No Shocker to Me

The Honolulu Advertiser announced today that CompUSA sold out to a liquidation firm and will be closing both of its Hawaii stores after the holiday season.
 
The worst part of this news is that I am losing the best example I have on lousy service. “No service” would be a more appropriate term. I often ask my audiences if they have shopped at CompUSA and most indicate that they have. I then ask if they were pleased with the service, and I get negative head turns or outright laughter. The laughter increases to a roar when I tell them that my nick name for CompUSA in InCompUSA”.

I have countless stories of attempts to purchase something at CompUSA and the battle required to get one of their many employees to help. I ask my audiences if anyone has left without what they went there for purely for this reason and the hands all go up.

Call Customer Service 

I then will share my secret method for getting assistance when I just do not want tp go elsewhere. I simply call CompUSA and ask for customer service. I usually get a polite voice offering to help me. I then say, “Please send someone over to section 42 to help me, I am the guy with the pony tail”. It Works! They don’t like it, but it does work.

Customers should not have to be so clever to get what they want in a store, especially one with so many technical aspects of the product.
 
CompUSA’s plan to liquidate follows financial difficulties for the chain, which earlier this year closed 126 stores and attempted to restructure operations with management changes and a $440 million cash infusion. They would have been far better off to spend some of that money and energy in teaching and motivating their employees to be nice and helpful to their customers.

In May they announced a new strategy to divert its focus from mainstream consumers more toward businesses and tech enthusiasts as well as educated professionals. I guess the thinking here was that those were people not in need of help.

I continue top be amazed how the “Big Ones” think they are doing everything right and are not open to help. I have developed the attitude that a company can grow so large that they can do everything wrong, yet still make some sales. They can do everything wrong without any help at all. They have no idea what they are missing.

 Who Will It Be?

In addition to the Bowl games, another bit of business to be wrapped up in the college ranks is handing out the Heisman award. The Heisman Trophy finalists were announced on Wednesday and they include Florida’s Tim Tebow, Arkansas’s Darren McFadden, Mizzous’s Chase Daniel along with Hawaii’s Colt Brennan.

Colt Brennan

While Tim Tebow seems to be the favorite, the Hawaii faithful feel otherwise. Colt Brennan proved himself worthy all year long. He set school and national records, led his team to the only undefeated college record, and he overcame two serious injuries without missing a beat.

Also worth considering is the fact that he turned down the opportunity to enter the draft last year in the best interest of his team. It is doubtful that Arkansas’s Darren McFadden will make that sacrifice this year, and Tim Tebow still has two more years to play.

Big Sacrifice

And if all of that is not enough, he also shed his dreadlocks when the season started. Now That’s a commitment!

The bottom line is; COLT BRENNAN for the Heisman. 

 Egg On This Face

The University of Hawaii had an allotment of 17,500 tickets to the Sugar Bowl, but ended up with only 13,500, which were all gone by 2:30 PM Tuesday.

UH officials underestimated the demand for tickets to the Jan. 1 game and gave 4,000 away to Hawaii’s opponent, the University of Georgia.

When asked why, Athletic Director Herman Frazier said, “They pressed us; they wanted a decision.” There’s nothing wrong with that, the problem lies in the decision to give away the tickets rather that show confidence in the Hawaii fans that they would make the trip to Louisiana.

When “pressed” for a name as to who pressured him to give away 4,000 of UH’s tickets to Georgia, Frazier said, “We’re not going to go there”.

Hawaii fans expressed anger that the belief just wasn’t there. All year long Colt Brennan and other players said that this is a season based on belief. Returning thousands of tickets that could have gone to Hawai’i, doesn’t show much faith.

Of course Gov. Linda Lingle has her Sugar Bowl ticket, as does University of Hawai’i President David McClain and UH Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw — all from UH’s remaining allotment of 13,500 tickets.

Something just doesn’t smell as “sweet” as it did a few short days ago.

 Drugs, Booze and Jail

I find myself wondering if it has always been this way or not. I remember when stars were stars and expected to be role models for the rest of us. A celebrity going to jail was virtually unheard of. Perhaps it is just because of our access to news these days.

Paris Hilton parlayed her name and relentless partying into worldwide notoriety, and had to forgo her high fashion wardrobe for prison stripes for about 45 days. The ironic thing is that she demands a higher appearance fee now than she did before that publicity. Hilton told Fox News Magazine that she now collects $500,000 in fees just to show up at parties and other events from Las Vegas to Tokyo.

The latest star to go behind bars is Kiefer Sutherland. He was sentenced Wednesday to 48 days in jail for his latest DUI arrest and for violating probation.

It appears that there is a whole new legal category; star defense. Sutherland hired attorney Blair Berk, who is also currently representing Lindsay Lohan. I think that Johnny Cochran started something when he manipulated the jury into allowing wife killer O.J. Simpson to go free.

 Those Were the Days

I have mentioned in previous blog posts that I am one of the remaining people that expect service at a “service station”, and as a result I refuse to pump my own gas. In the last five years I have had to cross no less than 10 local “service” stations off of my list of places to “fill up”.

 One of the places still on my list is Bill Green’s Kahala Shell in the ritzy neighborhood of Kahala. I will often time drive an extra five miles, passing many “self serve” stations to get there.
When I “fill up” it is with the high octane stuff, and although my car is small it has a big tank, usually amounting to about $75 bucks.

 Service oriented people are much more sensitive to service than price, and do not mind paying a little extra for that service. That “service” should include all of the things that used to go with buying gas anywhere at any price.
I recently received this e-mail and photo from local realtor Arla Harvey.

While going to Waikiki the “tire light” came on. I stopped at Kahala Shell (Bill Green) to have the guys check the pressure, I thought I had picked up a nail and had a slow leak. They had me pull into full service and two of them checked the tires, pressure was fine. the warning light was still on…they fiddled around and reset it…light still on…they figured out it was the spare UNDER the truck that had activated the warning light…(who knew a Toyota truck was so fancy!). They assembled the tool…dropped the spare…and aired it up…put the spare back…tools back and sent me on my way. NO Charge!  YES, that’s FOUR service people helping me! WOW!
With Aloha,
Arla

The photo says it all!

 HEART - COURAGE - FIGHT - BELIEF

“We fumbled, we made our mistakes, but it’s not about the mistakes. It’s about how to bounce back and that’s what we do.”
-Colt Brennan

After a 21 to 0 deficit to start the 1st quarter, the UH Warriors and Colt Brennan battled back to a 35 to 28 win over the Washington Huskies to become the only undefeated team in all of college football this year. 

This game demonstrated the importance of “hanging in there” when the going gets tough. I must admit that by the end of the first quarter I was ready to post a whole different story here. Fortunately for Hawaii, the Warriors did not cave in, but rather came back strong to win the big game.

 50,000 Loyal fans packed into Aloha Stadium to watch the “Big Show”.

Things started off quiet, but ended in a roar that is continuing today as Hawaii wakes up to the headlines. These photos say it all!

 As the Associated Press reported, predictions are running strong that Colt Brennan will get the Heisman Trophy. He definitely deserves it. At the end of last year Colt was assured a spot on an NFL team, and a ton of money if he would bypass his senior year and go into the NFL draft. He chose to stick with the Warriors for another year, his primary motive being his desire to win the WAC title for his coach and team mates.

What a team, what a guy!