Tag Archives: business

Are you a Showroomer? When retail stores fight back against the Internet, we all lose



Showroom: The Saga of a Family, a Car Business and the Seven Deadly Sins
Showroom: The Saga of a Family, a Car Business and the Seven Deadly Sins

By now, Web Watch is sure that you’ve heard of the term “showrooming“, where consumers go to Target, Best Buy, or other major retailers simply to browse the aisles – cell phone in hand – with the explicit purpose to NOT buy anything that day.

Web Watch will admit, we’ve done this on plenty of occasions:  we go to an electronics department to look for a specific item — maybe so we can get a close-up of the box, or a better idea of the specs — and we do our own little bit of online price comparison.

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Amazon.com has the Best Customer Service. (Zappos ranks high, too)



Amazon.com Gift Card
Amazon.com Gift Card

When it comes to Customer Service, what retail companies come to mind?

We’ve heard countless stories about companies like Costco taking back anything that they sell, no matter how long ago you purchased it… but while Costco is an awesome place to shop, the long lines and lack of salespeople on the shopping floor can turn some potential shoppers off, as getting out of there with a purchase can be a bit more difficult than it needs to be.

Web Watch enjoys the staff at the local Home Depot and Lowe’s, but there are times when both stores struggle to answer our seemingly simple questions.

We do’t ask for much – we just want each shopping experience to be superior to the last outing.

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How much money do porn sites make?



The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google
The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google

In 2006, the US adult industry made over $13 billion in revenue.

In revenue, porn brings in more money than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, and Earthlink combined.

Let’s say that last word again:  combined.

Yes, online (and elsewhere) we can safely say, “porn is king”.  Just like the porn industry is credited with the rise of VHS over Beta, the porn industry is also credited with pushing the technology envelope and make today’s Internet what it has become.

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How much do you tip your waiter? Chances are, you’re paying them way too much



How to Make Money and Bigger Tips as a Waitress
How to Make Money and Bigger Tips as a Waitress

How much do you tip your wait staff when you visit a bar or restaurant?

Some people go for the standard 20% off the final total of the bill — just take the total, move the decimal point, and multiply by 2… voila! No math required and you left a 20% tip.

Some people jump through complicated hoops to come up with a 15% or 18% tip.

We’ll be honest here – there have been times that Web Watch has left less than 15%… but trust us, the wait staff didn’t do their job that day by listening to what the customer wanted (they didn’t bring us the requested drink, the requested condiment on the side rather than on the sandwich, etc – and it wasn’t because the restaurant was busy that day… it was just bad service all the way around.)

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What to do in Vegas? In 2011, “not gamble” was on the list



Weird Las Vegas and Nevada: Your Alternative Travel Guide to Sin City and the Silver State
Weird Las Vegas and Nevada:
Your Alternative Travel Guide to Sin City and the Silver State

Web Watch loves visiting Las Vegas.

Then again, we also agree with our friends who say that “a little Las Vegas goes a long way”.  In other words, these people don’t necessarily enjoy the entire gambling, casino, nightlife, gambling aspect of Sin City.

Web Watch knows people that took a vacation out to Nevada and other points west, and their Las Vegas experience consisted solely of driving down the Las Vegas Strip.  They didn’t stop, they didn’t browse.  They had lunch as a nearby McDonald’s (not even at the In-n-Out!) before continuing on their merry way.

We don’t blame them.  There are aspects of Las Vegas that we don’t appreciate either.  But to each their own.

But then the Nevada Gaming Control Board decided to come out with their compilation of revenue numbers and financial analysis of the 2011 gambline business, and the numbers look a bit unusual to us here at Web Watch.

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The 25 Least Expensive Places to Live



Cost of Living and Doctor's Fees in 1848
Cost of Living and Doctor’s Fees in 1848

Sometimes it’s not so much how you live as where you live that determines how much money you can really save over the course of a year.

And we can thank the COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (C2ER) for their annual COST OF LIVING report that lists the LEAST EXPENSIVE CITIES to live in, based on the monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment, monthly average house payment, a gallon of gas, a hamburger, and a 1/2-gallon of milk.

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66% of employees surveyed will respond to email while on vacation



Vacation
Vacation

66% of people surveyed said that they will respond to emails and text messages from work while on vacation.

Combine that with the 83% of diehard workaholics that say they check business email after-hours after they’ve left the office, and the 29% who still attend online meetings and/or conference calls while taking a day or two off, and what you have is a bunch of people who just can’t learn how to relax.   Heck, Web Watch is guilty of this ourselves, having done everything from creating Powerpoint presentations while sitting in a Las Vegas casino hotel lobby to hosting a conference call while on the Mad Tea Party teacups at Walt Disney World. 

We’re not proud of the latter, but one does what one has to do.

Not everybody can be “on” all the time; everyone is entitled to having some sort of downtime… and if your office can’t survive for an evening without your prying eyes micromanaging everything, then maybe you’re working for the wrong company.

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List of 2012 Top Business Franchises



The Educated Franchisee: The How-To Book for Choosing a Winning Franchise
The Educated Franchisee:
The How-To Book for Choosing a Winning Franchise

Are you looking for a business to invest in, perhaps becoming an owner-operator of your own established chain of [whatever]?

If so, then you probably already subscribe to Entrepreneur magazine. In their most recent issue, they’ve published their list of the TOP FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2012.

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Want to succeed in business? Try wearing black



Beyond Business Casual: What To Wear To Work If You Want To Get Ahead
Beyond Business Casual:
What To Wear To Work If You Want To Get Ahead

As we head into a new year, you may have on your list of New Year’s Resolutions to “get promoted at work”.

While working hard and getting recognized for the job that you do while at the office is only part of the way to advance your career – you may want to take a look at some of the esoteric things. 

Apparently, according to CareerBuilder:

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Year in Review: 2011′s most popular Web Watch articles and searches



2011: Living in the Future
2011: Living in the Future

Thanks to everyone who took the time to visit Web Watch in 2011. For those of you who haven’t been able to visit every day, let’s take a look at what you did come and see while you were here:

The top ten most viewed Web Watch articles for 2011 were:

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An open letter to MGM, Caesars, Sands, and other casino companies regarding social media



Fountains of Bellagio
Fountains of Bellagio

This is an open letter to the marketing staff at MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Sands, and other casino corporations.  And if you’re part of the marketing staff at a different type of company, you may want to pay attention to this as well – since the core takeaway here applies to you as well.

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Women: want to make more money? Stop shaving, showering



GROOMING AND ETIQUETTE FOR CORPORATE MEN AND WOMEN: How to Dress Properly
GROOMING AND ETIQUETTE FOR CORPORATE MEN AND WOMEN:
How to Dress Properly

We all know that proper grooming is important to succeed in the workplace.

Web Watch knows a few men with (shall we say…) less than admirable shower and clothes-washing habits.

One situation arose where a co-worker had to be taken aside and be told explicitly to go home and shower.  It was an uncomfortable conversation, but it had to be done.  You could smell him coming from down the hall.  Web Watch shudders just remembering the stench, it was that bad.

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Tips for Proper Office Party Etiquette



The Office Party
The Office Party

The “Office Party”.

It’s the perfect time to get drunk and tell your boss what you really think of them, right?

Wrong.

Web Watch used to work for a company that was rather liberal with their alcohol at events.  After a while, we had to wonder what one needed to do to get the Big Boss pissed off enough to fire someone for what they did at the office holiday party.  It became a fascinating experiment.

Web Watch recalls one party many years ago that we attended where the Big Boss ended up carrying one of the part-time employees out to a cab because she was passed out drunk.  This didn’t seem to have any affect on her career at that company, as she’s still employed there.

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Movie theaters react to NetFlix with new “Pay one price, see unlimited movies” http://movi.ps/vnQbFi



Why Popcorn Costs So Much at the Movies
Why Popcorn Costs so Much at the Movies

If you love going to the movies as much as Web Watch does, you’d be seeing at least two movies a week, every week for a year. 

Granted not every film you see is going to be good.  And not all will be in genres that you always enjoy.

But you’ll definitely see all the great films, all the funny films, and all the films that people will be talking about the next day if you take the time to go to the theater regularly.

But not everyone can afford to spend $12 per movie ticket these days.  Seeing 2 films a week for 52 weeks can add up to over $1200/year… and that’s not counting parking, popcorn, sodas, snacks you sneak into the theater, beer (purchased at the fancy theaters that have a liquor license)… and you can count on doubling that if you go with a date.

$2400 a year, just to sit in the cool air-conditioned comfort of a big screen theatrical event with someone special a few times a week, every week of the year.

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How much money do porn websites make?



Digital Boudoir Photography: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Fabulous Images of Any Woman
Digital Boudoir Photography:
A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Fabulous Images of Any Woman

As is almost always the case with technology, porn leads the way.

It was the case with VHS vs Beta video tapes.  It’s been the case with online payments.  And it’s been the case with social media. 

Porn is a big money-making industry, and the Internet has just made it easy for Anyone to do it.  And we’re not just talking about those leaked celebrity sex tapes, either.

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