When our friends Kellie and Chris returned home from several months on the road, they found a surprise in their fridge.  Whether their tenant left it there on purpose as a gift or on accident, they didn’t want to let it go to waste.

So they opened it to celebrate Caresse’s birthday.  As far as champagne goes, it was very good.  But $200 good?  70 times better than Cook’s good?  Probably not, but we felt like ballers.  And now we can say we’ve had Cristal.

Cristal has been mentioned in recent business writings for a 2006 PR gaffe.  Responding to a question about Cristal’s popularity among hip hop artists and rap stars, Managing Director Frederic Rouzaud said, “What can we do?  We can’t forbid people from buying it.  I’m sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

These snooty and racist remarks cost Cristal a lot of business.  The moral of the story is you don’t always get to pick your customers, they get to pick you.  And many stopped picking Cristal after it was made evident their money wasn’t welcome.  Not a smart move.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Good times at the Brad Paisley / Darius Rucker show last night.  I was excited to hear some of the old Hootie & the Blowfish tunes.

Now I like Brad Paisley as much as the next guy, but so many of his songs sound the same.  Listen to the intro’s for The World, American Saturday Night, Water, Online, Mud on the Tires, Ticks, and Celebrity (all of which were played last night), and I think you’ll agree: it might be good to learn a new guitar hook every now and then.  But obviously I can’t fault him for going with a formula that works.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Well which is it?

There’s this new song out called Way Out Here by Josh Thompson.  It opens with the line, “Our houses are protected by the good Lord and a gun.”

A paradox, no?  If an all-knowing and all-powerful god is protecting your house, why would you need a gun?

By the way, the second line is even better: “And you might meet ‘em both if you show up here not welcome son.”

So much for “love thy neighbor” and “turn the other cheek!”

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A good time was had by all at the Toby Keith show last weekend.

A little trivia to share.

His summer tour this year is called the American Ride tour, after his recent single, and appropriately sponsored by Ford Trucks.  Before the show he appeared in an extended Super Duty commercial highlighting the truck’s capabilities, comfort, and technology — including the hand’s free Sync system.

The best part of this pic is the real-live cowboy singing karaoke in the background.

Ford and Mr. Keith have a long relationship.  In fact, he said they have launched 7 new F-Series together.  He appeared in the training DVD we presented to dealers over and over again, and we got to see him live in Dearborn once too.  I believe the sponsorship began shortly after his 1994 single about a “Big Ol’ Truck:”

Nice mullet.

A Ford Service Manager at a tiny dealership in rural Georgia told me a story about how he and his buddies somehow acquired the truck featured in the music video and it was awesome because they “got so many girls.”  Not sure what distinguished the truck from any other big red Ford truck, but who am I question it’s authenticity.

The store was so small he was also the lead technician, shop foreman, and service advisor.  When giving instructions on how to get to the store, he said, “We’re off 75, ’bout halfway between Cordele and Tifton.”  Thanks for that.  When the thriving metropoli of Cordele and Tifton are your landmarks, you know you’re out in the boonies.

The Service Manager (Chris maybe? I forgot his name), was a super nice guy.  He’d offer profound nuggets of wisdom on fixing cars, throwing in the towel by saying if he knew what else to do he’d “have done done it.”  That’s deep.  He also said he was in a band called Five Dollar Shake, which apparently is a reference to a line from Pulp Fiction.  His town of Ashburn GA made national news in 2007 for holding their first-ever integrated prom.  Yes, 2007.

So long story short, those are the random associations that come into my head when I think Toby Keith.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Last week Bryn posted her top 10 most played songs, which made me want to look at mine to see if there were any overlaps.

There were some ties, so there’s more than 10.

10. Citizen Cope – Son’s Gonna Rise.  For a long time it was all about Bullet and a Target and Hurricane Waters.

10.  Tim McGraw – Where the Green Grass Grows.  Love it.

9.  Whiskey Falls – Falling Into You.  “She’s like skydiving without a parachute.”

8.  Less Than Jake – History of a Boring Town.  Classic.

7.  Jimmy Eat World – Work.  Also a fave.

6.  Jack Johnson – Wasting Time.  So chill.

5.  Blue Scholars – No Rest for the Weary.  “It’s deep like the drive from Renton to Shoreline.”

4.  Montgomery Gentry – Back When I Knew it All.  Overplayed this one, now kind of sick of it.

4.  Jimmy Buffett – A Pirate Looks at Forty.

3.  Weezer – Pork and Beans.  New favorite Weezer song is Troublemaker.

2.  Hedley – On My Own.  I don’t even remember how I got this song.

1.  Jimmy Buffett – The Pascagoula Run.  Definitely surprised by this one.  Come Monday and Take Another Road have taken turns at top.

No overlap, although Zac Brown Band would have been #11.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Satellite radio is an interesting business model.  They have extremely high overhead (satellites definitely aren’t cheap), but the marginal cost of additional customers is basically zero.  Their satellites are already up there beaming signals down to earth; if the signal hits one receiver or a million, it’s all the same to them.

In December, mom gifted me an old XM radio receiver, and I signed up for the special they were running: 5 months for $20.  During my set-up call, I specifically asked not to be put on any sort of auto-renewal plan.

Fast forward 5 months.  I check my credit card statement this week, and notice a $34 charge from XM.  No email, no opt-in, no nothing.  That’s nice.  I like XM/Sirius.  It just seems like an unnecessary luxury in a “rebuilding year” for the biz.  I’ll miss my Radio Margaritaville but obviously I’ll survive.

I go to their website, create an account, and find out I’ve been auto-charged for a 3 month extension.  Like any good company, there is no way to correct this online; you have to call them.  So I do.

I give the XM representative all my account information and verify my identity.  She’s not a native English speaker but that’s fine, we’re communicating ok.  At some point I swear she says, “Ok I’ve cancelled your account.”  But then she explains she does not have the authority to cancel my account and must transfer me to someone higher up the food chain.  Fine.  I prepare myself for the imminent sales pitch by the higher-paid, escalated XM phone representative.

She is a native English speaker, although with a certain dialect and attitude.  If you’ve called them you know what I’m talking about.  I ask her to cancel my account, and she counters with the familiar 5 months for $20 deal.  I say, “No, it’s fine, please just cancel my account.”  No rebuttal, just a standard, “Thanks for calling XM, have a nice day sir.”  That’s it?  Before I can get any sort of confirmation from her, she hangs up.

Seeking closure, I call back.  I give all my information again to a new entry-level rep.  I explain that his friendly co-worker had hung up on me before I could verify the account had been canceled, and he now informs me I am the proud owner of a new 5-month subscription.  Shady!  She must have had selective hearing: “No, it’s fine, please just cancel my account.”  And while I guess “it’s fine” is technically an affirmative, everyone knows it still means “no thanks.”

The new rep doesn’t have the authority to correct this mistake (surprise!) so he transfers me upstairs.  Different escalated rep than before.  Promises to have canceled the account for real this time and to have the money refunded to my credit card.  I ask for and receive a confirmation number.  No email.  By putting nothing in writing, XM always leaves themselves an out.  Reminds me of an email signature from an old Ford engineer: “Never write what you can say, and never say what you can imply.”  I’ll have to keep a close eye on my statement to see what happens.

But the moral of the story is if you want to save money on your XM satellite radio subscription, all you have to is call and try and cancel.  Since the incremental cost of keeping you as a customer is essentially $0, use that fact to negotiate a lower rate.  Even if you paid just a dollar a year, XM would probably be better off than if you canceled.  If their first offer was to go from $11/month to $4/month — a 60% discount — I wonder how low they would go if you pushed back!

UPDATE 6/2/10: XM has called me 12 times in the past week trying to win me back.  They never leave a message.  If you get a call from 888-245-4396, it’s XM!  So desperate!

UPDATE 7/15/10: On July 2nd, XM sent me a “Last Chance Offer” via email for a 3 month, $4.99/mo subscription.  Since then they’ve called me 13 times and never left a message.  Why even pretend “Last chance” when we both know it isn’t true?

UPDATE 7/25/10: Today I received a “Very last chance!” email from XM.  The offer remains the same; $4.99/mo for 3 months or $4/mo for 5 months.  Thankfully the phone calls have stopped though.  Knock on wood.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Surprise surprise, not all country singers are “red state” die-hards (although there are plenty who are).  I’ll do my my best to re-create a political spectrum based on select song lyrics.

What’s even more interesting is that Toby Keith is a pretty well known democrat, but you’d never know it from his songs. I guess he’s a savvy businessman — he knows what his target market wants to hear!

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I have these songs that for some reason strike a pretty vivid memory of a particular time and place.  In Kenny Chesney’s song “I Go Back,” he sings about the different memories of places and stages of his life triggered by certain songs — Jack and Diane, Rock ‘n Me, and Only the Good Die Young.

I thought I’d make a short list to see if there were any common factors involved in making an “I Go Back” song. What’s weird is that it doesn’t seem to be the song that matters, these aren’t necessarily my favorites, and while some are first-listens, others had been heard probably hundreds of times before.

SONG	LOCATION	NOTES
Weezer - Undone (Sweater Song)	Camp Parsons	It wasn't even playing, people were just singing it.
AFI - Girls Not Grey	SR 900, just outside Renton heading back to Issaquah	Not sure what the situation was... maybe I'd just booked a paint job.
Nickelback - This is How You Remind Me	Just across the Columbia from Hood River.	On the way to climb Mt. Adams.
Steely Dan - Bad Sneakers	The cabin	Must be the line about "laughing at the frozen rain."
Kid Rock & Cheryl Crow - Picture	Running around Green Lake	Way too slow to be a good running song. I was almost done with the loop.
m.o.e. - Happy Hour Hero	Reston VA, turning onto SR 7100	On the way to work, definitely not happy hour.
Tim McGraw - Where the Green Grass Grows	Chantilly VA	On the way to work, almost to the office.
Mark Willis - 19 Something	Ford dealer parking lot in Roanoke VA	After a long drive, before my first solo dealer visit.
Phil Vassar - In a Real Love	I-40 Eastbound, exit 100 (Morganton NC)	About to get off and visit Martin Family Ford.
Kenny Chesney - You Save Me	Parking lot of Fairfield Inn in Hickory NC	At the end of a long day.
Citizen Kane - Hurricane Waters	Sweetwater Brewery happy hour Atlanta GA	This was approx. 1 year after Katrina. Someone stopped it midway through.

It seems like near the end of a long drive is a good time to create these auditory memories.  I think it has to do with the feeling of finally being able to relax, and maybe that makes you really listen to music.  Any other theories?  Would be interesting to see other people’s “I Go Back” song lists.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

First rule in business: Make it easy for your customers to pay.

I’ve been an iTunes customer for a long time.  When I first set up my account, I had the option of creating an Apple ID or using my AIM login information.  Not sure what the relationship was between Apple and AOL, but I reasoned that since I already had AIM set-up, I would just use that.  Worked fine for years.

Until last week.  When I went to go try and buy a new song I got this message:

“You need to change your account to use an Apple ID.  To continue using the iTunes store, you need to update your iTunes account by choosing a free Apple ID.”

So dutifully I hit Update Account and went to the next screen extolling the virtues of an Apple ID.  Doesn’t really matter, if that’s going to be the only choice right?  But once I hit Continue on that screen, I received this unexpected message:

“An error occurred.”

I’ve “tried again later” three times.  Three strikes you’re out.

I discovered Amazon has the same songs, they’re automatically added to your iTunes library, and they don’t charge extra for the “high-demand” tracks.  If you buy 100 new songs a year, you could save $30 by buying at Amazon instead of iTunes.

I’m sure this AIM-to-Apple-ID transition glitch will be fixed soon (although I said that last week when I first saw it…), and I’m sure it doesn’t affect that many people, but come on!  Turning away customers because you can’t migrate them to your new account system?  Poor form.

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

While I have no musical talent to speak of, I do have a gift for coming up with great fake band names.  All of these are way better than many real band names such as Tool, Bush, Destiny’s Child, The Mamas and the Papas, etc.  Here’s a short list of cool fake band names I thought of in just the past couple days.  I did not research these so some might already be taken, but if you want to start a band using one of these band names, I’ll accept royalties.

• Backseat Driver
• Barking Spiders
• Beautiful Disaster
• Beggar’s Choice
• Big Band Theory
• Blue Steel
• Cold Shower
• Drunken Clams
• Fatal Error
• Flux Capacitor
• Ghostrunner
• Grammar Police
• Haz-Mat Team
• Human Growth Hormone
• Kegstand
• Longball Charlie
• Lowballers
• Mochi‘s Revenge
• McLovin
• New England Clam Chowder
• Operation Infinite Freedom
• Pen 15 Club
• Pocket Aces
• Political Suicide
• Purple Nurple
• Quailman
• Redline
• Rocky and the Bullwinkles
• Sandals with Socks
• Shock & Awe
• Skittlebrau
• Spider-Pig
• Threat Level Orange
• Trabajabamos
• Typhoon Lagoon
• When Llamas Attack
• Wiffleball All-Stars
• Wingmen

With so many great fake band names out there, there’s no excuse for such uninspired choices like Dave Matthews Band or (gasp) Average White Band.  Come on!

-Nick

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.