Check Please...

The greatest disservice that we can do to those that we work with or for is to allow technology to take the place of common sense. I spent the evening with MBA pals at Serrano's this week. Some arrived earlier than others, famished from a long day of work, and began eating. As others arrived, the table began to fill until we had a group of about 12 people...all ordering at different times with different tickets.

The waiter, who had clearly outsourced his common sense skills elsewhere, became so flustered by the number of orders and different orders. Unfortunately, his errors in common sense (and his bad attitude) made it impossible for the restaurant's POS system to help him. Ah yes, that's where technology fits in. Let me explain.

Basically, the crowd came in two waves. The first wave, ordered, ate, paid, then commenced to buying drinks and other things a la carte (if you will) from the bar. Instead of creating a separate table and allowing the POS system to do all of the work, he got flustered. Hence, he kept everyone on the same table, even though he had basically closed it out.

The following ensued: 45 minutes before chips and salsa were ever brought to the table...after we had to ask a manager. 1 Hour before our drinks ever made it to the table...after we had to ask a manager. 1 hour and 30 minutes before our food made it to the table...after we had to ask a manager, who let us know that as our waiter did not use his POS system correctly, our order was never placed. Oh yeah, my food was not correct. In fact, I think I ate someone else's food from the other end of the table. My B.

The moral of this story...Technology is here to help us. This whole issue could've been quickly resolved by using the technology appropriately and by doing a quick organization of the table's needs and status of each individual...A.K.A. The common sense. The technology is there, but if you do not know how to use it properly, then it becomes useless.

It's the Little Things in Life...

So I updated my phone recently and also updated the Facebook app. I found myself so mad at iPhone users because they had a places function that I didn't have. I wanted to be able to check in from different places, but to no avail.

So when I updated my app, places showed up on my front page. I was so excited that I decided I just had to check in. But to no avail. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working and had to leave. When I finally turned on the GPS Satellites, my horizons were broadened and I was able to post my location for the world to see...Hopefully minus creepy stalkers and clingy girls.

All this to say, it is definitely the little things with technology that make it special. It's always those little moments where you enjoy something that you've never done before, or a special text from someone, or pics on your phone from the Vegas trip...sure, I love that movie. It was great!

Anyway, do something technologically savvy to either amuse yourself or a loved one today. It doesn't have to be a new Macbook Pro. However, if I am your loved one and you wish to amuse me today, that's a good way to do it. Send a cute text, post a pic on facebook, check yourself in on a date. After all, it's the little things that matter.

Can I Have This Particular Ad With My TV Show Please?

Hulu exec, Jason Kilar, recently talked about how Hulu is working hard to make ads bearable. In an interview, Kilar explained that Hulu was allowing viewers to take an interactive role in the ad selection process.

For instance, say you are watching an episode of Glee. Where commercial breaks are typically taken, Hulu inserts one or maybe two ads that run about a minute total. If you don't like the ad, you can select another one to view. This is so much more valuable to advertisers, since you personally selected it. Not only means that it helps them target your interests better, but you get to watch an ad that is more enjoyable to you.

Kilar said of this method, "Sure we want to make it a better experience for consumers, but it would be missing the whole picture if you didn't make it better for advertisers and content publishers."

Allowing consumers to watch exactly what they want with the ads that they want, will allow Hulu to continually take market share and remain an industry leader in the way we view television today.

Outsourcing IT in Business - When to and when not to

My dad owns a small grocery business in Plaquemine, LA. He like many other independent retailers, are part of a larger conglomeration of retailers that purchase product through a distributor, essentially. Until now, my father has relied on old school methods of business...simple adding machine, paper charge accounts, etc to get him through. I have been trying to convince him to shift to a POS system that tracks sales, credits and inventory.

His distributor provides such a service. It syncs his store system to the warehouse system, allowing him to search for trends and do automatic reorders, track inventory and look up many items and price changes at the drop of a hat. It is an integration of supply chain management, a system that he can outsource to his distributor, and the IT department will make sure that it runs efficiently and smoothly.

This Cadillac system with the bells and whistles comes at a steep price. For my father's purposes, it may be beneficial to input a system that is much simpler and does not come with the fancy add-ons that the distribution system provides. He can essentially put the same system in at a fraction of the cost, and it all runs on equipment that is user-friendly, which means that I could be his IT department.

Not sure which way he will turn, but sometimes as we learned in class, outsourcing for the bigger options is not always the right idea.