James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

[Patrick]

Norm didn't travel to a client site. I've also not traveled to a client site. My work travel is for conferences, team building, or most recently, for a party.



Generally, when I stay at an airbnb, the price isn't really any different than a hotel. You just get a lot more for the same money in my opinion.



Fair enough, but this conversation started because you thought it was weird that Norm is staying in an airbnb.

Yes - Norm was visiting the mother ship - i'm still perplexed about saving money during his contractor days.

So you aren't saving the company money, you are getting more while on a business trip, at the expense of some future personal trip.
that is fine. Your company party trip looked damn good.

i'm not very sales oriented, more project oriented - so when i did travel it didn't have much non-work time - dinner with clients/co works, back
to room, work a bit, sleep, repeat. not sure i could extract the value
out of the stay (nicer place to hang with feet up? better view? bathroom in hall, rather adjacent to bed?) -

Do you like the real b-n-b experience, where the owner is there, makes breakfasts,etc. Or more of the 'here is the code to the door" ?
Help yourself to the fridge.....

This!!

Spoken like a true business owner with no cash flow issues. ??

AT&T just modified (without notice) my contract to net 90. then Amex offered to buy the receivables for 2% a month later -> net 5.
Collusion! You know they are kicking $$ back to ATT.

 

[Patrick]

i'll loop around, if airbnb type place is preferred, that should count for something, so i'll give you that.

a start-up company trying to be something big might have an optics problem if they are concerned with saving a few $$
but if it is equal, that isn't really a concern.

Do you all get guidance on how much spending allowed on room/meals ?

-------------------

Steve - my take would be that they didn't award you for saving $ during travel, they awarded you for a great job and happy clients, and making them a sh*tload of $$$.

with all the analytics going on, you might show up as having below avg travel costs, which is good. it then gets rolled up to reflect on some higher up manager,
who gets a bonus based on making those numbers. also good. never want to be on the 'what is this?' report. (do not buy the macadamia nuts from the mini fridge)

 

[JimN]

Do you like the real b-n-b experience, where the owner is there, makes breakfasts,etc. Or more of the 'here is the code to the door" ?
Help yourself to the fridge.....

I've never been to a real b-n-b, and I prefer self checkin with a lock box for airbnb. A hotel room is a bed, a small desk, and a bathroom. An airbnb is basically a full condo/apartment/house. On both trips to Stockholm, my company rented a giant six bedroom lake house for a bunch of us to stay in. Sometimes they book the travel and I'll stay in a hotel, but we never stay in a hotel when vacationing, and if it's up to me to book work travel, I book an airbnb. I try to save my company money when possible, but I don't really go far out of my way to do it. My point about large, faceless corporations was just that it's different when you work for and with people that you know and care about.

So you aren't saving the company money, you are getting more while on a business trip, at the expense of some future personal trip.
that is fine.

I don't feel like it's at the expense of a future personal trip, because I don't want to stay at a hotel when I'm on a personal trip. Also, Marriott rewards aren't the only rewards you can get when booking travel.

 

[thegock]

Stay at a marriott, get marriott points, use your marriott credit card, get triple points, free breakfast. combine that with using the marriott card
for the plane ticket, and transferring the airplane points to marriott, the next time you travel, you get to stay at the upscale marriott for free, with free food
and happy hour (not important to Norm, but D might like a glass of wine.) you won't run out of hot water, and the person to call when something goes wrong is
already there.

it is the reward for doing company travel - tax free.

*marriott can be replaced with hilton, but not combined.

ya think the company cares you saved them a few hundred bucks ? no.

the exception might be getting a whole home while the family is in tow on a business trip. even then,
the pool and gym might be worth it. do it enough and it is automatic, available upgrades.

Yeah, but, the Jacksonville example:


Bed and breakfast less than half the distance to Everbank when they were teeing up their IPO (just think of an S-1 herded by ex Goldman Sachs guys like the mayor). 1/4 mile. Park outside room. Route to the office was chill.

Breakfast first class served with the WSJ. No buffet BS. No 12 year olds wilding the hallway at 3am. Lower cost ✔️. Great bar, flat screen, 8 seat, bartender liked good wine and had a heavy hand. 88 yards from the St. John's River. Bliss.

Traveling for work, comfort is #1 and proximity/convenient vibe #1.8. Chains are 4 peasants.

 

[Patrick]

Yeah, but, the Jacksonville example:


Bed and breakfast less than half the distance to Everbank when they were teeing up their IPO (just think of an S-1 herded by ex Goldman Sachs guys like the mayor). 1/4 mile. Park outside room. Route to the office was chill.

Breakfast first class served with the WSJ. No buffet BS. No 12 year olds wilding the hallway at 3am. Lower cost ✔️. Great bar, flat screen, 8 seat, bartender liked good wine and had a heavy hand. 88 yards from the St. John's River. Bliss.

Traveling for work, comfort is #1 and proximity/convenient vibe #1.8. Chains are 4 peasants.View attachment 108762

you maximized the trip for you - nothing wrong with that.

doing things like taking a red eye cause it is cheaper and ya can get a whole work day in and save the company a night of hotel room.
then picking economy, instead of business, on a 6 hour flight. (pay your own 1st class upgrade, or use your points for any long trip)
and choosing the cheapest hotel, rather than always going to your "goto" chain to build the point total.

marriott concierge floor doesn't have kids, and may have a buffet or serve, depending.

yes convenience, but i'd go an extra couple blocks to get the points.

 

[stb222]

you maximized the trip for you - nothing wrong with that.

doing things like taking a red eye cause it is cheaper and ya can get a whole work day in and save the company a night of hotel room.
then picking economy, instead of business, on a 6 hour flight. (pay your own 1st class upgrade, or use your points for any long trip)
and choosing the cheapest hotel, rather than always going to your "goto" chain to build the point total.

marriott concierge floor doesn't have kids, and may have a buffet or serve, depending.

yes convenience, but i'd go an extra couple blocks to get the points.

I routinely see people killing themselves to maximize time in the office. When you are slammed (deadlines, or whatever), sure, but do you really need to travel all day/night, sleep for a few hours and then be in the office? While your boss may have you think those hours matter, in the grand scheme of things 4-8 hours is nothing. I am sure places are cutthroat in that respect, but there is one way to change the culture.....

 

[The Kalmyk]

Yes - Norm was visiting the mother ship - i'm still perplexed about saving money during his contractor days.

So you aren't saving the company money, you are getting more while on a business trip, at the expense of some future personal trip.
that is fine. Your company party trip looked damn good.

i'm not very sales oriented, more project oriented - so when i did travel it didn't have much non-work time - dinner with clients/co works, back
to room, work a bit, sleep, repeat. not sure i could extract the value
out of the stay (nicer place to hang with feet up? better view? bathroom in hall, rather adjacent to bed?) -

Do you like the real b-n-b experience, where the owner is there, makes breakfasts,etc. Or more of the 'here is the code to the door" ?
Help yourself to the fridge.....




AT&T just modified (without notice) my contract to net 90. then Amex offered to buy the receivables for 2% a month later -> net 5.
Collusion! You know they are kicking $$ back to ATT.

Yes - Norm was visiting the mother ship - i'm still perplexed about saving money during his contractor days.

So you aren't saving the company money, you are getting more while on a business trip, at the expense of some future personal trip.
that is fine. Your company party trip looked damn good.

i'm not very sales oriented, more project oriented - so when i did travel it didn't have much non-work time - dinner with clients/co works, back
to room, work a bit, sleep, repeat. not sure i could extract the value
out of the stay (nicer place to hang with feet up? better view? bathroom in hall, rather adjacent to bed?) -

Do you like the real b-n-b experience, where the owner is there, makes breakfasts,etc. Or more of the 'here is the code to the door" ?
Help yourself to the fridge.....




AT&T just modified (without notice) my contract to net 90. then Amex offered to buy the receivables for 2% a month later -> net 5.
Collusion! You know they are kicking $$ back to ATT.

Huh? You don’t come across as someone who signs up for surprises. That must have been in your contract? You’re working off contracts right? Or just blanket PO’s? I’m actually surprised they don’t have you at 120.

 

[Patrick]

Huh? You don’t come across as someone who signs up for surprises. That must have been in your contract? You’re working off contracts right? Or just blanket PO’s? I’m actually surprised they don’t have you at 120.

Terms are specified in the po. Att is high volume and lower rates. They were at 90/120 and found that it is a bad combo with low rates. Getting crap submissions ( I peddle brain power, not goods, so a bit different animal)

 

[The Kalmyk]

My point about large, faceless corporations was just that it's different when you work for and with people that you know and care about.

Small company- In a situation where the employee or employer missteps and takes on the wrong personality, specifically in a senior position, it can be really tough. Doesn’t seem like that’s your set up and that’s good for you.

The “faceless corporation” comment could be perceived as shitting on people who have succeeded in that space. Maybe your a bit bias but I have my moments too. ?

 

[The Kalmyk]

( I peddle brain power, not goods, so a bit different animal)

Fair point. I have no damn clue what you do. Who controls rates in this agreement?

 

[Patrick]

Fair point. I have no damn clue what you do. Who controls rates in this agreement?

It is a wired bid, prenegotiated.

Staff supplementation disguised as subcontracted on-site project.

 

[JimN]

The “faceless corporation” comment could be perceived as shitting on people who have succeeded in that space.

Sorry, wasn't trying to shit on anyone. My point was just that working for a small company where you know everyone and have hung out with the founders and executives is different. If I worked for a large company where I didn't know the senior people at all then I probably wouldn't give a shit about trying to save them money. I should also once again point out though, that staying at an airbnb doesn't really save them money. Working for a startup, you want them to succeed, so it's different. At least that's my guess, as I've never really worked for a large organization. It's funny that the company I work for now is almost at 100 people, and we will be past that by the end of the year. Which will then make it the largest company I've ever worked for. Might be time to find an earlier stage startup

Maybe your a bit bias but I have my moments too. ?

I'm definitely biased, but so is everyone

 

[The Kalmyk]

Sorry, wasn't trying to shit on anyone. My point was just that working for a small company where you know everyone and have hung out with the founders and executives is different. If I worked for a large company where I didn't know the senior people at all then I probably wouldn't give a shit about trying to save them money. I should also once again point out though, that staying at an airbnb doesn't really save them money. Working for a startup, you want them to succeed, so it's different. At least that's my guess, as I've never really worked for a large organization. It's funny that the company I work for now is almost at 100 people, and we will be past that by the end of the year. Which will then make it the largest company I've ever worked for. Might be time to find an earlier stage startup



I'm definitely biased, but so is everyone

Oh yeah, we’re all out for self at the end of the day which eventually is interpreted as bias- it’s the western way. I’m with you on that.

When I started with my company I made a pointed decision to be liberal with my travels costs. To my point of “out for self”, I didn’t want to set the bar low out of the gate. If anything it was motivation for me to keep my cost report relative to my work output. Being that we are a team of 14, it’s very hard to hide out.

 

[The Kalmyk]

It is a wired bid, prenegotiated.

Staff supplementation disguised as subcontracted on-site project.

Wired bid- tbh I had to look that up. Sooo, help me understand what prenegotiated means as it is between your company and ATT. Without knowing more it doesn’t appear to me as if any there was a negotiation at all. Were you able at some point to work with them on your rates or volume? If so, I would imagine you would forecast for unexpected changes like extending terms out of no where and address it at that time.

 

[Patrick]

Wired bid- tbh I had to look that up. Sooo, help me understand what prenegotiated means as it is between your company and ATT. Without knowing more it doesn’t appear to me as if any there was a negotiation at all. Were you able at some point to work with them on your rates or volume? If so, I would imagine you would forecast for unexpected changes like extending terms out of no where and address it at that time.

it is kinda ugly, but yes, it is all pre-negotiated. people, rates, projected max, they even require estimated margin, plus all the other people stuff when working with foreign nationals.
there is some bidding without intention to win. I'm winding it down, but have been doing it since the '80s... sometimes it feels bus-as-usual, other times it feels dirty.

the work is interesting tho. data science stuff, to sell you phone calls.

 

[The Kalmyk]

it is kinda ugly, but yes, it is all pre-negotiated. people, rates, projected max, they even require estimated margin, plus all the other people stuff when working with foreign nationals.
there is some bidding without intention to win. I'm winding it down, but have been doing it since the '80s... sometimes it feels bus-as-usual, other times it feels dirty.

the work is interesting tho. data science stuff, to sell you phone calls.

preferred vendor... Un freemarket... Set and forget... AT&T stock holders skim past this quickly ?

Pat- sorry for the questioning but interested in how some of these bigger guys operate. Deal structuring is becoming more and more important as our company is taking on a new model the owner calls “intrapreneur”. I’m on the payroll but put together my own deals with very minimal support from VP or Owner- nothing new just funky semantics.

Last inquiry about the “estimated margins”. Do you know why exactly this is a requirement ? I would imagine this is only data to assist in future PO rates being that the deal is pre determined. With over 30 years under you I’m sure it’s also in their best interest to keep companies like yours going. As i read it, wired bids are designed for sub contractors, like yourself, who have deep insight of your client and no red flags.

 

[Patrick]

Do you know why exactly this is a requirement ?

"Consulting companies" were exploiting foreign nationals whose billing rates would quickly rise because of high value skills/experience,
while the pay would not follow.

Once they were in the green card process, changing jobs would mean re-starting the application.
so locked in for 3-5 years with no leverage. Again, it is selling brain power, so risk is low, cause there is little invested, and the cost-to-exit
an employee on a visa is small. It does piss the client off when they find out the person is making 1/3 of the billing rate, and the sales
people are having their retreat in some resort in Hawaii. Which wouldn't be terrible if assignments lasted weeks or months,
but these staff supplementation assignments can last multiple years because of the size of the projects,
and the customer becomes familiar/friendly with the employee so they just move them to the next project.

 

[Norm]

Today is day 3 here, one more full day tomorrow and then I fly out early Friday morning. This coming weekend should be fun. My right thigh is still hurting a lot from last Friday, so I did a number on it for sure. When I put any sort of stress on it, it returns with a pretty legit level of pain. My knee has started bothering me a bit. I think this is due to my compensating from the leg.

Anyway, days are like this:

Wake up, walk to office, breakfast, work, lunch, work, dinner, ice cream, Airbnb.

On the Airbnb, it is definitely cheaper to do that here but I also prefer it. This trip, I'd be lying if I said the place was good. It kinda sucks, but this is the first time I have had a place which wasn't solid. My old boss Tommy and I are splitting the place.

I don't like hotels, though there are exceptions to that. When I travel for work I find them pretty depressing. I've been solo more than once in a hotel at 7pm with nothing to do, and it's really kind of depressing. I don't find hotels convenient in general. Nor are they better for me personally. Exceptions to that would be my coming trip to Orlando in a few weeks for a show. I'll be working a show in the same convention center the hotel is in. So we'll end up having sporadic booth shifts, and being able to go back & forth to the room is pretty useful. There are other cases where a hotel is better. But in general I don't love them.

I prefer having a house or room in an occupied house, usually. I've stayed in whole places and I've gotten a single room in a house full of hippie vegetarians once (Boston, go figure). I have enjoyed them all. If I'm staying for a few days I also prefer to hit a market and get food to throw in the fridge as it makes life a bit easier. While cost isn't necessarily why I do it, if it were more expensive I don't think I would go this route.

I do actually work for a small org (50-ish) and the costs don't necessarily matter but I think it's better to be responsible as best I can. I also think it allows my boss to think he can trust me. When we go out to dinner, we pretty much do what we want, anyone can join, and anyone picks up the bill and there's never really a question of it being approved. I would much prefer to spend money on a good meal than a place to stay. As a side note, the last time we were here the hotel rooms across from the office were $250 a night. That just seems irresponsible to me. This place is $777 for 2 people, 4 nights.

Anyway, I do it because I like it. It is cheaper for the company which does allow me more freedom elsewhere. Even if I am working for a big company I probably act the same way but sometimes the big companies actually don't let you stay in an Airbnb. So you never know how things will be a year from now. I assume I'll be in jobs & roles that have me traveling for the foreseeable future. So it's hard to say how it will go in 1 or 2 or 3 years from now.

Soup buns are awesome.

 

[Mitch]

I love soup buns.

 

[JimN]

I prefer having a house or room in an occupied house, usually. I've stayed in whole places and I've gotten a single room in a house full of hippie vegetarians once (Boston, go figure).

When Melinda and I travel, we always get our own place. When I'm solo, I usually try and get just a room. When I was in Portland last summer, I stayed in this dude's spare bedroom, and he had three taps down in his basement bar, and I ended up going to an MLS game with him and a bunch of his friends. I was actually considering going to the game, but it was way more fun screaming and yelling in the fan section with them than it would have been sitting around by myself.