is moving around or tending to other people
- I finally piece together the process – Gavin needs to talk to the Customer Service Rep who look’s very busy at 8:30 a.m. in the morning
- I proceed to talk to the CSR who makes me sign a estimate and he informs me that it’s going to take anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours to do
- I say I have no problem with that and proceed to hangout in the common lobby/waiting area
- I check email on this odd kiosk type of Internet set-up that I have to stand at with a sloping screen that reflects sunlight (Why not just have a monitor on a table with a chair???).
- 2 hours go by and during the time the CSR, the receptionist and the manager of the department pass me by but nobody say’s anything about my car being ready.
- I walk over to the Service area and ask the Service receptionist if my car is ready since it’s been 2 hours. The receptionist proceeds to tell me that they came looking for me and could not fine me (WHAT THE!!!)
- You came looking for me – please don’t insult my intelligence WANKER (the voice in my head screams out)
- So for a good 45 minutes they had my car out in the parking lot waiting for me since I was “LOST”

Some advice for the Richmond Hill Honda Dealership

I know I took my car in for the Type A oil/filter change and if they had only given my car a quick wash it would seem like they gave me a clean/inspected/serviced car (talk about an easy way to fool the mind). That little gesture would have gone a long way in making me a loyal customer.

The Service receptionist could be given gift voucher’s to give to customers who are put through any kind of inconvenience thus empowering her to ensure a flawless customer experience – BUT NO!

My bill had an online customer opinion form section that I filled and got a call today from someone at Richmond Hill Honda.

I’ll Blog about our conversation tomorrow.

Mr. Lobo – Over an Out