Congrats to the Wingman

So I was having trouble figuring out what I was going to write about for my last blog. I was sitting on the computer, surfing the web, when I got on facebook and found the perfect thing to write about. I found a linkthat Brian Rider, a 21 year old Grand Valley State student and my roommate from sophomore year recently posted. The link was to an article in the Grand Rapids Press that talked about how he won an award for the business he started that same year. Digital Wingman, his company, won $1,000 cash and free legal, product design and business services in Lakeshore's Next Top Entrepreneur contest organized by Lakeshore Advantage, the regional economic development agency.

I remember that year he had many sleepless nights trying to get the company started and I'm really glad to see he is seeing success from all those long nights. Brian created a software that is used by the housing departments of schools to allow students to create floor plans of dorm rooms on the school Web site without having to actually do any physical moving of furniture to try and find the perfect layout of their rooms. He has sold his product to GVSU, Central Michigan University and North Carolina State University. He said the company has made over $100,000 in revenue and typically sells his product for $10,000 to $30,000 a school.

I can't really believe that his business have come this far in the past two years. To tell you the truth, I had my doubts about if this would ever take off. But I was wrong, and I want to say congratulations to Brian and Digital Wingman for not giving up and starting what looks like it may become a very successful business.

The Big Three. About As Bad As The Lions

Michigan's economy is the worst it has been in a long time, and I feel like it just keeps getting worse. Michigan is so dependent on the Big Three and the auto industry, and with the struggles of Ford, Chrysler, and GM, our state is headed in the wrong direction. The Big Three has asked our federal government for $25 billion to bail them out of their financial problems, but even living in Michigan, I liked Congress' answer. Congress abandoned a vote on the bailout after a disastrous appearance in which the automakers were criticized for lavish corporate travel, as well as for having poor business plans and high labor costs that some members said would keep them from being competitive with Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. The announcement came just days after Ford CEO Alan Mulally, Chrysler LLC CEO Robert Nardelli and General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner traveled to Washington on separate corporate jets. Why are these guys still traveling around the world in corporate jets if their companies are having such financial problems?

I know that something needs to be done, and something has to change to stop the downfall of the Big Three. Maybe it needs to start at the top of the companies. Now I don't know all that much about economics, or everything that is going on with Michigan's economy, but I do know if I was running one of these companies I wouldn't still be traveling around in my lavish private jet! I think it's absolutely ridiculous, and if I was a part of Congress, I would have ripped the CEO's as well. The Big Three can't just expect to have our government give them billions and billions of dollars if they aren't willing to make some sacrifices.

"Ford Motor Co. said it may sell its fleet of five corporate jets after top executives of the three Detroit automakers were harshly criticized by members of Congress this week for their travel expenses."(The Associated Press). What I don't understand, and I guess I never will, is why it took Congress to call out the Big Three for them to realize they should probably cut back on travel expenses, including traveling in private jets. I really hope things turn around for Chrysler, Ford and Gm, but they need to start making sacrifices themselves. Instead of laying off employees, how about the CEO's start taking pay cuts and traveling first class instead of their own planes!

Meijer Trying To Speed Up Checkout Times

Recently all Meijer stores implemented a new program that monitors their cashiers speed at the checkout lanes. From the second the first item is scanned a timer starts and doesn't stop until a receipt is spit out. To assess efficiency, the store's computer takes into account everything from the kinds of merchandise being bagged to how much each customers is paying. Each week, cashiers get scored and if a cashier falls below 95% of the baseline score too many times, they are likely to be demoted to a lower paying job, or in extreme cases, even being fired. Because of the economy all retailers are trying to do anything they can to increase efficiency inside of their stores, but is this the best way to do it?

I am one of those people that wants to get in and out so this sounds like a great idea to me. On the other hand, there are many people that like to talk and have a friendly conversation with their cashier, so they would hate this new operation that Meijer has adopted. Interviews with cashiers at 16 Meijer stores suggest that its system has spurred many to hurry up and has dialed up stress levels along the way. One cashier, who is 22 years old, says he recently told a longtime customer that he couldn't chat with her anymore during checkout because he was being timed. Other cashiers say they avoid eye contact with shoppers and generally hurry along older customers who might take longer to unload carts and count money.

I understand what Meijer is trying to do, and what most retailers are trying to do. Speeding up customers through check lanes means that they can keep the number of checkout lanes open to a minimum, reducing the cost of labor, but I don't know if this is the right way. There are older customers that do take longer, or even some that do want to chit-chat, so why should the cashier or customer be penalized for this? Why not take an approach like Target, my current employer? When check lanes begin to get backed up, employees are taken from the salesfloor to come help cashier until the lines decrease. To me it makes more sense and if a customer is taking a while, or they want to have a short conversation, the rest of the team helps out. I think it will be interesting to see how this works out for Meijer in the long run.

Last Minute Shoppers

I have worked in retail for over two years now and nothing bothers me more then last minute shoppers. I just don't understand how you can wait til the day before, or even the day of a big event to go out shopping. This Friday was Halloween, and all across America kids of all ages put on their costumes and went out to gather up as much candy as they could. I happened to be working at Target on Friday and let me tell you, I honestly don't understand what all these people are thinking. Why wait til Halloween to come get a costume or accessories. When I walked past the Halloween section it was like a mad house. People rummaging through the few costumes we have left looking for a certain outfit, then when they can't find what they are looking for they come complaining to you. It is so difficult to deal with these people because they don't understand why Target is sold out of what they are looking for. Probably because TODAY IS HALLOWEEN! It is so hard not to look at these people and say... where were you 3 weeks ago!? It's not like Halloween came out of no where, it's happens to be on October 31st every single year.

I understand that there are always going to be some people that wait until the last minute to go shopping. I really wish that when these people came into stores that they would have some understanding of why the stores are sold out of items. I mean if you think about it, it's ridiculous. With Christmas approaching fast, I am already prepared to deal with upset customers on Christmas Eve that want the "hottest" toy of the year for their kid. I mean the same thing is going to happen on Christmas Eve this year, next year, and the year after. I just wish that these people would have some understanding of why the store may not have the item is stock, rather then making a scene, and making a person like me, an normal employee, feel bad because they just had someone yell at them for 5 minutes about a toy for Christmas or a costume for Halloween. So here's a little hint for all you people planning on waiting until the last minute to do your shopping. Go to Target soon, we are already putting Christmas products out on the sales floor. You have two months, don't wait until December 24th.

Good Experience at Applebees

This weekend my family drove over from Lansing to come and take me and my sister out to dinner and catch up. It's always nice to see my Mom and Dad because of school and working, it makes it difficult for us to get to see each other in person. When they got he we hung out and talked for a while then we went out to dinner. We normally just get pizza or go somewhere in Allendale but we decided to go out to Standale this weekend to eat at the Applebee's there. It was a great decision.

When we got to Applebee's for some reason it was PACKED! You could tell that the waitresses had their hands full with a lot of tables just from the way they were all frantically racing around the restaurant to help all their customers. Normally when this happens, I feel like the service you get is always sub-par because the waitresses have all their tables seated, and the cooks are busying trying to make all the food and get it to the customers as fast as possible. This weekend though, Applebee's got a "gold star" in my book. Our waitress, although you could tell see was extremely busy, was great. She came over right away, brought us our drinks very fast, and really helped my Mom making a decision with what she wanted to dinner. On top of the good service from our waitress, the cooks must have been running around in the back too, because our food came fast. Since it came out so fast, I expected it to not taste that great. Applebee's again proved me wrong because the food was amazing.

Applebee's went above and beyond the service I expect any day at a restaurant, let alone a Sunday when they were extremely busy. I just wanted it to be known that the Applebee's in Standale, MI gets an A+ in my book for the great customer service and excellent food.

Subway Drive Through

Yesterday I was on my way home from my class downtown and was headed to my night class in Allendale on GVSU's main campus. I only have about 30 minutes to make it from downtown to Allendale for class, and due to rush hour traffic this can sometimes be very difficult to make it. Another thing that normally sets me back is having to stop and grab some food for dinner. I usually stop and McDonalds or Taco Bell, some place that has a drive through so I can get my food fast without ever having to leave my car.

Yesterday I discovered my new favorite thing. I was driving down Fulton trying to figure out what I was going to do for dinner on my way to my class. As I was approaching Garfield I saw the best thing I've ever seen. At the corner of Garfield and Fulton there is a Subway resturant. This isn't just any ordinary Subway though, this Subway had a drive through. It's pefect! You can get better tasing, healthier food than a McDonalds, and you still don't ever have to get out of your car. This Subway with the drive through was exactly like a normal Subway except for the fact they had a drive through. It opperates the same as any other drive through. They have a menu hanging from the cieling so you can figure out what you want, then you place your order, pay, get your food and your on your way... without even leaving the seat of your car. I loved it and it made me realize that Subway should start thinking about doing this at more locations. I believe it would help lead Subway to a competitve advantage over other sub shops because there aren't really any out there with a drive through window. Overall this trip through the Subway drive through was a great experience, and due to the drive through window, that Subway can expect more of my business.

A Blue Christmas?

Everyone in the United States is feeling the effects of our bad economic conditions. Retail stores have been reporting their September sales and many companies saw signifacnt declines in sales, some even hitting double digits. This is not a good sign with Christmas right around the corner. J.C. Penney's same-store sales fell 12.4% compared to last year, American Eagle's sales fell 6% and Kohl's decreased 5.5%. Dean Hillier, a partner and a retail specialist with A.T. Kearney, a management consultancy, said the Christmas shopping season "could quite frankly be one of the worst we've seen in 25 years."

Discount stores have been the only bright spots. Costco's sales are up 6% and Wal-Mart's sales were up 2.2%, and that may not seem like a lot, but it's better than facing the losses that most retailers are facing. Even Target, a very popular and trendy retailer, faced losses in September of 3%. Target's cheif executive and president, Gregg W. Steinhafel, said the decreases in sales can be attributed to "the economic slowdown as well as higher net write-off rates in Target's credit card segment"

The economy has been effecting everyone. Not only your regular, everyday people are feeling the effects, even huge retailers are taking a hit from our failing economy. MasterCard SpendingPulse, which measures national retail sales, said a steep drop in consumer spending sent its specialty retail sales index down 7.7 percent in September from the same month a year ago. This is really a sad sight, especailly with Christmas approaching so fast. If the sales declines over the past month or so, this could shape up to be a Christmas full of board games and movie tickets.

Wirick Office Supplies Hits The Century Mark

Wirick Office Supplies was founded in 1908, and this month they celebrate their 100th aniversary of being in business. This is a huge accomplishment for any busniess, especially a small office supply shop. This business survived the Great Depression and many recessions throughout it's last 100 years of business, and things have gotten even tougher for Wirick with the growing number of "big box" retailers. Wirick had to do something to differenciate themselves from the big retailers, and they do it with customer service. "The main reason we're still here today is because of our service to the customer," said co-owner Steve Kosanic.

Wirick Office Supplies and Showroom is currently located in Grand Haven, MI, with most of their customer base coming from Ottowa and Muskegon counties. The store currently employs eight people and to this day is still family owned. Wirick has always prided themselves on being great at customer service and giving their customers exactly what they want and to this day they still go on outside sales calls. Steve Kosanic stressed how much their customers mean to them, becuase without meeting their customers needs and doing everything to make their customers happy, Wirick's would have been drove out of business a long time ago. "We research things for our customers. We may go to the same customer two or three times a week to satisfy their needs," said Kosanic.

This is just a true testimate of what customer service can do for all retailers, reguardless of their size. I think that anyone that is starting a small business really needs to put the customer first, becuase without the loyalty of the customer, you won't last long. Wirick's does a great job in customer service and should be looked at as a model for small businesses. Wirick's has been through a lot over the past 100 years, but I hope the next 100 is just as sucessful. Last weekend a celebration was held in downtown Grand Haven in honor of the companies century of service.

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/09/wirick_office_producs_is_100_y.html

Say Goodbye to Beer Runs

Last night I went over to my friends place to relax, enjoy the Friday night, and enjoy a couple cold beverages. Doing what most college kids do on a Friday night, we hung out, played some drinking games and enjoyed, what most likely will be, one of the last few nice nights before Winter. At one point everyone ventured outside to enjoy the weather and play some Frisbee, but something I never thought I would see appeared. While throwing around the Frisbee, a delivery car turned down their street to deliver, what I thought was going to be, a pizza or some Jimmy Johns. The car stopped about three apartments away, the driver got out and went into his back seat. I figured he was going to grab the food, but to my surprise, he appeared out of the back seat with two cases of beer! To be completely honest, I was shocked. I got closer to the car and realized that was I was seeing was true. On top of the car was the lit up tripod that said Campus Party Store delivery. The Campus Party Store, on the corner of Lake Michigan Drive and 48th Avenue, now offers a delivery service. The delivery guy came over to where we were all standing and passed out the business card that had the phone number and everything they delivered. The Campus Party Store, according to their business card, delivers kegs, beer, wine, liquor, chips, pop, and even milk. Not only was this something I never thought I would see, it is a great idea for the store.
Delivering alcohol is not only a great idea for the store to create a competitive advantage with the two competing liquor stores near campus, but it is a great idea to try and keep students to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol. Students can now relax, enjoy the weekend and hang out with their friends without having to worry about who is going to drive to pick up more drinks. I really hope this delivery service helps increase sales for the Campus Party Store. Anything that keeps kids from driving during a night of partying is not only good for them, it's good for everyone else on the road. I can't wait to try out the Campus Party Store's delivery myself!

Meijer's Fast Lanes

Recently Meijer has been making changes to try and give their customers a faster and better experience at the checkout lanes. All Meijer stores have the usual checkout lanes with a cashier that rings up all the groceries and bags them for the customer, and all Meijer stores have USCANS for 12 or less items that allow the customer to ring up their small purchases themselves. Recently though, Meijer stores around the state of Michigan have been seeing some changes around the checkout lanes. The company has decided to add, "fast lanes", a new way for people to checkout. These fast lanes are very similar to USCAN's because the customer still scans and bags their own purchases. The difference is, a customer can take any size order through these lanes. The customer scans their items just like the USCAN, but then instead of placing the item right into the bag, they items slide down a conveyor belt and wait to be bagged after the customer has finished scanning all items and have paid. After paying, the customer bags their own groceries and are on their way. Unfortunately in my opinion, these fast lanes are causing more problems then they are solving.
I worked for Meijer as an intern inside the store this summer and got to hear all the feedback out how people felt about the new check lanes. A good 7 out of 10 people wanted nothing to do with the new lanes, and almost everyone was upset because they thought that these news lanes were taking jobs from cashiers in a state with one of the countries largest unemployment rates. Another thing customers didn't like was the fact that they had to do "all the work" because they had to scan and bag their own groceries. A reoccurring comment was always, "If I'm bagging my own groceries, I should be getting a discount."
I personally don't like the check lanes either because if I had 50 items, I wouldn't want to scan and bag them all either. However, in Meijer's defense, for all the people who feel like cashiers are losing their jobs, you're wrong. Meijer still employs the exact same number of cashiers and still has the same amount on the schedule at all times. The only actual difference is, instead of having 5 cashier lanes and 4 USCAN, there is now 4 cashier lanes, 4 USCAN lanes, and 4 fast lanes, with that one lost cashier working at the fast lanes. So in all reality, there is actually more lanes for customers to choose from. As for all the people wanting a discount for using these lanes, how about thinking about it from Meijer's point of view. The cost of gas is forcing the price of everything up, but for the most part, Meijer has tried to keep their prices fairly low by doing things like opening these fast lanes. This allows for extra lanes to basically be open 24/7 without spending money on any extra labor. So next time instead of complaining about not getting a discount, try thinking about the prices you could be paying for your groceries.

General Motors is Extending Employee Discount Prices

http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/09/gm_extends_employee_discounts.html
Due to the weak economy, high gas prices, and the unprecedented drop in demand for large vehicles, GM and other automakers have been facing huge declines in sales. Facing this problem, General Motors has been offering employee discount prices to anyone that buys an '08 vehicle that is in stock. This is the first time the company has offered this incentive to all buyers since 2005. These employee discounts are generally around 10% off of the vehicle of your choice. GM has been offering this deal for the past two weeks, and due to the great success they have seen, they announced today that they will be extending this offer through the month of September. Not only will be extending the length of the offer, they are increasing the types of vehicles that the discount will be valid. Through the month of September all '08 vehicles in stock will be apart of the deal, but now 2009 Silverado pickups, certain Saturn models, more Cadillac models, and Hummer H2 and H3 sport utility vehicle will be included. GM spokesman John McDonald said that this was necessary because the success of the offer through August has left many deal lots with a short supply of '08 vehicles.
General Motors sales are down 18% through August of this year, but due to the incentive program they have afford to their customers, August sales alone have increased 30% from July's sales. Both Ford and Chrysler said Wednesday that they have no plans to offer their employee pricing discounts around the same time. This is great for GM because of what the entire automobile manufacturer companies have been faced with over the past year. As the prices of gas continues to increase, the economy continues to worsen, and automobile sales continue to fall. Hopefully this incentive to buy program continues to work, and automobile sales continue to increase for GM. This would not only be great for General Motors, but it would also be a boost to Michigan's struggling economy.

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