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Several hundred years ago, when we were in business, we had to practice the 'art of the deal' as a matter of course. Daily, weekly, hourly, minutely, monthly, and at every turnly. Our business was in the arbitrage of tourism - touring, excursions, many destinations, thousands of clients, ever changing conditions, currency fluctuations, competition, duplicities, constants, variables, and, of course, the lady who wanted me to pay for her dentures that she left in her hotel room.
One example of practicing the nuances of "The Deal" was the fact that we had to defend ourselves, actively and passively, from a rapacious competition. In the main, their "Deal" was to post the lowest price possible. "Why waste your money? We have the same tour that El Gringo Viejo has, but he charges 300 dollars while we only charge 150 dollars for the same tour to Mexico City!!! Don't get ripped off!!"
Of course, the poor Yankee Snow Bird could reasonably assume that he and Mrytle could both go to Mexico City for the price I was charging just one person. The problem was that the cheaper trip had the not so small print that would point out that on the 5 day trip, only two nights were in Mexico City. Actually, only two nights were spent in a hotel of any kind. The other two nights were spent aboard a bus, making the fourteen hour run from Mexico City to McAllen on two rest stops and one 30 minute meal stop (not included).
Our excursion would be 8 days and 7 nights (with hotels), all breakfasts included, and major local touring included, excellent tickets to the National Folklore Ballet, all entrance fees to archeological and historical sites, luggage handling, meals (lunches) on the road, and so forth. Our hotels were always the low range of deluxe (four stars in Mexico) or higher...and always in the middle of the "action" and zones of interest, museums, shopping, entertainment venues, etc.
Plus they had me or a reasonable facsimile...and we were (and still are) a formidable fountain of information, opinion, facts, history, archeology, ethnography, and experience in Mexico. People of the level of my brother the egg-head...Chairman of the College of Geology, Geography, and Earth Sciences of Louisiana State University for instance. He was fascinated by my business and decided to leave his lofty position in academia to do something that would be really fun. He was a great favourite among the clients.
In developing itineraries and negotiating prices for the various hotels, carriers, etc. I would always weigh first the quality of the place or service being considered. When arguing a price, my greater concern was not to reduce the price down to bare bones, primarily because I did not want my people to wind up with a "run of the hotel" assignment like the other tour operators. My objective was to always make a sincere attempt to segregate our clients into the best section, the best selection of rooms, etc. and for that I would leave a little meat on the bone. It would also give me more latitude to whine, moan, and demand if there were avoidable shortcomings in the accommodations or services.
If everything was working between good and excellent, as was the normal case, then the hotels and services people could be happy that I was paying a little more for their attention and good service. A woman in Tuxpan told me one time that I treated her hotel like I treated my clients and everyone at that facility seemed to appreciate seeing us arrive. She gave us a 20% group rate discount...while the others who wanted to use her place demanded 50%, "...or we'll take our business elsewhere". Not a good demand to make to a hotelier with a 91% occupancy rate.
This is all stated while remembering that the business of a business is not to make the providers or the operators or anyone beyond the clients, "happy". The business of a business is to produce profit
If everything was working between good and excellent, as was the normal case, then the hotels and services people could be happy that I was paying a little more for their attention and good service. A woman in Tuxpan told me one time that I treated her hotel like I treated my clients and everyone at that facility seemed to appreciate seeing us arrive. She gave us a 20% group rate discount...while the others who wanted to use her place demanded 50%, "...or we'll take our business elsewhere". Not a good demand to make to a hotelier with a 91% occupancy rate.
This is all stated while remembering that the business of a business is not to make the providers or the operators or anyone beyond the clients, "happy". The business of a business is to produce profit
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We move on now to the point of this brief editorial. All OROGs know that this particular writer is not the biggest fan of Donald John Trump. The vote he gained from me was in full recognition of his strengths, the horror of the alternative, and the resignation to the fact that disgusting slugs and blowhards must be tolerated at certain points in the life of a Republic. It was the most difficult vote we have ever made. We have voted in every partisan election since 1968.
While my sensibilities may have been injured, it is amazing to note the manoeuvrings, positioning, and posturing of the Obsolete Press during these times. Case in point: the North Korean issue.
The President and his people decide that enough is enough and the time has long passed for Little Rocket Man to come to his few senses and set his people free while desisting with all manner of dangerous toys such as nuclear weapons and long range, highly inaccurate missiles.
Administration after administration has dealt with the Kim Dynasty, and always to no avail. Agreement after accord has been round-filed within 24 hours after the Gringos delivered on their part. When the Kim Dynasty had the oil, food, money, porno library, and whatever else was demanded by the Kim machine, they could get back to murdering, oppressing, and generally dehumanising an entire population, while menacing all neighbours.
And now we witness a different approach...very much a businessman's approach to what appears to be an intractable problem. The businessman asks, "When do you want to meet, and where?" and the Obsolete Press with all its talking heads howls about "the inadvisability" of engaging so directly with a dangerous tyrant who has nukes.
A week or so later, just when the Obsolete Press is almost calmed down to their normal level of hysteria and rabid slobbering, the President informs the world that he is withdrawing from an agreement to meet in Singapore with Kim because it appears as though they are not arriving with preparation protocol people that would be necessary for the conduct of such an historic meeting.
Once again, flying in the face of everything the Obsolete Press declared just a few days earlier, they declare that the President is being irrational, even bi-polar. This was no way to treat another head of state who deserves respect. And while they pile on because of this latest horrible error and faux pas by the American President, he is already renegotiating the final touches to the re-establishment of the previous agreement. This was done at the request of the North Korean foreign ministry.
At each turn the Obsolete Press was left in the dust, stuttering and stammering, wrong on every major and minor point...yet terribly proud of themselves because they can still bring themselves to hate a person because he is boorish and terribly un-cool. Only they...the Obsolete Press...are able to be cool, suave, so very informed, so...how should we say...correct in all things.
Or not.
We leave all to rest. As always, the attention and time of old and new readers is profoundly appreciated.
EL GRINGO VIEJO
And now we witness a different approach...very much a businessman's approach to what appears to be an intractable problem. The businessman asks, "When do you want to meet, and where?" and the Obsolete Press with all its talking heads howls about "the inadvisability" of engaging so directly with a dangerous tyrant who has nukes.
A week or so later, just when the Obsolete Press is almost calmed down to their normal level of hysteria and rabid slobbering, the President informs the world that he is withdrawing from an agreement to meet in Singapore with Kim because it appears as though they are not arriving with preparation protocol people that would be necessary for the conduct of such an historic meeting.
Once again, flying in the face of everything the Obsolete Press declared just a few days earlier, they declare that the President is being irrational, even bi-polar. This was no way to treat another head of state who deserves respect. And while they pile on because of this latest horrible error and faux pas by the American President, he is already renegotiating the final touches to the re-establishment of the previous agreement. This was done at the request of the North Korean foreign ministry.
At each turn the Obsolete Press was left in the dust, stuttering and stammering, wrong on every major and minor point...yet terribly proud of themselves because they can still bring themselves to hate a person because he is boorish and terribly un-cool. Only they...the Obsolete Press...are able to be cool, suave, so very informed, so...how should we say...correct in all things.
Or not.
We leave all to rest. As always, the attention and time of old and new readers is profoundly appreciated.
EL GRINGO VIEJO
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