Current Economy where you live?

HappyHarry said: "I'm in Cleveland, which they carried on about during election time as being an incredibly poor city. In reality, although the inner city is poor, the econony in Cleveland is very stable. I see mostly new cars where I go and everyone I know has a job. What is the economy like in the area whee you live?"

ToastMonger said: "Market over here in Phoenix is mixed. The job market is still ugly it's very tough to get a decent job out here. The housing market is booming though. New houses are going up like none other."

HappyHarry said: "I think it's tougher than ever to get jobs. Companies are getting cheaper and cheaper about hiring. If they can avoid hiring or go with temps, they will. But all these new houses, who is buying them?"

chahinemm said: "im in windsor ontario canada bordering detroit michigan. here i think the economy is fairly stable growing slowly with an articulate and windsor centered mayor who pushes to give whatever he can for the city which is good. in general the job situation is slowly improving but its mainly a university town at least the part i live in so a lot of factors are effected. chahine"

HappyHarry said: "Manufacturing is the hardest hit. I think those jobs are lost forever to China, which is probably a sign of progress. The manufacturing jobs generally pay a bit better, but they aren't eal good for your health."

chahinemm said: "[QUOTE=HappyHarry]Manufacturing is the hardest hit. I think those jobs are lost forever to China, which is probably a sign of progress. The manufacturing jobs generally pay a bit better, but they aren't eal good for your health.[/QUOTE] i tend to agree with that but it depends how automated it is... i have seen some companies who are so automated that not even chinas cheap labor market to challenge it just because the fact hat its automated and the goods come straight from manufacturer. chahine"

HappyHarry said: "Sure. The only thing better than cheap labor is "free labor". If you can get a machine to do it, you're even better off."

chahinemm said: "the only way that would be i guess possible is getting a totally automated system and urself working in the factory for free i think that is unbeatable.. :D . chahine"

HappyHarry said: "If you think of the productivity gains in the last 50 years it's unreal. Less people than ever before are needed to make money, as long as they're very productive folks."

Heather said: "Everyone that I know that wants a job has one. I saw plenty of folks shopping for the Christmas holiday, and cash registers ringing happily everywhere. I think that a lot of companies are trying to add automation where they can. Including grocery stores. About 4 checkout lanes at the grocery store have been replaced with self checkouts. A computer voice orders you around and tells you to "put the item in the bag." It is unnerving sometimes. No cashier, no bagboys. Just a machine that requires "customer assistance" too often. I wonder if that has helped to improve their bottom line?"

chahinemm said: "[QUOTE=Hathor] About 4 checkout lanes at the grocery store have been replaced with self checkouts. A computer voice orders you around and tells you to "put the item in the bag." [/QUOTE] can u tell me what company has this technology...?? i see this business model having the capacity to grow in the future. im sure that only a small % of the companies using it in the future more and more will use it. could be a good opportunity if its cheap. :eek: chahine"

AlfredSokol said: "But you also have to evaluate the implementation. Most of these companies are going to more automation in an attempt to compete with WalMart. However, WalMart still generally has better service! If you automate, it can't be at the expense of the customer."

chahinemm said: "[QUOTE=AlfredSokol]But you also have to evaluate the implementation. Most of these companies are going to more automation in an attempt to compete with WalMart. However, WalMart still generally has better service! If you automate, it can't be at the expense of the customer.[/QUOTE] good point... but the thing is that u can never get rid of customer service in my opinion... u always need it. to find the right balance between automation and employee requirment i think is the real target so that maximum price reduction with maximum customer satisfaction... interesting dilenma .... how to deal with it chahine"

AlfredSokol said: "I'm more sure than ever that Customer Service is the key, especially when you're a business who deals with the same people over time. Let's use common sense. Most people like people who treat them good. Just like a dog who is never hit will like his owner a lot better than one who is beat. Bank customers are like whipped dogs in most areas. So are telecom customers. They expect bad service. When you expect bad service, you want a cheap price. Companies that sell on cheap price only almost always have bad margins. To me customer service is one of the main ways to increase the value of the franchise."

chahinemm said: "definitely agree with that point and i think its something that a lot of companies ignore or if they try to take in consideration they try to give too much to customer service and loose balance between the price vs service. chahine"

Heather said: "Chahine, I looked around and wasn't able to find any kind of information on a company for that. The spam sites that I found have hefty price tags on them. Maybe if you look up UPC code readers or something. It seems like a very specialized niche. Buying over 18 items like alcohol, cigarettes or lighters, in these lanes don't help. You have to wait for a worker to OKAY you for purchase, just as fast to checkout with a live person.."

HappyHarry said: "Check the machines themselves for the manufacturer. The scanner company would be a better plan the grocery stores. Grocery stores will need these to stay alive."

chahinemm said: "here in canada its fairly automated u put in the grocery and and just does a weighting system that is efficient next time i go do my groceries ill check... i like specialized markets for they are harder to compete against like siri or xm less people can come into and bash profit margins. IMO at least. chahine"

HappyHarry said: ""Automation" is probably a good keyword for all of us to investigate. Any company that can help other companies make more money through automation are bound to be big hits."

chahinemm said: "[QUOTE=HappyHarry]"Automation" is probably a good keyword for all of us to investigate. Any company that can help other companies make more money through automation are bound to be big hits.[/QUOTE] the question that come up to my mind is to what level does a company want to automate.. my business experience is to minimal to answer that question but i would guess a good balance between an optimal cost/profit maximization level with a dose of customer service. IMO chahine"

HappyHarry said: "100% if possible. That's the best part of online businesses. They can automate almost 100% of their processes."

chahinemm said: "[QUOTE=HappyHarry]100% if possible. That's the best part of online businesses. They can automate almost 100% of their processes.[/QUOTE] agree but customer service can't be ;) still need people to take care of it... andi guess where outsourcing comes in the picture to reduce the cost. chahine"

HappyHarry said: "It sure does. But if you plan on building a company from the ground up that's what you do: automate the backend processes and outsource the customer service. With very specific policies you could do very, very well."

chahinemm said: "u should tell me more about it cause im in the process of making an online the process is fairly automated cause i designed most of it but since initially its free i want to take advantage of outsourcing my customer service. chahine"

AlfredSokol said: "You can outsource pretty cheap. It depends on the features you need. Some place sell services like 800, 24 x 7 800 plus order-taking etc. Many of the companies are very established Indian firms. You could customize an outsourcing solution for almost any business."

ToastMonger said: "I can tell you at Fry's (the grocery store where I used to work) that the U-Scans affected the bottom line quite a bit. The U-Scan allowed the store to save quite a bit of money. They have 4 cash registers run by 1 person. Then they don't have CRTs (baggers) either. So it's costing the store 7.50/hour instead 40/hour. The U-Scan is open from 6AM-11PM. Savings of $552.50/day. The store is open every day except for Christmas. All told those U-Scans save Fry's an average of $201,110 per year per store. Fry's has 100 stores. $20M a year that these puppies save the company."

Heather said: "Thanks for that info! Are they a publicly held company, Toast? (The scanning company)"

chahinemm said: "damn i was expecting somewhere around 100,000 a piece but the amount that u are giving is quit a bit... i hope u are not infringing any rights by reveilling insider info... would not be too good. chahine"

HappyHarry said: "U-Scans are made by [url=http://www.branhamgroup.com/branham300/2003/details.php?company_ID=41]Optimal Robotics Corp[/url]"

Heather said: "Here is their chart: [url]http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=opmr[/url] Pretty affordable. Truth be told."

willow_road said: "I'm near Seattle. The economy here seems to be on the upswing. Amazon had their best year ever, Microsoft is working on expanding their campus, Starbucks is perking and the workload at the engineering firm I work for is growing stronger. All that said, from friends I have heard that it is still hard to find a good job."

Heather said: "What field are they looking for jobs in?"

HappyHarry said: "If you've ever seen a real recession it looks different than this trouble in the 2000s. People have been able to spend and borrow the whole time."

Heather said: "[QUOTE=ToastMonger]I can tell you at Fry's (the grocery store where I used to work) that the U-Scans affected the bottom line quite a bit. The U-Scan allowed the store to save quite a bit of money. They have 4 cash registers run by 1 person. Then they don't have CRTs (baggers) either. So it's costing the store 7.50/hour instead 40/hour. The U-Scan is open from 6AM-11PM. Savings of $552.50/day. The store is open every day except for Christmas. All told those U-Scans save Fry's an average of $201,110 per year per store. Fry's has 100 stores. $20M a year that these puppies save the company.[/QUOTE] More information on [URL=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1804&e=1&u=/washpost/20050117/tc_washpost/a14506_2005jan16]store automation[/URL]"

HappyHarry said: "You actually start to get used to the machines. I think you'll see more and more of this automation in the future."

Heather said: "If it represents that much in cost savings, and limits downside on inventory control, it almost makes sense to get these installed in more places. I still won't like them, though. LOL"