T-Mobile

I love T-Mobile.  There is simply no other way to define the feelings I have for this company. To build the proper context, I need to go back a bit. In college, I was a Verizon client. At the time Verizon was the best and had amazing phones.  The most amazing feature on this phone:

You could see the caller on the outside without flipping it open! w00t! This was a big deal, and was a specific reason I went with verizon.

I made the switch to T-Mobile because Verizon had a significant price increase about 7 years ago.  We needed phones for our new life in CT, and I did a full comparison and landed on T-Mobile. In the time since I have had multiple cell phones and T-Mobile's home phone service. Phones have included flips, sliders, Blackberrys, Windows Mobile and Androids. I am one of those clients that work the system.  Emboldened by a friend with connections at a T-Mobile store I learned tricks about how to get into the right section of customer care, and have over time found that there are multiple ways to tweak your account for the best cost savings. I also abhor contracts, so for many of my phones I have gone without a contract further complicating our account history with phone swaps and the like. All of this to say I am an atypical customer. When you look at my account, it is painful to figure out what is going on with it. However, I have never had a situation where the first or second person I talked to at customer care was not intelligent, English speaking and capable of fulfilling my request to my satisfaction.

In contrast, I had to work with the AT&T customer service for my former employer.  It was always trouble. I had to tell them where to look in their own system to find my information. Noone knew what they were doing.

So imagine my delight when the news broke that the AT&T deal to buy T-Mobile was officially canceled, and that T-Mo's mother company would get $4M out of the botched deal!  More importantly, they will get their joint roaming agreement.

T-Mobile has been ranked for 4 years as the highest in customer satisfaction.  They have the least expensive plans (less now with "value" plans). Call quality and coverage matters if you live in a major city.  Otherwise, most carriers have similar experiences in smaller cities. There is simply no good reason to go with a more expensive plan when T-Mobile has such a strong phone offering and quality service.  It simply is a great company, and I love it.

Please.  If you are considering cell phones this Christmas, think T-Mobile. I have no stake (I own no T-Mobile stock) except that as a customer I would really like to see this company succeed. With the AT&T deal off, T-Mobile will need to produce more sales. Fortunately, switching will save you significant money, so take the plunge.

Occupy wall street

I was happily ignoring the recent political banter until I realized the OWS movement had tea-party like resilience.  I went hunting for what these folks actually want, and unfortunately, all I could find was a ridiculous list that I have to imagine do not represent the actual movement's desires.

From what I could find, this nebulous movement essentially claims that the 99% poorest people are frustrated at the 1% richest people, and wants those people to somehow alleviate those frustrations, though no one has said how.  Sub-issues include large CEO salaries for failing companies, "Corporate greed" (whatever that is) and re-unionizing america, etc.

What I do not understand is there is no better avenue for wealth building then a corporation.  I do not mean wealth building for the 1%, which happens to be true, but corporations are the best option for wealth building for the 99%.  A corporation exists to make money for its shareholders.  There is no greater accountability model than a publicly owned company making money for shareholders.  In OWS terms, the 99% work for the company which is run by a 1% person whose entire goal in life is to make the 99% more money.

The problem is, as always, one of education.  Our school system does not teach investing.  It does not teach the masses how to use the system to build wealth.  It says, go to work, pay into a 401k and don't worry about it.  Then, after years of realizing others are getting rich, and they are not, they revolt saying, "You should give up your money to me."  Because no one understands how the system works, corporations are left to run amok.  Everyone wants to blame the housing crisis on greedy bankers, because hundreds of thousands of people believed the bank had their best interest at heart.  You should never expect a corporation to make a decision that benefits you, unless you are a stockholder.  Knowing that is empowering.

Here is an example.  McDonald's goal is not to sell you a healthy meal.  Its goal is to build wealth for its shareholders.  It has determined through market forces what products will sell the most, and it sells it.  There are people who are well paid to determine which fries the people will buy, and how to do so profitably.    If you are invested in McDonald's, you want McDonald's leadership to make the very best decision that will build wealth since that is its goal. As consumers, our goal is (should be) to be healthy. If everyone decided McDonald's hamburgers were terrible for you, and stopped buying them, McDonald's would stop selling them.

So to the OWS folks, I would say stop trying to force others to make good decisions for you.  It is not the corporation's job to keep you healthy, or wealthy. They have done nothing wrong by building wealth. Learn the system so you can benefit from it. Focus on educating the consumer instead of simply placing blame on executives who are doing exactly what they have been asked to do, make money.

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Now that that is said, there should be a question as to whether wealth building should be the primary focus of a company. In a corporation who answers to its investors, this is the goal by definition. In a small business, without the accountability to the shareholders, the owner/operator have the freedom to pursue whatever goal they want. That could be wealth, status, human equality, feeding the poor, whatever. I believe that companies should be driven by a higher purpose then just wealth building, but that is not what the corporation model is for.

Soda Market share

I prefer Diet Coke over Diet Pepsi, but after hearing this news, I want the world to know, I am not a follower!

In the soda world, market share is everything, and it is really surprising to see this.  We have a lot of Pepsi employees at our church, so to them I say, "my sympathies."

Four Hour Work Week - Review

I finished reading the Four Hour Work Week. As it's title suggests, this book details how to stop working the normal 40+ hour work week, and make the money you need on far less time.  It is all there, and I would assume that if you wanted to, you could generate the same or similar results for yourself by following the steps in the book.

If you have absolutely no desire to change jobs, or try to work remotely, etc. this book is still extremely helpful.  The theories used to organize, and streamline your work environment are invaluable.  You will be able to get more done in less time.  If you chose to get even more done in the time you save, ignore the last half of this book, but don't miss the first.  I have already begun to implement some of the suggestions, and my effectiveness at work is increasing.

Tim Ferriss is a fascinating author, and his success at all things under the sun has a fantastic appeal.  I find that his reaction to his freedom is to fill it with other self-fulfilling activities.  He does challenge you to leave the world better than you found it, but even that lacked the pathos I would expect.  I attribute that to my assumption of his lack of spiritual awakening that comes through a real personal relationship with Christ.  I do not want to presume to know Mr. Ferriss, or his spiritual life, but if you are looking for fulfilling suggestions on how to use your newly found free time, its just not there.  On the off chance Tim happens on this post, I mean no disrespect.

I find myself in the happy middle ground.   I have been working 50+ hour weeks and have been reasonably happy with my job.  I have no desire to work remotely at this point, so I am using the tools in the book to increase my effectiveness at work while lowering my working hours.  I have started to consider options for a muse which will supplement income and allow for future flexibility.

Go get this book from the link above. Its worth it!

Borders

Here is an interesting article about Borders, books, publishing, and doing business in today's economy.