I couldn’t have said it any better.

I was fired today from Simply Mac. 

Simply Mac is a freakish frankenstein of a company with the innards of the cell phone industry and an Apple exterior. This doesn’t paint the most flattering picture, and it shouldn’t. At the corporate level, there’s nothing Simple or Mac about it. But if you’re looking for a shrewd, heartless company ready to ride the coattails of Apple’s hipness, look no further.

Let me state that I love Apple. I think they consistently make amazing products. Call me a “fanboy”; call me what you will. Apple is arguably the fastest growing most cutting edge company of the moment. Moreover, (and, once again, there’s a fanboy talking) Apple represents a mentality - Take something complicated and make it simple. Take something people hate to deal with and make it into a pleasure. Personal computing is the most obvious example, but the philosophy extends into every aspect of the company because it lies at the core. The retail experience is no exception. I love walking into an Apple Store. I don’t feel pressured; I don’t feel ignored. I feel like a kid in a candy store. This is a far cry from walking into, say, a cell phone dealership.

When I walk into a cell phone dealership, and most retail stores, I get the feeling that I’d better buy something or get out. I’m just another denominator in their sales-closing ratio. I don’t look forward to the experience, and I only walk in when I have to. Why? Because I’m surrounded by salesmen. High-pressure, cheesy salesmen who have been trained to suck every last dime out of me.

Now take those cheesy cell phone salesmen and give them license to sell Apple’s products. That’s Simply Mac. It’s the stuff devoid of the substance. All sizzle, no steak. The look and feel of Apple minus the philosophy. Customers see the glowing signs and transparent cubes and think they’re in an Apple Store, but when they hear the sales pitches and pressure they feel like they’re in a used car dealership.Of course, just as customers are attracted to the store expecting an Apple philosophy, so are prospective employees. Simply Mac has been privileged to have some excellent employees. Unfortunately, when these employees realize who they’re working for, they quit. I’ve watched as the company’s best employees have left one by one, all for the same reason. They lose tolerance for a management team that is clueless enough to think they can sell Apple’s products the same way they’ve peddled cell phones. They’re usually sick of being treated like another sales statistic themselves. I believe Simply Mac’s customers will eventually react the same way.

Ray Kroc once said “Look after the customers and the bottom line will take care of itself.” Try telling that to the management of Simply Mac! Any feigned respect or concern for customers is wrapped up in the guise of “selling the customer everything they need.” This really means “selling the customer everything we need them to buy to meet profit goals”. Of course, profit is important to any business, Apple included, but the concern for the customer experience at Simply Mac doesn’t extend very far beyond this. Put bluntly, the company doesn’t care about people. Customers and employees included. Simply Mac is a house divided against itself. Management doesn’t trust the employees and vice versa. The most blatant, ironic incident of this that I saw was when the company’s Vice President called the top salesman to let him know that he was currently being watched on the store security camera and that he should stop eating ice cream while it was slow because it was unprofessional. Shortly thereafter, another employee was told he was being watched on camera making small talk with a service tech during slow time and was sent home. I guess Big Brother is watching. Anyone familiar with Apple’s famous 1984 Super Bowl commercial will catch the irony.

This leads me to why I was fired. I don’t know why. I’ve met profit goals. I’ve been loyal to the company. I’ve even adopted cheesy bundle sales pitches that no one likes just because that’s what we’re told to do. I get the feeling that Simply Mac just needed someone to fire for the sake of progress. They’re always talking themselves up with delusions of grandeur and becoming a huge corporation. Like a toddler who emulates his older brother, Simply Mac decided to play the corporate lay-off game. I wasn’t the only one let go, and I get the understanding that I won’t be the last. Of course, everyone who doesn’t match the cheesy cellphone salesman image Simply Mac is really looking for has already quit or been fired themselves (with a few choice exceptions).

It won’t take long for people, employees and customers, to realize what Simply Mac really stands for. Every manager I’ve worked under has quit because of disgust for the corporate management. Customers will get the message soon enough too. A cell phone dealership that dresses up as an Apple store is still just a cell phone dealership - and there are plenty of better places to buy Apple products.

posted by joe.maddock at 7:33 pm

http://wavesforthedeaf.blogspot.com/2008/01/simply-mac.html

Everyone has been hearing about our national debt. I took econ in high school and college and my high school teacher talked about it almost daily. In this article, it says that we are going in debt at a rate of about $1,000,000 a minute! Stop for a second, and think about that. RIGHT NOW the numbers are skyrocketing. This is becoming asuch a huge issue, that mainly young people like me are concerned about. We are the ones who are going to have to deal with this. When I went to Salt Lake city to see Ron Paul, I didn’t know much about him. But when I sat down on the floor and listened to him, I knew what he was saying was true. He talked about how we are spending way to much time and money overseas, on things we have no need to be involved in. We could be saving approximately 1 TRILLION dollars a year if we bring everyone home. He has a plan and he is sticking to it.

The national debt — the total accumulation of annual budget deficits — is up from $5.7 trillion when President Bush took office in January 2001 and it will top $10 trillion sometime right before or right after he leaves in January 2009.That’s $10,000,000,000,000.00, or one digit more than an odometer-style “national debt clock” near New York’s Times Square can handle. When the privately owned automated clock was activated in 1989, the national debt was $2.7 trillion.

I hope this makes you sit and think about how big of a hole we are in. And day by day, minute by minute, we dig it deeper and deeper. What will you do about it?

I have been reading a lot lately (thanks to my brother) about how much the dollar is declining and why we should put our investments in other things like gold. 

The euro, worth 83 cents in the early George W. Bush years, is at $1.45.The British pound is back up over $2, the highest level since the Carter era. The Canadian dollar, which used to be worth 65 cents, is worth more than the U.S. dollar for the first time in half a century.Oil is over $90 a barrel. Gold, down to $260 an ounce not so long ago, has hit $800.Have gold, silver, oil, the euro, the pound and the Canadian dollar all suddenly soared in value in just a few years?Nope. The dollar has plummeted in value, more so in Bush’s term than during any comparable period of U.S. history. Indeed, Bush is presiding over a worldwide abandonment of the American dollar.Is it all Bush’s fault? Nope.The dollar is plunging because America has been living beyond her means, borrowing $2 billion a day from foreign nations to maintain her standard of living and to sustain the American Imperium.The prime suspect in the death of the dollar is the massive trade deficits America has run up, some $5 trillion in total since the passage of NAFTA and the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994.In 2006, that U.S. trade deficit hit $764 billion. The current account deficit, which includes the trade deficit, plus the net outflow of interest, dividends, capital gains and foreign aid, hit $857 billion, 6.5 percent of GDP. As some of us have been writing for years, such deficits are unsustainable and must lead to a decline of the dollar.A sinking dollar means a poorer nation, and a sinking currency has historically been the mark of a sinking country. And a superpower with a sinking currency is a contradiction in terms.

This is one of the many reasons why I am voting for Ron Paul.

Real economic growth won’t return until confidence in the entire system is restored. And that is impossible as long as it depends on the politicians not spending too much money and the Federal Reserve limiting its propensity to inflate our way to prosperity. Only sound money and limited government can do that.      - Ron Paul   

Just found this today, such an amazing idea!! This is what I have been looking for, you should all research it. NOW! http://www.libertydollar.org/

1. I just (finally) got leopard for my computer. It is the coolest thing in the world.
2. I got a new phone with cricket, I hated my old phone and I always went over on text messaging but now I have unlimited.
3. I was having trouble with my roommate so I switched with a guy in the room right next to me.
4. I am loving my new job! I get plently of hours and I actually enjoy going to work. And quitting my old job was not as nearly as painful as I thought it would be.
5. I got to silver level in my apple sales training, which means I get a free .mac account

I have grown up using Apple computers. I had the occasional terrifying experience of windows, mainly at school. I have lost count of how many times me and my friends have argued which is better, mac or pc? To me, the obvious answer is macs. I will give you my top 5 reasons as to why I think this.

1.  They are simply gorgeous. Any mac you look at you can’t help but think how good it looks. And people here at BYU look cool with a pure white glossy notebook, compared to a dull mainstream black one.
2. They are user friendly. My mac mini has all I need: itunes, iphoto, and so on. Nothing more. Why would I need to fill up space with useless applications I will never use? Plus the applications it DOES come with get the job done, fast and easy.
3. Many people argue about games and how most are made for PC. Who says I play computer games? I want my computer to be like me. I love music, movies, pictures, and my blog. And my mac does all of these things way better than any pc could.
4. Think about it… if it weren’t for Apple, we wouldn’t have iPods or iTunes, two of the worlds wonders. What has Microsoft done? Don’t even get me started on the iPhone…
5. “117,000 Viruses? Not on a Mac. Mac OS X was designed for high security, so it isn’t plagued by constant attacks from viruses and malware like PCs. Likewise, it isn’t plagued by never-ending security dialog boxes like those in Vista. So you can safely go about your work or fun without interruption.  

I couldn’t think of anything to write about today.. so I figured I would tell you all about my dream car. It frequently changes, as there are many of these magnificent machines, but there is one in particular that I will always want to get behind the wheel of. Known as the Ford GT, it is the fastest production car in the U.S. In other words its factory made, not hand-made. 

The car is one of the most agressive yet smoothest looking muscle cars I have ever seen. Most people define this car as a sports car, but I like to define it as an American Muscle Car. This car really brings out the true colors of America and what the country is about, hard work and muscle. I will always treasure this car as one of my most favorite american cars ever built. -Erik     

I have seen a couple at the drag races held back home, but only parked. I saw one while driving, when I was on my Dad’s motorcycle. I almost peed my pants when he pulled up behind me.

As an avid Halo 2 player, I have been drooling at the new Halo 3 game. It has many new weapons and SWEET vehicles.. a bunch of kids in my dorm have 360’s and most have pre-ordered Halo 3.

The epic saga continues with Halo 3, the hugely anticipated third chapter in the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Halo 3 expands on everything that has made the Halo franchise great, adding a wealth of graphical, technical and gameplay advancements, as well as offering a whole new level of online gameplay.    

I suggest you go to ign.com and watch their Halo 3 Review. Definitely worth your time. As for me, I will be going to class and work daydreaming about midnight tomorrow…