Comments on: Episode #61 of “Help My Business Sucks!” – iPhone 3GS, British Airways asks Employees to Work for Free, a Question About Sharing Videos Automatically Online, Printing on Envelopes, and a BIG Marketing Lesson from Fisher Wealth Management.

By: VitalikGromovss

VitalikGromovss — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:23:07 +0000

Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.

By: Zashkaser

Zashkaser — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:15:16 +0000

Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…

By: LenaShopogolik

LenaShopogolik — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:06:20 +0000

Ya put a smile in my face.

By: jason

jason — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:00:12 +0000

I have to say its crazy that BA is asking people to work without pay. They can find other ways to cut costs.

By: electromozzo

electromozzo — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:41:46 +0000

Nice site. go to my favorites. TNx

By: Tammy

Tammy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:48:02 +0000

And RE: traffic geyser – i know it means well, but i find that it promises a bit more than it delivers. I’ve found tubemogul to be fairly useful and free

By: Tammy

Tammy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:46:19 +0000

Totally agree BA should find another way, but andrew – most of us don’t have choices – for example, i fly to newcastle often – my choices? KLM or BA. That’s it The real problem is a lack of a free market (as is the problem with the whole economy!)

By: Ludwina Dautovic

Ludwina Dautovic — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:37:09 +0000

Hi Andrew,
Thanks for the tip on Traffic Geyser. I have just signed up for a free month and have been given mixed opinions on the product. I’ll give it a shot now that I know its not going to be disliked by the search engines.

Thanks for a great show.
Ludwina Dautovic
The Red Tent Woman
Australia

By: Hand Crank Drill

Hand Crank Drill — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:18:13 +0000

Interesting ideas here. Thanks for posting, will add to my RSS feed.

By: David Turner

David Turner — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:52:15 +0000

I’ve been a loyal viewer of Andrew’s show for over a year now and have passed on many of his tips to my local clients.

British Airways … makes me wonder whether top management are really committed to cutting costs, or indeed serious about asking employees to take a pay cut for a month?

How can top management expect this of their staff if they are not also prepared to lead by example and work for free themselves??

By: Jon Miles

Jon Miles — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:57:52 +0000

Entering the conversation that is happening in the customers mind.

The best piece of advice I’ve heard all month.

By: locky

locky — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:00:10 +0000

Hi Ted,

I’m not offended, I just don’t see any connection, sorry. You see I don’t work for free! Far from it, this show is highly profitable. Just because YOU (and everyone else) don’t pay to watch it doesn’t mean that I’m working for free. Those who have taken my course about WebTV know that there are 7 different profit streams included in each show!

I’m actually pleased to hear your comment because it means I’m doing it right. You THINK that I’m not making any money, which means my marketing is being done right! I hate confrontational, intrusive marketing, like traditional TV ads, which is why I developed something very different.

Actually, probably the #1 question I get from viewers is, ‘how do you make money from your show?’ That’s one of the reasons I put together the WebTV course, so that others could do the same in their niche.

Regards

Andrew

By: Ted Dieck

Ted Dieck — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:54:47 +0000

It just struck me funny that you’re working for “free,” asking us to comment on people being asked to work for free.

I certainly didn’t mean to criticize your model or your sponsor. Both are excellent.

My apologies.

By: locky

locky — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:52:19 +0000

Ted,

I don’t see the connection betwee BA and Infusion, am I missing something?

Infusion sponsor the show in return for me mentioning their product to viewers. That simply means the show is being subsidized by a third party, which is a good way of doing business in my opinion.

Regards

Andrew

By: Ted Dieck

Ted Dieck — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:02:20 +0000

Still trying to get used to that British sense of humor.

You report that British Airways asked their employees to work for free.

Then you thank Infusionsoft for making it possible to bring the show to us at no cost.

After that, I don’t really think I can pass judgement on BA, Andrew!

By: Dr. Scott

Dr. Scott — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:56:15 +0000

Thank you Andrew. Personally, I have no interest in the iPhone. I bought an LG Dare a few months ago, canceled the internet access, canceled the GPS, canceled the texting service (and actually stopped it from even being able to receive texts), and canceled the pay-on-demand music service….just a bunch of extras that add up to a lot of cost at the end of the day.

Airlines…hmm. If I was an employee of theirs, I’d be outta there! What a joke. And with no guarantee that those people will even have jobs at the end of 4 weeks. Wouldn’t that be a kicker? 4 weeks without pay…and then you’re laid off because the company still managed to go belly-up!

Dr. Scott
http://www.hilltopwellness.com
http://www.hilltopwellness.blogspot.com

By: Shake Flashlight

Shake Flashlight — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:25:15 +0000

No kidding! You said it sister!

By: Jini Patel Thompson

Jini Patel Thompson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:11:56 +0000

Once you’ve had Mac, you’ll never go back!

For those of you interested in health – you may want to know that the iMac desktop with LCD screen is VERY safe in terms of electromagnetic radiation.

The screen emits virtually no radiation and for the CPU (in behind the screen) the radiation drops to virtually nothing by the time you get about 18″ away from the screen. The testing was done by Milt Bowling – Canada’s expert on EMR issues.

So if you’re pregnant, or planning on it, or spend more than two hours a day in front of your computer, or have health issues, you definitely should consider this aspect.

By: Sky

Sky — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:38:35 +0000

For those not into Apple products, iphone MAC computers… that’s awesome – mor efo rme… keep using your ridiculous PC that is slow as hell and has a million bugs and issues =)

By: Jim Labadie

Jim Labadie — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:27:09 +0000

I’m going to get an iPhone as soon as my contract runs out in September with Verizon Wireless.

I was looking at them just this Sunday. It just seems like you can’t ignore it any longer. Meaning, as a business owner you’d be crazy not to know what iPhone apps are available. etc.

By: Lisa - The Survey Queen

Lisa - The Survey Queen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:42:21 +0000

Hi Andrew!

I refuse to get an iphone. I can not stand Apple – their product placement practices are terrible. And a phone that JUST got MMS now? Eh – what? 3MP camera?? What a joke.

Now, if BA paid SOME attention to people that are actually bringing in the money – CUSTOMERS – they would not have to resort to these ridiculous measures. But BA – and many others – have no idea what customer service is.

Thank you!

By: Hal Hoadley

Hal Hoadley — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:36:11 +0000

Hi Andrew, Good stuff, again. BA is asking for employees to give up something, ok, but what is BA going to do for its employees ahould they get back into the black. I don’t think they thought this through all the way. Just got to say, I’m glad I don’t work for BA and have to make that decision. Would I get fored if I refused to give up my salary?
I got a letter from Fischer Investments too. They invited me to a lucheon to explain their program. But the point I want to make is they got me to read their letter. Well, I just used their method to send out a solicitation to my niche. I’ll let you know what happens, should you be interested.
Thanks for the show,
Hal

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:25:14 +0000

Hi Andrew,

Whenever companies try to fix finances by cutting labor costs, it means they don’t have a clue about what to do to make money. Labor costs are an easy thing to see in the debit column, but the real problems are on the income side. Labor costs are really just a mirage. It looks like it is helping, but it obscures the real problem: How to make more money.

By: Robin D.

Robin D. — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:47:07 +0000

Great work, as usual, Andrew.

BA going all out and asking its employers to work for free, to me, represents two conflicting principles of management:

1. Portrayal of weakness
&
2. Being transparent

Now where do we divide the line between the two is interesting, especially in this case.

Any thoughts on this, Andrew ?

By: "Building Retirement" Dan

"Building Retirement" Dan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:19:11 +0000

I think the problem with BA’s work for free “offer” was their lack of marketing. Who in the world wants to work for free? No one! Why propose something that on its face sounds horrible when you can instead wrap it up in some marketing and at least make it sound somewhat palatable. Maybe they could have achieved the same financial result by issuing a “temporary” pay cut or by only paying a reduced pay rate during vacations, etc. I think the core issue is that they didn’t even attempt to make it sound “not too bad”.

By: Tony Finbarr-Smith

Tony Finbarr-Smith — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:09:24 +0000

Hi Andrew, love the show as always – always great to see a fellow Brit making waves

Anyway, re: the Traffic Geyser thing, a free alternative is called Tubemogul.com, and while not a patch on traffic geyser, it does automate submission to a few video sites.

cheers!
Tony.

By: randy ingersoll

randy ingersoll — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:47:49 +0000

Love your show. Hate the colored envelopes! I took you up on the free issue of Microwave Marketing a month or so back. The day it came, there was a monsoon here in Daytona Beach (typical for summer afternoons!). The envelope got wet and the colored ink ran all over me, my white pants and the car seats. Fortunately the ink came off me and the car seats, but my pants were history. I would recommend NOT using dark envelopes!

By: Jimm Crouse

Jimm Crouse — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:44:43 +0000

Great show as always! As to BA and their request for employees to take a “earnings holiday”…I’d suggest that the company start with the “fat cats” at the top first. Chop their bloated salaries, cut their monsterous expense accounts, take away their company cars and shut off their bonuses. That should save the company a couple billion dollars right there! The thing that really irritates about these type of requests is that next year the company will be announcing record profits…which the employees will see none of!

As to the iPhone…couldn’t care less. Didn’t want the first ones, don’t want the new ones.
But, then again I think texting is one of the stupidest ideas ever foisted on the pulbic. Why text someone when you can call them??

That’s all for now…

By: Jason Vaughn

Jason Vaughn — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:18:09 +0000

Andrew,

As always love the show. The airlines are in the toilet and drowning. Will they ever catch on?