Santa Claus vs. the Marketers 81
Jonathan Cohen writes "Hi: Not sure if this is up your alley, but since Slashdot deals with privacy, copyright, and 'piracy' issues, I thought you might be interested...I'll quote my press release: It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is grounded. After Claus Inc. hired a consulting firm in early November to re-brand Santa's image and revamp its business practices, the corporation has been on a downward spiral. The elf workforce has been downsized 70%, Santa's been given shoulder pads to make him look thinner, and even Rudolph's been eliminated for environmental reasons (nose radiation).
This is just part of the free short story "Santa Claus vs. the Marketers," an adult fable about contemporary business issues."
Origin of Santa (Score:1, Interesting)
Personally, the marketing side of Christmas gets to me because the "true meaning" has been totally lost in the persuit of present buying.
On the flip side the "true meaning" of Christmas is rather lost on me because I'm a heathen!
Saint Nicholas should be green. He has no sleigh or reindeer, he doesn't live at the North Pole and he does not necessarily have to be fat.
Still, what does it matter. I'm nothing but an anonymous coward!
Re:Origin of Santa (Score:3, Interesting)
This is only half-true. Before the campaign Santa was depicted in several ways, green was popular but so was red and white. Coke picked up on the red and white one for obvious reasons but they didn't originate it.
TWW
Re:Dudes, dudes.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:For the first time... (Score:1, Interesting)
But still, a little sacrifice to make others happy.
Merry Christmas
Re:Pink slip (Score:3, Interesting)
Don't ignore the needs of customers to surf the web. Don't surf porn, hacking, hate, piracy or illegal activity websites.
Otherwise, surf to your hearts content to the limit of the firewalls. Which means, if between calls or while a customer is rebooting I want to read
Just because some employers are oppressive about the use of the web in their workplaces, doesn't mean my employer is.
Re:For the first time... (Score:3, Interesting)
If I wanted to, I could have traded my shift away, and gotten cash for it, and still been payed for the holiday.
But, doesn't bother me, I worked the graveyard shift, so now I'm relaxing at 11:00 am, drinking some wine, and celebrating. My family doesn't really celebrate Christmas until the 28th anyways (let's us get the last minute boxing day shopping in.. been that way since as long as I can remember - suprised more people don't celebrate this commercial holiday later.)
Anyways, happy holidays to all!
The TOYS conquer Christmas? (Score:3, Interesting)
(1) Post a notice on the side of the box: "Our employees enjoy Christmas too. We will be available for tech support on Dec. 26th, bright and early."
(2) Be available for tech support for setup *before* Christmas, for those who have the foresight to test it. Make one optional box a decorated box that only needs a ribbon added. Necessary info is on the bottom.
(3) Make something that really works out of the box.
(4) Sell only working units.
(5) Be more diverse: hire more Jews, Islamic, and Buddhist people. They'll be happy to work on Christmas day. But also have Christians who can work on the Jewish, Islamic (etc.) holy days.
That's just a few. The overall message? Have a backbone. Be decent to your employees AND their families. Your employment practices do not exist in a vacuum; they help create the world you live in next year.