Thursday, February 05, 2004
The coffee guy pointed out to me this morning that we're in the post-janet boob era. Nice.
This is my Jetset related rant for today: Workers Comp. Our rates were jacked through the roof at the beginning of 2004. From about %12 to %28. The thing that sucks about Worker Comp (a necessary evil) is that business pays %100 of the cost and we are required to carry it. In California our WC costs are twice that of the national average. We are passing some of that expense on to our customers but in the highly fragmented and extremely competitive local courier business you have to be wary of how high you take your pricing. Gov. Arnie has promised to lower rates but even if he's able to do so it's a top down (trickle, trickle) proposition. It'll be awhile before we feel any relief. The profit margin gets narrower. Anybody wanna buy a courier company? You could fire all the couriers and rehire on an hourly wage or as ICs and make damn good money. I can't do that to these guys, they're friends and it would make me feel like a slimeball. I know, I'm a terrible businessman but what the fuck can't you act with a conscience and not be penalized at every turn by government. Oh crap I just sounded like a republican.
The radios have ceased functioning today. We use Fleet Talk a company in New Jersey that manages our transmitter which is currently out. No radio comm with the road. Fleet Talk doesn't call you back or tell you what's wrong, how long it will take to fix or anything. They're also the only game in town so they don't really care, what are we going to do use cups and strings? It's not just us but essentially every company in SF that's affected. Fuckers.
This is my Jetset related rant for today: Workers Comp. Our rates were jacked through the roof at the beginning of 2004. From about %12 to %28. The thing that sucks about Worker Comp (a necessary evil) is that business pays %100 of the cost and we are required to carry it. In California our WC costs are twice that of the national average. We are passing some of that expense on to our customers but in the highly fragmented and extremely competitive local courier business you have to be wary of how high you take your pricing. Gov. Arnie has promised to lower rates but even if he's able to do so it's a top down (trickle, trickle) proposition. It'll be awhile before we feel any relief. The profit margin gets narrower. Anybody wanna buy a courier company? You could fire all the couriers and rehire on an hourly wage or as ICs and make damn good money. I can't do that to these guys, they're friends and it would make me feel like a slimeball. I know, I'm a terrible businessman but what the fuck can't you act with a conscience and not be penalized at every turn by government. Oh crap I just sounded like a republican.
The radios have ceased functioning today. We use Fleet Talk a company in New Jersey that manages our transmitter which is currently out. No radio comm with the road. Fleet Talk doesn't call you back or tell you what's wrong, how long it will take to fix or anything. They're also the only game in town so they don't really care, what are we going to do use cups and strings? It's not just us but essentially every company in SF that's affected. Fuckers.
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