Another Ungrateful Athlete. Checkout. No Class, No Dignity.

Richard, Cork the Whine!  Turning Retail into a Commodity.  You Can’t Be Serious.   Updates.

• From a very young age I have been a big fan and follower of the National Football League.  I was lucky enough to get exposed to pro football due to my father and brother and Miami landing an NFL franchise.  Similar to other sports, the television networks, knowing that the success of their overall ratings are attached to NFL broadcasts, pay the NFL hundreds of millions of dollars for broadcast rights.  This money is then allotted to the NFL franchises allowing them to pay their players big salaries.  Some of these salaries are staggering which alarms me when I hear a very high salaried player complain about the NFL schedule.  Yes, maybe the NFL on TV (as well as college football) has hit a saturation point but as a player under contract you deal with the schedule that the NFL establishes just like every other professional athlete.  I realize football brings a physicality unlike most sports but take a look at an NBA team’s schedule, or the NHL or Premier League.  Richard Sherman, one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, recently voiced his strong opinion about the NFL schedule, in particular Thursday night games.  He complained that playing away to Green Bay on a Sunday and then playing last Thursday night at home led to him playing at “only 50-60% of his ability”.  Seriously Richard, who are you comparing yourself to?  A railroad worker up every morning at 4am?  A steel worker dealing with freezing cold or incredibly humid weather conditions?  Sherman’s comments are particularly bothersome knowing that he recently signed a four-year, $56m contract that included a $11.5m signing bonus.  Don’t get me wrong, I admire his skills and ability, as well as his Stanford education, but he needs to shut his mouth, be respectful and very grateful that he plays professional football for a stupid amount of money.  As a side note, refer to the October 30, 2016 post analyzing the 2nd quarter of an NFL game……total playing time in a fifteen minute quarter was a bit over 4 minutes, and that included both offense and defense.  Man up Richard Sherman.
• Amazon Go seems like a great idea.  As you walk into one of their stores you and your credit card that is imbedded on your smart phone are identified so you can fill your shopping cart and walk out of the store without waiting in line to check out.  Being cashier-less achieves two customer desires:  ease and speed of checkout.   So I guess this benefit achieves what many call the basics of people shopping at retail including getting what you want/need, a break from the day, some type of experience, or interacting with other human beings.  But what I am wondering is how much the retailer will miss out on making a connection with the customer?  If there is no customer experience (think Nordstrom’s or Starbucks) doesn’t the retailer risk becoming a commodity?   I totally get that to many the customer experience equals getting in and out with no hassles but it seems that this trend might be better suited to convenience stores.   Speaking of Starbucks, they released a presser that they are looking to open 12,000 additional stores within the next five years….they do have a great customer experience for those who like their coffee.  Starbucks realizes that  customer service and interaction drives loyalty leading to year-over-year increases in top line revenue and profits. It will be interesting how well the Amazon Go test works out.
• Some strange observations while traveling this past week.  The Hilton in downtown St. Petersburg was nice enough to give me access to their ‘lounge’ on the top floor overlooking beautiful Tampa Bay.  Most of these lounges are reserved for Hilton’s top customers which in days past correlated to a more sophisticated crowd.  No longer as early one morning while having breakfast I noticed many people coming into the lounge in workout clothes, shorts and t-shirts.  Yep, times have changed but one guest to the lounge took it a bit too far.  She was very short, very overweight but decided it was appropriate to walk into the lounge in some horrid color ‘silk’ pajamas and yes, the pajamas were at least a size too small.  Hilarious in one way and a bit shocking to most, including me.  On another note I somehow I got upgraded to first class on my flight back to Atlanta on Friday.  Usually a nice experience unless you are sitting next to a “Pat” who, for sure, by their odor, had not taken a shower in days.  So what does “Pat” do?  How about climbing over me to go to the restroom AFTER the door is closed and the plane is backing off the ramp.  The poor flight attendant really had no answers for this creature and simply let “it” go to the restroom.  First class passengers….never judge a book by it’s cover.
• Updates:  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte:  be careful with your rhetoric and threats to the United States…..there is a new Secretary of Defense waiting in the wings to deal with people like you. Atlanta United has done well with the expansion draft and trade deadline.  Cyber warfare is not only coming from the Russians.  Can’t wait for Colin Kaepernick to come into the Georgia Dome later today.  Christmas is in seven days!!

Adios and have a Sunday Funday!!

Note:  no post next Sunday/Xmas Day or on New Years Day.  Happy Holidays and all the best for a great 2017.