Take Note
OLDER, WISER AND BETTER
Savvy employers may want to seek out older Americans when it comes
to hiring. According to a California-based human resources consultant,
workers over age 55 possess many sought-after qualities:
• Substantial savings in health costs compared to a 35-year-old
with two dependents
• Emotional stability
• Knowledge based on real experience
• Leadership
• Loyalty and flexibility
PUT DOWN THE PHONE, BACK AWAY AND NO
ONE GETS HURT
The Federal Trade Commission has announced plans for a nationwide
do-not-call list aimed at reducing the number of telemarketing calls
consumers receive. The list is similar to statewide do-not-call
lists already in effect in about half the United States, which consumers
have signed up for by the millions.
The Direct Marketing Association says telemarketers make 104 million
calls a day to businesses and consumers in the United States. Although
everybody says they hate them, somebody out there is listening.
The industry reports $295.3 billion in revenue from consumers of
last year.
STOP, THIEF!
Retailers are hoping Winona Ryder’s high-profile court case
will call attention to the problem of shoplifting.
The National Retail Federation says its members want to get the
message across that shoplifting by anyone will not be tolerated,
and many are adopting zero-tolerance policies.
The Federation estimates that shoplifting costs U.S. retailers about
$10 billion in 2001, up from $8.4 billion in 2000.
DOUBLE LATTE, DOUBLE ADDICTION
It had to happen. Late last year, 137 Starbucks coffee shops in
Chicago began offering customers high-speed, HotSpot wireless Internet
connections with the help of T-Mobile International and Hewlett-Packard.
The service relies on short-range radio signals to connect wireless-ready
computers to high-speed access points that then connect to T-Mobile’s
network.
Chicago is one of 16 metropolitan areas from Seattle to New York
that have begun offering the service—perfect for people who
are as addicted to checking their e-mail as they are to caffeine.
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