Just Ask John Garibaldi

John Garibaldi of the Hawaii Superferry spoke this morning at the Small Business Hawaii monthly breakfast. John is a financing expert who also has interisland transportation experience as the past chief financial officer at Aloha Airlines and, later, Hawaiian Airlines. He outlined the history of the Superferry from the days of its inception up until its ill fated inaugural launch in August.

At that time USA Today reported hundreds of protesters on surfboards, swimming in the harbor and lining the docks held the Hawaii Superferry at bay for nearly two hours at Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai.
Kauai swimmers and surfers, cheered on by nearly 300 protesters on shore, occupied the middle of the harbor channel and turned back the Superferry.

John told the packed house that after winning a bruising legal and legislative fight, the Superferry will sail again on December 6, with a $29 inaugural sale to and from Maui. The packed Small Business Hawaii audience applauded John for his resolve and continued display of grace and Aloha throughout this ordeal.

Go to Where?

I received no less than four calls this week from Sprint, wanting to upgrade my phone “absolutely free”. I told the first caller that I do not have a Sprint phone. She apologized for the inconvenience and said that she would remove my name from the list.

I told the next caller the same thing, and he too apologized. The calls kept coming. They kept apologizing and promising to remove my name from the list.

I got one this morning that had to be from India, the biggest difference being that the guy was very difficult to understand, and he never took a breath so I could tell him that I don’t have a Sprint phone.

When my opportunity finally came I asked, “Would you be the person I would speak with about Sprint using our Morning Report?” He said, “Huh?” I continued, “Yes, we have this terrific product that will help you track your selling results and keep everyone focused on achieving personal and company goals”. 

He said, “No, I don’t know who that would be, but I can find out after you let me get you your free cell phone”. I said, “I’m sorry, but I really need to go now”. He responded, “Then go to Hell”. CLICK!

I got the feeling that this reply was not in the script he was reading to me. I called *69 to get a number to report his behavior, and of course it went nowhere. I didn’t go to Hell either; at least not yet.

Mahalo to “Runaway” for This

A biker was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, ‘Because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish’.

The biker pulled over and said:

‘Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want’. The Lord said, ‘Your request is materialistic, think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that would honor and glorify me’.

The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally he said:

‘Lord, I wish that I could understand my wife. I want to know how she feels inside, what she’s thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing is wrong, and how I can make a woman truly happy?’.

The Lord replied:

‘Do you want two lanes or four on that bridge?’

4.6 Million Visitors a Minute

“Cyber Monday” is a new phenomenon going hand in hand with Black Friday.
CNN Money reported that by 2 PM Eastern Time, more than 300 retailing Web sites tracked by Internet monitoring firm Akamai were drawing 4.6 million visitors per minute. Major retailers said that Internet traffic was up more than 80 percent compared to a normal Monday.

Why Monday?

The irony here is that Monday is when a lot of people return to “work” after a four-day Thanksgiving food fest. One might think that a lot of work might be waiting to be done on that Monday, and it is an appalling thought that so many people “shop” while supposedly working. It was estimated that 72 million people would shop sometime during that day.

“Web Surfing” during work hours has become far too commonplace. Have you ever noticed that most workplace computers cannot be seen by passers by? I say, “Turn things around” so that managers can see what their employees are doing on line while “working”, or would that be “micro-managing”?

Watch It!

QVC posted $3.9 billion in sales last year through its 24-hour cable channel and e-commerce Web site. It has seven contact centers worldwide, which are staffed with about 6,500 people who answer more than 100 million calls a year in North America, the U.K., Germany and Japan. That’s BIG BUSINESS!

They are going to find themselves even busier this week when Brighton goes on the air. While introducing me at an Orange County Success Rally last week, Brighton owner Jerry Kohl announced to those present that his purpose in going on QVC is to drive more customers into Brighton stores across the country.

There will be a limited line offered by QVC on two showings. I am certain that customers will be flocking into Brighton stores to see the rest of the line just in time for Christmas.

You can see the show at these times; set your DVR:
7 PM Monday Philadelphia time - That’s 2 PM in Hawaii
9 am Tuesday morning Philadelphia time - That’s 3 AM in Hawaii

 COLT BRENNAN

NEWS FLASH! Colt Brennan passed 495 yards and five touchdowns to give undefeated Hawai’i its first outright Western Athletic Conference football championship with a 39-27 victory over Boise State tonight at Aloha Stadium.

Next will be Colt receiving the Heisman trophy as the best all around college football player.

Read and see more here:

 Amazing!!!

 The parking lot at Ala Moana Shopping Center looked like the 4th of July at dawn this morning. Old Navy led the pack by opening at midnight. The rest of the mall opened at 6 am. Local station KHON; Channel 2 even ran a story on their web site stating the hours and parking opportunities at various malls.

As I read about the efforts placed to save a few bucks on “Black Friday”, I can’t help but wonder how much effort these same people put into “making money” all year round. Hawaii has one of (if not the lowest) unemployment rates in the country and employers are scrambling to find full and part time help.

Santa seemed to be putting his back to the whole thing, preferring to look at the park and ocean.

Eddie Pacheco is in Deep

Eddie was one of Jerry Kohl’s very first employees, and it looks like he doesn’t like to let go of any of his memory pieces.

The Brighton belt factory in City of Industry, California is one of a kind. This is a place where “real people” make real merchandise. I love walking through here and feeling the love at work.

When you see the fancy, polished Brighton stores in major malls across the country it is hard to picture someone with a Q-tip dying the inside of a belt hole, but that’s what happens.

You don’t see fancy, hi tech modern machines stamping out product, but rather a real factory filled with happy people.

I met with the account specialists today, and as a part of our meeting asked them what they like best about working for Brighton. The most popular response was, “The people”. 

Brighton Dallas Success Rally

After three days of wonderful Brighton Success Rallies at 7:30 AM in Austin, San Antonio and Houston I was all set for the next one at 7:30 AM in Dallas.

When I arrived (at 7:25) the food was out…

The coffee was hot…

But the room was empty… I began to worry (just a little), until Preccia showed up “early” (at 7:45 AM) and informed me that the rally starts at 8:30 AM. Whew!

By 8:15 AM it was looking more like a Brighton function…

There was even someone wearing a Hawaiian purse, just for me.

By 8:3o AM Tamara, Preccia, Marsha and Margie were in full swing with a great contest naming the features of different Brighton bags.

When it was my turn I asked who was happy to be there on a Sunday morning and got a typical Brighton reaction as the morning went from “Good to Great”.
I even got a standing ovation at the end… Now that’s a first.
Mahalo Team Dallas.

Team Houston

I have been doing Brighton rallies every day this week deep in the heart of Texas. Unfortunately I don’t have as many photos as I would like.

Today’s rally was at the quaint Berry Hill Restaurant in Houston.

The only “challenge” was the construction next door with heavy equipment competing with me for sound.

Mark Henthorn solved the problem creatively by taking plates of food out to the crew. They came out of the field like feral cats coming to a bowl of cat food.