Consumer Insights

Walking to work is dangerous. No, not in the sense that I’ll get mugged in Time’s Square in board daylight at 9am, but rather that I end going on spontaneous shopping sprees and arrive at the office 2 hours later.

Living in Chelsea, my morning commute takes me through the Garment District, Penn Station, up Madison, and 5^th Ave. – the prime shopping locations in Manhattan and arguably of the world. It’s beautiful walking the NYC streets in the brisk September air. The skyscraper sights, the European tourists, the pretzel vendors, the business suited workers, etc., each group, each person plays a key role in the city fabric, Manhattan wouldn’t be the same if any of them were missing.

My insight for the day centers on the way stores catered their location inventory to their customers. Subconsciously, I’ve always known that even within the same store-chain, there various branches carry different lines. This makes intuitive sense, to cater the clothing lines to the customer demographic of the region. A Macy’s in San Diego would never carry thick wool coats even in December unless it was for a design fashion statement. It’s interesting to occasionally go beyond the consumer mind frame, and to understand the underlying business concepts of a restaurant, of a credit card, or of a simple notebook.

Today, I learned about the differences in the NYC H&Ms. These insights are useful to plan shopping trips that maximize chances of finding the right size and to avoiding the fitting room and checkout lines.

Some Quick Basics of H&M

The clothing shipments arrive every night and are organized at 6am before being placement on the floor for the store opening at 10am.

• H&M’s flagship store at 5^thAve. and 56^th carries their widest selection of clothing. Stop here to get the best idea of all the selection.
• The two stores near Penn station are the heaviest trafficked of all the Manhattan stores, to the point that they receive two shipments Thu-Sat and are open until 11pm. They carry more of younger Divided concept lines.
• The newest Manhattan location is on 5^th near Bryant Park. Because it’s located in a business area, it carries a wider line of career fashion. (And for those interested, they’re having a 1 yr anniversary event on the 25/26^th of this month).

The Sexist GOP

"In fact, McCain's idea that women will vote for the McCain/Palin ticket just because Palin has a vagina is incredibly condescending, as Ann Friedman at the American Prospect writes:

Palin's addition to the ticket takes Republican faux-feminism to a whole new level. As Adam Serwer pointed out on TAPPED, this is in fact a condescending move by the GOP. It plays to the assumption that disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters did not care about her politics -- only her gender. In picking Palin, Republicans are lending credence to the sexist assumption that women voters are too stupid to investigate or care about the issues, and merely want to vote for someone who looks like them. As Serwer noted, it's akin to choosing Alan Keyes in an attempt to compete with Obama for votes from black Americans.

A candidate should be chosen because they are qualified for the job, not because of their gender. Any hardworking woman who has been passed over for a promotion could have told the McCain campaign that."

Quoted from http://www.alternet.org/election08/97350/?page=3

TimeWarner Cable Guy

TimeWarner has abominal customer service. My experience with a TW customer service representative.


After waiting 10minues on the telephone and navigating through 6 operator menus...

B: Hi, my name is Brian. Can I have your name?
L: Yes. It's XXX XXXX. I'm calling today because I'm interested installing the basic cable and internet package that TW offers.
B: Let me place you on hold.
L: This was the right number to call, right?
B: Yes. I'm putting you on hold. *me wondering why after waiting on hold already to talk to him???*

5 minutes later...

B: What is your address?
L: ### XXX NYC
B: Again?
L: *slowly* ### XXY NYC
B: Can you repeat that?
L: *very very slowly for the third time* ### XXY NYC
B: Again?
L: We haven't even discussed plans yet, would it be easier to give you my zip code?
B: Yes, we can do that instead.
L: #####
B: When do you want to the set up?
L: As soon as possible. But before we get into the logistical aspects, can we discuss and decide on the plan?
B: I'm putting you on hold.
L: Again *cut off by hold*

4 minutes later...

B: Okay, I'm signing you up for the $99.98 plan with Spanish, English, HBO, blah blah blah...
L: Excuse me sir, I'm really just interested in just the very basic $15 cable and 10mgb internet option.
B: *totally ignoring me* blah blah blah, digital cable plans...blah blah blah...more channels...
L: Excuse me, I'm not interested in all those channels. I would just like the $15 basic cable option.
B: There is no $15 plan.
L: I'm sure there is. I have friends on it.
B: It doesn't exist.
L: But I spoke to another TW representative 4 days ago about it.
B: It no longer exists.
L: It was only 4 days ago.
B: The basic plan is $60 month. There is and has never been a $15 plan.
L: So you're telling me that the other TW representative was wrong?
B: Perhaps. *pause* Yes.
L: But how do you know that they are right and that you're wrong?
B: They are wrong.
L: So you're saying that some TW give out wrong info.
B: silence
L: Don't you all go through the same training? How can you be trained to give out conflicting info?
B: I'm right.

Conversation goes no where.

L: *exasperated* I would like to speak with another representative. Can you please transfer me. *didn't want to wade through another myriad of phone menus.*
B: No, you have to hang up and dial Customer Service again.
L: What if I get you again?

I hang up, vowing never to call TW again.

***addendum, my roommates called TW later in the afternoon and confirmed the existence of the $15 basic cable plan. But after these experiences, we're probably just going to go digital satellite.***

Model Sightings

While jogging along 9th and 26th today, I felt as if I had happened upon a model shoot. At least 20 tall, svelte, well-dressed girls were casually sauntering the streets around me. Not only did their average 5'9 stature set them apart, but also their assertive gracefulness of step. With prefect sun lit hair and flawless skin, they looked too put together, even for New York.

What's going on, I wondered? It wasn't a sorority gathering. Everyone walked separately and floated ethereally.

Then it dawned on me, these girls were students at the Fashion Institute of Technology on 26th and 7/8th Ave. The fashionable clothing, the confident strides, it suddenly all made sense.

**Conclusion: best model sighting location in NYC, and probably the world = corners of FIT**

And the adventure continues...Blind man sitghting

Though my adventures in Australia concluded a few weeks ago, I've realized that there are still tons of New York excitements waiting documentation. So thus continues the tales of the wanderlust in the big city.

Today while on 7th Ave., I happened to walk alongside a blind man. Yes, a blind man, a blind man walking in Manhattan. Dressed in a beige trench coat, the 50 year old man held out a black cane, tapping the sidewalk before him. Though not at a New Yorker's speed, he still traveled at a relatively comfortable pace. At intersections, he would stop because he would bump into people paused at the curb. At these incidences, he would turn to the person next to him and if it were clear from him to proceed onward.

I'm amazed at how this man traversed New York City blind! Though I do not know the degree of his condition, I'm pretty certain he was legally blind. Perhaps it is the crowded-ness of NYC that makes it both so dangerous yet also paradoxically "safe."

Trip-End Reflection

This trip has been a fantastic experience of traveling and learning about the people, culture and environment of Australia.

Initially, I had misgivings about going to Australia. I thought it would be too similar to the US, that it would be cold because of winter, and that I would be lonely as none of my friends were traveling all the way out there.

However, Australia has proven to be one of the best places to travel. As an English speaking country, is was easier to research than most. The visitors centers were excellently staffed and I could communicate with the locals. Having a car also gave me freedom -- I could lengthen or shorten my stays at each location -- from bus and train timetables.

I was able to experience so much more of Australian as a travel guide writer than I would have had as an average tourist. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

As I close the 2008 summer chapter, I've have moved into my new apartment and started work. It'll definitely be a different lifestyle, albeit the traveling for work component will probably continue. I plan to post my random musings sporadically on this blog.

Thanks for reading!

L

P.S. Below, I'm including a few entries on general Australia that I didn't get a chance to post. Read on if you're interested.

Politics and Government

The Australian government is sometimes termed the "Washminister System," a combination of Washington and Westminster political structures. Compared with the American political system, the Australian system is similar enough to be understood, but different enough to be interesting.

In Australia, it is mandatory for all citizens over 18 to vote--hence their 98% voting electorate (the US has somewhere between 40 and 50%, and that's only registered voters!). They are fined an initial $20 which goes up if they fail to comply.

Accustomed to the separation of powers in the US political system, I was unfamiliar with the parliamentary system of government. In the Australian parliamentary system, there are two representative branches, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The representatives are based by population and New South Wales, the most populous state has 49 of the 150 representatives. Bondi, an area in Sydney only a few square km large has one representative, as does a part of Western Australia with area with three times the size of Texas. On the Senate side, there are 76 senators, 12 from each of the 6 states, and 2 from the two territories (Northern Territories and ACT -- Canberra).

The Prime Minister (PM) is selected by the majority party in the House. And because the PM is chosen from among the House of Representatives, the House is more "powerful" than the Senate, which is contrary to that in the US. There is no term limit for the PM and he can remain in office as long as his party and the people wish him or her to be. Furthermore, there are no birth restrictions in Australian, anyone can be PM. (Theoretically, I could even be PM!)

The current PM is Kevin Rudd of the Labour Party (like the US Democrats). He follows John Howard, a Liberal (like the US Republicans)PM who served for over a decade. Rudd has ushered in many new policies and is very popular with the younger generation.