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Are There Too Many Stores? More Restaurants Add Happy Hours to Boost Bottom Line Malwarebytes Does It Again 10 Computer Software Programs You Really Need (#7) Contacting pcAmerica
Are there too many stores (and/or restaurants)?
The number of stores in the country or in a given area is a matter of opinion. Is it OK to add an additional shoe store in a mall that already has three shoe stores? It's all a matter of opinion. Adding an additional shoe store may add too much competition that may take away significant sales from the other three. On the other hand, adding an additional store may add excitement and competition to the mall that actually adds additional business for everyone.
I believe that competition is a good thing. It adds excitement and variety. If all four shoe stores are selling the identical products, it's probably a bad thing. You have four shoe stores competing against the identical customers. On the other hand, if each shoe store adds variety and excitement for customers, they can actually expand the customer base.
Unfortunately, unlike the government, consumers have a finite amount of money that they can spend. At some point, you have too many stores (or restaurants) competing for a finite amount of money.
The optimum number of stores in the country or in any particular area is dependent on economic and demographic factors. If people have less money to spend, we need fewer stores. As stores close down, the remaining stores are more likely to survive and thrive. The optimum number of stores is constantly changing.
Bloomberg.com has developed a new series of interactive charts that attempts to examine the factors that can determine how many stores we need. Using four factors, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), employment, consumer spending, and net worth, the conclusion is that in the third quarter of 2009, we had 10.9% too many stores.
It's not surprising that given the recent economic developments that we have too many stores. Even if our economy has an average growth rate, we will still have 9.7% too many stores.
I believe that if you are thinking about opening up a new business and are willing to "Go and Wake Up Your Luck" then do it (see Newsletter #355). I believe that competition is a good thing. A good business person is not sitting around and watching the recession eat away at profits. A good business person is making his own luck and outperforming the competition. If you have a good idea, make it happen and compete for a larger part of the consumer dollars available.
To see the Bloomberg.com article and charts go to:
http://www.bloomberg.com/insight/closeout-sale.html
More restaurants are adding Happy Hours to boost their bottom line. Casual dining businesses saw an average 5.6% loss in the past year and are looking for new ways to boost their bottom line.
T.G.I. Friday's practically invented the Happy Hour. Now, restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's and Ruby Tuesdays have launched Happy Hours to go after new business and reconnect with those customers who are saving money by eating out less.
Morton's Steak House, the high end steak house chain, is trying to connect with younger customers who have never entered the restaurant by offering Bar Bites such as sliders for $5 and beer for $4. It allows guests to drink and eat for around $25 (compared to a normal tab of $75 or so).
Many smaller non-chain restaurants have been offering Happy Hours for years as a way of bringing in new business who will hopefully come for a more profitable full meal.
To read the entire Happy Hour article go to:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-02-24-happyhours24_ST_N.htm
Perhaps this little tidbit is for more technical people, but novices should read it anyhow.
Malwarebytes is one of my choices for programs you really need (#5 in Newsletter #354).
Although retired, I do lots of computer consulting. A good computer consultant can figure out things that less experienced computer technicians can't figure out. If you bring your computer to a less experienced technician, they can run a virus and malware scan and automatically fix a problem that their software can find and fix. They can't fix the more difficult problems.
A good computer consultant can look at your computer and tell you that they will examine your computer and try to fix the problems. A less experienced computer technician will just tell you that they will fix the problem. That is, a good computer consultant is like a good medical doctor. The good computer consultant will examine all the possibilities and work on fixing the problem. A less experienced technician will just give you two aspirins and tell you that the problem has been solved. The less experienced technician just follows certain procedures and assumes that if the diagnostic tests say the problem has been resolved, then it is resolved. A good computer consultant has a good feel for your computer, how you are using it, and can find problems that the diagnostic tools don't always reveal.
That being said, here's a recent experience that I had working on a medical doctor's laptop. His laptop had some serious spyware on it. He was unable to boot his computer and reach the internet without being inundated with spyware, pop ups and ads.
I ran my favorite tool on his computer (Malwarebytes) which found and repaired a slew of problems. I rebooted his computer and some remnants of spyware still remained. I reused Malwarebytes in the Windows Safe Mode. Malwarebytes found and repaired all of the remaining problems.
The doctors computer appeared to be working fine. Internet Explorer was working fine. However, Mozilla Firefox (an Internet Explorer look alike that many people use) still had some spyware pop ups. This was easily resolved by reinstalling Mozilla Firefox.
Finally, I checked to make sure that the doctor had the latest version of Windows XP installed on his machine. Every Windows user should always have the latest Windows updates installed. If you have not installed all of the latest Windows updates, your computer has a far higher risk of being infected by unwanted malware.
The doctor had not updated his computer since it was purchased. So, I installed all of the latest Microsoft Windows updates.
I rebooted his computer and got the "blue screen of death."
For those of you who are not familiar with the term, the "blue screen of death" is that blue screen that pops up on your computer when it won't boot.
So, now I am in my fourth hour of fixing this computer and it still won't boot. Here's where being an experienced computer consultant excels over a less experienced (less expensive) technician.
I saw the name of the file that wasn't allowing the computer to boot. I did some research and found that this file was required to use a telephone modem (which almost no one in the world still uses). I renamed the file and rebooted the computer and it worked. I have to admit that this was a lucky guess, but a less experienced tech person would have given up and reformatted the computer.
So here's the moral of the story. If you bring your computer to Best Buy (Geek Squad) or other organizations that have high volume repair turnover, you are going to get a technician that follows certain procedures. They can do an excellent job in upgrading your memory, setting up your wireless routers, and replacing a bad video card. On the other hand, they do not have the skills nor the time to diagnose the real difficult software and Windows problems that often plague computers.
PC-Doctor and PC-Diag are my #7 selections for computer software programs you really need.
PC-Doctor and PC-Diag are two similar programs. One of them may be suited for you, or maybe not.
Both of these programs diagnosis your computer for hardware problems (bad memory or RAM, bad system board, USB ports not working, hard drive going bad, and other hardware problems).
If you own a Dell, HP and many other brands of computers, it is likely that some form of hardware diagnostic software came with your computer. Many computer manufacturers include some form of PC-Doctor with their computers.
Why would a computer novice want to run diagnostics? Here's one problem that I have come across quite frequently. A computer keeps rebooting at random intervals. Is it a virus? Is it spyware? Many times, it can be attributed to RAM (or memory) going bad. As the RAM heats up, the problem gets more frequent.
If you suspect the RAM, you should run the diagnostic tools that come with your computer to check out the memory. One problem is that these diagnostic tools may not always find the problem. The reason is that the test is only testing the part of memory available within Windows. You need a diagnostic tool that tests all of your memory.
You should have a tool that is testing your RAM before your computer reboots. Both Dell and HP include such tools with many computers, but they are not always easy to find.
One solution is to buy a copy of PC-Doctor.
PC-Doctor offers a complete, comprehensive test of your computer. You can test individual aspects of your computer, or selected items on your computer, or create customized tests.
The bootable offline operating system is a great plus. You boot with the included CD. PC-Doctor will bypass Windows and completely test your computer for problems without the possibility that Windows or malware installed on your computer could be causing the problem.
I'm not sure that a novice could benefit from PC-Doctor. On the other hand, if you have more than one computer and want to do a self-diagnostic, then maybe a novice can figure out how to use it. If you have been using a computer for several years, own more than one computer, or are an experienced computer user, PC-Doctor is the ultimate tool for you. For more information about PC-Doctor, go to: http://www.pc-doctor.com/product_listings_technician.php
If $329 is too much for you, or if you need something geared more for a novice, try PC Diag. There are several versions of PC Diag starting at $29.95. I do not recommend the $29.95 Lite edition because it requires Windows. That means, you must first boot into Windows before using the program. By booting into Windows, you may be loading some bad files that could cause problems in your diagnostics. I do recommend the $59.95 Novice PC Diagnostics. This version gives you the choice of performing your diagnostics in Windows or by booting into an included CD that bypasses Windows. In other words, the CD self boots into its own operating system and bypasses all of your Windows software which could also be the cause of hardware problems. To explain this a little further, let's say you are having a problem with your video display. Weird characters are popping up on your monitor. The problem can be that your graphics board is bad or that your Windows software is bad. When you bypass the Windows operating system to test your hardware, you are bypassing the possibility that the Windows operating system is the cause of the problem. I don't want to lose you by getting too technical. At $59.95, The Novice PC Diagnostics is a great tool for a computer novice or even a professional computer technician or consultant. PC Diag also offers more comprehensive editions including a $99.95 professional edition. For more information about PC Diag go to: http://www.pc-diagnostics.com/pc_diagnostics_tools/pc_certify_power_user.shtml
Contacting pcAmerica
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PC-Doctor
sells for $329 and comes with a complete kit that
includes a CD that will test your computer within Windows or
within a bootable offline operating system. You can also use
the included bootable USB flash drive that is included.
