The Select Express Blog

The Great Race

2011-04-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Have you ever stopped to think about how frenetic our lives have become? In today’s world, everyone wants everything RIGHT NOW.

We want our cell phones to access the world at our fingertips – at the highest ‘G’ speed (we don’t know what the heck a ‘G’, is, but we want more of it, darn it). We tap our fingers in utter frustration at a computer that loads a page in anything less than a nanosecond. We flip through hundreds of cable channels because there’s “nothing on”. And of course, our bosses want that report ‘yesterday’.

We are constantly racing – everywhere. To school, to work, to getting the kids delivered here and there, getting shopping done, dinner ready, and of course – back home. Most of us are on a 'schedule’ from the minute we wake up until we hit the pillow. We don’t ‘go to bed’ as much as collapse from sheer exhaustion. And I don’t know about you, but even on my days ‘off’, my body clock still wakes me up at a time when farmers are ‘milking cows and slopping hogs’ (I have to admit - as a kid from The Bronx, I always got a kick out of those expressions).

And, as if life itself doesn't provide enough excitement, some of you even work in an environment where the pace is fast. For all the dedicated folks at Select Express, right now – in the form of providing expedited delivery – is their daily job.

At this point you may be saying “C’mon, Nick, land the freaking plane already. What’s your point?” (do you see how impatient we’ve become?). I guess the point is this … sometimes, we need to recognize that the most important race of all is the Human Race. You know … us.

And while it’s probably not on your organizer’s calendar, take time today to SLOW it down. Kiss your kids, or your significant other, and tell them what they mean to you. Call and talk (gasp) to someone rather than text them. Do something nice for someone else.

And then, make a ‘date’ to do something nice – just for you.

Romeo, oh Romeo!

2011-04-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Select Express does countless thousands of deliveries every year throughout the United States. But, every once in a while in this business, we’re involved in one that makes you feel … well, just … good.

This particular story involves one Percy Romeo Miller Jr. – also known to millions of rap fans as Lil’ Romeo, or just Romeo – as the now 22 year old is called. Most recently, he has captured an entirely new audience of fans on this seasons “Dancing with the Stars” TV show. Let me tell you, the kid turns a mean Paso Doble. Yes, I watch it. Hey, there are hot women wearing stilettos, and dresses the size of cocktail napkins, so I’m watching, okay?

Anyway, back to our story …..

We received a last minute call – not at all unusual in the same day delivery business - requesting a pick up at 7:00 AM from a Sam’s Club store located in San Fernando, CA. We were to deliver a 3D Flat Screen TV, 3D Glasses, and ten laptops to the Audubon Middle School in Los Angeles by 9:00 AM – sharp! Two hours to load the truck, and make the 20 mile trip. No sweat, right? Select Express does this kind of rush delivery every day.

I’m sure that those of you who live in parts of the country where 'traffic' consists of waiting for a cow to cross the road – you know, where people actually do live to be 100 years old - may be thinking “twenty miles in two hours? What’s the big deal?”

Well, if you who have never driven in Los Angeles’ morning rush hour, let me describe it this way - you’d rather jab a fork in your own eye than be stuck on the 405 freeway with an important deadline to make.

Ok, so what was so special about this delivery? You see, it turns out that both Lil’ Romeo and the good people at Sam’s Club were donating this merchandise to the school on behalf of Romeo’s foundation - Urban Born - a non-profit organization that focuses on youth in urban communities.

Audubon Middle School was one of the lowest-performing schools in LA’s Unified School District in 2010, and the school's community is well known for high crime rates and poverty. Urban Born and Sam’s Club presented the computers to the students who had raised their grades with flying colors.

The event was filmed for a National TV segment for March Madness, and our drivers were right in the mix. You may have caught a glimpse of them on television. They were easy to spot - they were the ones with the biggest smiles.

'60 MINUTES'

2011-03-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sixty minutes. One hour. Not a lot of time in the larger scheme of things. But it is amazing what effect one lousy hour can have – when you lose it. Or worse - when it is stolen from you.

Like lemmings following the crowd, we turned our clocks forward last weekend. What I want to know is … WHY? C’mon now, a show of hands out there…. who among you can explain why we really need ‘Daylight Savings Time’?

I bet you didn’t know that Ben Franklin was among the first to suggest the idea. He figured adjusting the clocks in the spring could be a good way to save on candles. Uh-huh. Great. Thanks a lot, Ben. Obviously, you didn’t have cable television to keep you up all night.

And how is it that good people of Hawaii and Indiana – who have basically said ‘screw this’ to the ‘Uniform Time Act of 1966’ – are so much smarter than us? They obviously know what the geniuses who continue to perpetrate this scam on us don't – that we haven’t relied on candles for light in over a hundred years!

I know – I sound cranky. All I know is, I lost an hour. No one asked me - they just took it. Pffft - gone – like a twenty dollar bill in a game of ‘Three Card Monty’. I was out late Saturday night, had an early appointment on Sunday morning, and that one crummy hour has been kicking my butt all week. And I don’t care that I’m going to “get it back” in when the clocks change again in November, because it does me no good when I need it – which is now.

Seriously, who ever gets a good night’s sleep anymore? Not me. So losing even one precious hour is a big deal. And aside from sleeping, you can get a lot done in that hour that we get robbed of, can’t you? Like watching not one, but two Seinfeld reruns. Maybe help your kids with their homework. Catch up on some reading. Even fly from New York to Boston. Heck, in an hour, Charlie Sheen can apparently knock off a briefcase full of coke, two hookers and trash a hotel room.

I don't know, maybe I will feel better in November. But for now, all I can think is ‘We was robbed!’

So Tell Me, How Do You Really Feel?

2011-02-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

In a previous blog, we saw how the internet – specifically social networking - has changed our way of life. So what does the world wide web have in store for us next? A cure for AIDS, or cancer? A way to foster world peace? Well, not exactly.

How about a way to vent your every day anger at people who annoy you? A crazy website called Passive-AggressiveNotes.com allows you to do just that.

Live in a building with a neighbor who makes too much noise? Got a neighbor whose dog poops on your property? No problem. ‘Let ‘em have it’ publicly – by spewing your venomous feelings in a post – safely anonymously, of course.

Ok, its not exactly as socially redeeming a cure for cancer, but the concept does provide a forum for people with communication or confrontation issues to ‘raise their voice’. Just think, it might also act as a form of cathartic relief for anyone working in the customer service field. What better way to work off a day of hearing about people’s problems than to finally tell the lady in 3-C her cooking smells like an incontinent hobo's underwear.

Of course, the ugly flip side is that people just might go overboard. Take this actual rant, vented at the music student living nearby – “Dear Friend, take the flute and shove it up you’re a - -. You have no talent. Give your neighbors a break. If not, we break your hands.”

Hmm. It seems someone has issues.

The truth is, we all have issues. So, imagine if we all used this means of dealing with every day aggravation and frustration. Think about it – you could finally tell your boss what a jack-wagon you think he is, or maybe inform your mother in law that you’d sooner kiss an ebola-ridden monkey than have her live with you. But why stop there. How about spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, teachers, or that sleezy auto mechanic who just know rips you off (but you can’t prove it)?

Of course, some brave folk could care less what anyone thinks – they choose to put their name to their rant. Do that at your own risk - the results could be disastrous – or hilarious, depending on your point of view.

Either way, voicing your true feelings is pretty empowering stuff.

One Tough Gig

2011-01-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

A discussion overheard between two veterans:
“The first time I ended up in the hospital, it was bad. Broken nose, two broken ribs, and bruises all over. I was sore for weeks.”
“I’ve been there. Hey, you remember Miguel? He got blindsided. He wasn’t so lucky. He didn’t make it.”

Returnees from the war in Iraq? Heavyweight boxers? NFL Football players, maybe? Guess again. How about bike messengers? Believe it or not, that bike messenger who delivered your package today in New York, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, or any other large city risked serious injury – even death - to get it to you.

Everyone has an image of a bike messenger. They’ve been portrayed numerous times in movies and TV, and every once in a while by someone well known, like Kevin Bacon in the movie ‘Quicksilver’, or the world’s 'hottest' bike courier – Jessica Alba in the ‘Dark Angel’ television series. Just my opinion, of course ... but I digress …

Anyone who lives and works in a large metropolis knows that you have to have the guts of a diamond thief to speed through big city traffic with little more than a helmet and a ten speed to protect you from cars, trucks and buses. Then try doing it while hauling oddly shaped packages and a security chain weighing as much as your average boat anchor. Professional bike messenger do their jobs knowing fully that over the course of their career, they are likely to take more physical beatings than the Jets laid on Tom Brady in this year’s divisional playoff game.

Of all bike messengers throughout the country, the ones making a living in New York City have to be the craziest. I bet you’d be amazed to learn that between 1996 and 2003, roughly 500 NYC cyclists a year were injured in crashes with motor vehicles - and that 225 bicyclists died in those crashes over that period. Many among those numbers were bike couriers. Thankfully, those figures have been declining steadily over the past few years. Major cities have taken great strides to curtail bike related deaths. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg’s drive to turn Manhattan into another Amsterdam – without the charm, or freely available drugs and brothels, that is – has led to the creation of the more bike lanes, and a tremendously positive effect on cyclist safety.

At Select Express, our biker safety program includes providing our biker couriers with helmets, and mandating that they wear them. We also make our bikers aware of the laws pertaining to them, and we insist that they adhere to them. But even with all that, the risk for these couriers is great.

So, the next time you sign for that delivery, you may appreciate the person who got it to you just a little bit more.

New Year's message

2010-12-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the end of another year. I'm sure that each of us looks back on 2010 differently. For some it was the 'best of times'. For many others, you can't wait for the damn thing to be over with.

So for now, as we look forward to a brand new year - 2011? Weren't we supposed to have flying cars by now? - I'll make no more wise cracks, smart-aleck comments, or witty put downs. I'll just leave you with this:

Here's a warm remembrance of those loved ones we have lost this year, and a wish that you and your families have a healthy and prosperous 2011.

Until next time .... Happy New Year!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ...

2010-12-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Boy, the year has really flown by, hasn’t it? The holiday season has been in full swing for a few weeks now. And who doesn’t love the holidays? A time for family, food, reflection, joy, preparation, resolutions, and for many of us - some much needed down time. Of course, the holidays also come with their own unique brand of stress. You know, things like ‘Do you think we have enough food for the party?' or ‘What the heck are we going to get for your Aunt Dolly this year? The old coot is impossible to buy for!’ And of course, the old standard ‘How the heck are we paying for all this?’

Well, for those of us who work in a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year service industry like Select Express, stress during the holiday season has its own unique meaning. Traditionally, the days and weeks leading up to and through the holidays themselves are some of the busiest of the year. Just look what’s happened to the day after Thanksgiving Day – once one of the quietest business days of the year. It has morphed into an annual event known as “Black Friday”. Have you been to one of these? I haven't seen so many grungy people in sleeping blankets on the street at 3:00am since I waited to buy Led Zeppelin tickets in back 1974! but for a same-day delivery company like ours, 'Black Friday' has become the Super Bowl of delivery days.

For our operations managers, holiday time means a different type of preparation – including making sure that there is sufficient staff in our offices and delivery couriers on the road to service our customer’s needs. And worrying about that gift for Aunt Dolly is nothing compared to working longer hours, dealing with higher volumes, and trying to juggle their own personal holiday preparation in and around work time (thank you Al Gore, for inventing internet shopping!).

So remember, while you’re spinning the Dreidel, waiting for that jolly old fellow to make his way down the chimney, or watching the ball drop in Times Square, the staff at Select Express is on the job, making sure your delivery – whether scheduled or a dire emergency – goes off without a hitch.

Happy Holidays everyone!

The Social Networking Dilemma

2010-11-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

I hate to admit it, but I have been somewhat reluctant to join the global social networking revolution that is occurring every day. Oh, who am I kidding - let me just say it - I have deliberately REFUSED to become a part of it. And no, it isn’t because I’m techno-phobic. I’m pretty proficient with computers, email, texting, blackberries, digital cameras and the like. Hey, I even converted to playing a completely electronic drum kit. But when the discussion moves to Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and the like, I admit that my concentration and focus levels waver like a five-year-old in Toys R Us. I do often feel like an outcast - as if I were the only person in the developed world not on Facebook. And unless you count that noise after a third quesadilla at lunch, I don’t ‘tweet’ either.

It's just that at this stage in my life, I find myself wanting to withdraw rather than 'connect'. I mean, who has the time? I read a hundred or so emails a day at work, and a bunch more at home just trying to keep up with family and mal-adjusted friends. Isn’t email bad enough - what with being subjected to awful jokes, and 'poignant' requests to save a baby seal? Do I really need to ratchet things up by connecting with someone I barely spoke to in High School, who has hunted me down like a war criminal because they are compelled to involve me in their hideous daily life? Or getting tweets from some narcissistic soul compelled to advise me of a difficult bowel movement? Shoot me. Please. You see, I’m perfectly happy to be in the social networking version of the witness protection program.

Now, I completely get why Select Express is incorporating new technologies to expand and grow our business. We’ve even benefited from the expertise of people like Mardy Sitzer and the folks at Bumblee Design and Marketing to navigate the new technological waters. Hey, you either get with the program, and keep ahead of your competitors, or die.

I suppose that should apply to me as well - and that ultimately, it is my destiny to be dragged into social networking like a reluctant groom in an arranged marriage. When it finally does happen, you’ll all be among the first to know. Maybe I'll 'tweet' you all ... "Flossed this morning. gums bled a little..." Scintillating, eh?

Till next time ...
Nick Galotti