Skip to main content

Making a Return

 So say today's headlines in America's business newspapers or journals or channels.  The headline refers to Bob Iger making a comeback as CEO of the venerated consumer brand Disney.  He ran that company in the chief role for a decade or so if I remember till Covid hit. Then wrote a book about leadership or some mumbo jumbo and blabbed about never going back to that role ever!

Also on the way out hand picked a successor.. as far as succession plans go.  Coincidentally another Bob.  This version without any hair on his dome.  Supposedly a veteran at entertainment.  Two years after. Gone. And Iger is back baby.  Florida does that to people?  Remember Brady? 

When Robert becomes a Bob is another question nagging me for sometime now but let me try and focus.

This hilarious premise of making returns does tickle my funny bone or scratch where I itch. See, America was my first hand experience in the idea that customer is indeed king.

This when you are buying a product or service and were not satisfied with said item, you could go to the purveyor or seller and ask for restitution. If an item was returnable you would attempt to bring it back. Sir, this vacuum cleaner is crap - here you go and give me my money back.

It was true from a sweater you did not like, to a plane ride that went bad or a fruit that was off in flavor.

America the beautiful, coast to shiny coast.  This has now come under some scrutiny what with customer abuses who seem to return to the store to get a refund on a tree that died after two years.  Hey - it does not grow how it was advertised they said. Or grew too fast and pierced my roof.

Or a bag of meat that grew mold after few months of lackluster storage at the customer end.  LOL.

Returns unlike returning champions are now America's bane.  Is there anything original left?


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...

Costa Rica

 Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry.   Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while.  Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...

Charges attract

It is said that opposites attract meaning people with contrary viewpoint sometimes find chemistry to be together.  But I'm referring to a modern twist where people are merely attracted towards a common place because their uber communication device aka smart phone is about to die.  The charging station. From airports to hotel lobbies or even bathrooms, when in need they are attracted to this power outlet like moths to a flame or a junkie to a needle. A whole new business of supplying these hyper connected folks is now born whose lifesaver product is a backup charge. Asian tourists perpetually carry a phone sized battery pack stuck to their latest Apple phone updating their status to folks in Hong Kong or Shanghai or Bangalore as they pose for selfies with weird facial expressions and fingers pointed out in a letter V. Vain? PS:  I dis'charged' my blogger duties making this insightful observation as my phone is about to breathe it's last and my flight gets call...