OK, it's rant time.
I haven't gone off on a good old fashioned, rant for a while and this one has been building for a couple of days.
I used to get all my printer paper and toner cartridges at Office Depot. They would take my old cartridge for recycling, and in exchange they would give me a ream of paper. It was a win/win situation. The cartridge stayed out of the landfill. They got to refill it, a process that costs them somewhere around $5 and then sell it for anywhere from $25 to $35 dollars, so giving me a ream of paper that they pay $1.50 for, so they can sell it at 100% markup of $3, was not a bad deal.
Then, the price of their paper started to climb. The same 20# paper that I get at WalMart for $3.25 a ream, or at Big Lot for $2.99 a ream, is now packaged in an Office Depot label, and sells for $4.50 a ream. They quit trading the cartridge for a ream of paper, but instead gave me a $3 coupon, I could use on anything in the store.
This allowed me to:
a) buy a ream of paper for $1.50, or
b) buy my toner cartridge for$28.99. (Toner at Walmart was $29.99, so with the discount, I could now get my toner at Office Depot. Smart marketing move on their part.)
This wasn't quite as good a deal, but it still was enough to make me happy, and keep me coming in the door.
But alas, all good things have to come to an end.
Friday I went to Office Depot to get a toner cartridge. I took an old cartridge, so I could get my $3 off, making it a dollar less than WalMart. When I got to the register, the manager, who was working the register, explained that they have changed that now. Now, they add the $3 to my Office Depot Rewards Card, along with 1% of my total purchase of paper or toner, and they will send me a check every quarter. Then, she pointed out that my balance has to be at least $10, or they wont send a check.
OK, lets do the math. My toner cartridge now costs $2 more than it does at Walmart, so I wont be buying it there any more. My paper costs $1.50 more than WalMart, so I wont be buying paper there. What the heck am I going to buy at Office Depot, that is going to allow me to accumulate $10 in rewards? Keep in mind that at 1% of my purchase, I have to spend $1000 in order to get my $10, unless, that is, I want to buy 3 more toner cartridges, (at a $2 loss for each one.)
I explained to the little manager lady, that I don't buy enough at Office Depot to ever earn $10, because they are so ridiculously overpriced on everything they sell. The only reason I was buying my toner there is because the $3 savings actually saved me a dollar, and now that they have taken that away, I won't be doing that either.
I finished by pointing out that she got my sale today, but she had just lost me as a customer.
Was it worth it?
Do stores like Office Depot really think that, with the economy the way it is right now, with their profits plunging 85%, their stock falling 55% and their sales increasing only 1% in the last year, they can afford to lose customers?
Do they really think that they have a secure enough customer base of big spenders, to afford to lose little spenders like me? I only spent about $750 last year on paper and toner, hardly enough to worry about in the big scheme of things.
But how many other $750 a year customers do they think they can afford to lose?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
OK many of you know my story, but for those of you who may have joined me halfway through the season, let me just recap:
In September of 2005, my wife and I were out of debt, we both had good FICO scores and we bought a brand new truck at the lowest interest rate Ford was offering at the time, because we both qualified. I was making over $50k a year, my wife had a part time job making between $15k and $20k, and we had some goals and plans ahead of us.
We hoped to buy a house within the year, pay our truck off early, and thought about travelling once our truck was paid for.
Life was good.
I was driving a truck, for Exel Logistics, delivering Goodyear tires. This was hard physical work, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, dirty year round, but it paid well, and allowed me to use the skills I had, (not having any education to speak of, beyond high school) to make a decent living.
Let's detour for a moment into the world of truck driving, which, for those outside the industry, is a whole new alien world.
Trucking involves several players.
The Shipper: This is the person who manufactures, or otherwise procures goods, and needs them transported to someone else.
The Receiver: This is the person to whom the goods are transported.
The Driver: This is the person who operates the truck, to transport those goods.
The Dispatcher: This is the person who tells the driver where to go to pick up goods, where to take them, when to pick them up, when to deliver them, and any other relevant information that the driver needs to know in order to please the shipper and the receiver and still make a profit for the company.
The Company: This is the corporation that contracts with the shipper, to get his goods to the receiver.
The Client: This is the person who owns the goods.
The client is generally the one who pays for the shipping, although they will often then pass that cost along to the receiver, who then factors it in to the final cost for the end user.
So, for example, when you buy a tube of toothpaste at WalMart, part of the price of that tube is some money that Proctor and Gamble (client) paid to XYZ Trucking, (company) to pick up that toothpaste at the factory in Findlay Ohio (shipper) and deliver it to the WalMart Warehouse in Coldwater Michigan (receiver).
The shipper generally sets the date and time for the goods to be picked up, then schedules the date and time they will be delivered. They then tell the company those dates and times, and the company agrees to meet those deadlines.
Here is where it gets tricky. The company then tells the dispatcher the dates and times, and the dispatcher passes them along to the driver. It often will go something like this:
Dispatcher: Ok, I need you to pick up a load of bottled water in Indianapolis IN at 10:00 pm on Tuesday and deliver it at 7:00 am on Wednesday in Canton MI. That's only 250 miles, its a five hour drive, and that gives you nine hours, so you should have plenty of time.
Driver: If I have no problems, no trouble, no traffic issues, and everything goes smoothly, I will arrive for my load at 10:00, by the time I check in, sign my papers and get my trailer assignment, it will be 10:30. Assuming the trailer is ready and waiting, already loaded, it will be 10:45 by the time I hook up. I drive for 5 hours, and arrive in Canton MI at 3:45, having driven through the night, and you want me to deliver that load 3 hours and 15 minutes later? Can I deliver it at 3:45 when I get there, so I will be done with it and can get some sleep?
Dispatcher: No, this is a very strict delivery appointment. You can't arrive more than 15 minutes early, and if you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be turned away and have to reschedule.
Driver: Ok, so what do I do, from 3:45, until 6:45?
Dispatcher: I'd try to get some sleep, because I have another load in Dearborn MI that needs to get to Louiseville KY. It needs picked up at 10:00 am, sharp. It's a hot load and they need it in Louiseville before 8:00 pm. If it's not there, they will have to shut down the assembly line until it arrives. (This is called JIT -Just In Time- freight, it is a common practice and it happens every day all day long every day. )
Driver: We need to adjust some time somewhere, otherwise I won't get any sleep and I will be running tired.
Dispatcher: Sorry, we can't change anything, this is what the client needs. Our job is to take care of the client.
Driver: I can't do both of those loads safely and I can't log both loads legally.
Dispatcher: I wish I could help you here but my hands are tied. This is what the client is demanding. I have no choice. I have faith in you. Just go out there and do what needs to be done. We have to keep this client happy. I'm counting on you. You are the only driver I have that can do this. I need you.
At his point the driver has two options.
Take the loads, knowing that there is no way they can be completed safely and legally in the time parameters required, and do them, either breaking the law and running unsafe, or doing them legally and getting there late, knowing that this will result disciplinary action,
Refuse the loads. This will result in the driver sitting, unpaid for the time that it takes for someone else to do the loads. Then, they will be last on the list to get an assignment after that, so they may end up sitting, unpaid for several days.
So, now that you have been introduced to Truck Driving 101, watch this page closely in the next day or two, as continuing chapters of the saga unfold.
In September of 2005, my wife and I were out of debt, we both had good FICO scores and we bought a brand new truck at the lowest interest rate Ford was offering at the time, because we both qualified. I was making over $50k a year, my wife had a part time job making between $15k and $20k, and we had some goals and plans ahead of us.
We hoped to buy a house within the year, pay our truck off early, and thought about travelling once our truck was paid for.
Life was good.
I was driving a truck, for Exel Logistics, delivering Goodyear tires. This was hard physical work, hot in the summer, cold in the winter, dirty year round, but it paid well, and allowed me to use the skills I had, (not having any education to speak of, beyond high school) to make a decent living.
Let's detour for a moment into the world of truck driving, which, for those outside the industry, is a whole new alien world.
Trucking involves several players.
The Shipper: This is the person who manufactures, or otherwise procures goods, and needs them transported to someone else.
The Receiver: This is the person to whom the goods are transported.
The Driver: This is the person who operates the truck, to transport those goods.
The Dispatcher: This is the person who tells the driver where to go to pick up goods, where to take them, when to pick them up, when to deliver them, and any other relevant information that the driver needs to know in order to please the shipper and the receiver and still make a profit for the company.
The Company: This is the corporation that contracts with the shipper, to get his goods to the receiver.
The Client: This is the person who owns the goods.
The client is generally the one who pays for the shipping, although they will often then pass that cost along to the receiver, who then factors it in to the final cost for the end user.
So, for example, when you buy a tube of toothpaste at WalMart, part of the price of that tube is some money that Proctor and Gamble (client) paid to XYZ Trucking, (company) to pick up that toothpaste at the factory in Findlay Ohio (shipper) and deliver it to the WalMart Warehouse in Coldwater Michigan (receiver).
The shipper generally sets the date and time for the goods to be picked up, then schedules the date and time they will be delivered. They then tell the company those dates and times, and the company agrees to meet those deadlines.
Here is where it gets tricky. The company then tells the dispatcher the dates and times, and the dispatcher passes them along to the driver. It often will go something like this:
Dispatcher: Ok, I need you to pick up a load of bottled water in Indianapolis IN at 10:00 pm on Tuesday and deliver it at 7:00 am on Wednesday in Canton MI. That's only 250 miles, its a five hour drive, and that gives you nine hours, so you should have plenty of time.
Driver: If I have no problems, no trouble, no traffic issues, and everything goes smoothly, I will arrive for my load at 10:00, by the time I check in, sign my papers and get my trailer assignment, it will be 10:30. Assuming the trailer is ready and waiting, already loaded, it will be 10:45 by the time I hook up. I drive for 5 hours, and arrive in Canton MI at 3:45, having driven through the night, and you want me to deliver that load 3 hours and 15 minutes later? Can I deliver it at 3:45 when I get there, so I will be done with it and can get some sleep?
Dispatcher: No, this is a very strict delivery appointment. You can't arrive more than 15 minutes early, and if you are more than 15 minutes late, you will be turned away and have to reschedule.
Driver: Ok, so what do I do, from 3:45, until 6:45?
Dispatcher: I'd try to get some sleep, because I have another load in Dearborn MI that needs to get to Louiseville KY. It needs picked up at 10:00 am, sharp. It's a hot load and they need it in Louiseville before 8:00 pm. If it's not there, they will have to shut down the assembly line until it arrives. (This is called JIT -Just In Time- freight, it is a common practice and it happens every day all day long every day. )
Driver: We need to adjust some time somewhere, otherwise I won't get any sleep and I will be running tired.
Dispatcher: Sorry, we can't change anything, this is what the client needs. Our job is to take care of the client.
Driver: I can't do both of those loads safely and I can't log both loads legally.
Dispatcher: I wish I could help you here but my hands are tied. This is what the client is demanding. I have no choice. I have faith in you. Just go out there and do what needs to be done. We have to keep this client happy. I'm counting on you. You are the only driver I have that can do this. I need you.
At his point the driver has two options.
Take the loads, knowing that there is no way they can be completed safely and legally in the time parameters required, and do them, either breaking the law and running unsafe, or doing them legally and getting there late, knowing that this will result disciplinary action,
Or
Refuse the loads. This will result in the driver sitting, unpaid for the time that it takes for someone else to do the loads. Then, they will be last on the list to get an assignment after that, so they may end up sitting, unpaid for several days.
So, now that you have been introduced to Truck Driving 101, watch this page closely in the next day or two, as continuing chapters of the saga unfold.
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