|
Haifisch posted:And it still doesn't necessarily make sense. Business is rife with people measuring stupid metrics thinking it'll improve things, and 99% of the time those metrics are mysteriously the only thing that improves, while the business as a whole performs the same(or worse) as before. There's no space for empathy in a system where the only thing that matters is the numbers changing in a way that suits you right at this second - later, you can act bewildered when the numbers get worse for no apparent reason.
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 01:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 18:07 |
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:The biggest problem is that cutting IT, training, and employee wages to the bone leads to a jump in profits right now. It causes massive damage in the long term but by that point the person who made the decision will be off to pillage another company or in a position to pass the blame onto somebody else. Same goes for making the product smaller or shittier; it leads to increased profits this quarter. It makes for better numbers and fat executive bonuses in the short term. The various stakeholders, shareholders, and investors want numbers right god damned now rather than a decade from now. It's all about making this quarter's numbers better than last quarter's numbers at all costs even if that cost is that the company burns down in two years. Seems like something that happens when you have a huge glut of folks retiring who need those returns to not starve because they messed up their exit strategy.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 04:06
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:I'm pretty sure the main purpose of Silicon Valley right now is scamming investors. How many startups just plain plan on not being profitable, getting venture capital, then selling to another company? So many of them seem to just not care about making actual traditional profit. We're in the economic equivalent of that period in the 50s-70s when the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were wasting money on crazy poo poo like psi research. A million dollars was a drop in the defense budget bucket, and hey, if it turns out this poo poo works, it would be a world changing advantage. That's the same thinking at work here--Uber is a gargantuan absurdity by common-sense metrics, but what if their plan works, and their money-losing national taxi chain transforms into a network of driverless cars? You can't afford not to invest on the off chance that it works, right?
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 04:54
|
|
|
I used to deliver pizzas for a local place in Denver whose STEMlord general manager recorded data on our delivery times and other metrics. After six weeks, the only shifts I ever got were the on-call shifts because I was apparently really good at making deliveries from 6 pm to 9 pm in the middle of the week. At first it sounded like they were just trying to get rid of me until I saw the spreadsheet.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 07:38
|
|
|
Star Man posted:I used to deliver pizzas for a local place in Denver whose STEMlord general manager recorded data on our delivery times and other metrics. After six weeks, the only shifts I ever got were the on-call shifts because I was apparently really good at making deliveries from 6 pm to 9 pm in the middle of the week. At first it sounded like they were just trying to get rid of me until I saw the spreadsheet. I'd lay actual money down that his spreadsheet didn't give any consideration to traffic patterns or ordering patterns, because confounding factors are outside the breadth of that kind of world view.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 11:02
|
|
|
Liquid Communism posted:I'd lay actual money down that his spreadsheet didn't give any consideration to traffic patterns or ordering patterns, because confounding factors are outside the breadth of that kind of world view. Obviously.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 11:15
|
|
I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
|
dont even fink about it posted:You should probably focus on the job being poo poo and not complain that a frankly above-average benefits package exists for entry-level work that pays 200% of retail. Oh boy twice minimum wage?! Golly, I've made it now! And I get to put money into a system that may or may not return anything? Like gambling except it's legal everywhere? So cool! Maybe you shouldn't pump it up as a good thing if it's completely worthless except in extremely specific situations then.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 15:58
|
|
|
ryonguy posted:Oh boy twice minimum wage?! Golly, I've made it now! And I get to put money into a system that may or may not return anything? Like gambling except it's legal everywhere? So cool! This is one of the dumber posts I’ll read today.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 16:01
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:How many startups just plain plan on not being profitable, getting venture capital, then selling to another company? So many of them seem to just not care about making actual traditional profit. Not sure why you think this isn't a valid exit strategy and a good way to make money for both the founders and investors. Plenty of larger companies simply suck at innovating and prefer/need to acquire technology or teams (acqui-hire). This happens all the time and everyone makes money when it is done successfully.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 17:28
|
|
|
ToxicSlurpee posted:The biggest problem is that cutting IT, training, and employee wages to the bone leads to a jump in profits right now. It causes massive damage in the long term but by that point the person who made the decision will be off to pillage another company or in a position to pass the blame onto somebody else. Same goes for making the product smaller or shittier; it leads to increased profits this quarter. It makes for better numbers and fat executive bonuses in the short term. The various stakeholders, shareholders, and investors want numbers right god damned now rather than a decade from now. It's all about making this quarter's numbers better than last quarter's numbers at all costs even if that cost is that the company burns down in two years. Capitalism is very efficient 
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 17:49
|
|
|
Honestly we should all be really grateful, corporations have no obligation to give us free cake on the sixth Wednesday of every month. Honestly, how can you possibly criticize free cake? ON A WEDNESDAY?
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 18:02
|
|
|
Also it is really poor form to be critical of anything Amazon does because they are (probably) not a sludge factory paying you in human urine which is clearly worse.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 18:07
|
|
|
Perhaps somewhat relevant to the thread, LL Bean is no longer doing the free lifetime returns thing: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/09/584493046/l-l-bean-scraps-legendary-lifetime-return-policy
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 18:10
|
|
|
Motronic posted:Not sure why you think this isn't a valid exit strategy and a good way to make money for both the founders and investors. Plenty of larger companies simply suck at innovating and prefer/need to acquire technology or teams (acqui-hire). This happens all the time and everyone makes money when it is done successfully. Yeah wow who are we to criticize this thing that makes some people money and fucks over all the little people who put in the actual work to make it happen???
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 18:11
|
|
|
archangelwar posted:Also it is really poor form to be critical of anything Amazon does because they are (probably) not a sludge factory paying you in human urine which is clearly worse. Actually I've been to an Amazon warehouse and I've got some bad news for you
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 18:18
|
|
|
DrNutt posted:Yeah wow who are we to criticize this thing that makes some people money and fucks over all the little people who put in the actual work to make it happen??? I know a person on Facebook who has a complete and total hard on for startups and entrepreneur culture, she works for some kind of weird cult-like incubator in Florida. It’s very creepy how singularly RAH RAH OPPORTUNITY MAKE IT HAPPEN CAPITALISM RAH these folks are to being 100% blind or indifferent about anything that doesn’t work to the benefit of the investor class.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 20:36
|
|
|
DrNutt posted:Yeah wow who are we to criticize this thing that makes some people money and fucks over all the little people who put in the actual work to make it happen??? Wait, what? Are you serious? Everybody working there gets equity in startups like that. That's a core part of the recruiting model.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2018 23:00
|
|
|
Welp, think my local mall may be done. It's already a third empty with Sears amd Kohls as anchors. They underwent a huge renovation two years ago to try and stay relevant, putting in a brewpub/theatre on the second floor and a bunch of new shops below it. So of course the pub blew a water main this weekend. All those new shops below it have a foot of standing water, and the mall is closed while they try to figure out a cleanup plan so even the businesses in the unaffected wings are losing revenue.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2018 16:06
|
|
|
Liquid Communism posted:Welp, think my local mall may be done. It's already a third empty with Sears amd Kohls as anchors. They underwent a huge renovation two years ago to try and stay relevant, putting in a brewpub/theatre on the second floor and a bunch of new shops below it. Merle Hay?
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2018 17:56
|
|
|
SimonCat posted:Merle Hay? Yeah. Whole lower level court they just started getting stores to move back into is wet.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 03:21
|
|
|
Liquid Communism posted:Yeah. Whole lower level court they just started getting stores to move back into is wet. Sad. I used to hang out there when they had the weird naked angel on a tricycle statue. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 13:21
|
|
|
I love that thing, and would never believe it existed if I hadn't seen it in person.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 17:14
|
|
|
Crow Jane posted:Perhaps somewhat relevant to the thread, LL Bean is no longer doing the free lifetime returns thing: Terrible people trying to get freebies from a company that was trying to do right by their customer base.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 19:00
|
|
|
Pretty sure that policy was changed due to my old roommate He would go to yard sales and get stuff replaced at ll bean, and then he would get his worn out boots replaced all with no proof of purchase. He was kind of a dick
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 19:22
|
|
|
I'm guessing it's more L.L Bean being hit by the same forces as every other clothing retailer right now. Even at its worst, I can't imagine all that many people would go to the effort of returning things / hunting for L.L Bean freebies to really impact their bottom line if they weren't already struggling. I'm not basing that on anything, though--just thinking about the amount of effort required vs general laziness of people.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:07
|
|
|
The amount of Christmas trees returned in January would suggest otherwise. EU law says you get to return goods “within 14 days, for any reason and with no justification.” Imagine how well that works out for the retail industry here.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:14
|
|
|
Anyone can shoplift trivially easy. I never really buy that any elaborate round about way to kinda sorta steal things ever is going to be a significant in a world people can just shove things in their pockets then say "no" when the guy at the door asks to look in their pockets. All stores are already just trusting people to be honorable, weird schemes are never going to impact anything as much as people just stealing.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:34
|
|
|
Sundae posted:I'm guessing it's more L.L Bean being hit by the same forces as every other clothing retailer right now. Even at its worst, I can't imagine all that many people would go to the effort of returning things / hunting for L.L Bean freebies to really impact their bottom line if they weren't already struggling. I'm not basing that on anything, though--just thinking about the amount of effort required vs general laziness of people. It might be an aspect of the democratization of the brand. LL Bean used to be a "privileged folks only" seller -- the target market was preppy as hell, traditionally, people who could afford to pay premium prices for long-term-durable goods, but also wealthy enough to not have any reason to take advantage of a warranty over something as small-dollar as a clothing return. It's only in the past few years / decade (with online sales etc) that L.L. Bean has started selling to a more mainstream market. So once people who weren't privileged became aware of the brand . . .
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:38
|
|
|
Sundae posted:I'm guessing it's more L.L Bean being hit by the same forces as every other clothing retailer right now. Even at its worst, I can't imagine all that many people would go to the effort of returning things / hunting for L.L Bean freebies to really impact their bottom line if they weren't already struggling. I'm not basing that on anything, though--just thinking about the amount of effort required vs general laziness of people. The people I went to elementary school and high school with were never THAT bad, but they would often send back worn-out bookbags that were just worn out, make up a story about how they were somehow defective, and then get a new one in exchange. One bookbag purchase would turn into 2-4 new bookbags over a couple of years. It was an awesome set up, but I don't think it takes that much bad faith abuse of that mechanism before it becomes a major problem.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:41
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:It might be an aspect of the democratization of the brand. LL Bean used to be a "privileged folks only" seller -- the target market was preppy as hell, traditionally, Traditionally LL bean sold like actual outdoorwear. Like half their store space is shotguns and fishing rods. Being a fashion brand was a super short lived thing for them in a super small window where "dress like a mountain man" got mainstream popular. They have always been about selling camping gear then a pair of clothes you could actually camp in while you pick up steeltoed boots for work.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:43
|
|
|
Brony Car posted:The people I went to elementary school and high school with were never THAT bad, but they would often send back worn-out bookbags that were just worn out, make up a story about how they were somehow defective, and then get a new one in exchange. One bookbag purchase would turn into 2-4 new bookbags over a couple of years. Fair enough. I had one of their backpacks from middle school through the end of college and it just never occurred to me to try to return a perfectly good backpack just because I'd worn it out after god knows how long.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:46
|
|
|
I get the feeling you don't go to LL Bean often. They are mostly fashion/upscale home lifestyle products. They do sell coats and footwear, but most of their floorspace is dedicated to non outdoors goods. The Freeport store sells guns still but that is a fairly small department.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:47
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:It might be an aspect of the democratization of the brand. LL Bean used to be a "privileged folks only" seller -- the target market was preppy as hell, traditionally, people who could afford to pay premium prices for long-term-durable goods, but also wealthy enough to not have any reason to take advantage of a warranty over something as small-dollar as a clothing return. So like how Rolls-Royce used to have a thing about "defective parts will be replaced for free at any time" on all their products? While obviously intended for the whole "you've spent $3 million on a custom car, sure we'll replace a $300 part" thing, supposedly they held to it for everything they built up to a point, and someone was able to get free engine replacement for the Rolls-Royce engine in their P-51 Mustang in the 60s, the pilot having bought it off military surplus years prior.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 21:50
|
|
|
fishmech posted:So like how Rolls-Royce used to have a thing about "defective parts will be replaced for free at any time" on all their products? While obviously intended for the whole "you've spent $3 million on a custom car, sure we'll replace a $300 part" thing, supposedly they held to it for everything they built up to a point, and someone was able to get free engine replacement for the Rolls-Royce engine in their P-51 Mustang in the 60s, the pilot having bought it off military surplus years prior. Yeah, basically. Owlofcreamcheese posted:Traditionally LL bean sold like actual outdoorwear. Like half their store space is shotguns and fishing rods. Being a fashion brand was a super short lived thing for them in a super small window where "dress like a mountain man" got mainstream popular. They have always been about selling camping gear then a pair of clothes you could actually camp in while you pick up steeltoed boots for work. That's true, but they also sold a certain amount of general clothing too -- outerwear and camping gear yes, but aimed at the elite who could afford to purchase long-lasting, durable, quality stuff. See, e.g., L.L. Bean's frequent mentions in "The Official Preppy Handbook": http://jakedavis.typepad.com/jakedavis/2009/12/the-evolution-of-style-prep-persona-15.html Long before L.L. Bean got mainstream attention as a fashion line, they were one of the go-to clothiers of the WASP elite, like Brooks Brothers for the outdoors.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:00
|
|
|
I still have a LL Bean backpack my parents bought me for middle school. I mean, my wife uses it for something, or my brother does...the only reason I replaced it was that backpacks from the 90s weren't built to hold laptops. The only thing that was ever wrong with it is that some stitching would come loose around the zipper, and loose threads would get caught in it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:04
|
|
|
Halloween Jack posted:I still have a LL Bean backpack my parents bought me for middle school. I mean, my wife uses it for something, or my brother does...the only reason I replaced it was that backpacks from the 90s weren't built to hold laptops. The only thing that was ever wrong with it is that some stitching would come loose around the zipper, and loose threads would get caught in it. Yup, I have LL Bean raincoat from the 60's somewhere (edit: it's older than I am at least, and I think about that old). I don't use it often but it's still serviceable; the zipper's come loose but it had metal snaps too so that's just an inconvenience.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:05
|
|
|
learnincurve posted:The amount of Christmas trees returned in January would suggest otherwise. No, EU law doesn't state that for retail. Retail doesn't have to take anything back (except for stuff that is defective after not being able to repair it). That's for online shopping, and even then wouldn't apply to stuff like Christmas trees. Why is it always people from the UK that are hilariously misinformed about EU law? Fame Douglas fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Feb 12, 2018 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:07
|
|
|
The Slack Lagoon posted:I get the feeling you don't go to LL Bean often. They are mostly fashion/upscale home lifestyle products. They do sell coats and footwear, but most of their floorspace is dedicated to non outdoors goods. The freeport store has such a big fishing department that they have actual literal fish living in the store.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:07
|
|
|
The Slack Lagoon posted:I get the feeling you don't go to LL Bean often. They are mostly fashion/upscale home lifestyle products. They do sell coats and footwear, but most of their floorspace is dedicated to non outdoors goods. I've actually never been into one. I ordered the backpack from their catalog, back when they didn't have a website yet. That's how long the backpack lasted. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 23, 2024 18:07 |
|
|
Fame Douglas posted:Why is it always people from the UK that are hilariously misinformed about EU law? You don't say...
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 22:22
|
|
