For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist. I, too, once
existed there, and clearly remember walking the halls of the Fortune
500 company, finding it easy to believe that the whole world was
populated by intelligent, hard-driving "doers".
When you run a hotel, however, you see the entire panoply of the human
experience, often in the same day. Over time you realize that the
world is split unevenly between "doers" and "takers", and it’s
sometimes hard to tell which side is winning. After a day like
yesterday it’s hard to even believe that we’ve lumped so many
different creatures under the one title "homo sapiens".
On Saturday we:
- Hosted a gathering of Swearingen SX-300 pilots in our Jack Knight
Meeting Room. These top-notch pilots held a seminar on formation
flying, and then spent the day thrilling the city with formation over-
flights. They’re doing it again as I’m typing this. (If you’re not
familiar with the SX-300, I suggest doing a web search. It is about
the coolest single engine plane out there.)
- Dealt with a couple of Wayne’s World look-alikes, who — at 11 AM —
staggered into the lobby so stoned they couldn’t feel their feet,
looking for a suite. Mary took one look at them, loudly pronounced
what she was smelling in their presence, and told them to hit the
bricks….
- Took a call from a former guest who — a week ago — claimed to have
tripped and fell entering the Mustang Suite. She has supposedly gone
to a chiropractor three times, and is threatening to sue us if we
don’t compensate her in some way.
All of this happened between 11 AM and 1 PM. Call it "The Good, The
Bad, and The Ugly".
Next time you’re sitting at your big desk in your corner office,
gazing over the city whilst sipping your third latte of the day and
sweating your stock options, try to remember that the real world is
just beyond the smoked glass…
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Jay Honeck" <jjhon…@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:1191769464.542099.49210@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com…
> For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
> echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
> remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist. I, too, once
> existed there, and clearly remember walking the halls of the Fortune
> 500 company, finding it easy to believe that the whole world was
> populated by intelligent, hard-driving "doers".
> When you run a hotel, however, you see the entire panoply of the human
> experience, often in the same day. Over time you realize that the
> world is split unevenly between "doers" and "takers", and it’s
> sometimes hard to tell which side is winning. After a day like
> yesterday it’s hard to even believe that we’ve lumped so many
> different creatures under the one title "homo sapiens".
Yeah. For every one of me, there are 10 Mxsmanic’s, and 0.0001 Ron
Wantaja’s.
On Oct 7, 12:09 pm, "Ken Finney" <kcfin…@comcast.net> wrote:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> "Jay Honeck" <jjhon…@mchsi.com> wrote in message
> news:1191769464.542099.49210@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com…
> > For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
> > echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
> > remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist. I, too, once
> > existed there, and clearly remember walking the halls of the Fortune
> > 500 company, finding it easy to believe that the whole world was
> > populated by intelligent, hard-driving "doers".
> > When you run a hotel, however, you see the entire panoply of the human
> > experience, often in the same day. Over time you realize that the
> > world is split unevenly between "doers" and "takers", and it’s
> > sometimes hard to tell which side is winning. After a day like
> > yesterday it’s hard to even believe that we’ve lumped so many
> > different creatures under the one title "homo sapiens".
Hmmm… Come to my world for a day… Sorry to point this out, but
the takers are winning…
The, don’t work, won’t work, sashay in hours late for the appointment
with a ‘you owe me’ attitude…
The whiners, whackos, and just plain crazy are increasing in numbers
as the decades go by..
My suspicion is thet we doers have created this…
We have made the world so safe there is no penalty for being lazy or
crazy…
A hundred years ago if you refused to work, you starved… And the
town merely shrgged and said, ‘that’ll learn ya, durn ya’…
Those who pay little or nothing (per their insurance) out of their
pocket at the time of service are increasingly hostile and
demanding…
The medicaid insured who are required by state law to pay just two
dollars for an office call have every excuse in the book why they
can’t do that…
The clueless, who owe us thousands of dollars that they have never
made a single dollar in payment upon,
scream and swear and spit <literally> at my receptionist when she
informs them they have to pay before service from now on…
I have been actively practicing medicine for over 30 years, and we
have been in this office for 26 years, and until this past week
I have never turned a patient away for any reason – and especially
over money – but my accountant tells me if I do not start getting paid
I might as well close the doors….
Then there are the mentally challenged who can’t seem to grasp that if
they eat everything in sight and weigh over 300 pounds,
why I can’t just give them a pill that will make them look like a
magazine cover model…
The diabetics who can’t grasp the fact that if they skip their insulin
they will wind up in the EMR unconcious – and keep doing it…
And the COPD with heart failure who can barely walk across the room
who tell me they can’t
quit smoking because they will gain weight if they do! <honest injun
story>
denny
Welcome to my world of emergency medicine (the good, the bad and the
ugly of human behavior; unfortunately I can’t take one look at them
and throw them out due to pesky federal laws).
And people wonder why I need to go fly (and go for my daily jog) to
clear my head…
And no, I’m not flying while distracted (like Jay got lambasted upon
after a hard day at work in a recent thread). I’m distracted by flying
from the distractions of everyday life…
Unfortunately my 172 is in annual and I’m starting to withdraw…the
shakes are starting, it’s been 7 days…I need a second airplane just
for annual time and when it’s down for maintence! (speaking of Ron
Wanntaja, I’m enamoured with a Fly Baby!)
-Ryan
"Denny" <k…@mailblocks.com> wrote in message
news:1191775295.048738.300280@50g2000hsm.googlegroups.com…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> On Oct 7, 12:09 pm, "Ken Finney" <kcfin…@comcast.net> wrote:
> > "Jay Honeck" <jjhon…@mchsi.com> wrote in message
> > news:1191769464.542099.49210@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com…
> > > For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
> > > echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
> > > remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist. I, too, once
> > > existed there, and clearly remember walking the halls of the Fortune
> > > 500 company, finding it easy to believe that the whole world was
> > > populated by intelligent, hard-driving "doers".
> > > When you run a hotel, however, you see the entire panoply of the human
> > > experience, often in the same day. Over time you realize that the
> > > world is split unevenly between "doers" and "takers", and it’s
> > > sometimes hard to tell which side is winning. After a day like
> > > yesterday it’s hard to even believe that we’ve lumped so many
> > > different creatures under the one title "homo sapiens".
> Hmmm… Come to my world for a day… Sorry to point this out, but
> the takers are winning…
> The, don’t work, won’t work, sashay in hours late for the appointment
> with a ‘you owe me’ attitude…
> The whiners, whackos, and just plain crazy are increasing in numbers
> as the decades go by..
> My suspicion is thet we doers have created this…
> We have made the world so safe there is no penalty for being lazy or
> crazy…
> A hundred years ago if you refused to work, you starved… And the
> town merely shrgged and said, ‘that’ll learn ya, durn ya’…
<snip>
The Bible is quite clear on the subject: "Let his who will not work, not
eat." ( 2 Thessalonians 3:10).
Works for me!
<rwub…@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1191775396.476543.15970@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com…
> And people wonder why I need to go fly (and go for my daily jog) to
> clear my head…
> And no, I’m not flying while distracted (like Jay got lambasted upon
> after a hard day at work in a recent thread). I’m distracted by flying
> from the distractions of everyday life…
I "fly a (management) desk" now that I have "retired" from active military
flying.
So people wonder why I spend every Saturday at the local soaring club…
it’s called rejuvenation.
BT
> Hmmm… Come to my world for a day… Sorry to point this out, but
> the takers are winning…
> The, don’t work, won’t work, sashay in hours late for the appointment
> with a ‘you owe me’ attitude…
> The whiners, whackos, and just plain crazy are increasing in numbers
> as the decades go by..
> My suspicion is thet we doers have created this…
Absolutely agree. As with all things, I suspect it’s cyclical. The
deficit shows that the takers are taking more than we doers can
produce, and the whole cradle-to-grave welfare system in America and
Western Europe will soon come crashing down.
We’ve now spent three months, and several thousand dollars,
advertising for two positions (one full- and one part-time) at the
hotel. These are not difficult jobs (front desk), but they do require
a person with the ability to follow procedures and be personable. It
also helps if they aren’t afraid of working.
We have now hired seven people — quite literally all seven who have
applied. One never showed up for their first day; one turned out to
be bipolar, and I literally had to call the police to get them out of
here; one showed up late their first two days — I fired him on the
fourth day; one stole money from us but left before I could fire her.
The other three are still on the payroll, for now. (Why three? Cuz
we went with three part-time workers, rather than risking hiring
another full-time nut-case.)
Meanwhile, I see able-bodied young men standing in front of WalMart
with a cup, begging for change to buy cheap wine, and eating three
free squares a day at the "shelter".
Five years ago I had all the staff I wanted, and few guests. Now I’ve
got guests coming out of my ears, and few staff. Anyone who says the
economy isn’t booming (and, of course, the media would NEVER report
this in an election year) is simply not paying attention.
It’s frightening. Luckily, flying is a wonderful escape from it all.
Unfortunately, Sunday afternoon is our usual time to go "family
flying" — but I’m working till 8 PM tonight because we have no one to
work this shift…
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 08:04:24 -0700, Jay Honeck <jjhon…@mchsi.com>
wrote:
>For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
>echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
>remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist.
Some of us are on the lower "echelons" of corporate life, so I totally
get it.
My "office" alternates between an 8′x10′ cubicle and the windshield of
a clapped-out 2000 Chevy Cavalier with Scotchlight major telephone co.
logos on the side.
My wife and I subscribe to the "pay yourself first" plan, so the 401k
and her 403b get paid well before the airplane payment. I build
high-end cabinets and custom furniture to pay for my half of a Beech
Sundowner. Soon, I expect to instruct to pay for my flying. I’ve had
part time jobs my entire life, as a musician, sound engineer, trim
carpenter, bicycle salesperson, bicycle mechanic, tile and hardwood
floor mechanic, and airport lineman to supplement my fun.
I look at it as "all good", as I’ve had experiences that I wouldn’t
trade for all the money in the world. I know those behaviors… <G>
> My "office" alternates between an 8′x10′ cubicle and the windshield of
> a clapped-out 2000 Chevy Cavalier with Scotchlight major telephone co.
> logos on the side.
Ugh…cubicle life. I spent a few years in one, and wouldn’t want to
go back any time soon.
On the other hand, I also worked in one of those vaunted "open office
settings", where you literally had a desk and a file cabinet, in the
middle of a dozen or more other people who ALSO had a desk and a file
cabinet, in one giant room. The idea was to "promote communication and
work flow"…
I’ll take the cube any day, thanks. Every single person had to stop
at your desk on their way through "just to say ‘hi!’" — which meant
ZERO work was ever accomplished. Being a social person it was fun,
but in the end very, very frustrating.
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
Very well stated Denny.
I believ you are right… the "Do’ers" created this worthless POS
"takers" by enabling them.
Some things will have to change in this country or it will end
up a chapter in history one day along with the Roman empire.
On Oct 7, 9:04 am, Jay Honeck <jjhon…@mchsi.com> wrote:
> For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
> echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
> remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist. I, too, once
> existed there, and clearly remember walking the halls of the Fortune
> 500 company, finding it easy to believe that the whole world was
> populated by intelligent, hard-driving "doers".
> When you run a hotel, however, you see the entire panoply of the human
> experience, often in the same day. Over time you realize that the
> world is split unevenly between "doers" and "takers", and it’s
> sometimes hard to tell which side is winning. After a day like
> yesterday it’s hard to even believe that we’ve lumped so many
> different creatures under the one title "homo sapiens".
"A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can
only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse
(a liberal gift) out of public treasury. From that moment on the
majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits
from the public treasury with the result that Democracy always
collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a
Dictatorship."
We are there. The takers have won.
—
Gene Seibel
Tales of Flight – http://pad39a.com/gene/tales.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.
While not 100% on-topic, if you have a chance, view the movie "Idiocracy".
Warning: foul language, lousy acting, and weak script, but if you stick
with the precept of the dumbing-down of society, it’s a funny but sobering
view of where we could be heading…. Basically, a 2005 guy who’s the most
center-of-the-bell-curve goes into a hibernation experiment, gets forgotten,
and wakes up 500 yrs later – as the smartest guy in the world.
Carl
"Jay Honeck" <jjhon…@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:1191769464.542099.49210@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> For those of you who exist in the clarified, rarified world of upper-
> echelon corporate life, or hang out with pilots all day, it’s hard to
> remember the wide range of human behaviors that exist. I, too, once
> existed there, and clearly remember walking the halls of the Fortune
> 500 company, finding it easy to believe that the whole world was
> populated by intelligent, hard-driving "doers".
> When you run a hotel, however, you see the entire panoply of the human
> experience, often in the same day. Over time you realize that the
> world is split unevenly between "doers" and "takers", and it’s
> sometimes hard to tell which side is winning. After a day like
> yesterday it’s hard to even believe that we’ve lumped so many
> different creatures under the one title "homo sapiens".
> On Saturday we:
> – Hosted a gathering of Swearingen SX-300 pilots in our Jack Knight
> Meeting Room. These top-notch pilots held a seminar on formation
> flying, and then spent the day thrilling the city with formation over-
> flights. They’re doing it again as I’m typing this. (If you’re not
> familiar with the SX-300, I suggest doing a web search. It is about
> the coolest single engine plane out there.)
> – Dealt with a couple of Wayne’s World look-alikes, who — at 11 AM —
> staggered into the lobby so stoned they couldn’t feel their feet,
> looking for a suite. Mary took one look at them, loudly pronounced
> what she was smelling in their presence, and told them to hit the
> bricks….
> – Took a call from a former guest who — a week ago — claimed to have
> tripped and fell entering the Mustang Suite. She has supposedly gone
> to a chiropractor three times, and is threatening to sue us if we
> don’t compensate her in some way.
> All of this happened between 11 AM and 1 PM. Call it "The Good, The
> Bad, and The Ugly".
> Next time you’re sitting at your big desk in your corner office,
> gazing over the city whilst sipping your third latte of the day and
> sweating your stock options, try to remember that the real world is
> just beyond the smoked glass…
>
> —
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 09:43:16 -0700, rwub…@hotmail.com wrote:
> And no, I’m not flying while distracted (like Jay got lambasted upon
> after a hard day at work in a recent thread). I’m distracted by flying
> from the distractions of everyday life…
Isn’t that amazing? It all just falls away during pre-flight.
I’ve recently started studying Taekwondo, and it’s the same: as soon as I
start the warm-ups, the various demands and pressures of the day just
seem to fall away.
[Admittedly, mine are nothing like those of an ER MD.]
– Andrew
Jay Honeck writes:
> We have now hired seven people — quite literally all seven who have
> applied. One never showed up for their first day; one turned out to
> be bipolar, and I literally had to call the police to get them out of
> here; one showed up late their first two days — I fired him on the
> fourth day; one stole money from us but left before I could fire her.
How much do you pay them?
> How much do you pay them?
Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so much
trouble finding good people….
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"Jay Honeck" <jjhon…@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:1191769464.542099.49210@19g2000hsx.googlegroups.com…
> – Dealt with a couple of Wayne’s World look-alikes, who — at 11 AM —
> staggered into the lobby so stoned they couldn’t feel their feet,
> looking for a suite. Mary took one look at them, loudly pronounced
> what she was smelling in their presence, and told them to hit the
> bricks….
> – Took a call from a former guest who — a week ago — claimed to have
> tripped and fell entering the Mustang Suite. She has supposedly gone
> to a chiropractor three times, and is threatening to sue us if we
> don’t compensate her in some way.
Ironically, of the two, Wayne and Garth were probably the least worrisome of
them all. (Can’t afford frivolous lawsuit attorneys.)
-c
> Ironically, of the two, Wayne and Garth were probably the least worrisome of
> them all. (Can’t afford frivolous lawsuit attorneys.)
We’re not normally so rude with the college kids, but we had a meeting
room full of pilots doing a seminar, and Mary wanted them *out* before
Garth and Wayne could cause any trouble.
We’ve learned to set a "tone" with kids that age, which is then
communicated back to their group(s). Our hotel was known as "Party
Central" under its previous owners, and it took us several years to
finally get the message to the frats and sororities that we are "off
limits".
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
> For sitting at a counter and signing in a few guests?
> Damn……..Righteous bucks.
Well, I think so. Funny thing is, the pay isn’t mentioned in the ad,
so it has nothing to do with our recent lack of applicants. We used
to run the exact same ad, in years past, and get dozens of people
applying.
One problem we’ve discovered is that we have incrementally added
services since we opened five years ago that make the job more than
"sitting at the counter". When you add these tasks a little at a
time to a worker, over a period of years, they seem insignificant.
When you’re training a new person from "zero", however, they can seem
overwhelming.
Things like knowing how to run the Kiwi flight simulator, for
instance, can take more mental horsepower than some people are able to
produce. Between that, and delivering breakfast baskets to the proper
suites, we’re discovering that there are a lot of people who simply
can’t perform.
—
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
http://www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
Jay Honeck writes:
> > How much do you pay them?
> Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
> Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
> college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so much
> trouble finding good people….
How much does an apartment cost per month in your town? What about groceries
for one person?
Jay Honeck wrote:
>> How much do you pay them?
> Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
> Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
> college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so much
> trouble finding good people….
I don’t.
Only because my company is in a college town
and I have exactly the same problem. And being
in California, I’m offering about 25% more
than you.
Mxsmanic wrote:
> Jay Honeck writes:
>>> How much do you pay them?
>> Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
>> Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
>> college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so much
>> trouble finding good people….
> How much does an apartment cost per month in your town? What about groceries
> for one person?
Don’t worry. I think it’s unlikely that Jay
would hire you….
> Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
> Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
> college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so much
> trouble finding good people….
There is a supermarket in my town (also a college town) that pays
about twice as much per hour. They don’t have problems finding good
employees, and it is a pleasure to shop there – even though they are
not cheap.
Bartek
Mxsmanic <mxsma…@gmail.com> wrote in
news:a3mkg3pio8r26ek6v327q75k2il22m0gfr@4ax.com:
> Jay Honeck writes:
>> > How much do you pay them?
>> Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
>> Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
>> college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so
>> much trouble finding good people….
> How much does an apartment cost per month in your town? What about
> groceries for one person?
What, getting evicted from your dumpster?
Bertie
Jim Stewart <jstew…@jkmicro.com> wrote in
news:QK2dnY1oD5Q3xpfanZ2dnUVZ_urinZ2d@omsoft.com:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Mxsmanic wrote:
>> Jay Honeck writes:
>>>> How much do you pay them?
>>> Part-timers start at $8/hour plus commission.
>>> Considering this is an entry-level position, in a town with 34,000
>>> college students, I find it quite remarkable that we’re having so
>>> much trouble finding good people….
>> How much does an apartment cost per month in your town? What about
>> groceries for one person?
> Don’t worry. I think it’s unlikely that Jay
> would hire you….
I think burger king is looking for a nighth manager.
He might last a week before getting fired.
Bertie
Jay:
Don’t tell him- he may want to move back to the States from France and live
on the dole in Iowa City. That would be a quick way to ruin the town.
Imagine Anthony attending the airport commision meetings?