Groveling Salesmen

Recently, I was put in charge of a small project at work. It involves getting custom binders to hold some training DVDs that we will be sending out to all of my company's retail locations. I came up with some artwork for it, and made a mock up for the Executive committee to look at. They decided what color they wanted, thickness and size of the binder etc. I then got price quotes from 4 different companies for this project.

Company A, was the cheapest. Very cut and dry to deal with.

Company B was very friendly, and even sent me some samples, but they were a nickel more per piece.

Company C gave me an odd feeling dealing with them. Their sales person didn't have his own email address. I had to send stuff to info@companyc.com, instead of salesguy@companyc.com. Weird. Plus they were 75 cents higher a piece.

Company D has a smooth, here's-my-card, 2 cell phone type of salesperson. He wanted to not only make the binders for us, but duplicate the DVDs, get the DVD sheets for the binders, and then Drop ship the whole thing to each of our locations. Impressive? Yes, but I just wanted a binder quote. Do good in this department, and we will talk about the rest. They came in $1.13 higher than Company A.

Well, I really liked Company B, and their price wasn't too far from Company A's price. I sent a quick e-mail, asking Company B to match Company A's price. They were more than happy to, and even beat them by a penny. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but they could have just matched it and been good.

I send out an e-mail to Company A, C, and D. Letting them know that we went with B. Not 2 minutes, LITERALLY, 2 MINUTES, after I sent that. Salesguy from D is calling me.

"Hey! If ya don't mind me askin', why did we lose this project?"
"Another company beat your price quote."
"Really? By how much if you don't mind me asking."
"By more than a dollar a piece."
"Well, we will match any written bid from another company."
"Sorry, the decision has been made."
*click*

I just hate that. DO YOU OWN HOMEWORK! Don't wait for me to call you and then say, "um sure... We can do it for that too." Then, why did you quote me so high??? Give me your lowest price to start with, and maybe I wouldn't have thrown your bid away the minute I got it, because you were almost 50% higher than the others. Just another reason why I couldn't make it in Sales.

Bullsh*t!

I love Penn and Teller. Last Christmas, my boss, bought me Season 2 of their show on Showtime "Bullshit". These guys really crack me up, and I love how they go after all of the "Experts" on this show. If you really want to see some eye opening stuff, I suggest the episodes on PETA, or recycling. Both are very good, and make some crazy good points. For example, in the recycling episode, they show that it is pretty much rediculous to recycle paper, plastic and glass. The only thing REALLY worth recycling is aluminum cans.

Thanks to Netflix, I have been enjoying Season 3. I just watched an episode about "The Best". Peoples facination with having the best. They interview one guy who, aparently, updates his PDA everytime a new "feature" is added. The "best" part to me though, is when they setup a make shift kitchen in an alley behind a fancy restaurant, and put hidden cameras all over this place. People sit down to what they think is a 5 star meal, with a fancy waiter and his 15 word descriptions for everything. When in fact, the meal they are getting is being prepared in this make shift kitchen, by a stage hand, with ingredients that were bought at the grocery store for under 20 bucks. The meal is very nice, on paper, Brushetta, Steak, Lobster, and a White chocolate mousse, all served with the "Most expensive wine in our cellar". The last part is true, because they had 2 bottles of wine, and one was $2, and the other was $1.50. The Steak part of the meal was actually a TV dinner that was pulled apart and replated with instant potatoes, and out of the can gravy. Very very funny stuff. All of the people were with a "friend" that was in on the joke, and when the moment came to let them off the hook, it was very uncomfortable.

If you have a few hours too kill, and nothing in your queue, I highly suggest this Show.

Ah, Christmas time....LOOKOUT!

This guy puts the Dashing in "Dashing through the snow."

Christmas Float DUI

Thanks, Jerry

One of the main news anchors at a local TV station announced that he was leaving his job to become a Field Medic over in Iraq. WOW... talk about stepping out of your comfort zone. I really admire him for it. I cannot imagine the battle he had to fight to make that decision, and I cannot even BEGIN to fathom the battle he is going to fight in Iraq. Be safe Mr. Jacob, and God bless you.

Letting my Geek colors fly

Ok, ok, ok... I play World of Warcraft. Just like 7 million other people. But, last night, I know 7 million other people didn't hit Level 70, and get their Epic flying mount. I did. And it is AWESOME! And only for the low, low price of 5400G (180g for mount, 720g for flying lessons, and 4500g for Epic flying lessons)

The game is completely different now. Besides the fact that I can fly directly to anywhere I need to go. The level 70 upgrades to my Shots ( I am a Dwarf Hunter, btw) is KA-Razy! Let me demonstrate. Lvl 60 is Aimed Shot 6 (+600 damage), this has allowed me a 2500+ crits. Lvl 70 brings Aimed Shot 7 (+1199 damage), I hit a lvl 69 demon last night with a 3700pt crit. Add in the 20% bonus from "Rapid Killing", and that could have been a 4400pt crit! Damn. Another hunter in my guild has recorded 4500+ crits. But he has a better gun and bullets. Which is my next goal.

So, with my new found power and speed, I feel I can go out on a high note with the Beta. I have to go now, and see what is involved with getting the Tier 4 Set started... WOOT!

My new favorite thing

I have found a thing that will bring a smile to my face, and warm my heart everytime. It is a sound, and I really need to record it. It is the sound of my very tired daughter saying "Goodnight, Daddy." Last night, I was at my computer, and my beautiful bride, and my daughter were watching TV on our bed. About an hour after her bedtime, she decides to go to her bed. Instead of going just right across the hall to her room. She walks down the hall, and down 2 flights of stairs, just to give me a hug and a kiss, and to say those now magic words. She then, in a sleepy stupor, stumbles back up the stairs and off to bed. I watch her go the entire way just smiling.