Filed under: Other Side of The Counter, Thinking out loud, Voices from the Garage
In these current days and times it is, in my humble opinion, becoming more and more apparent to me that big business in general is devolving back into the age old standards of upper management that is just too damn busy to have any concern for your silly issues.
Some of my own experiences recently have cast a grand disillusion with corporate managements perpetual chant that our people are important. The old standby belief that the workers are just peons and that management can pretty much say anything without regard for being held accountable in some way is becoming well documented and well founded. Especially if you are an underling a couple of tiers below. It’s sad to say that these circumstances really make for a air of gross mistrust in upper management who are supposed to be the “Go To” people in the chain of command. If I can’t get a response why would I even bother to communicate with them? They don’t care. I’m not talking about the immediate managers you deal with daily but the second and third tier above who are rarely seen or heard from unless there is a problem. There is a constant droning banter from above about how they are always available to hear our input and that that communication is a critical element of the business. Whatever! You hear it at every meeting, in all the major communiques and in face to face meetings “Send it to me in an email” or “Call me and we will discuss it” is the usual chatter. If you are going to vocalize that then why the heck is it not being followed up on in our day to day dealings? I don’t see it happening at my end. Actually just the opposite. No response in any way, shape or form. And when this same scenario is played out against outside communications with other corporate entities it really makes you wonder just what the heck is going on. Plus, it makes me look like a smuck to the people I told to contact them! I definitely don’t take kindly to that. Folks! It’s not that complicated. I am sure all your Facebook responses are made every day. Just sayin.
In this age of technology that is supposed to make our lives so much more productive, whether you follow through responding to requests or inquiries, after promising to do so, speaks directly to individual business integrity and personal values. Cell phones, tablets and laptops are the weapons of choice. And sometimes you have to take the extra time to do these away from the office/workplace. Sometimes you do have to take it home with you. But that is the nature of the beast, and it speaks directly to your credibility and diligence when you take that time to follow though on YOUR promise. And when it is in a public forum and involves other parties to the conversation, it really destroys your belief in upper managements credibility and their genuine concern for your input when you get nothing in return. And when it involves inter-corporate communications no response totally kills our/your credibility. Having been at the top of that chain and having been in that position myself, it was paramount to me that I had to be believable. Maybe that ethic has been bred out of the management equation. Maybe they are just too damn busy to follow up! I sure hope not!
I guess I will end this rant with this… Gotta go check on my Facebook. Bye
It has come to light that one of the Detroit News Auto “critics” has resigned after he wrote a less than glowing review of the NEW Chrysler 200. This car, and all the hype behind it, are supposed to be the new flagship car for Chrysler. According to this review it was better than its previous self, the Sebring, but not anywhere near its competition. It appears that after publishing the printed version a yet to be identified “advertiser” asked that it be toned down. And so, Presto! Chango! We now have a new online version “because we were uncomfortable with some of the language in the original.“
2011 Chrysler 200 falls short of the competition
Chrysler had its hands full when it took on redesigning the midsize Sebring and creating the 200. It was a marvelous effort – one of monumental proportions. Through years of abuse, the Sebring had become the rented punch line for a brand considered a joke. But then came the Super Bowl, the ad, and a shift in consumer thinking about luxury, Detroit and Chrysler. The hardest steel, the hottest fire. What? That’s the 200?
** The full article on Jalopnik
The Jalopnik post indicates what was editorially massaged after the written publication.
If you compare the 200 to any of the mainstream midsize competition — not the luxury brands it is purported to go up against — all of them outshine the 200.
** See the Detroit News Published review here.
Any wagers as to the “unnamed advertiser” being directly in the grips of the Chrysler family of products? It will be an interesting follow-up to see if this is the only bad review of this car. We will all be watching to see if others have the same opinion or if they are at the opposite end of the pool. If they all agree with the bad review it will, in my opinion, give the Detroit News a black eye editorially. And the NEW Chrysler will be a bully! And simply put, the NEW Chrysler just may have mucked up in their haste to recover.
It’s unfortunate that we have to temper our review results because it might offend someone. I thought that is what the review or evaluation was all about! And you would think that someone like Chrysler would more extensively research the competitors vehicles before proclaiming a new contender. Let alone a new flagship model. If this is the only bad review no biggie but if all the reviews agree then that’s a problem. Gee! Like the auto makers haven’t made some remarkably bad design and production mistakes in the past! So why should that be a thing of the past?
We will see! Look for yourself and you be the judge!
Sanford and Son
At the time Sanford and Son was a funny series. They were classic junk men. Collecting what they could and gleaning through what they collected for the good items that could be resold for a profit. This new genre of scrappers is a whole different story. I have to make a comment here because these guys have become a pain in the butt.
Why you ask? Because these roving metal collectors are scooping up all of the raw free resources for those of us that fabricate. Metal bed frames, work out benches and aluminum folding chairs have been a long time source of angle and round material. Now with these scrappers they scoop up anything with metal content to sell for a buck. While I don’t really have a problem with the entrepreneurship, I am seeing a lot of good materials disappear into the back of some raggedy pickup.
Some of these scrappers are so bold as to victimize unattended homes and businesses for the copper plumbing, air conditioners, heating systems and aluminum siding. And anything else of value for that matter. And I must amend that statement of unattended, my business was attacked while we were in the building! They were actually after our city power cables!
Unfortunately these scrappers, who are looking for simple poundage, are also collecting bed frames, bicycles, metal patio tables, even fencing indiscriminately in their quest for a buck. These could actually be used again along with other similar parts but that escapes their logic. I have actually stopped a couple of them and asked to buy off an item and they pretty much told me to bugger off. All in all I must say that while on one hand I praise the effort to make a buck and clean up our cities at the same time, on the other hand I am aggravated by these same people because of the loss of some raw materials and for the loss of historical nostalgia pieces along the way.
Hopefully I am not the only guy who sees these scrappers as a pain in the butt. Just one mans’ opinion!
This is the kind of stuff that really needs mandatory jail time! It is illegal in some states but most don’t care enough to deal with it. And not a whole lot of enforcement unless it goes sideways like this one. This guy almost killed an elderly woman, while he had his daughter in the truck and the towed vehicle got loose and hit a house!
Tow Truck Driver Believed to be Texting or Talking on Phone The Niagara County Sheriffs Department has seized the work and personal cell phones of the tow truck driver involved in a Wednesday morning accident in Lockport…
Read more here
