Customers Needs Come First

I opened the paper today to discover that the traveling public’s old nemesis is back at it again. Les LeGroom has been an insidious presence in the airline industry for a long time but his influence is having an ever greater reach with a new rash of aircraft deliveries. Airlines are taking possession of airplanes that have same-size cabins as earlier ones but with the important distinction of having more seats crammed into them. Les has been up to this trick of squeezing humanity into tighter and tighter spaces for quite some time. Airlines have been hiring him as a key consultant ever since he left the sardine canning industry.

No one can discredit Les LeGroom by saying he lacks of ingenuity. The airlines cannot get enough of this guy’s ideas. He always delivers the goods and does it smoothly, such as when the removal of food galleys created hardly any upset among seasoned passengers. After all, this was seen as a positive public health move, the end of gray chicken a la king. A few more seats were tucked in these nooks as though they had always been there. So full of ideas, it is like Les never sleeps and of course, he expects the same from airline passengers. Another of his expectations may come as a bit of a shock though. Rumor has it that he is urging the airlines to consider cutting back on a significant percentage of lavatory space, to make room for even yet more seating. Why waste all that space on one or two uncomfortable thrones?

Even some high up airline executives are uncomfortable with this suggested direction. Just a few weeks ago, a copy of an airline’s internal memo mysteriously appeared on the desk of a travel magazine editor. Dismissing it as a joke, the editor sent me a copy which to his surprise, I gave far more credibility to than he would have dreamed. There is the occasional manager who doesn’t worship every inch of ground that Les LeGroom walks on. This memo was a leak about leaks, in which LeGroom suggested more research on the possible public acceptance of ATBs or Airline Travel Briefs which from what I could tell, equated with adult diapers. His argument was that many Chinese travelers use absorbent underwear as an answer to tight travel conditions; wasn’t it time for westerners to catch up?

State of the art seat cushioning is Les’ favorite claim to fame on the new aircraft. New seats are now designed to emulate the thin profile of the flip down LCD screens that are supposed to keep passengers glued in their chairs, mindless of their close quarters. Something tells me that the human body is not as adept at fitting into many of the prescribed folded positions and tilts of the new seating, despite the positive press the airline spokesmen are giving it. Sitting in my flexible desk chair and carefully enacting a written description of how the new seats can recline without disturbing one’s backyard neighbor, I managed to act up my sciatica and bloody my knee on the desk in front of me.

The axiom less is more has its limitations. In this case, Les is just plain less for consumers. His vision for the future is airport terminals that look and smell like bus stations, only with a heavier security detail going on. The odd thing with people is that when you really jam them together, there is often less civility and a lot more hostility. Of course, all this is subtly being pushed on to us over a carefully measured timeframe. It may take that new proposed boarding gate installation, the Sardine Oil Sprayer (acronym SOS), to bring about a real revolution.

(A Note to Readers: After an earlier publication of this commentary, I received an email from a certain L.L. who politely informed me that I had misspelled his name. Correction: Les LeGroom should read as Less LegRoom.)

Health care is a very good industry to be in, because it will always be around. However, not everyone wants to become a doctor or a nurse. The good news is there are other careers in the health care industry such as medical assistant jobs, transcriptionists and coders, and sonographers.

The BLS expects a 19% expansion in the number of jobs in this industry over the next few years. Additionally, the median salary for sonographers in May of 2006 was $57,160. Not bad for a support staff position, right?

Bats are blind and they makes sounds that hit objects and bounce back to them. Using this method they know what objects are around them. Sonography is the same thing, it uses sound waves to see what something may “look” like behind a barrier such as the skin.

Being a sonographer is more than just knowing how to work the equipment. First of all, they must be able to work well the patients. It can be a very personal or awkward moment for the patient, so the sonographer must explain everything to the patient. Also, the sonographer must get to the patient to cooperate and move if necessary to get the proper pictures.

It is important that sonographers understand the biology of the human body. They are responsible for being able to detect unhealthy parts or abnormalities, capture the image of such so that the doctor can make a proper diagnosis.

Now, what does it take to become a medical sonographer? The good news is there is no license that is required by the state. However, there are certifications that are awarded which is basically required by many employers.

Education, experience, and documentation are the 3 main aspects to sonography certification. The more education you have, the less experience will be required and vice versa.

Running a small business is no easy task. With a lack of workers many small business owners must perform many of the jobs themselves just to keep the company afloat. Many small business owners are their own salesman, secretary, and even web master. Many individuals thrive under such stressful conditions. But there is one job that can stop anyone in their tracks due to its intricacy. The job many small business owners dread doing is preparing tax forms. In big businesses this job is delegated to the highly trained accountants. But without one at your disposal you are going have to prepare your own taxes. Preparing your own tax forms may be a problem but the solution lies with the computer program QuickBooks offered by Intuit Inc. QuickBooks simplifies preparing taxes as well as keeping financial records for your business.

Intuit Inc was founded in 1983 and has been bringing small and midsized companies simple solutions to financial management ever since. They offer many software programs such as QuickBooks, Quicken, and TurboTax. These programs not only help with tax preparation they also provide payroll processing applications and present countless financial management help. Also offered by Intuit Inc are ProSeries and LaCerte, programs for professional accountants. Intuit Inc provides assistance to mid market banks and credit unions through Digital Insight as well. Through Digital Insight Intuit Inc offers online banking assistance and even provides web hosting and marketing programs to increase clientele. It is obvious that any small business utilizing QuickBooks will see an enormous amount of advantages.

To start using QuickBooks first you will have to install it on whichever computer you are running your business from. After a successful installation you will be greeted with a guide programmed to get you started. Before you move on to anything you must first enter your business information such as the company name, phone number, address, etc. After filling out the required information you will be guided by a very user friendly interface. This interface will guide you through the QuickBooks Simple Start allowing you to immediately begin. Follow the steps provided by the QuickBooks Simple Start. Once you have done these you wont have to repeat the process over again.

After following the guides instructions select the bank option and enter in your bank information. Without recording your bank information you will not be able to receive electronic payments from customers or record any business transactions. Without the proper records your taxes will be incorrect and incomplete.

After that step you can begin by entering the meat of the program and start entering all your clients and assigning them client accounts. By utilizing client accounts you are now able to document and record all the payments and business transactions made by clients. Youll also be able to print out invoices and bills. The default version of QuickBooks only offers 20 slots for client accounts but you can purchase the expansion and gain much more spaces for more clients.

Once you get started setting up clients accounts, sending out invoices, and receiving payments QuickBooks is really a simple program to use. Using QuickBooks is a great way to manage the financial record for your small business. It takes all the headache out of being your own businesses accountant.