You did it all by yourself. You finished that huge project, you made those plans, you didn’t need help from anybody else.

Absolutely nothing is wrong. It’s bulletproof. Pure perfection.

Are you sure?

It tastes awesome. But it also has 510 calories. One fifth of what you might need in an entire day.

(Side note: McDonald’s tastes freaking good every once in a while. I had it a few weeks ago as a late-night meal. I enjoyed it. It’s made that way. If it tasted like crap and was still bad for you, Ray Kroc would have only served hundreds, not billions. This is not some anti-McDonald’s rant.)

Millie and I watched “Supersize Me” last night. It’s Morgan Spurlock’s documentary where he eats nothing by McDonald’s for 30 days.

For me the interesting part is not how much he gained in a month, but how he drilled down to what could happen to the average overweight American in a year. Eating only at McDonald’s for every meal, Spurlock gained 25 pounds, shot his cholesterol through the roof, became lethargic, depressed and generally unhealthy.

So he ate 90 meals there in a month and did all that. Of course you say. Anyone who eats unhealthy for a month would gain 25 pounds.

(Side Note: No blame was assigned to Coke/Soft Drink Industry in this movie which I think is kind of lame. A quarter pounder with cheese has 510 calories, 42g of fate and 9g of sugar. Add a 32 oz. Coke to the meal and you tack on 310 calories and an incredible 86g of sugar. Coke should have received some of the scrutiny.)

Let’s assume you’re fairly brand loyal and only dine at McDonald’s.

Do you grab McDonald’s on the way to work on Monday because you didn’t have time to cook breakfast. Then on Thursday, the kids are coming home from soccer practice and you worked late and need a quick bite to eat. So you grab Mickey D’s again. That’s twice in a week. No big deal eh? But that comes out to 104 McDonald’s meals a year. 14 more than Spurlock ate.

I’ve had this discussion with Millie several times about how for a large portion of America, McDonald’s and fast food are the reality of a family meal. It’s quick and easy with food-like qualities and relatively cheap. Feed a family of four for $25? Can’t do that at Chili’s!

The second argument goes that prepping a huge home-cooked meal takes too much time and effort. We’re a nation on the go with little time for our health and can’t afford access to fresh fruit and vegetables. But I’m starting to disagree.We have a choice in this matter.

Millie and I are lucky to have a nice market nearby, it’s nothing special, but it’s a fun local grocery store that has some excellent choices in fruits, vegetables and meat. Our grocery bill this week was approximately $100. With that $100 we get a ton of vegetables, fruit, fresh healthy deli meat, whole grain breads, eggs, organic yogurt, organic milk, orange juice, Pellegrino water (4 for $5!) and a few other side items. We’ll be able to eat almost the entire week, about 12 meals total on that trip. For the two us, the total comes out to less than $10/meal.

Here’s an example…

Tonight’s meal consisted of:
Quinoa – 1/4 box. At $5/box that’s a cost of $1.25 (McDonald’s large Coke)
5 eggs scrambled. At $4.59/dozen that is $1.91 (Quarter pounder?)
Diced green peppers, red peppers, onion – We used about half of this, maybe cost us $1.50 total (Large Fry)
Fresh guacamole – $5/tub – I’ll be VERY liberal here and say we used 1/5 of it – $1 (Med. Coke)
Dash Shredded Cheese – Unknown, I think like $5/bag, we might have used 5% of it – $.25 (Ketchup packet?)

So our total meal cost was about $6 and it took 20-ish minutes to make.

There is this huge disconnect in America that makes people think that a decent meal that’s healthy and will provide sustinence for your body is some huge undertaking. You don’t have to shop at Whole Foods for grain-fed organic wheatgrass bison. If you can afford it, go ahead, but you don’t have to.

And I think that’s the point that Supersize Me is really trying to make. It’s not about McDonald’s, it’s about the shift in eating habits of an increasingly obese country that thinks, or doesn’t care, it can never be healthy. Sure McDonald’s has handed us a loaded gun, but they’re not saying we can’t go out and kill a turkey and have some nice healthy lean meat sandwiches for a few days. Nope, we just point it straight at our foot and pull the trigger.

We think somehow a cheeseburger, fries and a Coke constitutes a well-rounded meal and can be had in 90 seconds from the comfort of your car. If you came over to my house and said “I’m hungry” and I dissappeared into the kitchen and microwaved something for 30 seconds, dropped some potatoes in grease and poured you a huge glass of sugar water, would you think I was being a kind host? Would you think I had your health and well-being in mind? Of course not. So why do we mindlessly pull through the drive-thru and get handed coronary artery disease in a bag and pay $6 for it over and over?

Why is it we can then go home and carve out an hour to watch Dancing with the Stars and Survivor, but we can’t spend 20-40 minutes whipping up something quick and easy that won’t kill us?

Americans need to share in some personal responsibility in all this. You shouldn’t be able to sue McDonald’s because you fed it to your kid three days a week any more than I should be able to sue the CTA if I jump in front of a train.

The 2010 elections will be contentious in many big races across the nation. With so much attention being paid to major offices like governor and senator, the channels will be clogged with messages and analysis of those major offices. So what if you’re running for a random office that the general voting public is unfamiliar with? How do you get people to vote for you on election day? Why not Foursquare tips?

Think about it. You can’t campaign in the immediate vicinity of a polling place. But what if the moment right before somebody voted, as they checked in to a polling place on Foursquare they got a tip that said “Vote John Smith for County Office X!”

If I’m a campaign manager in a race where a handful of votes can make a huge difference in a race people are not familiar with I am making sure I (or volunteers) visit every poll in the days leading up to the election and checking in with a tip to vote for my candidate.

Surely there is no law on the books against this right now.

How many different varities of Tums do you see? (Photo: Flickr/The Campbells)

I love this article from the WSJ today about how product proliferation is hurting companies. The general gist is companies are offering more and more varieties of generally the same product to discourage entry to the market place, prevent comparison shopping in stores and holding on to longstanding customers

I’ll get it out of the way so you don’t have to wait for the payoff. Yes, I’m going to use Apple as my example.

Apple does the complete opposite and as a result has gobs and gobs of cash. Want to buy a computer from Apple? First you make a decision between laptop or desktop. Once that decision is made you decide how big you want your screen to be, what processor/graphics card and how big the hard drive is on the machine. For laptops you have roughly seven choices, desktops lets you pick from four. (Mac Pro not included, you are not a filmmaker)

So that’s 11-ish computers total that Apple offers.

A quick perusal of the HP web site shows (I think) that I can choose from up to 23 base models of laptops. I don’t care to check out customization, but even for base models there are more than three times the amount Apple offers. And HP printers? Take your pick of 85. How can I make an informed decision that I know I’ll be happy with if I have 85 options of something that generally does the same thing!

I’m more inclined to not spend money on something than potentially shell out hundreds of dollars for something I can’t find definitive reviews for because it’s one of hundreds of products in the same space. No one can possibly review every printer on the market, but it’s dead simple for a tech blog to look at Apple’s products, because they’re basically the same thing with variety coming from the core components that separate them into price layers.
Which is why people are willing to pay a premium. There is no guess work for the customer, they know they’re getting a superior product at a price that provides them value. They won’t be left wondering if maybe that different model with the same screen size, slower processor, more RAM, different DVD-ROM, red skin wrap, upgraded audio card, enhanced display, cheaper video card was a better deal.

This isn’t just an Apple vs. Everyone argument either. I have an HP laptop that I love, but recently when I had to replace an audio driver on it I found that there are AT LEAST 100 different HP Pavillion dv6000 models. (Mine is a DV6985SE to be exact).

Brands are making it impossible for people to recommend their favorite products to their friends. What’s available that store may not be available at this store because of limited shelf space,  exclusivity deals, demographics etc. People call me and ask my opinion on this desktop or that monitor and the only thing I can say is “Hold on, let me check the Amazon reviews.”

The WSJ article points out the benefits of focusing on producing/offering a handful products that are superior to a competitors offering. It even points to Trader Joe’s customers being okay with less selection in return for better prices. There are no loss leaders in Trader Joe’s says the WSJ:

“Trader Joe’s, a privately held specialty grocery chain, states on its Web site that if a product “doesn’t pull its weight” in stores, it is removed to make room for an item that will. The strategy results in more relevant merchandise for consumers and higher sales per square foot.”

Basically if your product sucks, they aren’t going to sell it. So the onus is on the manufacturer to make a good product, not the store to push it. That’s providing me the customer with that I want. A few options that are right for me, not a glut of products hoping to capture the long tail of sales.

Would the way to fix situations like Darrelle Revis’ contract holdout be to guarantee money to veteran players and limit rookie contracts?

Rookies this year received unbelievable amounts of guaranteed money, 20, 30, 40 million dollars for some without playing a down. Meanwhile that 10-year NFL veteran lineman guarding Sam Bradford’s butt may never see that sort of money for his longevity. Darrelle Revis, the best defensive player in the game according to some, is holding out for more money from his current team the New York Jets. Why is he not honoring his side of the contract? Because if he injures his knee in the first game, the Jets don’t have to honor their side of the deal.

So while teams are spending untold amounts on unproven rookies and giving them guaranteed money, established playmakers who have paid their dues have to hope their bodies can outlast inadequate contracts.

Why not set rookie deals at lower slotted levels depending on draft position and length of contract. Guarantee at least 50% of the deal in the event of injury or that a player just doesn’t pan out. Return those monster signing bonuses to the veterans who have been in the league for 5-6 years and still have plenty of gas left in the tank. Guarantee 100% of those contracts.

A huge website can still be easy to navigate, just like the CTA.

I dropped my car off at the shop this afternoon for a minor repair. I am now without car, but I’ll be able to get to and from work tomorrow with ease because Chicago has a fairly reliable transit system. I wouldn’t depend on it every day, but it will get me where I need to go tomorrow. I’ll take a 1-mile bus ride to a 15-minute regional commuter train to get to the office and reverse the trip on the way home, but I’ll get off the commuter train a stop early and head to the auto shop. It’s a one-off solution and will be easy for me to pull off tomorrow in a pinch with no car.

Your website should be the same way. There are only a few websites I go to every single day – gmail, ESPN, Facebook, CNN – most of those sites I’ve mastered and have no trouble wading deep into the info they present. Nothing turns me off faster on a new site than shoddy navigation and not being able to find what I want to quickly.

When you look at your analytics, how many of your users are first time visitors? 40%? 60%? Those users are just like me tomorrow without my car. I need a quick easy fix to get to and from work, and those users need a quick and easy way to get into your content and get out.

Are they able to make a quick commute? Or do they have make several train transfers and hail a cab?

Seriously. I’ve seen this a few times now. It appears then disappears. Notice the location-based info at the top, the conspicuous absence of ads and just a general different feel.

Customer service in this country is dead. If you are a consumer in need of something that, for the most part, should be easily attained you are screwed. Only the most specialized goods and services will see halfway decent customer service from this point forward.

Here’s why.

My wife and I are traveling to Mexico in June. We attempted to apply for passports today and failed miserably, but not before we could encounter customer service that was non-existent. The State Department web site list several locations where you can submit your application. Included on that list is locations that offer photo services. You see, passport photos have to be just right, and as a result require the use of any readily available, easy to operate digital camera and printing to produce. No more than 50 yards from my apartment there is a USPS Station that claims to offer photo services for a fee of $15. Needing to hurry up and get the passport in this weekend, my wife and I headed around the corner to submit our applications.

And so it began.

We arrived 30 minutes before the 2:00 pm deadline when the USPS stops taking applications. We were met with a line of approximately 10 people. On the wall there is significant signage that indicates “Get Your Passport Here!” After 15-20 minutes of waiting in line, I approach the counter and say “I’d like to apply for a passport, but I need a photo taken.”

I still have no idea what the woman said to me, but it wasn’t English. The only thing I could surmise was that we would be unable to attain the needed photos at the location that day. Apparently the camera needed to take said photos was broken. So, I ask if I can go elsewhere to get photos and come back. Nope, sorry, we stop taking applications at 2:00 pm. So, even though they were unable to provide the services they said they could, they were unwilling to accommodate me while we went to CVS to get a photo taken.

The man two people in front of me went to the counter to buy a book of stamps. THEY WERE OUT OF STAMPS. THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE WAS OUT OF STAMPS.

There was no sign, no apology, nothing. Why not have a sign that says something to the effect of “Due to technical issues, this station can not take photos for passport usage.”

I’d at least have 20 minutes and about 10 blood pressure points back.

So the wife and I head to Target and then to CVS to fill her prescription (a whole other  story of failed service) and get passport photos taken so we can submit an application either this weekend or next. I called ahead to double check the CVS we were going to offered passport photos. They do, at least they claimed to.

But no, they didn’t. Not because of technical malfunctions (possible) or lack of hardware. It was simply that there was no one within 30 feet of the photo center at CVS. The Gannons and another couple stood there while employees moved back and forth across the store, but not a single one even stopped to say why there was no one there or when we could expect someone to come and help us.

We got her prescription and left.

Mercifully the Walgreen’s  near our apartment was able to bail us out and fulfill our need of photos.

So What the Hell  is Wrong?

There is no longer any incentive to provide customer service. Companies have provided so much convenience and driven out competition for obscure, high margin services, that they truly can afford to fall short in so many areas because there is no where else to go. What was I going to do? Find a photographer, get the photos printed in four days and pay $40 for the privilege? The same can be said about several industries.

The convenience of shopping at Target and Wal-Mart for everything we could possibly need, having CVS and Walgreen’s fill a Tamiflu prescription at 2:30 am, Delta deliver us halfway across the world in 12 hours and Comcast deliver 200 channels into our homes in High-Def has also made it possible for these industries to hold us hostage. We need what they offer, but we have nearly no other choice.

What do the people at the post office care if I walk out of their station pissed off to all hell? The post office already loses billions of dollars every year, what’s another $30 to them for the passport photos? I have to go back to file my application as it is anyway. And at CVS, what does it matter that the service there is atrocious? Where else I am going to go in my neighborhood (aside from Walgreen’s) to get a photo printed that is just the right size for the passport?

We’ve empowered these companies to be complete jackasses to us. We need them more than they need us. You think CVS is going to care if everyone in the neighborhood boycotts that store? Heck no. CVS turned nearly $100 billion last year in revenue.  One store closing won’t do any damage to the company’s bottom line.

And the post office? Hah! That place is going to tank sooner or later. The taxpayer will probably have to bail it out, but I suspect they should try to do the least amount of work as possible as that ship slowly sinks.

It’s time to start calling out these people for their poor customer service. Demand that people whose JOB it is to help you do so.

Well, not exactly catching up from the weekend because I didn’t really do anything. Unless you count hours of walking around Michigan Ave. which should count for something.
Yesterday was 34 minutes on the treadmill.

This morning’s swim was:

W/U: 200sw/200pu

6X100 on the 1:50

50 drill

6×100 on the 1:50

C/D: 100 pu

Weights this evening proved to be annoying as people tended to linger on the weight machines making it hard to have any sort of rhythm. I didn’t complete the workout. Annoyed.
But in good news my weight is starting to come down.

I have to keep this up, but I’ve now worked out seven times this week!

Total I got in:

Three treadmill workouts, three pool workouts and a weight session.

Pool workout this morning was:

W/U – 200sw, 200pull

Set – 12x100y on the 1:50

C/D – 50 pull

I added two more 100s to the set just because I was feeling pretty good. I still have a long way to go, but this is a fantastic start.