Another example could be General Motors. There are examples of so called Chevy families who wouldn't consider buying anything else. As the brand's products fell behind in reliability and style, and therefore resale value; they were abandoned. It wasn't an easy thing for those families to accomplish, but they did. They jumped to Toyota, Honda and Nissan in droves. Here was a car and company that they could trust to get the service and resale return. Toyota recently tested this with the problems that they had earlier this year. Apparently, they came out of it smelling like a (trampled) rose.
I've given up on most brands. I'm just looking for value. Most small appliances are no longer built in such a way to be repairable, so buying a premium brand doesn't necessarily make any sense anymore. Larger appliances are being replaced by Asian and European brands (even with American names, and I haven,t even touched store branding). Store brands, like Kenmore, are usually made by some major brand (god knows, as it changes whenever they feel like it), but sold here for less. Those companies are offering more features for about the same cost, while reliability is way up.
Cars are a whole 'nuther can 'o worms. Not only do we have technology, "Green-ness" and cost pushing at us, but also guilt. I want a medium to large car for the safety and convenience. I should buy a small car to save on gasoline. I should buy a hybrid to help avoid "Global Warming". Should I buy a brand I recognize ("other than a Coda or Kia or Smart") or buy what looks and sounds good when I buy it, forgetting about two, four or six years from now. Maybe I should buy an electric car. What if the batteries run down while I'm not home. How do I recharge it ? Maybe I should buy a scooter, for short commutes. Unfortunately, there are still heavy duty trucks and SUVs to share the road with. Same problem with riding a bike. Maybe I'll just walk...everywhere....
So Turkey prices are up this year (What isn't?). That is still not a reason to serve Tofurkey, but this might be: AOL News is suggesting that one substitutes roadkill! Even with all the advantages over Tofurkey, I'd gladly give up eating meat instead!
A woman with a baby came into the doctor's office. She was told
to go into a room and wait for the doctor.
After arriving, the doctor examined the baby and asked the woman,
"Is he breast fed or on the bottle?"
"Breast fed" she replied.
"Well, strip down to your waist," the doctor ordered.
She did.
He pressed, kneaded and pinched both breasts for a while in a
detailed examination. Motioning to her to get dressed he said,
No wonder this baby is hungry. You don't have any milk."
"Naturally," she said, "I'm his Grandma. But I'm glad I came.
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours'.
Last week, a 60 plus year old woman checked into the Four Seasons in Palm Beach and was a bit lonely.
She thought, "I'll call one of those men you see advertised in phone books for escorts and sensual massages."
She looked through the phone book, found a full page ad for a guy calling himself Damon - a very handsome man with assorted physical skills flexing in the photo.
He had all the right muscles in all the right places, thick wavy hair, long powerful legs, dazzling smile, six pack abs and she felt quite certain she could bounce a quarter off his well oiled butt.... You get the picture.
She figured, what the heck, she'll give him a call.
"Hello, ma'am, how may I help you?" . . .
Oh my, she thought he sounded sooo sexy! Afraid she would lose her nerve if she hesitated, she said, "Hi, I hear you give a great massage, I'd like you to come to my room number 420 at the Four Seasons Hotel and give me one.
No, wait, I should be straight with you.
I'm in town all alone and what I really want is sex. I want it hard, I want it hot, and I want it now. Bring implements, toys, rubber, leather, whips, everything you've got in your bag of tricks. We'll go hot and heavy all night - tie me up, cover me in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, anything and everything baby.
Now how does that sound?"
He says,
"Oh my God ... That sounds absolutely fantastic,
but you need to press 9 for an outside line..."
A young man named Bill received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.
Every word out of the bird's' mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. Bill tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.
Finally, Bill was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. Bill shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude. Bill, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total silence. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.
Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, Bill quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto Bill's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions.. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."
Bill was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.
Before he could ask the parrot what had caused such a dramatic change in behavior, the bird spoke up, very softly - "May I ask what the Turkey did?"
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
