11–20 of 58 posts
The example of strength of centralized organization
Whenever I read about this I always wonder if this is one of those modern dystopia things where a business is endangering its employees in order to stay open in a disaster zone. Like what kind of waivers are people in these Jump Teams signing?
Impossible to know unless some WH employees actually weigh in.
Whenever I read about this I always wonder if this is one of those modern dystopia things where a business is endangering its employees in order to stay open in a disaster zone. Like what kind of waivers are people in these Jump Teams signing?
Ericsson has a similar response program in place for disasters around the world. They call it "Ericsson Response". The goal is to setup GSM-based emergency networks from scratch very quickly in severe disaster areas where infrastructure is disrupted by natural or other kinds of disasters. For example: Nepal after the devastating earthquake in 2015. They're flying in containers of GSM network equipment, diesel generat…
Forgive me for sounding cynical but I'm going to play Devil' Advocate and ask: Are they well run, or opportunistic?
In an area hit by disaster any mom & pops are likely going to be slower to reopen. They have to wait for the insurance company. They have to worry about the homes and family. Etc.
WH on the other hand can finance themselves while they wait for the insurance cheque. The out of town employees don't have local home and local family worries. Etc.
WH might be well run. But they might also simply be in the best position to rise to the top in disaster areas.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ericsson has a similar response program in place for disasters around the world. They call it "Ericsson Response". The goal is to setup GSM-based emergency networks from scratch very quickly in severe disaster areas where infrastructure is disrupted by natural or other kinds of disasters. For example: Nepal after the devastating earthquake in 2015. They're flying in containers of GSM network equipment, diesel generat…
> Perhaps the Waffle House is just a well-run company? Forgive me for sounding cynical but I'm going to play Devil' Advocate and ask: Are they well run, or opportunistic? In an area hit by disaster any mom & pops are likely going to be slower to reopen. They have to wait for the insurance company. They have to worry about the homes and family. Etc. WH on the other hand can finance themselves while they wait for the i…
They "only" have about 2.1k locations in the US - one outlet per 163k people in the country. This doesn't seem to me like a "mom & pop"-killer. (Subways has 24k locations, as a point of comparison.)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ericsson has a similar response program in place for disasters around the world. They call it "Ericsson Response". The goal is to setup GSM-based emergency networks from scratch very quickly in severe disaster areas where infrastructure is disrupted by natural or other kinds of disasters. For example: Nepal after the devastating earthquake in 2015. They're flying in containers of GSM network equipment, diesel generat…
> Perhaps the Waffle House is just a well-run company? Forgive me for sounding cynical but I'm going to play Devil' Advocate and ask: Are they well run, or opportunistic? In an area hit by disaster any mom & pops are likely going to be slower to reopen. They have to wait for the insurance company. They have to worry about the homes and family. Etc. WH on the other hand can finance themselves while they wait for the i…
It isn't cynical to claim they are being opportunistic as much as it is myopic. If you want all recovery efforts to be done by gloomy stoics who are clawing back at a lifestyle stolen from them by cruel nature while telling heartbreaking stories about how hard it is to rebuild ... that will miss the opportunity that the situation will be quickly and dispassionately sorted out by some faceless corporation exasperated that its profits are down.
People like to think of capitalism as some sort of siphon system moving comfort from poor to rich, but it is a very powerful stabilising force. If there was an economic equilibrium and a disaster breaks it, letting capitalism happen will restore most of the status quo extremely quickly.
Saying that that is opportunistic is simply framing a positive thing negatively. If people are happy to do something out of their own self interest that is better than them doing it out of a sense of charity; and much more sustainable.
Whenever I read about this I always wonder if this is one of those modern dystopia things where a business is endangering its employees in order to stay open in a disaster zone. Like what kind of waivers are people in these Jump Teams signing?
That is an exceedingly cynical way of looking at it. People usually volunteer to do this kind of thing and have no small amount of personal pride that they are able to help their neighbors in a disaster. It is a very positive experience for the people that do it, and they are often some of the first people on the ground. This is a manifestation of the self-reliance bias of American culture, they want to fix things th…
They're doing it because it feels good to help people.
And because rerouting truckloads of supplies effectively at 2 AM means someone in the affected area will be able get to their nearest store and get the things they need.
I'm not sure why the comments here are so !%^&ing jaded, but sometimes you do the right thing... simply because it's right.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ericsson has a similar response program in place for disasters around the world. They call it "Ericsson Response". The goal is to setup GSM-based emergency networks from scratch very quickly in severe disaster areas where infrastructure is disrupted by natural or other kinds of disasters. For example: Nepal after the devastating earthquake in 2015. They're flying in containers of GSM network equipment, diesel generat…
> Perhaps the Waffle House is just a well-run company? Forgive me for sounding cynical but I'm going to play Devil' Advocate and ask: Are they well run, or opportunistic? In an area hit by disaster any mom & pops are likely going to be slower to reopen. They have to wait for the insurance company. They have to worry about the homes and family. Etc. WH on the other hand can finance themselves while they wait for the i…
Whenever I read about this I always wonder if this is one of those modern dystopia things where a business is endangering its employees in order to stay open in a disaster zone. Like what kind of waivers are people in these Jump Teams signing?
If it's _actually_ run by employees who volunteer that'd be cool, but my personal experience of service industry work is that you are are volunteered to do something or you are volunteered to be unemployed. Impossible to know unless some WH employees actually weigh in.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is an exceedingly cynical way of looking at it. People usually volunteer to do this kind of thing and have no small amount of personal pride that they are able to help their neighbors in a disaster. It is a very positive experience for the people that do it, and they are often some of the first people on the ground. This is a manifestation of the self-reliance bias of American culture, they want to fix things th…
I've been in the hurricane center at a large retailer (last week, in fact). Aside from freezing prices at before-storm levels, no one who volunteers for the 24/7 emergency staffing is thinking about the dollars. Sales take care of themselves. They're doing it because it feels good to help people. And because rerouting truckloads of supplies effectively at 2 AM means someone in the affected area will be able get to th…
Whenever I read about this I always wonder if this is one of those modern dystopia things where a business is endangering its employees in order to stay open in a disaster zone. Like what kind of waivers are people in these Jump Teams signing?
...look for the helpers