Category: Ramblings

As I was catching up on the news of the day this morning, I was sad to hear that one of my first bosses, Jack McCarthy, passed away at the young age of 79. Jack was the CEO of McCarthy Tire and Auto Service headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, PA with 43… Read More "“Gold Plated Silver Dollars.” Or, “Remembering Jack McCarthy.”"

Comcast is a hot mess. This is the cable monopoly who is looking to create an even bigger headache (and even bigger monopoly) for consumers by merging with Time Warner. I have had my share of run-ins with Comcast and have blogged about them here and here and here only… Read More "“Comcast, You Make My Teeth Itch.” Or, “The Seven Gates of Customer Service Hell.”"

When it comes to product development, you have to think of everything. From manufacturing something that’s safe to use in different environments, to what happens if it accidently gets ingested by a little human or a pet, right down to making sure what you’re making doesn’t resemble a male or… Read More "“Sweet Gaffe on Play-Doh Cake Mountain.” Or, “The Case of the Phallic Extruder.”"

This time of year many eCommerce store owners are busy on many fronts; handling an increase in customer calls, processing the influx of holiday orders, juggling inventory to make sure stock levels are adequate for the rush, and bitching about Amazon. While the bitching about “Big A” goes on every… Read More "“%$#@ Amazon!” Or, “Quit Complaining and Concentrate on What Matters Most.”"

The other day I was copied on a group email where the sender was passing along a video of someone or something named “Ted.” Since it was (Throwback) Thursday, I thought a frequent-flyer friend was sharing a video of United Airlines failed attempt at creating a low-cost, spinoff airline back… Read More "“Ted Who?” Or, “Making a Fortune One Medicine Show at a Time.”"

For the second time this week, I’m sitting here shaking my head at two news stories about the unwarranted killing of animals – one for sport, one disguised under the cloak of safety. Both of which have no consequences. The first comes from my home state, Florida, where two men,… Read More "“Senseless Acts of Animal Murder.” Or, “It’s Time for a Call to Action.”"

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of being a guest on Shawna Seigel’s eCom Experts talk show. Now throw me in front of a microphone and I’ll babble on about just about anything, but instead of talking about how many olives I prefer in my Martini, we discussed my third… Read More "“Keeping Customers Coming Back = Keeping the Lights On.” Or, “An Hour with the eCommerce Experts.”"

Yeah, it’s been a bit since I’ve sat back and written a piece for my blog. I certainly hope you’ve missed me! But something tells me you haven’t. As Shakespeare, or someone like that once said, “you’ll miss me when I’m gone.” Over the past few weeks I’ve developed something… Read More "“Podcast?” Or, “Who Wants to Listen to Me!”"

The other day, a friend of mine had a job interview and he was worried about what he was going to wear. “Wear what you’re comfortable wearing,” was my word of advice. Not sure if he took it or not. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never made… Read More "“Cruise Director Scott?” Or, “What to Wear (or not) to a Job Interview.”"

Every restaurant has one. Some have more than one. But no matter how many they have, they all suck when you manage to get one. I’m not talking about the server who sees your empty martini glass but doesn’t have the foresight to bring you another, or the hostess who… Read More "“The Worst Table in the House.” Or, “How to Turn me Into a Difficult Customer.”"