Just what the heck kind of a movie is No Country for Old Men (Miramax/Paramount Vantage, 4 stars)? A Western? Gangster movie? Chase movie? Bloody road-trip flick?
In the end, the wisdom he was seeking came for Christopher McCandless. But in the end, young McCandless died alone and starving aboard the battered and abandoned old bus No. 142 of the Fairbanks City Transit System, a ways off in the Alaska wilderness.
The wisdom? That happiness is only real when shared.
So which is better? Or is there a better? It might depend on what you're expecting from your employer. Would you rather not be subject to a time-clock (exempt) or be automatically paid time-and-a-half for any overtime work (non-exempt)? Let's take a closer look:
''This has nothing to do with the Beowulf you were forced to read in high school.'' On this matter, director Robert Zemeckis is emphatic when he's speaking on the DVD extras.
By now it's not exactly news that consumers are in for a rough and tumble economic year in 2008. But what does their insecurity portend for online retailers looking to break away from the pack and out into the forefront of the market? Should they lay low and wait for the recession to pass? Or should they hedge their bets and make as much lemonade as possible out of all the lemons thrown their way? The answer may be ''a little bit of both.''
In the world of retail, training can be the deal breaker between making a sale or not. Poorly trained staff can not only cause a store to slip in sales but also cause customers to turn away — away to stores with better service.
If you are a store manager, training your staff should be your number-one priority.
We've all seen the credit card commercials with endless lines of consumers mechanically picking out goods, swiping their credit cards, and heading on their way. Everything is cruising along: scan, swipe, receipt…scan, swipe, receipt. But then the shopping assembly line comes to a grinding halt when one shopper whips out a checkbook instead of a card. The message: using credit or debit cards when purchasing is faster, easier, and more convenient for everyone.
Customer service is crucial for small businesses hoping to compete with chain stores, larger companies, and even the small business next door. While there are a number of steps to ensure that you are offering world-class customer service, the first approach is simple — make sure that your frontline employees feel respected and valued.
The holiday shopping season is climaxing as last-minute shoppers scurry about and retailers get ready for after-holiday sales. While shoppers clamor to check off items on their lists, it’s an important time for retailers to lay the ground work to turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers for the New Year and beyond. This process starts by providing shoppers with a customer service experience that is positive and proactive. And the best way to approach this task is to utilize your frontline employees by listening to and empowering them.
As retailers of all sizes cope with the impact of rising gas prices, economic issues related to the subprime mortgage crisis, and just plain fickle consumer tastes, they are forced to be much more creative about how they attract and keep shoppers.
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