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A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

thehustle.co

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Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#331

Post by ant6n »

tim333 wrote: post #205
jdietrich wrote: post #125

Michael O'Leary being incredibly rude is a key part of Ryanair's branding. If you're paying £19 for a two hour flight, you'll always have the sneaking suspicion that the airline is skimping on maintenance. O'Leary makes it absolutely clear that they save money by treating their passengers like cattle. He carefully cultivates the image of a man who utterly despises his own customers, but is far too miserly to allow an…

As an occasional Ryanair user they don't really treat you like cattle and he doesn't seem to despise his customers though if certain ones piss him off he won't necessarily cover that up. People are so snobby about it - I'd never fly a cheap service with cheap people - I'm better than that kind of vibe. Ryanair is run kind of like a bus service really - pay modest money and they ship you from A to B.

I've never had a bus service as bad as Ryanair. You get WiFi, and it's usually to & from downtown, it is cramped but reasonable, and the customer/business relationship usually dies not feel adversarial.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#332

Post by perl4ever »

kuzimoto wrote: post #318
Aeolun wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not so certain about that actually, I’ve certainly seen people making $20k that had more free money and recreation time than some people making $100k. Especially as regards recreation time. To be fair, making $20k was almost always a choice in those cases.

How were those people living? Are they single people in their mid 20s with no significant other or kids? Are they making enough to put some towards retirement? I guess if you're willing to sacrifice some things it could work. You're definitely not raising a family of 3-4 in a nicer neighborhood with that amount.

I don't know how other people live, but for me, the overriding expense has always been rent. But in some places I've been, there are apartments with lower than market rent that are reserved for people with low income.

I don't think there is one correct answer to the question of how much money you have to have to live, because it's mostly about your biggest expense, imo. Everything else you can economize on to an extreme if you have to, if you're healthy and sane and frugal.

Once you start talking about a "nice" neighborhood, you're talking about a competitive zero-sum game where the costs can increase without limit.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#333

Post by perl4ever »

smolder wrote: post #240
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, you can make a Camry with the same quality and cover it with glitzy trim, market it as a luxury car, and sell it at a premium...which we call a Lexus.

The Lexus LS400 debuted in 1989 with a very high tech v8, with the highest r&d budget of any car engine to date. The 1uz-fe was an outstanding engine however you look at it, and so were its derivatives made well into the 00s. Other auto makers including euro brands like BMW had to play catch up. Lexii weren't just glitzed up cheap cars, nor necessarily high margin. There were some models like that, though. The Lexus…

The ES is/was the FWD platform that is said to be related to the Camry. Although I seem to remember that these days the ES is more related to the Avalon, a larger, but also FWD car. The GS is a different, RWD platform.

Also, in many cases, Japanese luxury models under their own nameplate were sold under the parent company name overseas, like in Japan. For instance, the original Acura NSX was the Honda NSX elsewhere.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#335

Post by [deleted] »

mrkstu wrote: post #115
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No eventually it would flip - it happens all the time. It's just this time the boss of the company laid down the final piece so it sticks in the mind

The re-branded company he was forced out of is now the largest diamond retailer in the world- so I'd say that the problem was him and his mouth, not an inevitable flip in fortune.

[deleted]

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#336

Post by pbhjpbhj »

thatBilly wrote: post #262
fortran77 wrote: post #114

The modern examples cited weren't nearly as bad: - Lulumon didn't seem to be hurt by Chip Wilson. In fact, the "notoriety" made me aware they they sold men's clothes, too, and I went there and bought some great athletic wear. - Many customers appreciated Barclays' warning not to "pile up debts." That would give me a favorable opinion of a company that offers lines of credit, not a bad one.

When David Shepherd (brand director for Topman) said Topman customers only wore a suit for their first interview or their first court appearance in 2001, I was sure it would be the end of them. Didn't seem to bother people though. Maybe the "hooligans or whatever" who shop there don't pay any attention to the news?

Turns out that people who don't have a choice don't have a choice.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#337

Post by a-raccoon »

I wish more CEOs were as witty, plain and blunt as his remarks were. All his talking points were true, all of his jokes on point, and the only people who probably gave a crap were a very small handful of financial investors that are easily (and completely unreasonably) spooked.

I say there should be more Ratners. Standardize his personality-type across all industries and political spheres.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#338

Post by pbhjpbhj »

smcl wrote: post #270
fortran77 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Fellow "cheapskates" who just want to get from Dublin to Edinburgh on a cheap flight probably admire his thrift.

No, Ryanair passengers don’t admire anything about Michael O’Leary. They pay the fare (and the surcharges, and the charge to pay by card) and then tolerate the journey. No passenger thinks he’s a lovable scamp or a shrewd businessman. They just buy the fare they can afford and justify, if it happens to be Ryanair then ... grin and bear it.

Didn't think they were allowed to charge extra to pay by card in the EU anymore?

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#339

Post by perl4ever »

seph-reed wrote: post #129
klagermkii wrote: post #118

This should be a lesson for adolescents who wonder why people tend to get less and less "edgy" as they grow up. Just takes one moment of too much edge to lose the gamble and end up throwing everything away.

I think the adolescents might be on to something with that. I tend to do a good job of keeping my unpopular opinions between me and close friends, but I can't say I'm thrilled with the dependency on nepotism that's creeping into my life. Perhaps being edgy is the best way to force oneself into self reliance, and self reliance being the best way to hold ground against corruption... maybe the edgelessness of "adults" i…

Being "edgy" is a symptom of still having a mindset that there are railings between you and the abyss, and/or someone whose purpose in life is to tackle you before you go over the "edge". Believing that you can avoid it in the long run, while fearing you're not an adult if you stay where it's safe.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#340

Post by blackflame7000 »

hodgesrm wrote: post #178
blackflame7000 wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've never had a major crash in almost 35 years. Other budget airlines with few customer perks like southwest have survived crashes with a less stellar safety record.

Which Southwest crashes are you thinking about? They have never lost a passenger in a crash, though one person on the ground was killed in Chicago. There have been two accidental passenger deaths. One was due to engine failure, not a crash, and the other was a passenger who tried to get into the cockpit and died after being restrained. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines#Accidents_a...

Admittedly I thought they had more than they do because of all the hoopla about 737s. I guess the one recent incident that comes to mind is the broken fan blade incident that killed a passenger. That could easily be attributed to lack of maintenance but it blew over relatively fast. However, the heroics of the captain created a different story.
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