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Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

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Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#191

Post by cryptoz »

qwerpy wrote: post #185
cryptoz wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that is your takeaway from this story, hooooo boy you must be in a rage every day. Places all over Seattle default their machines to tip 18% when you buy a single roll of toilet paper and nothing else. (Edit: you could also pick up a few bottles of expensive wine they sell; maybe you’re in a rush and don’t expect a tip screen ; ooooops you tipped $40 for nothing!) There’s a place that does this less than a block f…

Where in Seattle does this? Maybe it’s different on the east side. Costco and the grocery store chains here certainly don’t do that.

I’m in lower Queen Anne. Every corner store that also sells coffee/sandwiches does this. Maybe 1-5% of customers are buying a sandwich, but 100% are prompted to tip with an 18% default.

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#192

Post by greggyb »

kfajdsl wrote: post #125
KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't buy the "MS purposefully let IE die to avoid anti-trust" story. Ballmer was an enterprise sales guy, no wonder his enterprise software business did great, IE lacked focus and died. Just keeping IE around, they didn't have to kill Google, but just keeping it around would've been interesting in 2020 as they can conceivably use it to move onto rivals. Similarly, windows phone didn't die because of anti-trust but…

Was there ever a world where a proprietary OS could win out against Linux? Or for that matter, a proprietary DB as opposed to MySQL/Postgres.

See my sibling comment. Windows Server dominates server OS revenue share at ~70%. They get most of the money that people are willing to spend on server OSes.

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#193

Post by cryptoz »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #189
cryptoz wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that is your takeaway from this story, hooooo boy you must be in a rage every day. Places all over Seattle default their machines to tip 18% when you buy a single roll of toilet paper and nothing else. (Edit: you could also pick up a few bottles of expensive wine they sell; maybe you’re in a rush and don’t expect a tip screen ; ooooops you tipped $40 for nothing!) There’s a place that does this less than a block f…

Wait, you guys tip now when you go to the supermarket and get and scan your own toilet paper?

Nope! We sure don’t! Not on purpose any way. But the businesses sure want us to.

This mostly happens at smaller stores and not big chains.

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#194

Post by adventured »

not_a_bot_4sho wrote: post #124

Funny story. I used to see Steve almost every weekday for a couple of years. I can't speak to his business skills, but I can attest that he never once offered a tip for his daily black iced tea. We'd even have it ready for him before he showed up so he never had to wait! He would pay with cash, and I'd hand him his change and drink, and that was that. It's funny to me now: one of the richest men in the world and he n…

> the richest man in the world (at the time) and he never once offered a tip.

Ballmer was never the richest man in the world, not even for a moment.

Right now is about the closest he has ever come to that marker (#8, $148 billion).

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#195

Post by cadamsau »

KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #77
greggyb wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you trust the article, then Azure and O365 are each, independently, easily Fortune 100 companies if separated. These "couple of wins along with many many losses" are some of the most valuable products in the world. Imagine a VC fund that invested in a few dozen product companies, two of which were Azure and O365. Is that a 6/10 VC company? Why is the logic different for a CEO making bets for a company's next sever…

Because the company has more strategic resources than a VC, and has need to defend existing businesses. MS should've been able to simply just extend their OS monopoly into all platforms and all architectures, but they didn't, and to a vast swath of the world have become irrelevant, and worse, have lost their ability to become relevant. It's a decline from being the monopolist to simply a player, sure they executed we…

Irrelevant unless you happen to use LinkedIn, Github, or vscode, or own an xbox. Or you use openai’s products

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#196

Post by geodel »

cryptoz wrote: post #174
bigstrat2003 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bro there's no "wait staff" involved in this transaction. He purchased an item, the person handed it to him. This is well outside the bounds of what should be tipped.

If that is your takeaway from this story, hooooo boy you must be in a rage every day. Places all over Seattle default their machines to tip 18% when you buy a single roll of toilet paper and nothing else. (Edit: you could also pick up a few bottles of expensive wine they sell; maybe you’re in a rush and don’t expect a tip screen ; ooooops you tipped $40 for nothing!) There’s a place that does this less than a block f…

I think Seattle should introduce 18% tip on original 18% tip as it adds extra work for service workers in form of collecting tip, maintenance of tip screen and so on.

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#197

Post by kstrauser »

isodev wrote: post #163
DiogenesKynikos wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That depends on whether it's table service, or whether you yourself go to the counter to buy your drink. Until very recently, that was the dividing line for tips (except at bars).

How cruel can one be to try to come up with such a "line"? In my mind it goes like this: If you're served by a human and tips are not included in normal pay by law, you tip. If it's a country where people can't live with just the one job, you tip a lot.

No way, no how. I tip really well for people who actually provide service. If you're my waiter or delivery driver, I'll take care of you. Conversely, I have never tipped anyone a single penny for handing me a burger at a drive thru, nor will I, and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

Coffee bars are a grey area. If I'm ordering something fancy, I'll probably tip. If I'm getting a cup of black joe from an urn of pre-made coffee, I may or may not.

I'll continue to tip well for people working in traditionally tipped positions. The last few years have seen companies attempt to massively expand that list of positions so that their employees get paid more without their bosses having to pay for it. Those cheapskates can give their workers raises instead of turfing it off onto us.

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#198

Post by dangus »

addicted wrote: post #183
AdieuToLogic wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> We'd even have it ready for him before he showed up so he never had to wait! > Man, your entitlement just makes me want to never tip. Urban legend has it that the word "tips" is an acronym for "to insure prompt service." Whether or not this is true, the OP's optimization for "prompt service", as defined above, makes an assessment of same qualifying as entitlement puzzling. > Just because someone has the ability to…

In the US tipping isn’t just a cultural expectation. There are fundamental legal differences between tipped and non-tipped employees. For example, federal minimum wages for tipped employees are close to $2 vs the $7 for non tipped employees.

On top of this, in the US tipping has a history that has roots in post-slavery racism.

In a country with race-based segregation, it's very convenient mechanism to have a method of compensation that can be altered based on your physical appearance.

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#199

Post by KaoruAoiShiho »

cadamsau wrote: post #195
KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the company has more strategic resources than a VC, and has need to defend existing businesses. MS should've been able to simply just extend their OS monopoly into all platforms and all architectures, but they didn't, and to a vast swath of the world have become irrelevant, and worse, have lost their ability to become relevant. It's a decline from being the monopolist to simply a player, sure they executed we…

Irrelevant unless you happen to use LinkedIn, Github, or vscode, or own an xbox. Or you use openai’s products

I said operating system, and all those things except xbox are after ballmer...

Re: Steve Ballmer was an underrated CEO

#200

Post by mcmcmc »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #160
stouset wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Bro there's no "wait staff" involved in this transaction. He purchased an item, the person handed it to him. This is well outside the bounds of what should be tipped.

Lmao they prepared his usual for him before he got there every day and had it waiting for him. That is exceptional service.
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