1/10/2011
HEADLINES
2010 Quips of the Year
Economist Brian Beaulieu observed that most of the National Fastener Distributors Association members in the room could retire or be on “the wrong side of the grass” before a worse recession or depression strikes in 2029. “Finally it stinks to be young.”
Interest rates will skyrocket in the 2020s so take advantage of them now, Beaulieu advised. Don’t wait for them to go down. “I bet interest rates don’t go below zero.”
Sea freight rates jumped in the spring of 2010. A senior purchasing manager in a multinational fastener distributor sent an email with the subject line, “Sea Fright.”
“Curious I thought, I didn’t realize he knew I was a bit phobic about being on the water. It turned out to be a typographic error, and should have read ‘Sea Freight’ – but as I read on it became apparent the title could easily prove prophetic.”
How hard was it to obtain credit for businesses in 2010? “I received a letter saying I was “pre-declined for a credit card,” Dee Silver of Barnhill Bolt quipped at the Pacific-West Fastener Association conference.
As three NFDA panelists promoted the use of social media, president Jim Derry summarized the session as, “Tweet your own horn.”
The NFDA was told 700 billion minutes are being spent on Facebook per month. “My teenagers are 10% of that,” Derry said.
Twittering provides quips: “Fastener SuperStore West Coast office unfazed by 7.2 tremor. Fastener SS Chicago office demoralized by the start of another Cubs Season.”
How do you get attention in an email subject line? Orbitform used “Weapons of Mass Production” to promote its Arbor Automation division which builds conveyors.
Sales consultant Anne Marie Houghtailing suggested bringing the entire staff together in an informal setting to get everyone involved. But as an employee event, it must be more than “whine and cheese,” she advised Pac-West.
“Imagine that – a president from Alaska,” Sarah Palin responded after being introduced by the new president of the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association – Mike Kangas of Alaska Industrial Hardware.
Kangas and Palin are both from Wasilla, and Palin’s husband Todd Palin once bought her a manual ice auger from AIH for Christmas.
One mid-level executive worried about job security during the recession handed out two business cards during the spring Southwestern Fastener Expo. “This is my company business card and this is my layoff card.”
The economy went sour and many sales people lost their jobs starting in 2008.
During the spring 2010 business executives’ roundtable at the spring Pac-West Fastener Association meeting one executive complained about experiences with a high-pressure sales person on energy efficient fluorescent lighting. “He was as bad as a car salesman,” the executive observed.
“He probably had been a car salesman,” another participant said in noting that many car sales people were laid off during the recession.
Boomerang of the Year — Again
Year after year Mike McGuire has received the “Boomerang of the Year” for posting articles on his website from other publications word-for-word without attribution or written permission.
In 2010 McGuire’s response to one of his copyright violations boomeranged with the victim of his theft. Like a schoolboy, McGuire inquired who the tattletale was.
“Who cares how I found out that he’s stealing content from me?” the angered victim asked. ©2011 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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