Stories from the Sales Frontlines

driver100

We drove from Ithaca to my parent's house (3 1/2 hours), then drove into the city to see the parade, back to my parents for dinner, then back to school that night.

Begs the question, "Why?".

Just joking, what we did then we probably wouldn't do today.

driver100

I'm getting the feeling my dad wants to spoil himself, so I'm thinking only a luxury brand will suffice.

If he wants a luxury brand, if he appreciates cars, if he appreciates the difference, if he can afford it.....why would he not get exactly what he wants?

It doesn't make sense not to buy one....it doesn't sound like saving money is his priority in life right now.

verdugo

I give up driver. :-)

And for the record, I do watch Murder She Wrote once in a while. Like graphicguy said, even though it wasn't filmed in HD, it still benefits from HD.

verdugo

I can't stand SD, with the big black borders. And dang it, I spent enough on this TV I am not putting up with that!

LOL

To take my A4/Geo analogy further. Driver bought an A4, but he only drives it on his driveway to go to the mailbox to pick up the mail ... and 5 days a week only!

verdugo

My cable provider tried to make it easy. If the low def channel was 42, the HD is 842 - it usually works. Further, when you tune to a low def channel and there is a high def option, the screen says "click ok for HD."

Directv takes that one step further. The high definition channel is the same number as the SD one. In addition, there's an option to hide the SD channels.

So nobody would need a DIY piece of art with his favorite HD channels. They just keep going to the same channel number they've always used.

kyfdx

We did something similar when the Reds won the series.. The night they won, we hopped in the car and drove 90 minutes to Cincinnati for the impromptu celebration on Fountain Square. An hour or so, then the return trip to school..

One small difference.. It was 1975.. :surprise:

graphicguy

Kyfdx, I went the opposite way....was on Fountain Square for the '90 Series. I remember it was fun the first couple of hours. Somehow I ended up at NKU. The "in-between" was a bit blury.

RB....proud of both the men's and women's Louisville BB teams.

Driver....why not start you channel surfing on the HD channels. That way, when you find something interesting, you're already watching in HD.

driver100

drove 90 minutes to Cincinnati for the impromptu celebration on Fountain Square. An hour or so, then the return trip to school..
One small difference.. It was 1975.

Just wondering, would you do that today?

I drove a VW beetle, about 2000 miles from school in Edmonton Alberta back home to Hamilton ON......in 1968.

I sure wouldn't do that today, I don't even want to do it in the 535.

driver100

....why not start you channel surfing on the HD channels. That way, when you find something interesting, you're already watching in HD.

Good idea! I will try to do that more often. I usually watch local news at 6 p.m. and just turn to channel 3, no muss no fuss. Then when that is over I turn to NBC News at 6:30 on channel 11.

To change to HD I will have to actually check before I do that. Then I record a Murder She Wrote at 7 pm on Channel 58 which is SD but I can record more in SD.

I am trying to preserve my brain power to remember more important stuff. But, I shall give it a good try.

driver100

And for the record, I do watch Murder She Wrote once in a while. Like graphicguy said, even though it wasn't filmed in HD, it still benefits from HD

I'll give it a try in HD. I don't usually watch it live....I just record them in case there is nothing else on. I'll record one in HD even though it takes up more memory space. I like the way they do the guest stars at the beginning, occassionally there is one you may recognize. I also like that they seem to have some fun making them, and they usually do have a clever ending.

I don't know though, Angela in HD....I may have to think about that one.

houdini1

I'm extremely envious of my son

Tell me about it. My son is at The Masters this week !!!

roadburner

Tell me about it. My son is at The Masters this week !!!

At last- someone who shares my pain...

Kirstie_H

Well, we knew it had to be quite a long time ago, since the Reds haven't won the World Series in what seems like eons. :P

From,
your favorite Cardinals fan

kyfdx

Uh huh.. so, that's how this is going to go? :mad:

houdini1

Don't be ridiculous. I'm looking for the Royals to win the World Series in a repeat (from 1985). They are in first place already.

I am trying to remember who they beat in 1985. Oh yeah, the Cardinals !!

Sandman6472

All I've been doing is working lately and all the vehicles are turning into one! Seriously, I've had like 2 days off in the last 3 weeks as we are quite busy now. Have been doing more Key West runs and a few Orlando ones...seems the Tampa and Ft. Myers runs are over for the time being. There are three crews and we are all working. Drove a '12 Infiniti G37 yesterday and it was a blast...super quick as I got it up to 94 and it felt like 70...quickly lifted my foot off the accelerator but it was a real rush! Even got a new Focus up to 90 while passing another vehicle and had no idea until I looked at the speedo...felt pretty composed at that speed!

Went to test drive a '07 Lexus RX 350 and though it was nice, a bit too big for my tastes. Then did a 2011 Nissan Rogue and it was perfect...size, smoothness, fun to drive...could very well be the next Sandmanmobile along with the Tuscon. Want to sit up a bit higher while being able to slide over into the drivers seat, and can do this with both vehicles. The Rogue I tried was a red one with about 22.3 on the clock...they were asking stupid money for it as it was a clean, recent trade. If it had been the titanium color, I might have said yes but the red is just not a color I like, yet the red on the Focus is a nicer richer red color and one I wouldn't mind having. But decided to keep the Civic and just upgrade the head unit so I can have an aux & usb input plus get a bluetooth connection for my new smart phone. Yes, the Sandman has come into the 21st century...finally so I need the new head unit to complete the transformation. Just have to decide which unit and where to have the work done. The 1st estimate is a bit high but the guy seemed to have a pretty good handle on what I wanted and which equipment I'd need. Once I get some free time I'll go to the other place recommended to me to see what they have to offer. Want great sound for a reasonable price...that's not asking too much now is it?

See y'all soon and hopefully before post 100k!

The Hardworking Sandman :sick: :shades:

Kirstie_H

Wow, that smack-down is so ancient I had to blow the dust off of it!

All of those players are currently flashing Medicare cards as ID, not baseball cards. :P

driver100

I rarely watch TV live now anyway except for the news and sports. Everything else is time shifted via DVR or on demand .

That is something I was wondering about. Most people got upset about individuals saying they bought "knock off" products, because the real producers of such products were losing money.

Some people thought grabbing a free breakfast at a hotel one wasn't staying at was dishonest.

I am wondering if recording shows and not watching the ads is a bit dishonest. I don't record too many shows, only when really necessary, but, when I do it is nice to watch a one hour show in 40 to 45 minutes, by skipping the ads. But, how will the shows get paid for if we keep doing that? I feel it is cheating to watch a show without watching the ads that paid for the shows existence. Not like a major "Birney Madoff" type crime, but still.

One extremely honest person I know downloads movies for free and only watches TV shows on his computer. They say there are 5 million people in the US who no longer get TV the conventional way....they watch shows online or with an airial.

What is becoming of us!

tjc78

I am wondering if recording shows and not watching the ads is a bit dishonest.

Even fast-forwarding them you still see a bit of the advertisement. I may be a bit fuzzy on the facts of this but, a while back when TiVo first came out it had a "30 second skip" button on the remote. You could press it three/four times instead of fast-forwarding the commercials. Doing this prevented you from seeing anything. It was removed because the networks etc were upset about it. I've also never seen it on any Comcast or Verizon FiOs remote.

For me, there are several shows my wife and I would never watch if we had to sit through the commercials and other BS. The first one to come to mind is American Idol. We blow through the two hour show in an hour. The results show is an hour and we watch the last ten minutes.

Do I feel guilty? Hell no! There is plenty of advertising in the middle of the shows via product placement, etc. Do we really think it was a giant coincidence that during every episode of Sex and the City an Apple laptop was displayed, or that the judges all have Coke cups on their desk during American Idol? The Sopranos was also heavy on product placement. There was one episode that showed a TV at Uncle Junior's house with the biggest Phillips logo I've ever seen.

robr2

I am wondering if recording shows and not watching the ads is a bit dishonest.

With my DVR, I am still watching the ads albeit at a faster speed. Sometimes I forget I'm watching something that has been DVR'd and I watch the commercials. OTOH, Dish is offering their Hopper DVR that skips the ads entirely. Fox, CBS and NBC have sued Dish saying that they are infringing on their copyright because they don't show the ads at all.

But, how will the shows get paid for if we keep doing that? IMHO, there are enough people who watch shows live.

One extremely honest person I know downloads movies for free and only watches TV shows on his computer.

Downloading movies - that is copyright infringement and I IMHO it's stealing. Watching TV shows on his computer - that depends on the legitimacy of the video source.

Kirstie_H

We got our TiVo about 4 months ago, and it still has the 30-second skip button.

There was some study that showed if you'd ever watched a particular ad for a product, even seeing a flash of it a second time was good enough to remind you of the product.

As technology advances, advertisers must also change - product placement within shows is one of those ways. And I'm the same way, tjc - there are a ton of shows that I would never watch if I had to sit through commercials and all of the "filler." Biggest Loser is one of those. The show is 2 hours, and they seem to have ad breaks every 10 minutes, and before the ad break, they have a "coming up" preview of what you'll see after the ad break, and that's just "filler."

Personally, I think it's a bit dishonest that some of these companies spend so much on advertising, particularly for products that everyone already knows about, and essentials like food and cleaning products. All that advertising gets paid for by YOU at the checkout. So, you're paying for the advertising and you should get to watch what ads you do or don't want to watch.

robr2

I am wondering if recording shows and not watching the ads is a bit dishonest.

With my DVR, I am still watching the ads albeit at a faster speed. Sometimes I forget I'm watching something that has been DVR'd and I watch the commercials. OTOH, Dish is offering their Hopper DVR that skips the ads entirely. Fox, CBS and NBC have sued Dish saying that they are infringing on their copyright because they don't show the ads at all.

But, how will the shows get paid for if we keep doing that? IMHO, there are enough people who watch shows live.

One extremely honest person I know downloads movies for free and only watches TV shows on his computer.

Downloading movies - that is copyright infringement and I IMHO it's stealing. Watching TV shows on his computer - that depends on the legitimacy of the video source.

jayrider

Ever since I got my DVR and have been skipping commercials, I've found myself buying more stuff. Remember back in the 70's and 80's all the interest in subliminal advertising. I think it's back, on the QT, very hush-hush.

tjc78

We got our TiVo about 4 months ago, and it still has the 30-second skip button.

OK, It must have been one of the cable companies then. I know I read it somewhere.

And, yes! The "coming up on" BS drives me nuts. You are going to see it in two minutes!

bwia

My 20-year old son has been bugging me to buy him some wheels and now I have an opportunity of two competing offers by the same seller. A 2000 Altima, with 96K miles for $2,950 or a 2007 Hyundai Accent with 56K miles for $5,500. I have not seen either of the cars yet but I was assured they are very clean inside and in good mechanical condition.

Not quite a good time to buy a car as I have to file my tax returns on by Monday but these cars seem too good to pass up. Stay tuned.

dino001

Without looking Hyundai seems to be much better deal, as long as you've got extra 2.5 grand - unless of course your son is 6 foot 5 inches tall.

driver100

As technology advances, advertisers must also change - product placement within shows is one of those ways.

Product placements...I have seen some programs that I think were made just as product placement vehicles.

In The Good Wife Kalinda Sharma is a clever detective lady who will stop at nothing to get information, she is single but is liberal about her bedmates, she is extremely devious and calculating and wears provocative clothes-including boots all the time, and she drives around in a Buick Enclave...that's a stretch, she would never drive a car like that. She needs a Miata or Z3, or a Porsche....she's driving a car a 60 year old guy would drive.

I think we are seeing the breakdown of the moral fibres of North American society. Advertisers resort to product placement and viewers will try anything to try to miss the ads, from mute switches to fast forwarding and recording. Normally honest people will download movies or buy DVDs at a flee market.

Then there is Aereo, operating in the New York area and ready to expand. You get about 22 channels for $8 a month. Thorny legal issues but they are different than a cable company, they are sending the signal to individual subscribers so don't pay the networks. The TV networks aren't too happy.
USA Today Internet TV service expands

Could there be little loyalty these days. Companies don't care about their employees or customers, and employees and customers don't have loyalty to their employer or companies they buy from. It's a case of do what you have to do to come out ahead for yourself.

driver100

A 2000 Altima, with 96K miles for $2,950 or a 2007 Hyundai Accent with 56K miles for $5,500.

Carmax in Florida has a 2008 Accent for $9500. They have a 2003 Altima, only 39K miles for $12000.

Both cars seem to be selling for a good price. Totally depends on which one seems better for driving, and which one looks like it has the most trouble free miles left.

verdugo

Normally honest people will download movies or buy DVDs at a flee market.

You can't have it both ways. If you are honest, you don't buy movies from the flee market or download them illegally.

You'll argue that it's not a big crime and their honest the rest of the time, but you're just trying to spin it.

"Judge, I'm an honest person 99% of the time, I don't even download movies illegally or buy them at flea markets, but I just did one small theft. I'm a "normally honest" person the rest of the time."

Kirstie_H

I think it might've been Comcast that eliminated the 30-second button. We were with them before we cut the cord, and I remember being disappointed that we didn't have that option like we did with our old satellite provider.

cdnpinhead

It's interesting that skipping commercials in TV shows is now an ethics issue. I think the person who brought it up was at the centre of a conversation a few weeks ago regarding one of his friends who did stuff that folks on here took a dim view of.

I bought the off-brand DVR (Replay TV) a number of years ago that didn't only skip in 30-second increments, it also was capable of looking for the black screen that (at that time) immediately preceeded the resumption of the show. It was possible to watch an entire presentation with absolutely no commercial interruptions, but some shows and/or networks were easier to deal with than others. That said, such capabilities no longer exist.

I have absolutely no problem with fast-forwarding through commercials, much as I did in the VCR days. The great unwashed can watch commercials. Include me out.

driver100

You'll argue that it's not a big crime and their honest the rest of the time, but you're just trying to spin it.

I don't think buying illegal DVDs is ethical at all. I was with a friend, who showed me a vendor at a flee market who had DVDs of pretty current movies, 3 for $10 - they looked legit even with the real covers. I did buy them that time thinking they were legit. I haven't bought any since and I wouldn't have bought those if I had known.

I do think getting a free breakfast once as a lark is not ethically or morally a big deal. Not the right thing to do, and to be clear, I wouldn't do it myself, but, it is pretty low on the list of crimes one could do.

I personally would not copy a DVD movie, people who do it shouldn't do it, but, I am not going to stop them, that's a problem the movie people have to work on.

I think society has laws and rules and to maintain our civilized lifestyle we should follow those laws and rules.

I feel a bit for the advertisers if their ads are not watched, but, not a whole lot...it is kind of us against them with annoying ads that are extra loud and that take up too much of our time.....and many of them lie any way. Most "green" products are not very green, and most "healthy" products are not that healthy, so it is kind of fend for yourself against the conglomerates.

driver100

It's interesting that skipping commercials in TV shows is now an ethics issue. I think the person who brought it up was at the centre of a conversation a few weeks ago regarding one of his friends who did stuff that folks on here took a dim view of.

Check the previous post. I will say taking a free breakfast is higher on the scale of things that are not nice to do than skipping commercials. Anyone who would actually skip commercials because it is ethically wrong would be the most ethical and moral person on the earth.

Personally, I skip commercials if I can, I may have a tiny bit of guilt, but not too much. Like I say, it's war, them against me.

verdugo

And I'm out of this conversation. It won't lead anywhere.

driver100

And I'm out of this conversation. It won't lead anywhere.

I didn't start it! :P

graphicguy

I watch very little live programming, unless it's sports.

Given that i've made a career out of marketing, I have no issues whatsoever, skipping/FF through commercials. 99% are poorly realized and produced. Ad agencies should be ashamed. Media buyers should be fired for paying for such drivel. And, the same ones are played so often, their effectiveness reverses and becomes counter productive.

What if I close my eyes and put fingers in my ears during commercials. Am I somehow cheating the advertisers?

Cable and Sat companies keep playing games with their customer base, that their alleged product has become woeful (Murder She Wrote excepted :P ).

kyfdx

Hey! My son is a marketing major!

driver100

I watch very little live programming, unless it's sports.
Given that i've made a career out of marketing,

Good point because maybe if the ads were better we wouldn't mind watching them as much. I saw a Cadillac CTS ad that I actually FF through, but I went back to look at it again....I was surprised it was the Car of the Year too.

Of course, when I played the commercial back I caught the part about it being "North American" car of the year! Well, that narrows the playing field quite a bit. However, the car looked nice in the ads, and I think the ad would make me consider buying an ATS, for a few seconds anyway.

If a marketing guy doesn't mind me skipping commercials than I won't have any more guilt doing it.

driver100

Hey! My son is a marketing major!

Does he skip commercials? :confuse:

tjc78

"North American" car of the year!

The 2009 Hyundai Genesis was the 2009 NACOFTY as well. Hyundai sent all the owners a license plate frame proclaiming the award. I put mine on, and saw many other owners did as well.

driver100

The 2009 Hyundai Genesis was the 2009 NACOFTY as well.

So, NACOFTY doesn't have to be made in North America? Wierd! Why not just call it car of the year as judged by NA journalists?

When I heard NA car of the year I thought they had to be made in NA.

dino001

I think the term applies to the end market, not the origin.

graphicguy

Hey! My son is a marketing major!

Congrats...he must be really, really smart. :P

driver100

I think the term applies to the end market, not the origin.

Oh, I get it......but, it seems kind of reduntant, I would have assumed that if they said the Journalists from NA have selected the "Car of the Year".

I mean, are they going to choose a car that isn't available here...like a Citroen?

dino001

No, but the name of the award will specifically tell you what market it is. Europeans have their own car of the year, so do probably Japanese or Chinese. Sometimes award from one market is used in advertising for another and it's quite useful then to know that it is these people across the Pond that appreciated Focus (also their version, not ours), or whetever it is.

At any time somewhere in the world somebody gets some award. It is good to know who and how. It always cracks me up when I see restaurants having "Voted best BBQ in the Bay" plaque. By whom, how many people and who sponsored the awards?

driver100

It always cracks me up when I see restaurants having "Voted best BBQ in the Bay" plaque.

Yeh, I once took a "marketing course" and they said it is a great marketing device to give yourself an award....and work that into your ad. Or put a seal on your product...that makes people think you won an award.

Guess that's why we need to use guerilla warfare against TV ads...have to protect ourselves however we can.

bwia

I had a choice between buying a 2000 Altima GXE for $2,950 or a 2007 Hyundai Accent for $5,500 in a private sale by the same owner. Both cars were in great condition so I went with the Altima with 96K miles on the clock.

It was an unusual transaction I must say. I was invited in, offered tea, sat down at the table and engaged in chit chat. I was handed the key to do a test drive but it was raining so I drove around for about ten minutes. Came back in sat down, and then the awkward moment. How much? I offered $2,750 which was accepted. No haggling.

For a 2000 I must say the Altima is very frisky compared to my sedate Buick LaCrosse. A mere touch of accelerator pedal and the car leaped forward as if it were a Maxima or some high performance speedster. Everything works as intended, no squeaks, no rattles, no drama. Oops, I forgot to test the power windows, a forgiven oversight since it was raining.

The best part of the deal though, is a thirty-day warranty. Sounds unusual, but the car was thoroughly checked out by her mechanic who stands behind the warranty. Next big step is to get new plates and pass inspection to receive a sticker.

C'est tout.

tjc78

For a 2000 I must say the Altima is very frisky compared to my sedate Buick LaCrosse. A mere touch of accelerator pedal and the car leaped forward as if it were a Maxima or some high performance speedster

Is your Lacrosse the 3.6? Mine is and moves along pretty good.

Sounds like you bought a car from a good home, good luck with it.

kyfdx

Congrats...he must be really, really smart

We'll find out, if he has a job in three weeks when school is out..

graphicguy

We'll find out, if he has a job in three weeks when school is out..

kyfdx....I'm sure he'll be fine. But, it seems to be the norm that once graduated, it's expected that a year of "puttzing around" is required until you get a "real" job.

At least, that's what my son and his college buds told me.

That said, my son worked at Dave and Busters (a restaurant/bar/gaming place) during his college years, and a year after graduation. His job was diagnosing and fixing their games when they broke. Didn't make much money, but he did get a line item he could put on his resume. He now works for Ohio State's IT dept as a result.

Of course, all of that was made possible by "Bank of Dad", providing food in the home fridge and a warm bed to sleep in at night, without requiring much in the way of compensation (grass cuttings, snow shoveling, mulch spreading, tree pruning, etc).