One thing I learned early on working for NJ Government for 39 years, is that nothing is free. Everything comes with a price, even if its hidden initially.
Take for example the practice years ago of offering people like me (contracting and procurement officers - well managers anyway), box seats at a Phillies, Giants or Jets game. Or the free trinkets and pens (with company logo) offered at the ubiquitous trade shows, some just blocks from my office, or those I attended at the Philly Convention Center or New York City hotels. Scarfing down the trinkets was a favorite past time of us government attendees until the State Ethics Committee finally said (correctly), "No more." Ah, what's wrong with a pen for God's sake? Well, when you use it around the office, or heaven forbid outside, it can give the wrong impression with IBM in big letters on its side. Now that's picayune. That's crushing the mice while the elephants stomp past. "How's a pen going to alter my judgement?" all the managers would ask.
Case in point, "The Pilot Project." Someone gets a bright idea and just happens to know of a vendor who can implement it. The vendor comes in with six flunkies in suits, sometimes with a pretty woman in a business suit, and gives a big dog and pony show - glossy folders and handouts, maybe a Powerpoint, either way, no matter how carefully crafted, its a sales pitch. Some in state government trusted positions have committed fraud for thousands or even millions of dollars. Yet vendor meetings are above board. And vendors come in and do this for managers, assistant directors and directors all the time. Especially legislators. Almost weekly. Why? Supposedly its free, no obligation, and the excuse is always given "We're just investigating options. We need to be informed since we don't have the expertise ourselves." In Washington they're called lobbyists; in New Jersey they're just "vendors."
And I was the guy that had to write the special request to the Treasurer's Office (but if he or a deputy was involved, it was all a snap), to the Office of Management and Budget to approve the funding, and to the State Purchasing division to procure these "pilot" products and services. Illegal? Certainly not. Fair and free competition? No.
One example: The electronic device that attached to the base of any light bulb, and cut electricity use by 10%. It cost $1.80 each. Supposed payback less than six months. How did they demonstrate this miracle? With a black box with two lightbulbs, one with the device attached, the other without. And the vendor's question when he flipped the switch on? "Notice how you can't see any decrease in lumens (light output). Its not even noticeable, but yet its saving energy." That's a hell of a proof, isn't it? And I had to write-up and walk-thru the paperwork for $25,000 worth of these "miracles." Personally, as an energy manager, I tried to stay mum about the whole fiasco. After all, the Chief of Staff of a major state agency was pushing this -- let him tell the other agencies.
These types of backroom deals, especially with big vendors like Microsoft and others, resulted in millions of dollars in expenditures. Why? Because someone up above was sold on the idea. "It will save you money in the long run," the vendors said. Only problem? No one, no one, ever did the follow-up to prove their savings estimates.
I was lucky. The thirty folks in Treasury Fiscal and Administration I dealt with on a daily basis were all honest. Yes, we might bend the rules, or force them to the outer limit, but never break them. And those bendings were rare -- and justified, and signed off at the highest levels. And they cost millions of dollars. None of my contracts were for less than $1 million. These "pilots" always ended up being much bigger within months; thousands of software licenses bought initially for example, then tens of thousands within months. All necessary to keep the State running. Yes, without a doubt. All necessary.
So what do you do? My motto for me and staff was to know more about a product or service then the vendor. Dealing with a vendor, when using state funds, is a matter of trust. We knew they had something up their sleeve, but could rarely catch them in the act of deception. All vendor reps had great explanations when questioned. Hell, they were trained to overcome objections; we weren't trained in recognizing untruths, or how to verify their claims. Oh, we did our homework on comparison products and costs when we could, talked to agencies or other companies that dealt with the vendor to see how above board they were, and if they were fairly priced. Of course, we could never know as much as the vendor -- they always had the advantage. But we could ask the hard questions. I was the bad cop to my staff's good cop. After all, it was my name (and others), on Form PB-129 "Request for Waiver of Advertising" which authorized these procurements.
Most of the deals I dealt with were "Sole Source." By definition there was only one source of supply. Hard to believe in today's world of innumerable shopping sites, huh? But this system of requesting waivers and justifying sole source, or technical compatibility, for me, went on prior to 1979 when I started. Way before the Internet, Wikipedia or Google searches. And the waiver system is still in place today. Regrettably, a necessary system because, bottom line "You can't bid absolutely everything."
Like you, I've had many ups and downs, and quite a few sideways experiences. I firmly believe everyone should write theirs and share them, whether just for themselves or their kids. Here are some from my memoirs, observations and thoughts.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Boarding Passes Please
I have a lot to share about my recent trip to Ireland with my 81 year-old mom, so I'd thought I'd start here -- boarding the planes to and from the Emerald Isle. And it is mostly emerald, a deep, rich, fresh green, dotted with two story houses and gray castle ruins, with herds of cattle and horses, and flocks of white sheep -- all grazing contentedly in the serene undulating hills. But getting there and back by plane was a challenge -- for me anyway, a novice, not an experienced international traveler (well, not since 2005 and my pilgrimage to the Holy Land). I had forgotten everything I had learned about flying and its practices and procedures.
My siblings and I had chipped in to send Mom to her native land as a birthday present. Having never been, it was her lifelong dream. I volunteered to go to make things easier for her, since none of my two brothers and sisters, or their spouses, could do it. Anyway, I am retired - I had free time on my hands. No writing for a week, which would turn out not to be true, but small price to pay for Mom to meet her cousins in Clonmel and Carrick-an-Suir, birthplace of the Cavanaugh clan.
After researching Ireland online, emailing our host cousins, checking out travel companies etc., I discovered my good friend Chet, a past co-worker, was a Travel agent. Ah, this made it much easier - a human on the other end of email and the phone who could answer my picky questions and ease my concerns. After speaking at length together, I hired him, a good decision. We settled on Gate1 Travel as the tour company. Chet and I fleshed out a bare-bones itinerary, which I would later fill in, and picked the dates - April 29th, departure, and May 6, 2013 return. We were to fly nonstop out of Philly Airport, equidistant from Newark Airport from our home. (Newark would have been easier in hindsight.)
I sent Gate1 a deposit online, and we were on our way to an affordable trip (we thought - more later). After back and forth's with Chet, Mom and I agreed to make Dublin our base of operations, and also signed up for a one day trip to the magnificent Cliffs of Moher (pronounced "More"). I got separate tickets online to visit the famous Guinness Storehouse and tasting, as well as Dublin Bus Hop-on, Hop-off passes to tour the city for a day. Our hotel, the Camden Court, in center-city, was also booked for us. After making the final payment two weeks before, I received online a twelve-page detailed description from Gate1 of all aspects of the trip, including, most importantly, our US Airways ticket numbers. I only had to do three things before leaving: pack my bag with Janet's help, print the boarding passes within 24-hours of departure, and pick up Mom. Janet would drive us there and pick us up. All set. Almost.
A day before leaving I hurriedly emailed Chet.
"Jan told me I need the plane boarding passes. Do you do that or do I?'
"You do, Rod. remember my last email and the link I sent? You go to US Airways website, click Manage Reservations, and print your passes."
"Oh, okay, I'll do that tomorrow then?"
"Absolutely, within 24 hours.Got it?"
"Got it. Thanks Chet!" I had exchanged over a dozen emails with Chet, and a long phone call, during this process. He was kind and responsive to my every need.
I went online. Their main page had the tab I sought. I clicked it and entered the special code Chet had given me. It confirmed departure time and seat numbers. I clicked "print" for the passes and all was done neatly and cleanly. Success! However, Without Janet having recently flown to London with friends, and having done this herself, or without Chet's help, I don't know how I would have figured out to print the boarding passes.
As good as the Internet can be, it assumes to much. Way to much. It expects me to intuitively know how to do all this. It expects me to click on tabs or blue letters, even though it doesn't say "click here" like it used to in the early days. "How to obtain boarding passes" wasn't a clickable item. (FAQ pages are notorious for decent explanations, but no clickable links to the solution -- one still has to search the site.) Nothing explicit or helpful to me, a novice, at all. I've found this time and time again with the Internet. Supposedly good, even well-established websites have these communication problems. They assume I know how to do it, and what to click when. Hogwash. Without external help, I challenge anyone to say this process is intuitive. In a complex world, I need explicit directions.
Coming back was more traumatic. Janet had told me the hotel would print the passes for me. I asked them, and the clerk kindly printed something -- a bar code -- not passes. What do I do with this? I even went on the hotel computer for three euros for thirty minutes (cheap), to try it myself. Once on US Airways website I could not find our departure passes. Nada. I got anxious, and was anxious from that moment until I saw a kiosk in the ticket line at Dublin Airport's US Airways terminal later that day.
I certainly didn't want to frighten Mom. But I vaguely remembered using a kiosk to print my own boarding pass years earlier. I saw others using the four nearby stations. While Mom waited in the long ticket line, I waited for a kiosk to open up. I didn't see a scanner for the bar code -- the only thing I had. I almost panicked. But I saw "Enter special code" on the screen. I had written down the code Chet had given me a week earlier. I was worried it might not work, but I entered it. Quickly the two passes printed. Hurray!
I am not sophisticated. I'm an average Joe. I don't travel by plane much. How was I supposed to know all this? No signs at the airport helped, either. A simple sign on the kiosk "Print Boarding Passes Here" would have been a tremendous help. But no, nothing explicit.To add insult to injury, I got back in line with Mom and waited 15 minutes to see a ticketing clerk. I showed our passes and passports.
She said, "Do have any luggage to check in?"
"No, just carry-ons."
"Then you're all all set, just go to the USPC Gates marked on your boarding pass."
"Uh, that's it? Which way?" I didn't tell Mom we had wasted our time in this line.
"Oh, take the elevator to floor 2."
"Uh, thanks."
There were no signs to the elevators or to the gates that I recall. I guess I'll just have to develop more intuition if I'm to survive in an online or machine-driven world.
My third company will be a sign-making one.
My siblings and I had chipped in to send Mom to her native land as a birthday present. Having never been, it was her lifelong dream. I volunteered to go to make things easier for her, since none of my two brothers and sisters, or their spouses, could do it. Anyway, I am retired - I had free time on my hands. No writing for a week, which would turn out not to be true, but small price to pay for Mom to meet her cousins in Clonmel and Carrick-an-Suir, birthplace of the Cavanaugh clan.
After researching Ireland online, emailing our host cousins, checking out travel companies etc., I discovered my good friend Chet, a past co-worker, was a Travel agent. Ah, this made it much easier - a human on the other end of email and the phone who could answer my picky questions and ease my concerns. After speaking at length together, I hired him, a good decision. We settled on Gate1 Travel as the tour company. Chet and I fleshed out a bare-bones itinerary, which I would later fill in, and picked the dates - April 29th, departure, and May 6, 2013 return. We were to fly nonstop out of Philly Airport, equidistant from Newark Airport from our home. (Newark would have been easier in hindsight.)
I sent Gate1 a deposit online, and we were on our way to an affordable trip (we thought - more later). After back and forth's with Chet, Mom and I agreed to make Dublin our base of operations, and also signed up for a one day trip to the magnificent Cliffs of Moher (pronounced "More"). I got separate tickets online to visit the famous Guinness Storehouse and tasting, as well as Dublin Bus Hop-on, Hop-off passes to tour the city for a day. Our hotel, the Camden Court, in center-city, was also booked for us. After making the final payment two weeks before, I received online a twelve-page detailed description from Gate1 of all aspects of the trip, including, most importantly, our US Airways ticket numbers. I only had to do three things before leaving: pack my bag with Janet's help, print the boarding passes within 24-hours of departure, and pick up Mom. Janet would drive us there and pick us up. All set. Almost.
A day before leaving I hurriedly emailed Chet.
"Jan told me I need the plane boarding passes. Do you do that or do I?'
"You do, Rod. remember my last email and the link I sent? You go to US Airways website, click Manage Reservations, and print your passes."
"Oh, okay, I'll do that tomorrow then?"
"Absolutely, within 24 hours.Got it?"
"Got it. Thanks Chet!" I had exchanged over a dozen emails with Chet, and a long phone call, during this process. He was kind and responsive to my every need.
I went online. Their main page had the tab I sought. I clicked it and entered the special code Chet had given me. It confirmed departure time and seat numbers. I clicked "print" for the passes and all was done neatly and cleanly. Success! However, Without Janet having recently flown to London with friends, and having done this herself, or without Chet's help, I don't know how I would have figured out to print the boarding passes.
As good as the Internet can be, it assumes to much. Way to much. It expects me to intuitively know how to do all this. It expects me to click on tabs or blue letters, even though it doesn't say "click here" like it used to in the early days. "How to obtain boarding passes" wasn't a clickable item. (FAQ pages are notorious for decent explanations, but no clickable links to the solution -- one still has to search the site.) Nothing explicit or helpful to me, a novice, at all. I've found this time and time again with the Internet. Supposedly good, even well-established websites have these communication problems. They assume I know how to do it, and what to click when. Hogwash. Without external help, I challenge anyone to say this process is intuitive. In a complex world, I need explicit directions.
Coming back was more traumatic. Janet had told me the hotel would print the passes for me. I asked them, and the clerk kindly printed something -- a bar code -- not passes. What do I do with this? I even went on the hotel computer for three euros for thirty minutes (cheap), to try it myself. Once on US Airways website I could not find our departure passes. Nada. I got anxious, and was anxious from that moment until I saw a kiosk in the ticket line at Dublin Airport's US Airways terminal later that day.
I certainly didn't want to frighten Mom. But I vaguely remembered using a kiosk to print my own boarding pass years earlier. I saw others using the four nearby stations. While Mom waited in the long ticket line, I waited for a kiosk to open up. I didn't see a scanner for the bar code -- the only thing I had. I almost panicked. But I saw "Enter special code" on the screen. I had written down the code Chet had given me a week earlier. I was worried it might not work, but I entered it. Quickly the two passes printed. Hurray!
I am not sophisticated. I'm an average Joe. I don't travel by plane much. How was I supposed to know all this? No signs at the airport helped, either. A simple sign on the kiosk "Print Boarding Passes Here" would have been a tremendous help. But no, nothing explicit.To add insult to injury, I got back in line with Mom and waited 15 minutes to see a ticketing clerk. I showed our passes and passports.
She said, "Do have any luggage to check in?"
"No, just carry-ons."
"Then you're all all set, just go to the USPC Gates marked on your boarding pass."
"Uh, that's it? Which way?" I didn't tell Mom we had wasted our time in this line.
"Oh, take the elevator to floor 2."
"Uh, thanks."
There were no signs to the elevators or to the gates that I recall. I guess I'll just have to develop more intuition if I'm to survive in an online or machine-driven world.
My third company will be a sign-making one.
Monday, April 29, 2013
The Difference with Policies
I don't mean insurance policies, like my life insurance. Although I've had success with NY Life since 1972, it's really a contract. So policies can be contracts between two parties, but usually they are "issued' by a person or an organization and "followed" by others. Even my life insurance policy, is all one way - in NY Life's favor -- I had no input into its terms at all. Accept it or reject it, which is the way most purchases are (not all). I have never even seen the terms of my state life insurance policy that all employees are entitled to. That was a good deal, and cost zero, but when I was a kid just starting out with the state, I failed to sign up for contributory insurance and pay a premium -- which would have tripled my death benefit. At the time, making $3,000 a year, it didn't seem worth it. But of course it was, because it would have tripled my salary as the benefit. I could have had life insurance when I retired worth $300,000 to Janet if I had signed up for it back then.Ant the premium was just pennies on my slowly advancing salary.
No, I mean policy, as my informal policies of not stepping on trash where I walk, but picking it up and disposing of it. Even if that meant sticking it in my back pocket until I saw a garbage can later. Or tee'ing my cigarette butts -- flicking off the lit end when I'm an inch from the filter, and stomping it out carefully. Then I'd carefully empty the tobacco left in the cigarette stub, and place it in my pocket for the trash later. Over the years Janet got used to me embarrassing her and picking up trash, but hated washing my pants with butts in the pocket where it mixed with other wash. She'd say it "stinks them up" and had to wash some clothes over again. So that required a new policy on my part -- throw away those butts!
At work, circa 2002 I wrote up policies for our work unit, the Statewide Contract Consolidation Unit. Just a couple of pages, nothing heavy, but it actually became a two-inch binder after a few years. Most of our state employee policies were in the Employee Handbook (which no one got a copy of). Things like calling the boss within a half hour of work start time or leave a message that I'd be late, or out sick that day. It was against policy to call out with a vacation day without advance notice -- but no one followed that. We used sick time and vacation time, if we had it, anytime we wanted to and most managers or directors didn't balk about granting it - as long as we had accrued time. Even the three-day rule, requiring a doctor's note after three days absence, was routinely ignored by employees and managers.
So policies, like laws, rules and regulations get broken - however, there's exceptions or exceptional circumstances that change their application or enforcement. This was very easy to do for the rules I made up, like having all outside correspondence be signed by me, especially letters to state agencies, vendors or others. That changed when I was signing hundreds every busy season, and with the advent of email. Its insane to restrict employees from sending emails because they may not be my own "perfect" wording, or not letting them sign their own letters, usually modifications of our basic form letters.
So to me, policies are much easier to change than laws, rules or regulations, hence I like them better -- more flexible. There is not a single state repository for policies. The closest thing to it is the Circular Letters (go to http://www.nj.gov/infobank/circular/circindx.htm) issued by entities like the state Purchase Bureau, for all state purchasing, or those by the Office of Management and Budget for handling all fiscal and financial matters.I had to know them forward and backward because they guided our day-to-day contracting operations. The rules changed regularly based on who the new division directors were and their personal take on how they, and hundreds of other agencies, should be guided.
That was one of many aspects to work that I liked; knowing and implementing regulations and policies for our own work. It was very liberating having them -- at least we knew what they were and how to work around them when necessary (usually by a phone call or email to a sympathetic higher-up, or possibly a meeting).
But those are other stories which I'll get into when I cover the individual circular letter. Next up will be what we really did in response to 11-14-DPP for example, Requests for Waivers of Advertising. We generated over contract waivers every year, totalling $36 million, for our Information Technology procurements which covered 70 agencies and 80 vendor companies. Another favorite of mine, which we didn't use much but all agencies used heavily was 11-10-DPP Delegated Purchase Authority (DPA), which gave agencies the ability to spend tens of thousands of dollars with a vendor without any central purchasing oversight. Those were fun to do. I gave a training class on DPA use once, to all our Treasury fiscal and procurement folks.
All fun stuff -- spending other people's money that we felt was our own, and we could do anything we liked -- within limits of course. Ha!.
No, I mean policy, as my informal policies of not stepping on trash where I walk, but picking it up and disposing of it. Even if that meant sticking it in my back pocket until I saw a garbage can later. Or tee'ing my cigarette butts -- flicking off the lit end when I'm an inch from the filter, and stomping it out carefully. Then I'd carefully empty the tobacco left in the cigarette stub, and place it in my pocket for the trash later. Over the years Janet got used to me embarrassing her and picking up trash, but hated washing my pants with butts in the pocket where it mixed with other wash. She'd say it "stinks them up" and had to wash some clothes over again. So that required a new policy on my part -- throw away those butts!
At work, circa 2002 I wrote up policies for our work unit, the Statewide Contract Consolidation Unit. Just a couple of pages, nothing heavy, but it actually became a two-inch binder after a few years. Most of our state employee policies were in the Employee Handbook (which no one got a copy of). Things like calling the boss within a half hour of work start time or leave a message that I'd be late, or out sick that day. It was against policy to call out with a vacation day without advance notice -- but no one followed that. We used sick time and vacation time, if we had it, anytime we wanted to and most managers or directors didn't balk about granting it - as long as we had accrued time. Even the three-day rule, requiring a doctor's note after three days absence, was routinely ignored by employees and managers.
So policies, like laws, rules and regulations get broken - however, there's exceptions or exceptional circumstances that change their application or enforcement. This was very easy to do for the rules I made up, like having all outside correspondence be signed by me, especially letters to state agencies, vendors or others. That changed when I was signing hundreds every busy season, and with the advent of email. Its insane to restrict employees from sending emails because they may not be my own "perfect" wording, or not letting them sign their own letters, usually modifications of our basic form letters.
So to me, policies are much easier to change than laws, rules or regulations, hence I like them better -- more flexible. There is not a single state repository for policies. The closest thing to it is the Circular Letters (go to http://www.nj.gov/infobank/circular/circindx.htm) issued by entities like the state Purchase Bureau, for all state purchasing, or those by the Office of Management and Budget for handling all fiscal and financial matters.I had to know them forward and backward because they guided our day-to-day contracting operations. The rules changed regularly based on who the new division directors were and their personal take on how they, and hundreds of other agencies, should be guided.
That was one of many aspects to work that I liked; knowing and implementing regulations and policies for our own work. It was very liberating having them -- at least we knew what they were and how to work around them when necessary (usually by a phone call or email to a sympathetic higher-up, or possibly a meeting).
But those are other stories which I'll get into when I cover the individual circular letter. Next up will be what we really did in response to 11-14-DPP for example, Requests for Waivers of Advertising. We generated over contract waivers every year, totalling $36 million, for our Information Technology procurements which covered 70 agencies and 80 vendor companies. Another favorite of mine, which we didn't use much but all agencies used heavily was 11-10-DPP Delegated Purchase Authority (DPA), which gave agencies the ability to spend tens of thousands of dollars with a vendor without any central purchasing oversight. Those were fun to do. I gave a training class on DPA use once, to all our Treasury fiscal and procurement folks.
All fun stuff -- spending other people's money that we felt was our own, and we could do anything we liked -- within limits of course. Ha!.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Why Laws, Standards and Rules?
I love most standards and many rules, but I don't know all the 40,000 estimated laws in this country, so I'm at a disadvantage here. But each law, standard or rule, has both advantages and disadvantages, which should be obvious to anyone forced to follow them. Don't get me wrong, I promote all three, but with wisdom (usually from educated and informed individuals and organizations).
We need these things if we're going to have a civilization. For example, we have motor vehicle laws and rules. The laws govern the big things, and the rules govern the little ones. I must have a valid driver's licence, and my car here in NJ must be registered and have auto insurance in order for me to legally drive. But "Speed Limit 35" or "Speed limit 65" are rules for various stretches of roadways, and can change. In government rules are called regulations, and how we get them, ideally, is thru "rulemaking" -- a process where supposedly smart people make the rules. That's why I love reading the NJ Register - NJ's rules books. And as a citizen I have a right to comment on proposed rules. That's participatory government, but few private citizens participate that way. Mostly its the special interests that 'guide' the outcome of rules (and laws). So we need more input from us, the populace -- well, someday we'll get it.
So laws and their follow up rules govern our modern civilization. Then come standards, somewhere in between and comprising both. For example, a standard of behavior in America is to hold the door open for other people before entering, or to hold it open if they're behind you. Civilized, but not a law, and not a written rule, especially in some other countries. Also like standing in a single line waiting to be seated in a restaurant, or ordering at McDonald's. Those are an American thing. Breaking laws and rules usually have penalties for noncompliance, like littering (if you're caught). Breaking standards just means you won't be able to sell your product in the marketplace well (like not having the universal size of toilet openings), or you piss someone off by cutting in line; unless you create a new universal standard, which is big business, like a 'killer app."
And this is the age of new standards what with computers, complex societal structures, internet etc. etc. I use the internet a lot, so here are some of my proposed standards:
1. When I buy something online, tell me the full cost up front in big numbers, not in the small print of "agreements." Anyway, agreements are between the parties, but onerous online agreements are all one way -- in the seller's favor exclusively. Of course some are better than others, but the point is, it's one way.
I have to tell you, as a contracts manager for thirty years, an agreement, which is an euphemism as its used today, is a binding contract if you click 'I Accept,' so be cautious. Read it first you dummy!
And by the way, Let me read the full agreement. Let me print it in all cases, even before I click (and especially after), and it should be signed by both parties AND DATED at the time of acceptance. That's fairer. That's a real contract. I won't even go into buyer's and seller's terms, and negotiation.
2. Let me print and save the receipt. Give me a confirmation or order number. Send me a confirming email after I purchase. Every purchase must say on the receipt '30 Day Return Period -- No Questions Asked,' unless you ask nicely and I want to tell you why. There may be exceptional things like clothing worn by the purchaser, for example.
3,. Every product must have a manufacturer's warranty against defects, and must have a stated warranty for fitness and merchantability, not an 'impled warrangty.' What good is implied? It doesn't protect me in a dispute well at all. All product warranties must have a minimum 30 day money back guarantee if not satisfied, and that's ALL products. (Except for a max 10% restocking fee -- they have to check the return for defects and maybe repackage it before sending it back to the warehouse for a new sale,) If I was making the laws it would be a minimum 90 days. My Sears lawn tractor lost a wheel twice within 90 days (but I still prefer it to others). And the warranty must be printed on the packaging in big letters, including the time period. Include a sheet with the product of rights and responsibilities if you like, and warranty info, or attach it online to the order.
4. Every product should have understandable English operating instructions if applicable. The better companies put product manuals online (yeah!).
5. It should be illegal to use the unqualified word "Free" in all ads or promotions, unless its truly free. NOT a "FREE" Trial, where I have to agree to automatic payments after 14 days. Free should mean free. The better companies are doing just that.
6. Abolish evergreen contracts. An evergreen contract is one in which you are billed (just doing that would be okay, with notice), an amount to your credit card 'automatically.' All payments on the internet must have a positive, clickable response from the buyer in the terms of each purchase. That's only fair.
7. Full disclosure. Right now we pay lip service to it. The so called privacy rights bullshit etc.
8. It should be illegal to sell my personal information or give it to anyone without my express permission. Good sites let me click if I want info from third parties, for example.
9. Do NOT pre-click those tiny boxes for me. I must click them myself.
That's a few for now.
Oh and by the way, we need a uniform internet products and services federal tax, we're way overdue. Level the playing field! That's fair to other businesses. BUT DO NOT PAY THE STATES! Let the Feds collect say 6 or 7%, take 1 or 2% for administration, and let the Feds distribute them back to the states monthly based on where the purchaser lives. Whatever you do, don't let these tax obsessed states set their own tax rate. Talk about onerous! That adds complexity and millions in costs to all businesses to comply, stifles competition, and kills small businesses that want to expand.
I hope someday we'll be able to do that globally as well. In that case let the country set its own sales tax rate, but have an international body oversee it. And when that higher sales tax rate shows on your purchase order form, consumers will determine whether its fair or not, all shipping costs aside.
We need these things if we're going to have a civilization. For example, we have motor vehicle laws and rules. The laws govern the big things, and the rules govern the little ones. I must have a valid driver's licence, and my car here in NJ must be registered and have auto insurance in order for me to legally drive. But "Speed Limit 35" or "Speed limit 65" are rules for various stretches of roadways, and can change. In government rules are called regulations, and how we get them, ideally, is thru "rulemaking" -- a process where supposedly smart people make the rules. That's why I love reading the NJ Register - NJ's rules books. And as a citizen I have a right to comment on proposed rules. That's participatory government, but few private citizens participate that way. Mostly its the special interests that 'guide' the outcome of rules (and laws). So we need more input from us, the populace -- well, someday we'll get it.
So laws and their follow up rules govern our modern civilization. Then come standards, somewhere in between and comprising both. For example, a standard of behavior in America is to hold the door open for other people before entering, or to hold it open if they're behind you. Civilized, but not a law, and not a written rule, especially in some other countries. Also like standing in a single line waiting to be seated in a restaurant, or ordering at McDonald's. Those are an American thing. Breaking laws and rules usually have penalties for noncompliance, like littering (if you're caught). Breaking standards just means you won't be able to sell your product in the marketplace well (like not having the universal size of toilet openings), or you piss someone off by cutting in line; unless you create a new universal standard, which is big business, like a 'killer app."
And this is the age of new standards what with computers, complex societal structures, internet etc. etc. I use the internet a lot, so here are some of my proposed standards:
1. When I buy something online, tell me the full cost up front in big numbers, not in the small print of "agreements." Anyway, agreements are between the parties, but onerous online agreements are all one way -- in the seller's favor exclusively. Of course some are better than others, but the point is, it's one way.
I have to tell you, as a contracts manager for thirty years, an agreement, which is an euphemism as its used today, is a binding contract if you click 'I Accept,' so be cautious. Read it first you dummy!
And by the way, Let me read the full agreement. Let me print it in all cases, even before I click (and especially after), and it should be signed by both parties AND DATED at the time of acceptance. That's fairer. That's a real contract. I won't even go into buyer's and seller's terms, and negotiation.
2. Let me print and save the receipt. Give me a confirmation or order number. Send me a confirming email after I purchase. Every purchase must say on the receipt '30 Day Return Period -- No Questions Asked,' unless you ask nicely and I want to tell you why. There may be exceptional things like clothing worn by the purchaser, for example.
3,. Every product must have a manufacturer's warranty against defects, and must have a stated warranty for fitness and merchantability, not an 'impled warrangty.' What good is implied? It doesn't protect me in a dispute well at all. All product warranties must have a minimum 30 day money back guarantee if not satisfied, and that's ALL products. (Except for a max 10% restocking fee -- they have to check the return for defects and maybe repackage it before sending it back to the warehouse for a new sale,) If I was making the laws it would be a minimum 90 days. My Sears lawn tractor lost a wheel twice within 90 days (but I still prefer it to others). And the warranty must be printed on the packaging in big letters, including the time period. Include a sheet with the product of rights and responsibilities if you like, and warranty info, or attach it online to the order.
4. Every product should have understandable English operating instructions if applicable. The better companies put product manuals online (yeah!).
5. It should be illegal to use the unqualified word "Free" in all ads or promotions, unless its truly free. NOT a "FREE" Trial, where I have to agree to automatic payments after 14 days. Free should mean free. The better companies are doing just that.
6. Abolish evergreen contracts. An evergreen contract is one in which you are billed (just doing that would be okay, with notice), an amount to your credit card 'automatically.' All payments on the internet must have a positive, clickable response from the buyer in the terms of each purchase. That's only fair.
7. Full disclosure. Right now we pay lip service to it. The so called privacy rights bullshit etc.
8. It should be illegal to sell my personal information or give it to anyone without my express permission. Good sites let me click if I want info from third parties, for example.
9. Do NOT pre-click those tiny boxes for me. I must click them myself.
That's a few for now.
Oh and by the way, we need a uniform internet products and services federal tax, we're way overdue. Level the playing field! That's fair to other businesses. BUT DO NOT PAY THE STATES! Let the Feds collect say 6 or 7%, take 1 or 2% for administration, and let the Feds distribute them back to the states monthly based on where the purchaser lives. Whatever you do, don't let these tax obsessed states set their own tax rate. Talk about onerous! That adds complexity and millions in costs to all businesses to comply, stifles competition, and kills small businesses that want to expand.
I hope someday we'll be able to do that globally as well. In that case let the country set its own sales tax rate, but have an international body oversee it. And when that higher sales tax rate shows on your purchase order form, consumers will determine whether its fair or not, all shipping costs aside.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Imagination Anyone?
As usual, I got up in the pitch dark and tiptoed to our bathroom so as not to wake Janet. She was sound asleep, practically snoring in her own quiet way. She needed a good sleep. She hadn't been well for weeks, with headaches and hurtful hearing loss, which had been unexplained. finally the ENT specialist had found the cause -- earwax buildup over the past year or longer, blocking the hearing canals. a good but sore cleaning solved the problem. My wife was no longer in pain.
We were taking my mom to visit Jesse, Rachel and baby Sienna Rose today at their Manhattan apartment. Sienna was less than a month old, and granny had only seen pictures and a short video. she was dying to meet her.
I did my business, swished some Bentine, brushed my teeth, and splashed cold water on my face and hair -- my usual morning ritual. It was 3:30 a.m. I turned the light off, tiptoed to my dresser chair, and grabbed my jeans, top and socks which I had laid out the night before. I again tiptoed to the dining room then dressed. Another day. I put on my jacket from the kitchen, picked up my wallet, cellphone and keys, and headed out to Dunkin for my first of six daily coffees.
I quietly walked outside and lit a smoke, again, part of my daily ritual. I stood outside in the cool air, at the top of our driveway, wondering what the day would be like seeing my first grandchild. Oh! I'm a grandfather! Even for me, I was excited thinking of the years to come. As I paced a little I noticed a sports car parked down the street a little bit from our house, about three car lengths from where I normally parked my silver Civic. As I looked at it I could see the whole right side, the passenger side, was black with gaping holes, dents and deep dark, long scratches. "Ohh!" What happened there? I thought, wondering if the car belonged to a friend of our teenage neighbors sons.
I stared at the dents wondering how the crash had happened. A telephone pole? Another car? Was anyone hurt?
Then it struck me. It's my Civic! How did it get dented in like that? I stared harder. Then I saw what it was. The gaping holes and dents were black shadows backlit by our streetlamp, showering the shadow of our dogwood tree in our front yard onto my car. Whew! It's only shasdows! I was relieved.
Imagination. The first human power, where everything starts and reaction originates. I remembered the two short pages from 'Abdu'l-Baha's book, Some Answered Questions, which we had studied last Sunday at foster Baha'i school. It was one of my very favorite passages, and I had memorized it long ago,
We all know the fiver outer senses of man; our five outer powers if you will: sight, hearing, smell, taste and feeling. Feeling, which covers all parts of the body including our brains. Five outer senses which are so common-sensical, understandable and well-known. But when I first read this treatise over forty years ago, I was also immediately stuck by the cogency of the descriptions of the five inner powers of man: imagination, thought, comprehension, memory and the common faculty, which interfaced the five outer and inner powers.
My dented car was a perfect example of the powers of man; my sight had perceived the "dented" car, my imagination conjured a certain reality, my thoughts explored the meaning, I finally comprehended the reality of what I saw, and my memory told me it was my car -- and it wasn't smashed in! I had parked it away from our house the evening before, so its position in the street was unfamiliar. I had moved it so the arriving guests for our Annual Meeting would have more room to park their cars.
And the common faculty had helped them park their cars, and me my car. All these senses and powers working together.
Man is an incredible creation of God, don't you think? I do.
We were taking my mom to visit Jesse, Rachel and baby Sienna Rose today at their Manhattan apartment. Sienna was less than a month old, and granny had only seen pictures and a short video. she was dying to meet her.
I did my business, swished some Bentine, brushed my teeth, and splashed cold water on my face and hair -- my usual morning ritual. It was 3:30 a.m. I turned the light off, tiptoed to my dresser chair, and grabbed my jeans, top and socks which I had laid out the night before. I again tiptoed to the dining room then dressed. Another day. I put on my jacket from the kitchen, picked up my wallet, cellphone and keys, and headed out to Dunkin for my first of six daily coffees.
I quietly walked outside and lit a smoke, again, part of my daily ritual. I stood outside in the cool air, at the top of our driveway, wondering what the day would be like seeing my first grandchild. Oh! I'm a grandfather! Even for me, I was excited thinking of the years to come. As I paced a little I noticed a sports car parked down the street a little bit from our house, about three car lengths from where I normally parked my silver Civic. As I looked at it I could see the whole right side, the passenger side, was black with gaping holes, dents and deep dark, long scratches. "Ohh!" What happened there? I thought, wondering if the car belonged to a friend of our teenage neighbors sons.
I stared at the dents wondering how the crash had happened. A telephone pole? Another car? Was anyone hurt?
Then it struck me. It's my Civic! How did it get dented in like that? I stared harder. Then I saw what it was. The gaping holes and dents were black shadows backlit by our streetlamp, showering the shadow of our dogwood tree in our front yard onto my car. Whew! It's only shasdows! I was relieved.
Imagination. The first human power, where everything starts and reaction originates. I remembered the two short pages from 'Abdu'l-Baha's book, Some Answered Questions, which we had studied last Sunday at foster Baha'i school. It was one of my very favorite passages, and I had memorized it long ago,
We all know the fiver outer senses of man; our five outer powers if you will: sight, hearing, smell, taste and feeling. Feeling, which covers all parts of the body including our brains. Five outer senses which are so common-sensical, understandable and well-known. But when I first read this treatise over forty years ago, I was also immediately stuck by the cogency of the descriptions of the five inner powers of man: imagination, thought, comprehension, memory and the common faculty, which interfaced the five outer and inner powers.
My dented car was a perfect example of the powers of man; my sight had perceived the "dented" car, my imagination conjured a certain reality, my thoughts explored the meaning, I finally comprehended the reality of what I saw, and my memory told me it was my car -- and it wasn't smashed in! I had parked it away from our house the evening before, so its position in the street was unfamiliar. I had moved it so the arriving guests for our Annual Meeting would have more room to park their cars.
And the common faculty had helped them park their cars, and me my car. All these senses and powers working together.
Man is an incredible creation of God, don't you think? I do.
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