Obamacare vs. UPS and FEDEX

Apples and Oranges, I'll give you that. But what I won't give you is dissent about overarching government solutions versus the private sector.

ObamaCare is the socialist idea of government healthcare versus private sector answers. And by that I mean a truly unfettered private sector. Not the faux 'capitalism' practiced and protected today by an unbelievable goat cluster assembly of Rules, Regulations and Law seemingly in place to prevent capitalist competition. Competition, the engine, frame, suspension, bolts and bearings of Capitalism.

This Christmas season UPS and Federal Express are enduring some bad press for missed or late deliveries. Quite the scolding going on the mainstream press. Who've never worked a day like these two do.

But what do we get when these two marvels of the free enterprise system don't live up to company standards?

Someone on the other end of the telephone whose job is to listen to you, diagnose the problem and set corrective measures in motion. Online chat access for correcting problems. An online system for tracking your package as it happens. Verifiable, actionable intelligence networking, if you will. Scanning every step of the way. Automation that rarely fails and when it does, both of these companies spring into action to make it right.

Wrong size on that pair of boots you bought? Chances are your online retailer has already set up a Return Process that's no more complicated than you putting it back in the same box it arrived in, slapping an already provided Return Address label and either calling for a pickup or dropping it off somewhere along your day.

Amazon, that amazing online wonder retailer has what must be ten divisions of Customer Service Representatives to handle any and every complaint you can produce. If you are an Amazon Prime member ($79 per annum) your Prime purchases arrive within 2 days. I've had next day delivery from time to time. That is competition at its best.

Via: American Thinker

Continue Reading....

Amazon says it sold 426 items a second on Cyber Monday

AND OBAMACARE SOLD ONE POLICY EVERY 426 SECONDS

Amazon.com sold almost 37 million items on Cyber Monday, a pace of 426 a second to be exact.

The sales tally for Dec. 2 was one of a number of statistics the Seattle online retailer announced on Thursday. 

It did not reveal how sales compared to last year's Cyber Monday, but said that overall holiday season sales were its best ever.

PHOTOS: Got a Christmas gadget? Here are the apps to download

The company also said that it shipped items to customers in 185 countries during the holidays. Additionally, Amazon said 50% of its customers used mobile devices to do their holiday shopping.

As for Christmas sales, it did not say how many of its packages may have missed the Dec. 24 delivery. UPS and FedEx on Thursday said they were still scrambling to deliver packages that did not arrive in time for Christmas.

The shipping giants blamed the missed deadline on heavy holiday shipping volume and bad weather in some parts of the country.

Here are some other oddball statistics that Amazon released in its press release:

• Enough Crayola Marker Makers were sold to draw a line around the world four times.
• Enough Hot Wheels cars were purchased to stretch around the Daytona International Speedway.
• Enough miniature flashlights were bought to light up four football fields to NCAA standards.
• Enough Himalyan Crystal Lamps were purchased that if they were each stacked on one another their collective height

Via: LA Times
Continue Reading... 

Late Surge in Web Buying Blindsides UPS, Retailers

A surge in online shopping this holiday season left stores breaking promises to deliver packages by Christmas, suggesting that retailers and shipping companies still haven't fully figured out consumers' buying patterns in the Internet era.

A surge in online shopping this holiday season left stores breaking promises to deliver packages by Christmas, suggesting that retailers and shipping companies still haven't fully figured out consumers' buying patterns in the Internet era. Shelly Banjo reports.

Companies from Amazon.com Inc.AMZN +0.55% to Kohl's Corp.KSS +0.27% and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,WMT +0.18% having promised to deliver items before Dec. 25, missed some delivery target dates.

United Parcel Service Inc. UPS -0.10%determined late Tuesday that it wouldn't deliver some goods in time for Christmas, as a spike in last-minute shopping overwhelmed its system. "The volume of air packages in the UPS system did exceed capacity as demand was much greater than our forecast," a UPS spokeswoman said.

Consumers were reporting missing deliveries from FedEx as well, although a FedEx spokesman said the company wasn't experiencing significant delays.

Americans tend to go online for a bigger proportion of their Christmas shopping than for their buying during the rest of the year. This year, the trend's acceleration apparently took some stores and carriers off-guard.

Via: WSJ

Continue Reading....

OUT OF TOUCH CORPORATIONS ABANDON DUCK DYNASTY AND BOY SCOUTS

In the same week that Cracker Barrel abandoned Duck Dynasty, Lockheed Martin abandoned the Boy Scouts. The details of the two issues were different, but the cause was the same--an out-of-touch corporate mentality.

As Breitbart News reported on December 21, Cracker Barrel climbed aboard the anti-Duck Dynasty bandwagon on December 20th by pulling "selected products which [they] were concerned might offend some of [their] guests."

A day earlier Lockheed Martin halted donations to the Boy Scouts because they were offended over the Boy Scouts' ban on gay Scout Leaders. As Breitbart News reported, Lockheed Martin said they believe the Boy Scouts accomplish good in our communities but "their policies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation and religious affiliation conflict with Lockheed Martin policies." 

Intel, Merck & Co., and UPS Inc. have abandoned the Boy Scouts as well. 

The actions of all these businesses and corporations are of a cloth with those A&E took on December 18th, when they abandoned Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson because he answered a reporter's question honestly. 

A GQ reporter asked Robertson to describe something that "he found sinful" and he did. Afterward, A&E suspended him "indefinitely." 

The corporate mentality driving these moves is completely out of touch with the very Americans these corporations claim they are trying not to offend. 

Via: Breitbart

Continue Reading......