Looking for something last-minute to do tonight? Ralphie May is doing two shows tonight at the DC Improv, at 8 PM and 10:30 PM. Some $17 tickets are still available. You’ll remember Ralphie as the big guy who was almost last season’s Last Comic Standing on NBC.
And if you go to the 10:30 show, Tom and I will see you there!
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
Forbes has a new article out right now comparing states on what happens when you die. Good Lord, how morbid. However, it’s important to realize that DC is Dead Last, pardon the pun. What makes it so bad to die in DC? Well, what makes it so bad to live here? Taxes. How a town full of lawyers only gets a B on legal protection is beyond me. We’re ranked 37th in Health Care Quality.
Note to self, move to Utah before dying. They’re ranked #1.
Virginia finished #13, and Maryland #22.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
DC is finally going to get to work with the Feds to reduce the number of checkpoints and get traffic flowing again in DC. Pretty please?
Metro may not be able to keep its escalators working, and it may not be able to keep the trains running after a few days of rain, its station managers might assault the husbands of pregnant women, and it may not even be able to keep the operators ON the trains during a trip, but gosh darn it, their employees are at least going to get courtesy training. Oh goody, that’ll make it ALL better.
And because they can’t stomach the idea of hunting in Montgomery County, they’re going to control the deer population by little deer-doses of contraceptives. Depo-Provera for deer. This is what tax dollars pay for?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
This morning on my ride to work, some asshat in a Black Nissan Maxima came up the Glebe Rd. ramp and immediately cut us off. No Signal. No Warning. Just BAM, right in our lane, missing the front bumper by about half a short and curly hair. Tiff applied the horn, I applied the finger. This jackass has the nerve to come to a full fucking stop on I-395 IN RUSH HOUR. He’s jawing at us in the rearview, I switch to the double eagle, and some more horn is applied. Finally, jackass gets moving and we can resume our commute. He made several fairly vulgar and juvenile displays as we drove by him. I was really hoping that he was going to follow us to the Rosslyn Metro so we could exchange a few words face to face.
So really, jackass in the Black Maxima with Maryland License Plate MDZ-716, wearing fucking headphones while driving, I salute you. You have won my Asshat Driver of the Week award. I hope you get intestinal distress at work today. Then I hope you die.
Yet one more reason that Maryland Drivers’ Licenses should not be honored anywhere else in the US, nor should out-of-staters be required to surrender their good licenses when they move there.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
That’s right peeps, your favorite Spunky Burrito Joint is opening up a new location in Courthouse. California Tortilla, or as it’s affectionately known, The Tilla, is opening up a Courthouse location over in Arlington, right next door to the Four Courts. So here’s the plan: next Wednesday they’re having free burritos from 6-8pm, so let’s all toddle on over to the Tilla for a free burrito, then head next door for a pint or an Irish Car Bomb.
It’s literally across Wilson from the Metro, you just can’t miss it!
See you there!
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Falls Church police officers are expected to meet high ticket quotas in order to maintain favorable performance ratings.
No wonder the speed limit on Route 7 is so low….
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Like all of you, I regularly lament just how expensive housing is in this area. I note that the boom is due, at least in part, to the expansion of the federal government.
But here’s something I didn’t realize- Local governments are also purposely continuing the housing shortage.
Thank you, local governments, for screwing over people who move here in search of work, who find productive, professional-level jobs, but still can barely make ends meet because their mortgage/rent payments eat 50% of their take-home pay. Thanks guys, we love you too.
Being a big believer in the free market, I believe the market will eventually sort this out. If people can’t afford to move here, they won’t, and eventually the folly of this approach will become evident. However, most new commercial developments typically have an anchor tenant. It would be nice if anchor tenants could remember that employees who don’t spend 2 hours a day commuting and whose paychecks aren’t decimated by rent are happier employees who stay with their companies longer.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
The Red Line passengers are mad as hell, but there’s no sign of when Metro will get it’s head out of its ass.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
Though I’m still stuck in Texas, I thought this was worth posting: A Metro Driver Abandoned His Train. This is so completely bizarre, I hardly even know where to begin. What the hell was the train operator thinking? What was the dispatcher thinking?
Wacky.
Am I surprised?
Nah, it’s Metro. Any amount of incompetence and stupidity is totally par for the course.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
Of course, as soon as I leave town, all the fun begins. Apparently, hippies protestors from wealthy families aren’t the only people who hate the World Bank and IMF. Here’s hoping nothing happens, and this all just blows over. Be safe everyone.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
DC is a very photogenic city. Shortly after I moved here, I splurged on a digital camera and decided to play tourist. Digital cameras are have done a great thing by increasing the amount of photography, as well as by making it easier for amateur photographers to experiment. This has the natural effect, however, of increasing the amount of really bad photography.
For those of us who know we need a little help with our technique, there is Washington Photo Safari in which a professional photographer leads participants on walking trips around DC and helps them learn to take more attractive photos.
I haven’t been on one yet, but this looks to be worth doing.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
By providing good customer service experiences you will quickly increase your customer loyalty.
The importance of customer service in the ecommerce business is growing as the number of online shoppers increases and the sales volume grows. So how do you get customers to trust you and trust your business?
There is only one way to do this. And that way is by providing exceptional customer service experiences. When it comes to customer service, what counts is quality customer service and customer satisfaction. So keep your promises and keep delivering.
Read this if you want to improve your sales performance and your customer satisfaction.
Focus on value creation for your customer
According to professionals from companies like Salesforce, the value of your customer goes far beyond your product or service. It’s how you make your customer experience memorable and fun. Make sure that your customer is really happy and satisfied with your products and service.
A few months ago we had a question from a customer who got a great service from a retailer. They provided us with advice and a complete solution. It was a win win situation for both the customer and for the retailer. By not spending too much time on our customer relationship we were able to create a really high-quality product and provide a great service for them. To do that you must focus on what is truly important to your customers, make sure it is consistent with their needs, and deliver on your promises. Our best advice: Do what’s in your control.
Be transparent about your process and your customer experience.
Do whatever it takes to make sure you can deliver on your commitments. It’s all in the details. #2 Don’t sell to the highest bidder.
This is one of my favorite things.
It is one of the most powerful tools you can use to keep your customers happy and loyal.
If you sell products, you are bound by a set of rules that you have to follow, and most of these rules apply to you, too.
If you want to succeed in this business, you have to be able to deal with people who are way more sophisticated than you are. You have to deal with people who are more demanding than you are. If you don’t get that right, you will lose the relationship, and you may end up selling the business to someone else. I’ve said this many times. You have to be your own biggest fan and harshest critic, and if someone offers you a product or service, you have to evaluate their ability to fulfill their commitment to you. If you want to make any money in business, you have to take these people’s advice seriously.
If you’ve got this stuff in you, you will thrive in the “real world.” If you don’t, it is only a matter of time before you become an angry, bitter, dissatisfied, disillusioned cynic. When I first started out, I did everything they told me. In the beginning, I took what they said literally; I followed orders. In the middle, I started to realize that what they were saying was no different than the crap you hear on the streets of San Francisco or New York. In both cases, it was all based on a completely unrealistic assumption about what life is really like. The “real world” has absolutely no concept of what “real” means. Life is something that exists only in the imagination of others, and it does not have any intrinsic value or worth. If it does, people would have never invented money.
By providing good customer service experiences you will quickly increase your customer loyalty.
The importance of customer service in the ecommerce business is growing as the number of online shoppers increases and the sales volume grows. So how do you get customers to trust you and trust your business?
There is only one way to do this. And that way is by providing exceptional customer service experiences. When it comes to customer service, what counts is quality customer service and customer satisfaction. So keep your promises and keep delivering.
Read this if you want to improve your sales performance and your customer satisfaction.
6. Focus on value creation for your customer
The value of your customer goes far beyond your product or service. It’s how you make your customer experience memorable and fun. Make sure that your customer is really happy and satisfied with your products and service.
A few months ago we had a question from a customer who got a great service from a retailer. They provided us with advice and a complete solution. It was a win win situation for both the customer and for the retailer. By not spending too much time on our customer relationship we were able to create a really high-quality product and provide a great service for them. To do that you must focus on what is truly important to your customers, make sure it is consistent with their needs, and deliver on your promises. Our best advice: Do what’s in your control.
Be transparent about your process and your customer experience.
Do whatever it takes to make sure you can deliver on your commitments. It’s all in the details. #2 Don’t sell to the highest bidder.
This is one of my favorite things.
It is one of the most powerful tools you can use to keep your customers happy and loyal.
If you sell products, you are bound by a set of rules that you have to follow, and most of these rules apply to you, too.
If you want to succeed in this business, you have to be able to deal with people who are way more sophisticated than you are. You have to deal with people who are more demanding than you are. If you don’t get that right, you will lose the relationship, and you may end up selling the business to someone else. I’ve said this many times. You have to be your own biggest fan and harshest critic, and if someone offers you a product or service, you have to evaluate their ability to fulfill their commitment to you. If you want to make any money in business, you have to take these people’s advice seriously.
If you’ve got this stuff in you, you will thrive in the “real world.” If you don’t, it is only a matter of time before you become an angry, bitter, dissatisfied, disillusioned cynic. When I first started out, I did everything they told me. In the beginning, I took what they said literally; I followed orders. In the middle, I started to realize that what they were saying was no different than the crap you hear on the streets of San Francisco or New York. In both cases, it was all based on a completely unrealistic assumption about what life is really like. The “real world” has absolutely no concept of what “real” means. Life is something that exists only in the imagination of others, and it does not have any intrinsic value or worth. If it does, people would have never invented money. We are
By Tom Bridge
Tonight I had a chance to go out to Live On Penn to catch They Might Be Giants and Fountains of Wayne with a few friends. The concert was great, but a few thoughts for the people who are running the show down at Live on Penn:
Overall, TMBG was good, Fountains of Wayne was excellent. The six of us adjourned to Boulevard Woodgrill for some incredible dessert.
We metro’d back to Pentagon City where I’d left my intrepid vehicle at the garage there by the Best Buy. It was locked up tight at 12:30. We circled it, tried all the doors and gates. No such luck. So much for “free” parking on weekends. It cost me a $13 cab ride back to Fairlington. With luck, my car is retrievable tomorrow!
Damn Parking Nazis.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
So, The Post says Metro is suspending SmarTrip sales. Apparently, they didn’t order more cards when they switched to the new “you need a SmarTrip card or you’re hosed” parking system this past month. And now they’re running very low.
Better yet, instead of accepting cash for parking until the crisis is over, they’re making people buy farecards for the appropriate amount and collecting those.
Good Lord.
Who the hell works for Metro anyway? Former occupants of the now-defunct DC General Psych Ward?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
Tonight marks the second installment of the Movies in Shirlington, with Seabiscuit going live on the screen along about 8:30 tonight. C’mon down to Shirlington for some Prohibition Porter, some awesome Indian food, some incredible Tapas, and stay for the free movie. They’re doing a Lord of the Rings flick next Thursday night, as well. Definitely good stuff. See you in Shirlington!
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
By Tom Bridge
My friend Nelson recently talked about how DC lives in some sort of paranoiac state, all due to an Op-Ed in the San Francisco Chronicle. Couldn’t be a bigger load of crap. I mean, heck, the author got three quarters of his facts wrong!
I love living here in the DC Area. I love seeing the Capitol, the White House, the Mall, the Key Bridge, the Potomac, heck, I even love the ugly ass FBI Building that’s three blocks from my office downtown. As my friend Lisa said to me last night, some people just aren’t cut out to live here.
I’m sure glad that I am!
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
My favorite DC spectator sport isn’t hockey, or football, or soccer. Oh no, my favorite sport to watch in DC is altogether different.
I love watching the cops pull trucks and buses over on Route 110 next to the Pentagon.
Route 110 toward Alexandria goes within spitting distance of the Pentagon. Seriously, from the passenger seat of my VW Beetle, you could probably throw a football through a window onto Rummy’s desk as we passed by.
So after 9/11, of course, that kind of proximity to the Pentagon made the Defense Department nervous- after all, it’s the side that didn’t get destroyed, and they’d understandably like to keep it that way. As you drive by there now, there’s a guy in an armored vehicle with an anti-tank weapon mounted on top. Usually, it’s pointed up, or at the ground, but you know something’s up when he’s got it pointed at the road.
Now there are cops stationed in marked cars, blue lights flashing, up and down that stretch of 110. This is frustrating, because everyone slows down when they see them even though the cops aren’t there for speeding violations. But it’s entertaining, because they are there to pull over large vehicles.
Trucks and buses are no longer allowed on 110 because it would be too easy to pack them full of something volatile and drive them into the side of the Pentagon. I guess my Beetle doesn’t frighten them so much.
Most of the tour bus operators and professional truck drivers have gotten used to the restrictions and have found alternate routes to get where they’re going. You don’t see too many of them pulled over anymore.
They did once have to pull over the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile, because it’s classified as a “truck.” It frightened the driver, too. I’m sure the officers were just following the rules, but come on, the Weinermobile? A potential security threat to the Pentagon? Driven by terrorists? Why, the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile is as American as… as… well, hot dogs!
But then there’s moving season. Kids moving into dorms. Interns moving in and out of their temporary housing. Transient twentysomethings reaching the ends of their leases. And for some reason, they or their parents think the giant “NO TRUCKS ALLOWED ON RT 110” or “TRUCKS MUST EXIT NEXT RIGHT” signs apply to all the trucks but the ones they happen to be driving. So they rent their Ryder trucks and head obliviously down 110, and get irritated when the local constabulary tells them that they aren’t allowed to drive past the Pentagon.
So whenever I’m stuck behind some guy driving a behemoth moving truck on 110, I whoop, cheer, and let out a Nelson Munz-like “Ha-hah” as he gets pulled over.
I’m sure karma will catch up to me eventually.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
Stаgіng a home іn California should not bе thаt dіffісult, іf you wаnt tо mаkе the mоnеу back оn уоur hоmе. Cаlіfоrnіа hоmе buying is nоt a ѕurе bеt, and I would nоt rесоmmеnd dоіng thіѕ tо save mоnеу, you’ll ѕреnd іt оn lаwуеrѕ and lawyers fееѕ. Yоur rеаl estate аgеnt wіll make thе dеаl, аnd уоu’ll bе рауіng fоr thаt fee аnd соmmіѕѕіоn for thе ѕеllеr. If уоu think уоu wаnt tо try уоur hаnd аt ѕеllіng a hоuѕе, hеrе are ѕоmе tips for thоѕе who might lіkе tо.
Thеѕе home staging tірѕ саn ѕtіll hеlр уоu сrеаtе a bеаutіful, оrgаnіzеd hоmе fоr уоur fаmіlу and guеѕtѕ. If уоu’rе ready to gіvе іt a try, check оut thеѕе trіеd-аnd-truе home ѕtаgіng tірѕ frоm interior design еxреrtѕ аnd real еѕtаtе аgеntѕ
Add Mіrrоrѕ
A mіrrоr nоt only adds ѕоmе ѕtуlе to a space, but іtѕ rеflесtіvе ԛuаlіtу can аlѕо ореn up a rооm, making it brіghtеr аnd ѕееm less сrаmреd (еvеn іf іt’ѕ tiny).
Rерlасе Wіndоw Trеаtmеntѕ
If уоu hаvе old аnd hеаvу drapes, tоѕѕ thеm fоr ѕоmеthіng more mоdеrn and brееzу.
Uрgrаdе Rugѕ
“Buy rugs that асtuаllу fіt уоur rооmѕ аnd уоur furnіturе,” says Sаlаwау. Fоr a lіvіng rооm rug, аvоіd one that’s tоо small; mаkе sure at lеаѕt thе frоnt lеgѕ оf уоur соuсh оr сhаіrѕ аrе tоuсhіng thе rug.
Paint your hоuѕе
One оf the easiest ways tо рrер уоur hоmе fоr ѕаlе іѕ wіth paint соlоr.
With thе рорulаrіtу оf dесоrаtіng ѕhоwѕ аnd blogs, buуеrѕ nоw grаvіtаtе tоwаrd homes that have been dесоrаtеd wіth color. Uѕіng раіnt color tо ѕtаgе your hоmе is an іnѕіdеr secret that you саn easily mаѕtеr.
Hаvіng thе right colors in your hоmе саn position іt аbоvе the соmреtіtіоn іn any mаrkеt. Whіlе mоѕt реорlе аѕѕumе that раіntіng the home’s interior whіtе іѕ thе bеѕt орtіоn tо арреаl tо all buуеrѕ, thаt’ѕ not rеаllу truе аnуmоrе. We highly recommend contacting a company like the one at doublegpainters.com in order to determine what the best color for your house is.
Tips to Sell Your California Home and Save Money
Go with a local agent who is familiar with the area. While this is not really necessary for most people, in my opinion there are plenty of local agents who have experience selling in the area and will work with you.
Do your research before going to a realtor to see what they are looking for, if they are going to take a commission, they will ask you what is not working in the house, if there is any fire damage, or any major problems with it. This will give you a heads up about what to expect when the realtor comes by to inspect. Ask for recommendations from friends and family, have the family look at the house before you go to inspect. Check out my list of Tips to Sell Your California Home.
Real Estate Agents in San Diego
You are responsible for making sure that the home is registered with the county, which usually means that you have to submit your property insurance to the county. This will require that you go to the county board of real estate and show them your property, along with the homeowner’s insurance policy. Once they have reviewed your insurance documents, you can submit them and you’ll be given a license to sell your house for the purpose of closing on a mortgage. You are responsible for making sure that the home is registered with the county, which usually means that you have to submit your property insurance to the county. This will require that you go to the county board of real estate and show them your property, along with the homeowner’s insurance policy. Once they have reviewed your insurance documents, you can submit them and you’ll be given a license to sell yourpa
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