Larry Winget — Money - Personal Development - Business

Too good not to share…..

July 6th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 6 Comments →

Sometimes I get such good email and blog postings that I just feel I must share them.  This guy posted under the name of Noname.  Funny name don’t you think?  Never heard that one before.   He posted it in response to my posting about when to put on long pants.  I got a kick out of it and responded with a posting of my own.  But I think all of you who work for a living and came up the hard way and have a lick of sense might enjoy his “holier than thou”  approach to success.  I couldn’t give a rat’s ass what he thinks of me since I have been putting up with pencil necks like him my whole life . . . as I am sure many of you have.  Regardless, here is his letter and my response.  Hope you enjoy it! 

     0. 14 Noname Says: ?July 5th, 2008 at 5:06 pm e

     . I didn’t even know who this guy Larry Winget is. I just surfed into this website. And his attitude made me curious to find out more about him. It seems he thinks he is too intelligent, too sophisticated, too good.. Oh yeah? Where did you grow up Larry? In the south? Where did you go to school? Where did you go to college? Harvard? Princeton? Where did you go for graduate studies? What company did you start? Other than the “personal development” talk shows??Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. You seem to be teaching a lot of people how to do things, how to get better.. bla bla.. So you teach, huh?

     . Get out there are try DOING something, like start a Google? or start an Apple? Or a Southwest? Or Ebay? What has this guy done????? Other than opening his mouth and talking?

     . And he is oh so sophisticated to be commenting about etiquette… Hey may be you should move to NYC and attend some of the balls and dances, and then you might come across as sophisticated. May be you should stop shaving your head, and start shaving your chin, and put on white/blue shirts with dark suits. May be, just may be, then you’ll be on your way to sophistication.

     . # 15 Larry Winget Says: ?July 6th, 2008 at 1:01 pm e

     . Hey Noname…….

     . Thanks for your comments. You know all about me from my website? Must be a better website than I thought. I really don’t claim to be “too intelligent, too sophisticated or too good.” In fact, in all of my books I point out what a bone-head I’ve been.  And yes, I grew up in the South and I’m damn proud of it.  Noname, you should spend a buck or two and read one of my books and you will know where I went to school, which companies I started and all the things you seem to think measure success.  (By the way, I went to Northeastern Oklahoma State University with a double major in Psychology and Library Science.  I missed Harvard and Princeton as I was working my way through college as a telephone operator in Muskogee, Oklahoma on the night shift.)  Does it take starting a Google, or Southwest or Apple or Ebay to be successful? Guess I missed that measurement of success. ( I did start a little telecommunications company that was extremely successful.  I then messed up and it went into bankruptcy taking me with it.  I then started another one which did pretty well.  I did some house-flipping, owned a cigar company, have owned a successful seminar company for twenty years and been a pretty successful entrepreneur on a few other ventures too.  Admittedly all small potatoes compared to Google, Apple and Southwest but it did leave me a multi-millionaire so I’m not going to complain.  By the way, I shop on Ebay a lot, does that count?)   Most of the happy, successful, prosperous people I know are regular folks who decided to make something of their lives. The majority don’t have college degrees. The majority don’t attend balls and dances in New York City. And the majority of the millionaires I know don’t wear white/blue shirts and dark suits.   Once you become as successful as you want to be, you can dress pretty much like you want to.  You can even shave your head and grow a goatee and wear custom cowboy shirts and boots that cost more than most custom made suits.  I’m not really interested in “coming across as sophisticated.”   I’d rather come off as authentic.   The people I know who try to come across as sophisticated usually end up looking pretty ridiculous so I’ll pass on that one.  So Mr. Noname, your view of success is pretty narrow by my terms and those of us who have busted our asses to make something of our lives.   By the way: Sometimes, those who can, actually do. But almost always, those who can’t, end up writing anonymous critiques of those who are doing. 

     . Have some balls and use your name next time.

 All the best to you and all your noname friends and family.

Larry

 

Share This

Dallas - Mark Your Calendars!

June 28th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 2 Comments →

Hey folks - it’s been a while.  Thanks for understanding about my lack of postings.  The new book is coming along great and will soon be finished.  It will be released January 1 and you will hear much more about it as the time grows closer.The PBS special is scheduled to tape on July 19th and I appreciate the great response many of you have made.  It will be great to see you there. Now the next bit of news.  We have an event scheduled for Dallas, Texas on August 23rd.  You will get a lot more information soon.  This one is a ticketed event but you will get a lot of bang for your buck.  I am bringing along a couple of my trusted compadres to help out and give you a good variety.  Then I will wrap the day up with a couple of hours of my stuff. More to come in the next couple of weeks.  You will find out the location, the cost, the line-up and more.  You will also be able to buy tickets.   The subscription service will also begin in August for those of you who expressed interest.  Stay tuned!! L 

Share This

Sign up now to be a part of the PBS special.

June 11th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 5 Comments →

It’s official.  The taping for the PBS special will happen on July 19th in Phoenix, Arizona.  I will be doing a speech entitled, Success Is Your Own Fault.  Here is what they are saying about the special:

In this ground-breaking PBS special, The Pitbull of Personal Development®, New York Times bestselling author and star of A&E’s Big Spender,  will take on success in his trademark fashion. Not only will you hear Larry teach about success both personally and professionally, but you will get a special dose of fiscal responsibility in the mix. Life, money, relationships, happiness, business and more will be covered.

http://www.businessmentorship.com/Index.cfm/GO/bmiBX-Winget

What this means to you:  You can be a part of this national television taping for FREE.  I rarely do any public events.  My work is confined to corporate events and fills my schedule to the point where there simply has been no time to do events where the general public can attend.  And when I do public events, the price is usually hundreds of dollars per ticket.  Not this time.  Because we are shooting the television special I am offering it for free in conjunction with Business Mentorship International.

The day will include a couple of other speakers to start the day off with me winding the day up with my part of the program.  My portion will last about 90 minutes.  After the taping is over, I will be available to talk with and to sign your books if you bring them.  If you don’t bring them, all of my stuff will be available at the event for you to purchase.

Business Mentorship International holds their events at a church.  Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that it is going to be all churchy!  It is a great venue that holds a lot of people and has full television capabilities.  It won’t inhibit me or my message, though the PBS part does reign me in slightly!

Sign up NOW.  We need to know how many to expect.  Tickets are free but you need a ticket!

http://www.businessmentorship.com/Index.cfm/GO/bmiBX-Winget

Hope to see you there!

Larry

Share This

What???? No rants????? AND news about the FREE upcoming event

May 20th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 11 Comments →

Sorry for the delay in writing a new rant.  I just closed the deal on my next book and have a short deadline so I am pounding away at the computer every free minute!  The new book will be called:  People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It!   I think you will like this one if you have liked my other stuff.  And if you didn’t like my other stuff, then I promise you will HATE this one.  While this title appears to be my most obnoxious (and it probably is) I can assure you that this book has more “how-to” meat in it than any other book  I have written.  I like this book and can’t wait to get the rest of my ideas down on paper.  So when you add the writing to the fact that I have been speaking all over the country a lot ——-  plus I am in the midst of shooting 3 new Hyundai commercials plus an interactive internet campaign and some radio ——— plus I am releasing a new series on Customer Service as part of the Masterminds of Business Series (more on that soon)  ——– plus I am trying to eek out a small time for a life ——-  that hasn’t left much time for any rants! Hang in with me - I have some rants building and will be posting plenty soon!   By the way, the PBS special is booked and it will be shot in Phoenix on July 19th.   More information about time and location will  be announced soon.  I fought for a BIG event location which is not something that PBS normally does - but then again, I’m not what they normally do either!  But that means that there should be plenty enough seats for anyone who wants to attend.  There is no admission like I would normally charge since I am shooting the TV special.  The theme will be based on my last book, You’re Broke Because You Want To Be and the shooting will last about two hours.  I’ll stay and take questions from the crowd and sign books, etc. for all those who attend.  So if you can come, we would love to have you there! Larry 

Share This

ATTACK !!!!! But what should we attack?

May 4th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 8 Comments →

I get accused of being a bit of an attack dog when it comes to most things.  After all, I did trademark, The Pitbull of Personal Development®.  I even encourage others to become pitbulls in their own way.  But people often get confused by my style and miss my message.  Therefore, some people consider my attacks to be either rude, condescending, or personal.  I can assure you that is not the case.  I never want to attack another human being on a personal level.  I do, however, feel I have the right to attack the behavior of individuals.

I recently watched a segment of 60 Minutes with Supreme Court Justice Scalia.  Justice Scalia, (by the way, I don’t agree with his positions very often) was talking about his very close friend, Justice Ginsberg and how they have such an unlikely friendship.  After all, you have Scalia, a true conservative and Ginsberg, a liberal.  He said, “I attack ideas, not people, and there are very good people with very bad ideas.”  I like that.  I hope I do the same.  At least that is my intent: I want the ability to rise above behavior and enjoy people while still being able to consider that their actions are stupid, detrimental, idiotic, rude and sometimes, even insane!!!

I covered this is my book, “It’s Called Work For A Reason.”  By the way, if you haven’t bought that book, stop and do it.  If you agree with anything I say, then you will enjoy that book.  It’s my best stuff.  Yeah, I like Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life.  I like the title better than the book though.  It’s good and a lot of people have responded well to it and it still sells very well.  And if you are in debt or having money problems, I feel very good about my efforts in You’re Broke Because You Want To Be.  It is full of simple things that anyone can do the day they buy the book to begin to turn their financial situation around for the better.  However, my best stuff all ’round, is in It’s Called Work For A Reason.  It covers every area of business but most importantly talks about personal responsibility when it comes to the workplace.  I think every person in the workforce could learn something from it, from the janitor to the CEO. Okay, enough pushing the book, now let me push my point!  When you have an employee, you have the right to both monitor and enforce your position about that employee’s behavior.  If you don’t like the behavior, you can attack it and correct it and work on that behavior until you get it the way you want it to be, after all, you are paying for it.  If you can’t fix the behavior, I think the employee should be fired so they can go someplace where their behavior fits the job better than it did for you.  But I want to make sure that it is about the behavior. It is not about the employee.  If you don’t like the person, that is not part of the deal, you aren’t paying for their personality.  You are paying for that person’s results . . . period.  Manage and judge the worth of an employee based on their results - not their personality.  (Yes, sometimes personality can effect results - that if for a different posting!!)

The same applies to your children.  When your kid messes up (and they will) you don’t attack the kid.  You simply attack the kid’s behavior.  As with everyone else in your family.  Good people do stupid, idiotic things.  Attack the action; the behavior, the result, but not the person.

So as you read my musings…realize that my attacks are meant to be about the behavior of people.  That is what my next book is all going to be about - an attack on the ridiculously stupid behaviors of people…but more on that as we get closer to release time!  But let me say this:  If you like my other titles were controversial, this one will give people palpitations.  I am working on it now and you will see the book on the shelves, right after the first of the year.

To summarize:

1.  Attack behavior - you have the right - especially if it effects you,  if you are paying for it, or if you brought it into this world.

2.  If you don’t own It’s Called Work For A Reason, leave this posting now and buy it!  It is available in hardback, paperback and on audio (read by me!)

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Larry

Share This

Big Spender, Phoenix Public Seminar and more……

April 26th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 27 Comments →

To answer the many questions I am getting these days about Big Spender.  It is official now - it’s over - it simply isn’t coming back, folks.  A&E needed a sponsor to make it work.  They never found one.  I had a great time doing the show and it seemed to have helped a lot of people, but in television, it takes major bucks to keep a show on the air.  It wasn’t the kind of show that Home Depot, or any credit card company, or anyone selling anything would much want to sponsor since I tell people who can’t afford to shop to stop all shopping.  Therefore the market for sponsors was slim.  We had a couple of great years and while the show had many fans and great ratings . . . no sponsor.  It’s history.

But never fear,  in the words of Arnold, “I’ll be back.”  I am currently working on many new projects.  You haven ‘t seen the last of me yelling and ranting on the tube yet!  I am about to shoot a PBS special and am working on lots of other projects as well.  I have even had talks about another show.  And I am on Fox News the Fox Business Channel and other network news shows quite a bit.  (If you missed any of those, they are posted in my Video Vault.)  So stay tuned and it won’t be long before you see me again in something all new.

The Phoenix seminar will be announced shortly.   Again, if you know anyone who would like to attend, have them sign up to get my email blasts so they can receive the email that will announce the date, location, etc.   I am guessing that we will do it in June or July.  This is the seminar that will be FREE because we are taping it for television.   We are expecting a big crowd!  So show up and you may see yourself on TV when it plays!

One last word to the great folks who post.  I have no problem with people who don’t agree with me.  Make your point if you don’t like what I have to say.  Then move on.  People read my blogs because they like what I write and my point of view.  If you don’t, then go read someone else’s blog and post there.

I recently asked a guy to leave who hated me, hated every word that came out of my mouth, hated my books, hated all of you and felt he needed to comment on every post that was made by all of us.  I asked him to leave – he got belligerent and I just refused to post any more of his trash.   I told him he had gone too far and become a pain in the ass and that he was banned.  He then went to Amazon and attacked me and my books and gave me the most thorough trashing I have ever received in print.  Gave me one stars on my books and then went on the reviews of all who liked my books and told them they were suckers for buying my drivel.   He knows a lot of people will see what he writes on Amazon and that nothing can be done to remove his comments.  All of that is fine.  I am a big boy and I can take it.  Besides I give people enough credit to see that this is an unhappy guy who feels he has been wronged and he gets to play  big man by trashing me on the internet hoping to discourage people from buying my books.  I hope he feels better about himself now.

When you take a stand, people are going to dislike you.  I am used to that.  No problem.

All I ask of all of you is this:  If you don’t like my point of view, say so.  Be respectful of both me and the others who post.  After all folks, this is MY blog.  If you become abusive, you aren’t welcome.  Seems fair to me.  I don’t need or want to see your name on every blog posting talking about how wrong, stupid, or arrogant I am.  I don’t need to be called names or a sellout or a rich right-winger (that one is the funniest of all since nothing could be farther from the truth.  I worked my butt off to get rich, but I’m not a right winger!)  And don’t start fights with the other posters.

Scope up people.  None of this is world peace.  It’s one opinionated guy who other people find entertaining enough to read his comments.  If you don’t find it entertaining and don’t like what I have to say, then go away.   I never started the blog to argue with people.  My time isn’t worth it - nor should yours be.   The purpose of the blog is to vent and have some fun.

I appreciate all of you who show up, read my stuff, comment, and keep coming back.

Larry

Share This

Grow up and put on your big boy pants!

April 19th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 15 Comments →

I attended a charity event this last weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona where I live.  It was held partially inside and partially outside.  The temperature was in the high 70’s.  It was a fairly pricey little function to attend and I guess there were maybe five or six hundred people there.  The suggested attire on the invitation said, “Sophisticated Chic – Dress To Impress.”  While it wasn’t specific, I understood what it meant as I am sure most of you do.  But I was amazed at the number of people who thought that the rest of us were going to be impressed by their sophisticatedly chic t-shirts, shorts and Croc sandals.  Come on people – be appropriate!  What goes on in the mind of people when they get ready to go to ANY event other than a kegger on the beach where you think Sophisticated Chic means you can wear a t-shirt and shorts?

I am sick of the lack of couth people show when they go out in the evenings. . . especially when dining out in nice restaurants.  As I said, I live in Scottsdale, Arizona – it’s hot – HELL hot most of the time but that doesn’t mean that it’s okay to wear shorts 24-7.  The same thing applies in Vegas – the Rat Pack would roll over in their graves if they witnessed the crappy way people dress when they go to the casino.  I’m not against being comfortable by any means.  But if we were all going for comfort, wouldn’t we all just wear muumuus?  You know, like they do at Wal-Mart?

I like shorts – I wear them a lot:  like to the beach and to play golf when it’s over 110 degrees or to a ball game or out during the daytime just about any place.  That is any place except where it isn’t appropriate.  And the one place where shorts are NEVER appropriate is when dining out after dark in a restaurant.  (Yeah, I know, there are some restaurants where it is okay – use your head – those aren’t the restaurants I am talking about and you know it.  Hooters ain’t where I’m talking about here!)

Here are some rules for when to wear long pants:

If the place you are dining has cloth napkins, you need to wear long pants.

If there are two forks on the table, you need to wear long pants.

If your wife or date is wearing high heels, you need to wear long pants.

If you are wearing black socks, you need to wear long pants.

If your shorts ride up between your thighs and into your crotch because you are too fat, you need to wear long pants.

If the restaurant takes reservations, you need to wear long pants.

If the entrée costs more than $10, you need to wear long pants.

If they DON’T say, “you want fries with that?” you need to wear long pants.

If it’s dark outside, you need to wear long pants.

If the restaurant does NOT have a drive-up window, you need to wear long pants.

If they have valet parking, you need to wear long pants.

If they escort you to your table, you need to wear long pants.

If your bill comes in a folder, you need to wear long pants.

If no one else is wearing shorts, you needed to wear long pants.

If the invitation says, “Sophisticated Chic - Dress To Impress,” you need to wear long pants.

Grow up foks!  You aren’t a little kid any longer . . . it’s time to put on your big boy pants and look like a grown up.

Share This

Nip it in the bud! Nip it!

April 5th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 18 Comments →

Remember that line by Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show?  Barney was passing out parenting advice to Andy about correcting a behavior of Opie’s.   He told Andy, “Nip it in the bud.  Nip it!”   If you don’t remember the line, that’s okay,  I’m an old guy and I loved Andy and Barney! But the point was a good one then and still is:  When you see bad behavior, nip it in the bud.   

I was reminded of this last night while watching Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer.  Holy crap this guy is good.  In the segment I am referring to, the dog, a big one, had food aggression.  The owners could not go near the dog or the food bowl as the dog would growl, bark and nip at them.  They had not done much to correct the problem and Cesar was quick to point out that since the behavior had not been corrected early in the dog’s development, that the aggressive behavior was now spreading to other areas way beyond the food.  He said that if the aggression was not brought under control quickly and firmly that it wouldn’t be long before that dog was going to hurt someone.  Then he took control and taught the dog owners how to take control.  That’s his position:  YOU are in charge of your environment and your dog  -  take control! 

Great advice.  Correct problems when you see them so they don’t spread and grow.  Take control of your environment. 

Good ideas when dealing with dogs and children.  We have all seen children that have been allowed to get by with things that should have been corrected.  And we all know that the bad behavior will spread and that the ill-behaved child will become bigger and bigger until, like the dog, someone is going to get hurt. 

Now, let me slide that principle over to dealing with employees.  When you allow an employee to get by with something, even a small infraction, that behavior when it goes uncorrected will grow until you have real problems.  Let an employee get by with coming in late and soon that employee will never be on time.  The problem will probably even spread to the other employees.  You didn’t correct the problem with one employee, others noticed it and now they are developing bad behaviors.  At that point, you are no longer the leader, you are following the pack - they are now in charge.  (See the correlation between Cesar’s message and mine?) 

In my life, I take it to the next level.  I believe that when I see rudeness in other people in my regular life, that the rudeness must be addressed and corrected.  (Or at least brought to their attention.)  Now I am not naive enough to think that my comment to them is going to correct their rude behavior long term, but at least I have let them know that they don’t get to treat ME that way and they don’t get to behave that way in THIS situation.

That’s why in by past blog postings, I have told stories about how I speak up when someone is rude to me.  I tell employees when they give me bad service.  I refuse to accept poor behavior in others when it impacts my life. Some of you agree with me and let me know.  Then there are others of you who say things like, “take the high road, Larry, let it slide.”  It seems to me that the high road is what I have been taking.  And answer this for me:  How does letting it slide fix things?

I believe that when you ignore bad behavior in your dog, your child, your employee, or in others, you are condoning that bad behavior.  That makes you guilty by association.  If you and I go out one evening, and you decide to rob someone while I am standing there next to you and I don’t do anything to stop you, a court would find me guilty by association.  In my court, if you tolerate or ignore bad behavior in others, you are just as guilty as they are.  If I let my dog bite you I am going to be the one who pays the consequences.  If my kid breaks your window by throwing a rock through it, I will be the one who pays the fine and replaces the window.  If my employee treats you badly, I will pay the price by losing you as a customer.  Ultimately, I will pay the price because I am responsible for my world.  I should control my world. 

Some of you like to point out that I tell people to stop whining and that my blogs are all about me whining about the service I get.  Oh, come on!  My blogs are meant to be entertaining little rants with a bit of a message that will 1) make you smile 2) make you think and 3) give you one little idea about something you can do to live a better life.  Don’t make it into some earth shattering treatise on the human condition.  This ain’t World Peace folks - it’s a blog!  Have some fun - spout off a bit - move on.  For those of you, who hate what I have to say and my opinion, this obviously isn’t the blog for you.  Go away.  I have made that clear in the past few days to a select few of you who don’t like me, don’t like my opinions, don’t like my other posters and by all appearances don’t like life itself!   In other words, I nipped it in the bud!   

Here is the deal:  Bad behavior is unacceptable at any level.  The reason it runs rampant is because so many of us “take the high road and let it slide.”  I don’t believe that is the correct road to take.  I believe that in order to turn things around, we must all refuse to accept bad behavior, at least in our own little world:  With the people you pay your hard earned money to.  With your employees.  With your kids.  With your dog!  Will the world change?  Maybe not, but at least YOUR world might.   

  

Share This

Not a rant. I need some feedback! Talk to me.

March 25th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 49 Comments →

Hi folks. I know you like it when I blow up and rant and roll on all the stupid stuff I run in to in my life and travels. But this time, I want to ask some questions and get some feedback. I have a lot going on: speaking, television appearances, commercials, working on a couple of new books and more that you will find out about as things emerge. In fact, I have so much going on that I need your help on determining what to do next and how to go about it.

First, I have an appearance coming up on the Early Show in NYC. They want me to bring a couple of the show with me and have me do a financial makeover on air with the couple. If you live in the New York area and would like to be on the show and have me give you some concrete ideas for making your life better, then you need to write my assistant at feedback@larrywinget.com. This will happen in April so we don’t have much time. You will be helped and you will be helping all those who watch get a grip on their finances as well.

Second, I have received lots of email for more detailed help in many areas. I am thinking of creating a subscription service that is cheap ($99 a year or $10 per month) where you will recieve regular fifteen minute video and audio downloads as well as webinars from me on a variety of topics that would include direct contact where you can ask me questions. I would also create a chat room for discussions on the topic. The topics would be personal development topics as well as financial and business. Interested? This is stuff that the regular public wouldn’t get - only available to my subscribers. Let me know.

I am also considering doing a series of public seminars across the country. This is a tough undertaking. I could lose my ass if you don’t come to the seminars. It costs a lot to put them on and more to make them work. So I need to know if you are interested and what cities I should hit first. I will also need the help of my dedicated fans to get the word out. I will make these very affordable so anyone can attend so don’t think cost will prohibit you from attending. I just need butts in chairs to make it work.

Last, I have a real opportunity for those of you that live in Arizona. I am going to do a big FREE seminar in Phoenix in late May or early June. I am shooting a seminar to be aired later on PBS and I need a big, enthusiastic crowd. If you can come and are willing to help me fill an auditorium, I need to hear from you. Again, contact my assistant at feedback@larrywinget.com. Let me know how many people you can put in chairs. If you work for a company and want to bring a hundred people, that is great, just please let me know. This is an opportunity for you to hear what I charge private corporations big bucks to do. So a company can save major dollars if they decide to bring the whole company. And this is an opportunity for the individual who would never get a chance to attend one of my seminars to come see me live. I just need to know how many people to expect.

Okay, let me hear from you! Leave blog entries and write  feedback@larrywinget.com

Share This

By the time I get to Phoenix I’ll be crazy!!!! OR… Airlines and a moral.

March 20th, 2008 by Larry Winget in Money & Personal Dev | 27 Comments →

I just erased my longest blog ever. It was the story of airline abuse like you would not believe. It was a story of stupidity and absurdity like none other. Except that isn’t true. If you fly at all, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You have a story just as bad or maybe worse. So it wasn’t worth taking you down the path of bad service from an airline because you have been there. So here is a slightly altered rant, with a moral to the story.

When I leave my house in Paradise Valley in Arizona to fly to an engagement, I know that by the time I return, I will be disappointed, abused, talked down to, talked back to, ignored, belittled, poorly served and more by a group of people who honestly don’t give a crap about me or any of their other customers: airline employees. The airline industry sucks. Poor service runs rampant. Airline employees for the most part are the worst employees in America. I recently told an American Airlines flight attendant that the only thing being Executive Platinum and flying first class did was get me on the plane earlier so they could be rude to me longer! She didn’t think I was funny. But the others sitting around me did! So that’s why I erased my long boring bitchy blog: same ol’ story that you could just as easily have told me.

Now before all of you airline employees write me defending yourselves, know that I am not indicting all of you, but I indicting many of you. There are some very nice people who work for the airlines and still care about the customer - I appreciate all of you nice people who help me so often. However, in the story I wrote and erased I kept track of how many employees I talked to about the fiasco I will call a trip - the number was over twenty. I had only one person say they were sorry that my flight was canceled - that there was a four hour delay - that their own agent accidentally erased my return record when I had to change my connecting flight due to the cancellation. No apology when my bags were lost - so lost they didn’t even show up as lost in the system and after being lost for two days. I later found out they sent them to the wrong city - not because the tag was wrong but because a baggage handler wasn’t paying attention. I am pretty used to getting bad service from airlines as I am a professional traveler. And even though all travel sucks, it is much more palatable when someone says, “i’m sorry.” Out of twenty who could have said those simple words, one did.

In fact, many of you airline employees know what I am talking about because you have told me your own horror stories about traveling. Travel is stressful for all of us - travelers and employees. But employees are paid to take it - the rest of us have to pay to get it! By the way, I want to go ahead and post a comment about the employees of US Airways in Philadelphia. These people are the worst group of employees of any company in any city on the planet - bar none! Sorry guys, you suck like no one else sucks. Ask anyone who has ever flown through your city. You are rude, horrible people and if I ruled the world, everyone of you would be working at McDonald’s saying, “Want fries with that?” (I feel so much better now.) By the way, I did a poll of all people before saying this and everyone I asked just laughed when I asked about Philadelphia airline employees - to a person they all said you were the worst! And if your response to that comment is, “That’s not fair.” Okay, it’s not. I am sure that there are also good employees in Philadelphia - so where are you hiding them?

The point of this whole rant is this: When I finally got to my destination of Williamsport, PA and was standing in line to report my lost bags along with several other people, I met some of the nicest folks ever. My bags were lost. The car scheduled to pick me up didn’t show. There isn’t much for taxi service in Williamsport and the wait was going to be long. But a nice couple who recognized me and had also been the victim of much of the same airline abuse I had been, came over to me and asked if I needed a ride to my hotel. I was incredulous. What a deal!!!! Just plain old good folks being nice to another human being for no other reason except they could be. Cindy and Carl. In a hurry to get home I’m sure. Other things to do, I’m sure. But they saw another human being in distress and came to the rescue. My faith in humanity was restored. About the time I am ready to give up on the human race, and some nice folks like Cindy and Carl show up to save the day.

It was a reminder for me. I am a jerk, no question about it. I am loud and obnoxious and outspoken as you have probably noticed. But, believe it or not, I try to be a nice guy and come to the rescue from time to time when i can. Just to prove to myself I have not fallen victim to the rudeness and stupidity that most of our world has become. I must admit that I do it for selfish reasons. The person I do my little bit for is helped, but I am helped much more because I have reminded myself I am fighting back against the giant tug to become one more rude, uncaring person that is quickly filling up our society. I need that reminder. I need to know I am still a caring person. I suggest you be selfish too. Go out and do some little nice thing for someone just to remind yourself you are better than the herd. it doesn’t take much.

By the way…. Thanks Cindy. Thanks Carl.

Share This

← Previous Entries