Last week’s customer service piece brought a ton of reaction my way. But really none better than the folks who informed/reminded me of the fact this “bullying” tactic happens in our industry all the time. Now it’s nowhere near the personal vile that the NYT piece presented but there’s a few manufacturers/fabricators that have used the bully tactic- basically threatening that if you use someone else, you’ll never get to use their company again and you will be ruined. Now most people would normally ignore such a threat, especially when you are in our world right now of tons of supply, low low prices and weak demand. But incredibly, there are people who actually buy into this- including one account who I persobally know of who literally believed if they gave work to other fabricators they would be doomed. So moral to the story is I guess the negative and bully approach has its merits, even our little piece of the world.
Elsewhere…
-- Has ever the line “The weather outside is frightful” been more accurate than this weekend for the folks in the Midwest? What a miserable storm… and how about the roof of the Metrodome in Minnesota ripping apart? The video from Fox showing the tear and the water streaming in was amazing. (The footage of the collapse is our Video of the Week)
-- I am patiently waiting in the next batch of leaks from Wikileaks the inside story of the NFRC. You know that has to be in there right?
-- This week’s rant about air travel… it’s the pet peeve of not putting your smaller item under the seat in front of you. The overhead bins are tight enough as it is, but last week I watched person after person put their briefcase, laptop bag, purse etc up top. Just makes me nuts. Cmon folks common courtesy would be nice.
-- Interesting to see how the case between AGC and the City of Marshall, Michigan plays out. Mashall gave AGC tax breaks for their plant there but when AGC shuttered the location, it made the town want to get the lost tax money back- or “clawback” as the article stated. I see both sides here- a deal is a deal and AGC was within their rights to do what they did- heck they stayed their longer than most people would’ve given how bad the economy was. But the city has some angles here too with the commitments and length of the deal. Regardless this sort of thing is going to show up more in more because happy days are surely not here yet and municipalities are really hurting. They simple can’t afford the old Dire Straits theme- “Money for Nothing”
-- Meanwhile US Aluminum took some heat from this wild newspaper article HERE. What I don’t get is how does a newspaper write something so enflaming and NOT get a quote from the company its hammering?
-- Last this week a heads up… the next two weeks will be the 2010 year in review parts 1 and 2…. 2010 was probably the most bizarre year I have ever experienced, so going back through will surely be interesting. I may have to finish it from a psych ward, but it will be done. For those of you bugging out after this week… have a super holiday season and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011!
LINKS of the WEEK
-- A warning to those of you who travel… beware the “free” Wi-Fi offers… it could be a scam…
-- Simply a stunning link and pictures… the third most awesome island in the world is in the Arctic Circle. Seriously. Not a typo. Now I am not going there anytime soon but my gosh, it sure looks incredible.
-- And speaking of incredible photos… this one from a story about birds and their predators. Crazy.
VIDEO of the WEEK
As noted above-the collapse of the Minnesota Metrodome roof… just mind blowing watching it happen. Thank goodness no one was in there at the time!
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