Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

Listen to Audio Books Faster

I just sat in the middle seat on a flight from Washington, DC to Salt Lake City. I wasn't on my regular airline (an irregular one you might say), missed my connection, and am spending the night in Salt Lake City. By the way - the airline's people in the SLC airport are much more helpful and friendly than they were in Reagan National.

Anyway, I was sequestered in seat 44E (check it out on Seatguru - it's not the best seat in the house...but it's better than row 45, at least). With the guy in front of me leaning back and non-optional physical contact with the folks on either side of me it wasn't looking like a productive flight. I couldn't use my laptop, was getting a stiff neck from trying to read, and the movie is that awful Steve Martin version of the Pink Panther (I've seen it once, and that was once too many).

So, I busted out my "middle seat" collection:

  • I have lots of audio books from Audible.com on my iPod
    • Oh - and here is a tip for getting even more out of your audiobooks on your iPod (all of the models since the Mini, except the Shuffle):
      • You can change the speed of playback to "Faster" for audiobooks, and it will cut about 1/3 off the time that it takes to listen to the book. The iPod will adjust the pitch to make it sound mostly normal, too.
      • You can do this by clicking the center button a few times while the audiobook is playing and you'll see an option to set the playback to Slow, Normal, or Faster.
  • I always stash some Zone Bars for healthy snacks
  • I have a Nintendo DS Lite and some good games (my current favorites are Brain Age, Mario Kart DS, and Age of Empires)
  • I have earplugs in case I want to meditate or take a nap
  • I usually have a book and a magazine or two, so I can do something when all my electronics must be turned off

These all help pass the time on any flight, but are indispensible when you get middleated on a long flight.

What about you - any tips for passing the time in these situations?

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Throwing in the towel...

For years, just about every hotel I visit (and I visit a bunch of them) has a little sign in the room that tells me how much the world suffers because of all of the towels I make them wash every day. I'm sure you've seen the signs. They all go something like this (my paraphrased version):

Throughout the world, travelers like you cause the hotel industry to use a kabillion gallons of water and a whole boatload of energy every single day just to give you a new towel every day. You can save the world by re-using your towels.

To re-use your towels, hang them on the rack. Otherwise toss them on the floor or in the tub, and we'll replace them.

Every time I stay at a hotel for more than a night, I re-hang my towel so I can use it again. And, in about 99% of the cases, they take my towel anyway and give me a fresh, clean one.

In addition to hanging towels on the towel bar, I have tried hanging them in the closet, on the hook on the back of the door, and other places to keep from sending the world to Hell in a handbasket because of my excessive use of towels. Most of these have no effect (though hanging the towel in the closet usually keeps them from taking that one - but sometimes causes them to leave an additional towel in the bathroom).

What's my point?

This is about more than just towels. This is about business and management. What can we, as managers, learn from this?

  1. If your business sets a customer's expectation in a certain way, you should try to satisfy those expectations in a manner that's consistent with what you've said you're going to do.
  2. If you have a policy you don't enforce, why have the policy at all?
  3. If you implement a policy or practice which you expect your staff to fulfill on your behalf, it's your responsibility to ensure that the staff understands how to act according to your wishes.

Take a look at your business's policies, practices, and messages to your customers. Do they make sense? Does your staff understand what's expected of them? Are you fulfilling the expectations you've set for your customers?

If not, are you going to fix it? If it's your responsibility, what are you waiting for?

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Travel tools for red-eyes and jet lag

Last week, I woke up in every US continental time zone (Portland, OR on Monday; Dallas on Tuesday; Philadelphia on Wednesday; Denver on Thursday; and Portland, OR again on Friday).

I also take quite a few red-eye flights and flights overseas.

This kind of time zone shifting messes with my body clock sometimes, causing me to stay up late (particularly when I travel east), typically followed by an early morning start. There are a ton of things you can do to help with jet lag and recovery from red-eye flights, but I want to share a few of my favorite 'tools' with you.

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Tips for tippers

Tipping has got to be one of the most mysterious things for me during travel. Who do I tip? How much? It's nerve-wracking. And then, I have learned that it varies by country.

Here is my current "tip playbook" - I'd be interested to know if you have any changes, additions, comments, or different experiences to share.

Category US International Differences
Bellhop $1 per bag if they handle your luggage from your vehicle to the elevator / reception. Add $1 per bag if they take them all the way to your room. Local currency equivalent to US.
Maid / Chamber Maid Though not many people do this, I have heard that a good rule of thumb is the equivalent of $2 per day. Local currency equivalent to US.
Waiter

15-18% of bill, for good service. 20-25% for exceptional service. 10% for average service.

I also have a "rule of thumb" where I generally won't tip less than $2 for table service, regardless of how much I spend.

 Local currency equivalent to US, but gratuities / service fees are often included in the bill in some countries. Check to make sure you aren't tipping twice. When in doubt, ask them "if service is included in the total."
Shuttle Drivers

$2-3 if they are helpful. Add $1 per bag if they help with luggage.

If their shuttle service saves you cab fare, consider a $5 tip.

 Shuttles are more likely to be paid shuttles, not free shuttles. Tip equivalent to $2-3 is my rule of thumb.
Bartender A dollar per drink or %15 of the bill. Add more if they are very helpful. If it's busy, tip them anyway - they have a tough job.

Local currency equivalent to US -- generally.

However, in UK pubs with "owner/proprietors" I have had the bartender give me back my tip (on quite a number of occasions) saying things like, "I own this place - you don't need to tip me."

Taxi Typically 15% of the fare, unless they get lost or go a way that I know is unnecessarily inefficient. Then I drop to 10% or so. If I get good advice or extra help getting to an appointment where I'm running late, I may go to 20-25%.

Generally, 15% of fare in countries where tipping is customary.

When in doubt, I ask "Do you typically get tips from your fares? How much?" I find they typically fall in the 15% range.

In the UK and Holland, I have had taxi drivers tell me they usually get tipped for short fares, but not for longer ones. Not sure if this is consistent or anomalous.

Barber / Stylist Typically 15-20% of the check. I don't know - I lived in Holland for a while but I just don't remember and generally don't get my hair cut abroad.
Parking Valet $2-4 if they are retrieving your car for you. $1-2 if they are just handing you the keys. Local currency equivalent to US, from my limited experience - though I don't often valet park internationally - I tend to take taxis more often.
Shoe shine At least $2 - more if they are very helpful or do a fantastic job (I'm particular about my shoes - I had two lousy shine jobs in the Chicago airport, for example and I'll never get my shoes shined there again). Local currency equivalent to US.
That's a starter guide, with the caveat that these are based on my own experience and opinions. What about you - do you know of any additional categories, variations from my guide, etc?

I'd love to hear from you.

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Hz has gotten even better!

Geoff Mulligan, the mastermind behind the killer app I wrote about a couple of days ago, saw my post and sent me some information that makes Hz even easier to use:

I've added a new feature so that you can "store" your commands in your address book. Previously if you want to check the weather you would send to hz@hz.com and put "weather 94306" in the subject. Now you can send to hzweather@hz.com and just put "94306" in the subject or, if you want to get the weather at that location often you can send to hzweather+94306@hz.com with nothing in the subject. You can now put those in your address book for future use.

You can do the same for next flights - send to hznextflight@hz.com and put "pdx sfo" in the subjct.

For stocks - send to hzquote@hz.com and put the stock symbols in the subject. if you always interested in certain stocks and don't want to type them in each time send to hzquote+sunw.ibm.aapl@hz.com.

All of the hz commands will work this way now!

Thanks, Geoff - great stuff!

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