adventures in shopping.
a very sad thing happened a few weeks ago… my sony receiver gave up finally. the amp had been shorting out and going into protector mode for a month or so, but usually would fire up. it finally got to the point where it would not run at all. it was going into protector mode with nothing plugged in… not good.
I searched out a repair facility for the amp and discovered that i was in for no less than $149 and could go to the flat rate service price of $275. all of this with no guarntee that they could even get it working at all. so the search for a replacement under $150 began. logic here was that was how much the old one would cost to fix.
so thanksgiving weekend seemed like a goof time to look. I jumped online and found a great amp at Circuit City for the right price. hopped in the car later in the day to make the purchase only to find that the site had been updated since I viewed it and that the price had gone up $60… and no they would not honor their yesterday price.
so off I went to try and find that amp at the price I saw online at Amazon.com. I checked at Best Buy… no luck… they did not carry the amp. I checked at Costco… also no dice. I made the fateful error of visitng Fry’s electronics.
they had the amp in stock. cool. they had it for a price $60 over the amazon.com price, but I know they price match… so I asked what the process was for price matching. the kid who worked there informed me that they only match local competitors. i reminded him that if amazon ships me a product and I can order it at home that they are local. he just looked at me when I said that. I asked him why they would not match. he said, “well they have advantages over us since they don’t have stores or employees”. at that moment I laughed. he asked if there was something else I needed, I muttered no and headed out.
so here is the thought that I am left with… until retailers are willing to recognize that amazon IS their competiton, then big box retailers are doomed to fail. seriously… does anybody really enjoy going to Best Buy… or do you just do it because you can get a good price. eventually I think these stores will only exist as the place where you can go and look at a product before you order.
at the end of the day… Fry’s lost out on a decent sale by not offering a discount to be even somewhat competitive with amazon.com.
duh duh du du… whamp.
after a thorough and exhaustive (or should I say exhausting) search the Copier Research Assessment Panel has spoken and it is not good news for Xerox. So here was what we learned in the process. (Click on the logo to hear how they likely feel)
- All things being equal… customer service wins. Xerox had some features that Canon did not… and vice versa. At the end of the day it was the ability to listen and respond that put Canon head and shoulders about Xerox. Our inital complaint and the reason for the assessment was the low reliability of our current Xerox machines. After hearing that for months and months, our sales team gave us a flier that assured us that if we resigned the contract we would be covered by a full replacement warrantee that would replace any machine that we were not happy with… for any reason. Newsflash… we already are unhappy with these machines!!
- Technology really is amazing. During this assessment we have been exposed to dozens of technological improvements that will give us a whole new set of capabilities. We are looking to add color capability as well as begin to explore a paperless office (ironic to say that when we are buying copiers whose job is to create paper documents)
- Teams see things that individuals do not. We were a cross functional/department team. We all were able to bring different needs and requirements to the table. At the end of the day we had lots of cool conversations that led to this huge decision.
- Kinkos is making a fortune on $0.59 copies. Our contract with Canon is small potatoes by the standard of a huge chain like that and there is a HUGE difference in price between what we pay and what is charged at a chain like that.
- Big decisions go from a simmer to a boil quickly. Our team has been working on this for several months, but at the end of the conversation this went from a theory to a signed contract in one day. Amazing when you think about it, but we were confident in the new solution and in the team that will be delivering and supporting it.
The full text of the announcement to the staff is below Read more
the transition begins.
today begins my first day in the office during what will be a several week transition time. by the time we are sitting down to thanksgiving dinner, the transition will be complete and I will be fully engaged in my new role overseeing all things high tech here at mariners.
in the meantime, I will be dividing my time and honoring the role that brought me to mariners 2 years ago. today I will be formalizing a list of final projects to complete before I officially transition. i am excitied and looking to the future of my new role, and at the same time a little sad today to be thinking about the transition. so many great things have happened to me in this role. i have learned a lot and had the opportunity to work with an amazing team.
i know that this new role is a God thing in my life and so as i move forward i embrace God moving in my life and in my family. i thank him every day for walking alongside me as i grow as a leader and a servant. so today i am going to roll up my sleeves and figure out what needs to be done.
