Inside View

I have always felt that the best part of my job was that I got to see how things are made and how lots of different companies work. This week was no exception. I spent three days working at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. I basically had an all access pass for three days so I could work on lots of different applications for my product. What an amazing operation! I can sum it all up by saying that they miss no detail.

The goal of Walt Disney is to create a fantasy world for the guests (I think they may also try to turn a profit). To accomplish this, the park is treated like a movie set. They use terms like “On Stage” (inside the walls of the park)”Cast Members” (park employees) “back of house” (behind the scenes at the park) to describe the day to day activity. The goal is that a guest will never notice what goes on to keep the park looking and running the way it does. Much of the work is done at night hen the park is closed, however much of the day to day operation is done under the nose of the guest without them noticing. Many of the conversations that I had with there staff involves how things can be done quickly and discreetly.

The main goal for Disney on this project is to improve worker ergonomics and safety. We spent three days with representatives of all of there business units. Each area has there own challenges and concerns. At this point the project looks great. They will now spend a month trying out many of the ideas we have proposed. I will have to wait anxiously for the results. I anticipate that the program will be very successful.

I don’t like to be a complainer but Delta airlines used to be the best in the business as far as I am concerned. However they finally caved in and in December 5th started charging passengers to check bags. I have no problems with that choice (every other airline except for Southwest does it) they feel they need to do that order to stay competitive. It just seems that in that short time they have let the rest of there procedures and customer service standards go. They spend a lot of time dealing with bag issues on the plane, and it seems they are losing focus on doing things the right way. Here is a small suggestion for Delta on how they can solve this problem. If you decide to pay the $15 to check your bag you should get priority on overhead bin space. The issue is that people don’t want to pay the money so they bring all of there luggage on the plane with them. This fills up all the space so they need to spend 20 minutes fighting with people about were they can put there bags. The ones who get punished are the people whop have only brought a back pack or briefcase on the plane. They are forces to give up the little leg room that they have.


After a week in sunny California I have to come home to a snow storm in Tennessee? Somebody lied to me!!! I may be moving again…TO MIAMI!
Next week I am off to Indianapolis for two days. I post again after that.

Back To The Blog

After much delay I have decided to give this blog another run. Since I last posted our economy has tanked, I lost about 40% of my portfolio, Our country elected its first black president, changed its economic philosophy from capitalism to socialism, and the Phillies have won a World Series. All that being said I figured it was time to get this thing rolling again.

The biggest change in my day to day is the effect of the economic downturn on our company. We had to tighten the belt and cut hours back on most of the employees. This is a terrible thing for moral. Hardest for me was the cut in hours of a good friend and counterpart in our Milford office. I have vowed to work my ass off to get things back to normal, so its time to get out on the road and get it done. The best part about working in sales is that you have an amazing amount of control over your destiny.

Last week I spent two days in Dallas, TX and I must say there are very few cities I visit that I hate to leave. Dallas is defiantly one of those cities. I went in for two days of meetings, and a new dealer. Tuesday I was on the plane at 6:00AM and working the streets by 9:00AM in TX. I had a meeting with Sara Lee, who I am working on a national account program for. The demo and meeting went great.

Wednesday was not so hot. I had a demo meeting with Coca-Cola in Dallas at there request. They decided at the last minute that he wouldn’t have time to meet with me. This may seem hard to believe that some one would ask you to get on a plane come meet with them and then blow you off, however it is pretty usual. I have this happen at least once or twice a year. The reason this happens is quite simple. People have no respect for your time. If I call them I get a sob story about how busy they are. I have to keep a ridiculous schedule to meet there needs but when it comes time to accommodate someone else most people could care less. Thanks a lot. The most important tool a salesman can have s a tough skin. I highly recommend personal sales for 6 months to grow one of these.


Sonny Brian's Smokehouse! Thanks Tom for the recommendation.

So I am writing this from 40000 feet above Kansas City, MO. I am on my way to Anaheim, CA for one of the biggest opportunities I have ever chased. I have been invited to present our product to the Walt Disney Corporation. This could be a huge opportunity for us. It is a deal like this that can get my co-workers back to full time hour and load up the till with cash!

Just a side note air travel totally sucks. If we had a better rail system in this country I would be all over it. I will say thank the lord for the I-Pod and for Bob Dylan!

New Friends On The Road

Life on the road can get wild and crazy!



Here is Snoopy and I after a long night at the bar.