2nd street market - Reminiscint of a time gone by

2nd Street Market
600 E 2nd Street
Dayton, Ohio 45402
(937) 228-2088

I think that a lot of people forget how things used to be. I am now 27 years old and I clearly have no memories of how our downtown looked in its busiest years, but I might have found a little taste of something similar.

It was early January when I remembered the 2nd street market. My Dad and I kept calling it the "Webster Street Market" or the "Finley Market". Why did we have those names in our memories? Not sure. It made the search for the building all the more amusing as it took about twice as long as it should have to find it.

But for some reason, I remembered the place. After some errand running, my Dad and I decided to stop by and see how the market was doing. It was bitter cold outside and the long, narrow corridor of shops was without a doubt one of the busiest places in Downtown Dayton that day. As we perused the various shops we were looking for only a few things: A cup of coffee; and some lunch.

We found a sandwich shop, the name of which I cannot remember, and we sat and listened to a guitarist, whose name probably left me faster than I forgot the sandwich shop's. But we sat and talked. I saw some old friends from high school. We just had a pleasant time in general.

It reminded me of what a downtown should be like. A bustling market. People milling about. Vendors selling their wares. Capitalism. Quite literally the free market. I am sure that I will find myself going back there when it gets warmer as my first visit was enjoyable. Now if only I could remember that sandwich shop...

www.glassdoor.com - a true view?

At work, recently, a survey done by a company that was organized to give access to "salaries, ratings and reviews posted anonymously by employees". The only part of the survey that I was able to see was a listing of the top 50 and the bottom 50 companies with sales above $1 Billion. To my amusement, which was closely followed by horror, the company I work for is in the bottom 50.

My first reaction was that, "Well of course, all of these people who are writing on this page are all people who got fired, laid off, quit, or just plain want to spew their venom and feel important." As it turns out I decided to visit this website called www.glassdoor.com and see for myself what this really was all about.

For clarity sake, the aforementioned survey was based on a "Yes or No" check box if you approve of the company's CEO. That is hardly a representative, or statistically valid, sample in itself. That being said, the same question is being asked in the same way to everyone on the site at every company. So it still does hold value even though I would not call it statistically significant.

After reading a few of the opinions of my company on the web site (almost all of these were negative, they were also mostly negative at other companies) I began to see a more complete picture of my own company. It was fascinating to hear that Engineering was having all of these problems that seemed to small to me, but, for some reason they thought it a big enough problem to post and *gasp* worth the risk of revealing themselves as an unhappy employee. Then I read about some of our employees in customer service complaining about not being to able to work their hours requested, overtime problems, staffing issues. All of these I suppose I could relate to better as they interact with our customers directly. As I kept clicking I found one of the more interesting things of all: A management review!

The manager was not exactly happy with the company. They were from the southwest. I think I know who it is, and if it is indeed that person I respect them very much. They wrote not about pay grievances (they probably have a salary of $150k+) but about quality of life issues. How they are asked to do more without any help. They are alone on "an island" away from headquarters and it only complicates things because information is not communicated effectively or accurately except when they meet 4-6 times a year. Finally, about their hiring practices. This manager wanted more control of their sales force choices due to the fact that they were held to the standard of meeting their company given objectives.

After reading all of these, mainly negative, opinions I found myself sitting there grinning like a Cheshire cat. I have no doubt that if all of those people's names were exposed that they would find themselves in trouble. I also have no doubt that some companies would use this type of feedback as a tool to punish. I also do not think that that same company that would punish their employees would also get good ratings on this, or any anonymous, web site.

So why the grin? If I were the CEO/Manager I would print all of these off and do my best to commit them to memory. I left www.glassdoor.com with a complete understanding of how my organization works not from the top down...but from the bottom up. The people doing the real work were the ones telling the world how to fix it. Yes, it had a very negative spin. But, in the right hands a talented manage could see through the frustration and make positive changes in the organization. No one needs to be punished, but obviously some things need to be changed.

NFL

The most organized version of football I have ever played was probably in elementary school where we all chose teams at the beginning of recess. I was never in Pee-Wee football, I didn’t even try out for the middle school team. Just like millions of other kids I was into soccer. I would imagine that the number of youth soccer players out numbers those of the youth football players by ten to one. Select soccer dominated my childhood years and I could not wait until the world cup to watch the pro’s from around the world.

For some reason the staying power of Soccer does not translate into adulthood for Americans. Now, I find myself getting excited for Football Season (Not to be confused with Futbol). As the season is officially now in full swing I heard a few analysts being interviewed as to why Football has so many stadiums selling out, why the Super bowl is still one of the largest spectator sports in America, and why there are just so many Football fans.

While there were a whole host of reasons as to why this is the case, I am going to focus on the Marketing aspect to their success.

First, when compared to Soccer, the NFL seems to be perfectly designed for commercial breaks. Every time a team achieves a first down they can squeeze in some commercials at will as they “move the chains”. Also, after any event that causes drama and excitement in a game such as a touchdown, an injury, or timeout there is an extended period of time for advertising. This keeps the interest at a peak, and keeps us fans sitting at home on the edge of our couch. Football, more than any other sport, is a consumer product company’s dream.

Second, the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, and the NFL in general realizes that they are providing a specific “performance” every time a team takes the field. They are putting on a show. Just as on any good Soap Opera, each week adds new twists and turns to the overall “plot” of the season. The NFL also protects their film footage better than most sports and keep them off of You Tube. This forces all of the loyal fans to watch their performance live, thereby increasing the amount they can charge for advertisements. You can only see what happens after the cliffhanger of Monday Night Football by actually watching the next chapter unfold live.

Third, Fantasy football was the best thing that could have happened to the sport. We are seeing the home team “super fan” going through a transition. Now, all of a sudden they are wanting to watch not only their favorite team, but also individual players throughout the league because they are on their fantasy football team. These super fans need to makeup for a bad defensive choice they made earlier in the week and they know that the insulting text messages are on their way from their buddies if they don’t make up some points. Fantasy football keeps people talking about Football all week long, not just on Sunday and Monday.

The NFL understands they are providing to men what soap operas provide to women. It is an entertainment industry and each gripping game is an unfolding plot twist. They force us to watch it live and they encourage us to talk about it all the time. They even grant us participation in the league by giving us the fictions power of being an “owner” in our fantasy league. The NFL understands us. And we love them for it.

Bad customer policies lead to frustrated golfers

This past weekend my foursome scheduled a tee time of 9:07AM for the “inside course” at Community Golf Course in Kettering. Due to a wedding that we had to attend latter that day we only had time to play nine holes. Upon arriving there were just a few people playing, only one group of two on the first tee on the inside, and no one else to be seen. I thought it was a bit sparse for labor day weekend when the weather was in the middle 80’s with clear skies.

My girlfriend and I arrived before the other two playing, so I went in to pay. We needed a cart and the total was $79.50. Come again? Community Golf Course, 9 holes….that should be less than $50.00 for two people. I politely explain that we called ahead to reserve only a 9 hole round due to a wedding etc… Their response was that, “The city will not let us refund any money. We can only issue you a rain check.” I was not happy.

I grabbed the other two playing, told them it would be $80.00 to play 9 holes (all we had time for) and we all decided to leave. Naturally the person who is out the money has the most tied into the policy. I was more upset than the rest of the foursome.

To be fair, I looked on the City of Kettering Web site and I also searched long and wide for their policies online. There are none to be found. I was planning on posting them.

More interestingly, why would a company, or a golf course in this case, have such a ridiculous policy with a double whammy: No refunds; Only 18 holes (an “all of nothing”).

I can think of a few reasons:

First, they are assuming people are dishonest. Why force people to pay for 18 holes even the course is not busy (which we know on that day it was not)? Because they assume that some people will pay for 9 holes and then just finish out the back 9 and “cheat the system”. This is the easiest way to get rid of the opportunity to cheat on weekends.

Second, and a flawed theory, is that they want to “fill their course” by having people play all 18 holes and get the most out of every round. It is easy to assume that you could alternate the starting hole (e.g. first tee, or on hole number 9) effectively enough to make sure every part of the course got equal wear and tear. Further in this argument is that they can get more people playing if they have a full 18 holes for every foursome. This is also not true. They start people every 11 minutes or so no matter hoe many holes the plan to play. The constraint is time, not number of holes.

They are an example of a business that has a ridiculous policy for the sake of having it. I guarantee you that if you or I owned this golf course and a group of four people who were upgrading their golfing experience by renting a cart came in and only wanted to play nine we would try to still take their money. Especially if our course was not busy. By simply using your common sense, looking at the schedule of start time, looking that there is basically no one on the course today, we could bend the rules “just this once.” Thank you very much, and it will be $45.00 for you two, and $45.00 for your friends.

Finally the “no refunds” rule is just beyond comprehension in the consumer society we live in today. It costs literally nothing to void out a credit card sale. In fairness, we did reserve a tee time, so theoretically we took up a profitable space for the course. Except on this day like many others, when they had time to spare and no one was waiting. Also, because we warned my friends, they did not even enter the club house and therefore did not pay a dime. The four of us simply left and played a different course.

So what will I do with my rain check? I will probably play again. Community is a great course and I have played it probably a hundred times. It is so unfortunate that they have these antiquated and ridiculous policies with their customers. I wonder if the visionary John H. Patterson, the man that donated the land and money for the course and founder of NCR, would agree with their policies today.

World Wide Travel Center

I went home today for lunch and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had won two round trip plane tickets to any international airport! The mail came in this very seriously marked tear away package with specific delivery dates and everything. See below:

It also had a 1-800-809-6310 with a corresponding offer # to verify after I call. So, not wanting to waste any time on redeeming my two newly minted tickets, I called in.

The woman that picked up the phone did not identify herself by “US Airlines” as the airline ticket I received in the mail said. She said she was from World Wide Travel. I was confused. She asked me for my “offer number” on the back of the ticket. I gave it and she verified the spelling of my name.

I am not as lucky as you might think. As it turns out it is for a company in Beavercreek, OH called World Wide Travel Center http://worldwidetravelcenter.com

She then started reading (funny how you can tell when people do that on the phone) me her canned pitch. It went something like this:

“Mr. Lewis, this free travel offer is not a timeshare. Also, it is only available for couples who make more than $45,000 per year and have a valid credit card. Do you fit that category? Ok, Great. We would like to invite you into our office for a 90 minute proposal to discuss your travel needs and at the conclusion of that session you will receive your two free tickets to any international airport. Can we schedule you tonight, tomorrow, or Friday at 6PM?”

*CLICK*

Unfortunately this type of “Advertising” goes on all too frequently. I felt like I was in Orlando trying to get free tickets to Disney Land after hearing how I needed to buy an $185,000 time share and how rich it would make me. These, probably bogus, offers are the worst way to develop a client base. It leaves almost everyone your business comes into contact with feeling slighted. Plus, imagine the sharks that would actually come to the travel “appointment” and sit there only to want to get something for free with absolutely no intention of spending a dime. Does that sound like good business?

Have any of you received this same mailing? Would you have gone to the meeting?

Dayton has a new brand name

I believe in the power of Branding. In business to consumer marketing there is little that is more powerful or valuable than your brand name. It is the reason we buy most all of our household items every day. Brand names reduce the perceived risk in purchasing decisions. We all remember when P&G hit it on the head: “Choosy Moms Choose Jiff”.

It also works in a Business to Business situation. GE aircraft engines are fantastic. I could not afford to buy one as one consumer, but airlines want their clients to feel comforted in the quality engines that they do buy. GE reduces the perceived risk of an airline, and by extension the airline passenger, with their strong reputation and brand name.

This does not work with the Government Sector.

I am sure many of you have read the recent Dayton Daily News Article about Dayton’s new Brand Name. Visit the link to the article. To summarize, it cost $95,000 to come up with that title and look. It will cost $50,000 this year for a local marketing firm to manage the brand name.

This is what we got for $145,000.00

The only problem is this: When in the history on man kind has anyone moved a business to a city because of a brand name or slogan? I am not sure how much more plainly I can say this: Never.

If the end goal of this new brand name is to spend tax payers’ money, then I think the project was a success. If they had any other goal in mind, they are going to be once again scratching their heads wondering why the businesses didn’t come flooding in due to our new brand name and slogan.

We all know of places that are growing: Silicon Valley, the “Tech Triangle” in North Carolina and even to use an international example, Dubai. Do you think that they changed their slogan and growth happened? Of course not, that is a ridiculous conclusion.

So, what did they do with their money if not invest it in a catchy slogan? The Tech Triangle courted all of those businesses by offering hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives. What did Dubai do? The same thing. Silicon Valley? You guessed it. Those businesses were courted by tax rebates and incentives galore. The results speak for themselves in these three different situations.

It is out of ignorance that a city like Dayton would be willing to spend $145,000 on a slogan rather than investing in tax incentives (in whatever form they may take) to keep current and court new businesses to the region. States and cities do not need slogans or brands. They need effective policies that manage their current mix of businesses and court new ones on a continuous basis. Each city is in competition with each other city to court these businesses. No business will move to a place unless there is some financial incentive.

To do anything else would be Patently Stupid.

Toyota Prius = Marketing Mastery

It was a month ago that I first read about the Toyota Prius adding solar panels to the top of their sunroof by 2010. At first thought, that is brilliant. As a driver is cruising down the road they can charge their battery even faster and use even less gas. Why didn’t I think of that?

While Toyota expects that the solar panels could increase mileage this is not the reason why they are adding solar panels to the sunroof.

It is obvious that Toyota has done their marketing research. In Japan especially, but also the US and Europe, people like to take naps in their car at lunch time with the air conditioning on full blast. They spend the 40 or so minutes cooling off in their car with the engine running. A waste of fuel? You bet. By watching this behavior and conducting focus groups Toyota recognized a need from the consumer and figured out a way to help these lunch time nappers. As it turns out, the surface area of one Prius sunroof would be just enough electricity to run the air conditioning.

Will this sell more Toyota Priuses? Not immediately. Will this increase customer loyalty? You had better believe it.

Customer loyalty is one of the most important metrics in the auto sales industry. As everyone knows it costs much less to keep a current customer than to go searching for new ones. More to the point, it has been proven that people who buy the same brand and model of car to replace their current brand and model of car are willing to pay about 3% more than a person new to that brand.

So, imagine you have the largest market share of hybrids, which Toyota does, and you have a relatively inexpensive way to “wow” them into only shopping for your cars again by showing you understand their lifestyle. It is a no-brainer. It is all of these little things that the “Big Three” in Detroit are missing. They do not effectively conduct marketing research which leads to products that consumers do not want to buy.

It is easy to see why Prius owners have such a high satisfaction rate with their car. They feel completely understood.

The impact to the Prius customer: 100% satisfaction

The impact to Toyota: 3% higher margins

The Big Three: Discounting SUV’s and Trucks

Ticketstumbler.com

Tickets! Tickets!

Have you ever tried to find the absolute lowest price for an event online?

I bet that you used Stub Hub and weren't sure if you were getting the best deal. Then you went to Great Seats and compared the two. Maybe you were extra ambitious and then used Ticket City and compared all three.

Wouldn't it be nice if you had one place to go to be absolutely sure that you were getting the best deal?

Enter www.Ticketstumbler.com






Like all good web2.0 applications Ticketstumbler is one of those cool new tools to save you time. It allows you to search with all kinds of new found freedom such as: "NFL Cincinnati" or "Detroit Red Wings February" or even just a date like "August 23rd". Ticketstumbler then scans all of the other ticket sites on the internet and gives you results from every one of them. Think of it as a nexus of ticket information.

Although it is a fairly new site it is already as slick as can be. Ticketstumbler is doing to ticket searching what Expedia.com did for travel. I rarely even go to an airline's website anymore.

As it turns out, it looks like I wont be going to any other ticket site anytime soon either.

Enjoy!

Oregon District New Plan - Too little too late?

On July 24th 2008 the Director of planning and development "approved a new strategic plan...designed to better integrate the popular neighborhood with greater downtown and compete with other entertainment destinations"

This, of course, is in reference to the Oregon District. The first thing that will happen is the parking lot next to Gem City Records will be completely redone. If any of you have eaten at Thai9 for lunch recently you don't need me to point out that this is sorely needed.

In the Dayton Daily News article it was stated:

"The five-year plan identifies goals, weakness and opportunities for the Oregon District. Among the goals:

• Create a sophisticated mix of uses to form an "authentic live-work-play" district.

• Connect the district with the region by improving access and image.

• Maintain a vibrant and comfortable urban ambiance."

Some of the weaknesses mentioned were:

• Lack of retail and service uses
  
• Parking shortages (see my article below about The Greene and their parking nightmare)
  
• Parking safety issues
  
• A worn appearance
  
• Saturation of adult bookstores and adult-oriented uses.

I agree with both the positives and negatives.

I view the Oregon District as a more "blue collar" place. Many bikers, lots of tattoos, lots of piercings and the occasional young male involved in a "domestic disturbance". Most of the bars I would frequent have their own uniformed security guard, not a bouncer, at the front door.

Unfortunately it is kind of a culture clash currently. For instance: There was a huge backlash on the smoking ban in Ohio from the Oregon District bar owners. Their claim was that they would lose business due to the number of patrons who smoked. This was basically an isolated opinion that clearly did not represent the rest of the community's opinion. As it turns out the smoking ban has helped. A friend of mine is related to the owner of Oregon Express and their business is doing better than ever.

If they get rid of the safety concerns, improve parking and lighting, and encourage a few new cool bars and restaurants, the Oregon District has a very real chance of competing against The Greene. I am excited to see what they will come up with. Until then I am planning on voting with my dollars and going to places that are safe, clean and fun.

The Greene - No Parking!

It occurred to me some time between when I was driving around in circles trying to park at The Greene and in the middle of my 3 mile run at Urban Active that The Greene has a serious problem. No Parking is available. It is borderline criminal!

The Greene is fantastically popular and it definitely has a share of my wallet. I visit The Bars and Restaurants often and belong to Urban Active. I noticed that it does get insanely busy on the weekends, which is to be expected at a mall, but recently that traffic has bled into the weekday. I can barely find a parking spot to go work out for 45 minutes on a Tuesday night at 8:00PM.

This problem was a long time coming. I first recognized it may be a problem when I compared Easton to The Greene. Easton has a huge multi level parking garage in addition to the surrounding ground parking. Even at Easton it is barely enough. The Greene has fewer stores, and drastically less parking. It only compounds the problem that they are attempting to add a third level onto the parking that is in between Bar Louie and Urban Active and have temporarily closed half of the parking garage.

It is at Urban Active on the second floor where I find my self running on a treadmill watching people endlessly circle half of the parking that is left. I almost start to laugh when I realize that just 15 minutes ago that was me, pulling my hair out, trying to simply get a work out in.

I think the parking will get worse before it gets better, but what a negative perception problem to have. It reminds me of a Yogi Berra quote: “Nobody goes there anymore…it’s too crowded.”

Good grief, hurry up and fix the parking problem!

Xerox Sales Process

There has been quite an interest in the Xerox Sales Training article that I wrote as one of my first blog entries. Most of it sadly has been negative. In order to clear up any misconceptions about Xerox and their phenomenal sales training(Ranked 13^th best in 2005 per Business Week) let me first explain a few things:

• I will not do their sales process justice in one entry, or even one entire blog. I cannot replicate in text the experience I had in Lewisville, Tx
• This is based on their sales process in 2005 called Client Centered Selling – NOT based on anything else or anyone else’s sales process
• I am not using all of the information I learned because it would probably get me into trouble and hey, I could be competing against you some day!
• Finally it is not exhaustive, complete, or anything more than a fantastic conversation piece. I learned a ton from going through their sales training and it has made me successful now at two different companies.

Finally, I want to be clear. I hope that this causes MORE conversation rather than less. I do not want to discourage interaction, however if it is not constructive, I will not post your comments.

So after that unfortunate, but needed, disclaimer let me go a bit more into depth about the Xerox sales process and exactly why, as long as you follow the steps, it will make you successful

They have a 6 Step sales process and many of you will simply read this and say “duh”. I did too. The devil is in the details. Not many of you sales “professionals” actually follow this entire process every time. I would imagine it is that same group that wonders why they are not doing so well, or why they are continually being beaten by a peer who, “Does the exact same thing that I do”.

There is no mystery to it: Just have the discipline to actually follow the process every sales call.

Step #1 Identify Opportunities

You need to find any changes that have been made in the company recently or since the last time you spoke. Uncover the needs: Current state versus desired state of the client.

Step #2 Clarify

You need to position your questions to build the entire scope of the call around the benefits your client is seeking and how they align to what you, and only you, can offer. Clarify all of their needs based on the opportunities uncovered in Step #1. Then agree on the action needed and summary close on the next step needed. Be sure to zero in on their points of pain.

Step #3 Develop Requirements

Discuss the decision making process and what is needed to make that decision. Make sure that criteria favorable to your product are included and get the customer to rank order the criteria if possible. Make those favorable criteria to your product a requirement for the sale.

Step #4 Recommend Solution(s)

Review the criteria, check for any additional needs (or if anything has changed if time has passed between Step 3 and 4) and for each of the needs highlight the business value that Xerox can offer that no one else can. After this, agree on the solution to be offered moving forward.

Step #5 Gaining Commitment

Summarize the unique value you will deliver. Ask for commitment, then agree on the terms and next steps in the process.

Step #6 Managing implementation

Finally go over and agree on the timeframe for the implementation plan. Make sure that you under promise and over deliver. Adjust the plan should it need to be amended.

So that is it. Notice that you preliminarily close (trial close) at the end of each of the 6 steps to move forward to the next step. So, at the end the decision is easy because you have handled each objection in the appropriate phase of the sales cycle. All of these six steps should be completed in every sales cycle at some point depending on the client’s specific situation and need.

Be flexible and Great Selling.

Ale Fest Dayton

When it hits about mid-summer my mind tends to think of one event: Ale Fest.

Alefest is probably the best way to spend an afternoon in Dayton in late August. Carillon Park is a fantastic venue for a number of reasons. It is somewhat close to the river, the Bells are impressive to drink under and the field in which it is held is plenty big and no one feels crowded. Plus, it paradoxically raises money for the Diabetes Foundation by…that’s right serving alcohol.

I would recommend getting there about 15 minutes early as you need to get your 10oz glass and your tickets (25 in total) for your beer. The ticket system is definitely the way to go as I could only imagine the already long lines otherwise. It is fast, easy and often you can forget to put your ticket in their jar and end up with a bonus beer toward the end of the event…as if you need that last one anyway.

Honorable Mention beers from last year:

• Hoegaarden
• Dogfish head 60 Minute IPA (Two years ago they dry hopped 90 minute at the event)
• Great Lakes Blackout Stout

I hope to report that many more discoveries will happen on August 23^rd. I actually plan on having a bunch of people over afterward this year to keep the festivities moving. If only we had a brewery in Dayton like Christian Moerlein or the Hofbrauhaus.

www.Mint.com - a Great Financial Tool

A few weeks ago I was reading some website with the “Top 100 Web Tools” and stumbled upon www.mint.com. Mint is the slickest personal finance tool I have used on the internet or otherwise. It consolidates every bank account, 401k, IRA, credit card, and even your mortgage (however no GMAC unfortunately for me).

After typing your username and password for all of your various accounts it lets you slice and dice your spending habits in a number of ways. It pulled over 300 days of history for me spending habits and it was immediately shown in graphs and made a mock budget for each of the areas where I can spend my hard earned dollar. There is no longer a need for those AMEX consolidated spending lists based on type of vendor. Mint has all of that for every card.

My only worry with Mint was the security around consolidating all of my financial life into one easily accessible area. Fortunately, Mint.com is a very limited tool and that is where the inherent security features are built in. You cannot shift funds, spend anything or change anything about any account because there is no functionality around doing anything other than viewing the information. Mint has no integration other than the ability to view your account information. Though I am no computer expert, it seems pretty fool proof.

I showed a few people at work the tools involved and it spread like wild fire. We have a pretty strict internet blocking program and somehow Mint circumvents all of the blocks. I can even check my daily 401k balance. Which right now is unfortunately depressing as my balance seems to be going in the wrong direction.

Chicago - The Map Room

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Blue Coral > Dawn Detergent

I recently realized I have been mistreating my Yuppie Mobile. As it turns out Dawn dish washing detergent is NOT good for your car. I repeat: Not good.

Two days ago I was at lunch with a few of my co-workers who consider themselves car junkies (I do not consider myself this) and I was basically scolded as I asked this seemingly innocent question:

"How do you get your car so clean, do you use Dawn Detergent?"

"Dawn? You wash your car with that crap?"

"It takes off all of your wax, think about it! If it can cut grease off of a broiler pan just imagine what it will do to your car!"

Silly me.

So I naturally asked these know-it-alls what DOES work if my Dad's tried and true method of Dawn Detergent with scalding hot water causes such anger and resentment.

Their answer? Blue Coral High Foam Car Soap. *Insert clapping noise*

I just gave it a try and to be honest I can tell no difference other than it is specifically made for my car and costs $6.49 for 1.89L. The bottle I bought should last me two years. Hopefully they are two blissful years of clean cars

Ah the Joys of Finishing an MBA Program

First: Thank you to all of you like minded sales reps for making comments that I have published many of them. I appreciate very much your feed back and I am humbled that so many people are interested in my little part of the world.

Truly: Thank you; Keep contributing.

So, after my very long hiatus of contributing a single thing to this Blog I’m back! The world is my oyster! It seems that no immediate “MBA promotion” is in my immediate future so I have got to figure out what to do this thing…

First a few thoughts n the MBA program:

• It was without a doubt the most work I have ever put into any project
• It was the most rewarding education I have ever received
• The academic quality and the quality of students was very impressive
• It is no wonder why The University of Dayton wins the case competitions in the state of Ohio every year

Per the Motto of UD: “Learn, Lead, Serve” I guess I am entering the lead part of my life. For two years I have had nights weekends filled with team meetings, finance problems, Operations analysis and Marketing projects. Now I will have weekends filled with….well, I guess we shall see.

I have been trying to pick up some kind of hobby after I finish reading the three weeks of Newsweek, Business week and the Economist that I have been neglecting. My thoughts first went strangely enough to starting an herb garden, but that will most likely take about 2 hours to plant and I am sure I would be an absent minded gardner letting everything get too dry. Not the best way to eat up spare time.

I also thought joining some kind of cooking classes and getting really good at a few impressive gourmet dishes. That is much more likely, however it seems that should be something I should learn on my own….I mean come on…I have my MBA. :-P

Expect more posts soon. Life is getting exciting.

A Tale of two Restaurants...

As I now feel that I know many of the good restaurants in Cincinnati the mystique of traveling to dinner has been wearing on me. I have been yearning to find something fantastic in Dayton, specifically the Oregon District Restaurants. Call it my “Acres of Diamonds” realization.

It was the best of times…

After doing some research online and asking around I found out about Coco’s. This restaurant is located at 515 Wayne Avenue spitting distance from the Oregon District. As I entered, without reservations, I found the atmosphere was unique to say the least. It is a smaller place inside but they make great use of the space. Think of a gaudy Bravo that gets too crowded and loud. I opted so sit on the patio where there was an older gentleman playing a keyboard. He was fantastic and made the night very enjoyable.

On to the real reason to go: I ordered the chicken Slovlaki with feta smashed potatoes. The food was quite amazing. Everything on the menu had some unique twist and the sides went perfectly with the main course. Although I despise the markups, the white wine was reasonably priced all things considered.

Coco’s give you many reasons to go back: The atmosphere is great. I recommend the patio if the weather is cooperating. The food was excellently prepared and the entrees leave you wanting more. I believe the final bill was around $120 including tip. I felt like I got a good value from my experience. We were definitely taken care of.

It was the worst of times…

After my Coco’s experience I decided to take my next adventure to the heart of the Oregon District. Pacchia has been a name passed around the Dayton community for years. They have been a presence in the Oregon District since for many years. I was eager to see how this local favorite would stack up against Coco’s.

Based on reputation alone I called for reservations. We were planning on eating at 6:30 on a Friday. When you walk in it is part Starbucks and part restaurant. There is a coffee bar immediately to your right and the restaurant area is to your left. Not what I expected, but I was not discouraged. When we arrived it became obvious that reservations were not needed as there were only two other couples seated. Even by 8:45 the restaurant was only ever half full.

I again ordered a bottle of white, to match our meals, which was painfully overpriced. Our waitress poured the wine into our red wine glasses and never touched the bottle again. An unfortunate oversight. The pork I ordered was spiced to taste fantastic but the twice baked potato was in need of some help. My meal was 75% of what I desired. My date also stated that her Ahi Tuna was not the best. The overall experience leaves much to desire as the final bill came to $135. Ouch.

Maybe next time I should stick to my favorite restaurant in Dayton: J. Alexanders and their Prime Rib and Smashed Potatoes. Lesson learned.

The most impressive thing about the iPhone - Hint: It's not the phone

Although the much hyped iPhone which is the latest convergence of technologies (one part cell phone, one part music/video player, one part Blackberry, two parts cool) that technological advancement is not the most impressive part of the iPhone.

What the iPhone should be remembered for is the ridiculous amount of hype that surrounds its entrance into the marketplace. I cannot remember or think of a more anticipated product. It all started with a video that I saw on C|net.com that had the iPhone encased in glass and rotating in a circle at some tech convention. No one could touch it or even get close.

After that first appearance the media blitz started. Steve Jobs did what he does best: Promote. He introduced it at MacWorld and the media still could not get their hands on it. He just played with hisnew gadget on stage. This caused what seemed like a diagnosable disease "iPhone paranoia". You could not go a week without reading about the iPhone. There were articles on cnn.com, in The Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, and on every single tech blog worth its' salt.

Seve Jobs, like all great magicians, presented his latest feat of engineering and then did a most unexpected thing: He pulled back. Nature abhors a vacuum. Next, it was the media's turn to step in and fill that void with wild speculation. Speculate they did.

So, what is the most impressive thing you ask? I'll tell you. The most impressive thing about the iPhone is that Steve Jobs manipulated almost every channel of media distribution and it cost him close to nothing. The iPhone was written about everywhere. Why would you pay for an advertisement on page 4 of the news paper when your story is already on the front page?

I hope there will be a case study written about this media manipulating product. Because the story is yet to unfold. As the iPhone is being released (as I write this that will be tomorrow) Friday expect throngs of teenagers, some of whom will be covered on TV at no cost to Steve Jobs, to use their Word of Mouth to ensure the iPhones' success.

I would say look for more examples of free marketing for the iPhone, but you wont have to. It will be everywhere.

wis.dm - Question Everything

Will this be the newest craze in social networking? Or just a flash in the pan? It is really up to us!

Wis.dm (wisdom) is the latest site to use a domain name hack to create a very clever site. I was reading in the Wall Street Journal about a week ago and came across an article about Wis.dm and their attempt to draw from the wisdom of the masses. (insert another victory cry for the "Wiki" movement)

The site functions very slowly right now, so be patient if you decide to pay them a visit. It operates kind of like Digg.com where it is user content driven. Rather than submitting articles, you submit a "yes or no" question. After you have racked your brain to be the single most clever question creator you know your question is submitted other users can comment, vote "yes" or "no", and discuss your topic. Everything from Terrorism to "does your car have leather seats?" is currently being submitted.

After people decide if they will comment or vote your question is ranked on popularity and the most popular questions bubble up to the top for the greatest number of users to vote/discuss/decide on your question.

So I ask you: Will this site be the latest craze? Please select "yes" or "no"

Moe's vs. Chipotle

VS



Let the battle for Brown Street begin.

There is a new player in town attempting to take down the juggernaut that is Chipotle. It was only last week that I realized we were getting a Moe's

Although Chipotle has a special place in my heart with their cilantro rice, their super fast service, their $5.25 chicken burritos and their ridiculously high employee turnover I went against my better judgment and decided to try Moe's anyway.

I, however, did not go it alone. I brought a few close friends with me who are equally biased toward Chipotle. As you navigate Moe's menu you notice that they have strange names for everything. My choice? The Joey Bag of Donuts (see comparable Chipotle's Chicken burrito).

Below is my scientific rating scale developed through qualitative and quantitative methods and extensive research:

Scale - 1 to 5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best)

The Service:
Chipotle - 5
Moe's - 3

Moe's was slower and was not as busy. I give them a get out of jail free card because it was their first week. Perfection like Chipotle's assembly line takes time.

The Food:
Chipotle - 5
Moe's - 4

Although it was different, both were equally delicious. Moe's food did come with complimentary chips, which is a huge bonus. Also Moe's had a few more options than Chipotle. That being said, Chipotle's meat was better tasting and their burritos really are bigger.

The Value:
Chipotle - 4
Moe's - 5
Moe's gives you free chips and a complimentary salsa bar. Their burritos are only a few cents more and you get all of the extras.

The Overall experience:
Chipotle - 5
Moe's - 4.9

I had to let Chipotle win this due to my bias toward tin corrugated sheeting affixed with screws and bolts.

The Winner:
Chipotle with 19 out of 20 points
Moe's - 16.9 points

It was close, and I was scared that my test might betray a restaurant that has been so good to me, but it was worth it. Whew...I need a burrito!