An Intriguing Tale Of Being An Owner

Ppl really need to know that they are getting a good bargain.. when they shop with us.. and also give us some profit.. so we can EAT too..!!! A customer was in just before Easter.. and wanted to get a Nintendo DS from us. Because they already had the charger.. our original pricing for the DS was $90 and being the honest man PB is.. he said.. he would give it to her.. at $70 tax included.

So instead .. of taking up the offer immediately, she bargained and wants to only pay $60 for it.. in which .. PB counter offer $65. Really.. you know.. !!! these ppl donch know a good deal when they see one. I think they should go to our competitor .. just 2 streets from us.. and pay premium dollars … then they prolly would appreciate us eh..??

No one encourages compulsive gambling.. and neither do I. But once in a while… when we are feeling extremely lucky.. we play a game or two, just for the fun of it. It can be quite thrilling..and gets that adrenaline in you pumping.

Online casinos are becoming very popular amongst everyone .. who has a computer and at this time and age.. who doesn’t have at least one computer. For us.. it sure beats having to drive 8 hrs to and fro to the city.. leaving my kid at home.. with the babysitter or grammie .. and feeling guilty about it .. the whole time.

We don’t play that often like I mentioned earlier, therefore USA online casinos is a great help with comprehensive and easy to use casinos guide does help alot when it comes to choosing the right site we want to play on. For those who are from USA, you will be happy to know that online casinos accepts and welcomes all USA players from all 52 states with absolutely no restrictions and features big bonuses casinos, free casinos, no deposit casinos and more.  For those into gaming, you’ll have to check the site out for more options.  But remember .. gambling is for the responsible only.  I don’t encourage gambling beyond your means.

Donch you just love it.. when a customer keeps coming into your store on a daily basis.. and hacking away. . right in front of you..?? Yes.. and not even attempting to close his mouth. *shake head* .. seriously .. i wonder why ppl bring their sick kids out.. and spread germs to everyone . .that they come in contact with. Another JOY of owning your own business eh. Afterall, you can’t tell the customer/s off.. whether they are paying customers or not.. a customer is a customer right.

On Easter Sunday on our way to my in-law’s for brunch, we noticed that the church was filled with people. The roads were jammed .. because service must have just been over. Seriously, I didn’t think we had so many religious folks around this town. Maybe, we should start carrying religious jewelry at our store, to be sold eh.

I was extremely shocked.. and disturbed this afternoon.. after hearing on our local news station .. that Clark Harbour .. a town about an hour and a half away from Y-Town.. that they had built a new office for housing .. offices, a visitor’s information centre, new library, council chambers and community meeting facilities for all but $800,000.

The people in the County of Shelburne should be really proud of their town councils.. because not only did they keep the cost so low.. they are REALLY doing the community good. How come Y-Town needs a $6 million building to house 8 employees.. till today i still do not understand it. Can someone make me comprehend this..?? i think i must be stupid.. because i am not seeing a need to spending $6 million on a new building.. when another town had theirs built for $800,000.  I am absolutely outraged .. and an absolute injustice done to the ppl of this town.

Every now and then..we get all gung-ho .. and plan for short trips.. to our neighboring country.. and seeing that flights are so cheap these day, the Las Vegas Deal sure looked very tempting to us. Owning our own business, sure doesn’t gives us the luxury to take long holidays, so when you get such a good deal, we kinda had to go.

But with a toddler in toll, we have to make sure that we get the right kind of room to accommodate the kid and also to make sure that even though we are planning on visiting the Las Vegas Casino, we also need entertainment for her and what better place for all these than the Sahara Hotel. Touted to be the city’s hottest thrill rides, and most sought after entertainment with 1700 rooms, with dining facilities such as the buffet for only $6.99 and a beautiful NASCAR cafe.

They also have high speed internet in the rooms, so we will not lose touch with our employees and what is going on at the business premises even though we are on holiday. And I bet that just about everyone would love the 5000 sq ft outdoor pool and jacuzzi that serves snacks and drinks.. all day through. As for me, I am looking forward to the full-service spa to rejuvenate before going home.

The even have a wedding chapel for renewing your vows or plan a Las Vegas Wedding in. With a team of professional wedding planners, the most important day of your entire life can be stressed free, perfect and beautiful.  Packages starting from $399 is definitely worth looking at.  And one must never miss their hotel shows that boasts of hosting legends like Johnny Carson, Tina Turner, The Beatles and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Everything under one roof.. ! awesome for the entire family.

Luckily for us.. outta the 100 we served a week.. we get like 5 who thinks that they are so bright. Customer and his g/f came in to return a PS2 that he bought from us a week ago… claimed it didn’t work with his TV. PB tested it on 2 tvs that were in our store for him.. to show him that IT IS working. He protested.. and said.. it isn’t on his TV.

That’s alright.. obviously .. he is adamant to return it. So PB told him.. that a credit voucher can be given to him.. for use in the store at anytime. Full-refund.. but just not cash.. because we never do cash refunds.. because of exactly this kinda “bright” customers.

Customer and his g/f not happy. Wanted cash because he said.. he drove from Cornwallis another town 1.5hrs away from us.. costing $30 in gas to return a $70 machine.. and now he doesn’t have gas nor money to get gas to go home. Customer in early 30s or older.. and not a kid. He then go on to say that he bought his PS2 machine here because he had to pick his son up for spring break last week, so he bought it from Y-Town, otherwise, he wouldn’t have.

This is how i see it. Bright man had his son for a week for spring break. To keep son entertained .. he bought a PS2 from us. A week after spring break.. and sending his son home today.. he decided to get cash for what he paid for the PS2 .. since he wouldn’t need it for a long time. .maybe during the end of summer.. when he can have his son again.. or not.. maybe Christmas. So what he was actually doing.. was trying to outsmart us.. by using our PS2 for nothing. If not why would an old man like him.. come to town.. all the way.. just to return a working PS2 .. instead of trying to sell it at Cornwallis to a friend… unless he is hard up for money.. and thinks he can get a full refund. And he sure was cocky.. ! and if was up to me.. i ain’t giving him his money back.. but since it was PB .. he met him halfway. The JOYs of owning your own business.

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Last Saturday, we were at the mall getting our Easter gifts ready. We met a customer at the mall.. and we stopped to say hi. She was very apologetic .. and said.. she misses our store.. since we are “gone”. Holy macaroni..!!! We just moved 2 doors away.. !!! Ello..!!! And we have had since done advertising on the radio.. newspaper .. clare shoppers, lobster bay. What amazes me most was .. she said.. someone told her we were CLOSED..!! and to think she went to the opposite movie store.. to rent movies.. without seeing us just directly opposite. Funny..!

Owning our own business sure doesn’t give us alot of time.. to do stuff with our little brat, I mean the fun stuff. But Halloween is a big thing in this town and like I said, being so busy with our business, we are ashamed to admit that we usually end up just doing some last minute shopping for her. As she is almost 5 yrs old this year .. we really don’t want her to think that we don’t care enough, and is just going through the motion with her and that work is more important than she is.

So this year, we (working mums) came up with a brilliant idea and have decided to  order our kids halloween costume online because they have such a wide selection to choose from. It is definitely hassle and stress free and the easy to navigate website makes it less intimidating for mothers who are not so good on the computer.  Plus our kids can select the costume that they want from the huge selection.. and we can be as involved as they are online. I think it is such an awesome idea.. because I too, can pick my Halloween dress  with the help of my daughter while I am at it.. and save on shipping.

This is too cute..!

This wonderful town .. makes me wanna bang my head on the wall every other day. Received a phone call .. asking if we had any used Gamecube system for sale.

Me : Yes, we do.

Caller : How much are they..?

Me : $50

Caller : I have one to sell, how much would you pay for it..??

Me : I have no idea till we see the machine.. and what condition it is in.

Caller : Can I get $50 for it..??

Me : (bang head on the counter and passed the phone to the man) 

Yes.. we warranty things that are sold to you in our store.. but if you had bought it from elsewhere.. and then bring it back to us .. and expect us to fix the problem.. or replace it for free.. then it is not right.

They joy of being your own boss and owning your own business has gotta be the most stressful job ever. We get customers coming in all the time.. claiming that they had paid good money for the item they bought like just last month (item looked all worn out and certainly doesn’t looked like it had been one month only) and now doesn’t work. Now the best part is.. we have never carried the said item in our store before… muahahhahahaha!!! yet some can keep insisting they did… and cannot produce a receipt for it. JOY..!!

Some people are very apprehensive about buying electronic things such as an iPhone online but not us because we’ve done it for years and years. And yes.. we do run into a snag once in a while.. but never anything that wasn’t being rectified immediately. Some people like the feel of the “real” thing before buying.. but we do our research online before buying. But most importantly, you have to find a reputable online dealer for whatever you are buying online. Shopping with confidence is the one thing consumers like you and I wants first.

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What’s great about buying from PureMobile is that there is no contract involved… like what the phone companies make you sign, some as much as a 3 yrs contract. And when you buy an Unlocked Cell Phone you know that you can use any SIM card and any GSM service provider. What i also liked alot about PureMobile is the Live Help from Monday to Friday and you can pay through PayPal which is very convenient, especially for those who are not comfortable using their credit cards online. The selection is aplenty and navigating the site is really hassle free and easy, and don’t forget to get your extended warranty all online.

Around this time of the year.. it is tax return time.. and you can see that some are very anxious to do their tax return.. especially those that of middle income.. and the fishermen. Because they pay alot in taxes. Taxes are paid thru’ their pay.. every week or bi-weekly.. when they get their pay.. the employer’s duty is to minus off the taxes.. and submit it to the government.

Depending on what bracket you fall into, sometimes.. one has to pay at least 40% of their pay to taxes. And around this time.. the government would return some of their taxes back. Some gets as much as $3K .. and some even more. We ..?? we never get anything back..because we are in the “bracket” where we only GIVE..!

Another .. JOY .. of being a business owner..!

We all do our little bit to help save the earth .. and the ozone layer. Every little bit that one does helps. One way to help is to recycle plastic and if you haven’t thought about it, you should read up on LDPE Scrap and what it does.

The good folks at Recycle Polymers are doing more than just recycle, they purchase a wide range of raw material by connecting you to the right folks who needs it. Commonly used plastic which can be recycled called HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) is the collected material which is then sold to be recycled. So if you have an inventory of plastic scrap, talk to them.

As an employee.. i would certainly applaud and welcome.. the increase in minimum wage in the whole of Nova Scotia. It is a province wide increase from the $7.60 .. to $8.10 per hour from May 1 .. a 6.5 percent increase. On April 1st, 2009, the wage increases again to $8.60 and a year later .. $9.20. By October 1, 2010.. minimum wage will be at $9.65/hr .. and thereafter will be adjusted annually based on the consumer price index.

As an employer, we have to pay for their pension fun, vacation, and a few other taxes as well. Meaning .. on top of the said minimum wages.. we have to pay a few more dollars an hour .. to each employee. It is not cheap… to hire someone here…. plus the quality and loyalty is yet to be desired. Minimum Wage once announced is mandatory .. for everyone who is working.. therefore.. like it or not.. you cannot even work a deal out .. with your employees.. if you want to hire them on. The JOY of owning your own business.

When you own your own business.. and have to work on Good Friday.. while the rest of the town .. takes a day off.. you know you need those exercise bikes to help you stay healthy. No social life is alright.. but no health.. now that’s not good.

Many years ago.. when our store was much bigger.. and we had more employees.. we wanted to actually have a recreation room at the back of our store.. for both the employees and regular customers. Beer pong tables came to mind.. but the boys ended up .. having PC tournaments instead.. where we supply the desks, chairs.. and internet connection.. and they go online and play against each other.

When we tell our employees to dress appropriately when they come to work.. it also means.. that they have to wear comfortable footwear like those by skate shoes, afterall they need to stand for many hours at our store. For those who comes in with sandals.. i cannot comprehend.. why they would think that, that was proper attire.. for working in a store..??