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Kenneth Robbins Insurance Services

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In This Issue

Entrepreneur.com: Difficult Employees?

InternetIntel: Strategies for Summer Driving

BulletinBoard: Vacation Lists

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We welcome your suggestions as to how we can expand our customer care, so please feel free call or send us a fax or email. If you need supplies or service, we consider that a priority and will endeavor to meet your needs in the most expedient manner. Telephone: 818.884.8554, Fax: 818.884.6696 and Email: robbinsinsurance@attglobal.net

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Kenneth Robbins and Staff

August 2009

It's hot, dry and uncomfortable - a typical August day. In Southern California, hot, dry and uncomfortable days can occur any day of the year (there's something that is just wrong about wearing tank tops and shorts while bedecking the holiday tree with lights and garlands - that's the price one pays for living in paradise, right?).

Your editor is currently visiting family in Portland, Oregon where a near-record breaking heat wave with triple-digit temps is overtaxing the central A/C and making everyone just a wee bit cranky. Portlanders aren't use extended periods of scorching weather, however, there may be something to the global warming theories: when I was growing up in the City of Roses, people used to joke that our fair city had two seasons: winter and August. We had brief bouts of balmy weather (think "Miami" muggy or 'taking a shower with your clothes on' kind of humid) during the dog days of summer. Thank heavens these August heat waves didn't last more than a few days, because few Portlanders had air conditioning (we had one tiny A/C unit embedded in a wall in our living room) or pools for relief.

Now, Portland's summers are much like those in SoCal - well, almost. (I used to wear sweaters or winter coats in July during my youth. Now, I wear them when I visit because Mom sets the central air temp to "Arctic" as soon as the mercury reaches 65 degrees). The summers are sunny, warm (or hot, as it is right now) with only occasional rain storm. Some summers see a full month pass without a single shower!

So, most of us suffer through summer heat. Most workplaces have central air and are comfortable (although your editor worked for a small, family-owned ad agency in Hollywood that wouldn't turn on the A/C until the sweat puddles became a potential workplace hazard; they didn't want the bother of dealing with Worker's Compensation paperwork), but what about when you leave for the day? Have you singed your fingers on the steering wheel? Seared your thighs on leather (or "pleather") seats or required skin grafts after putting on your metal-framed shades? Let's not even talk about dehydration on the drive home ("drive" is an optimistic term; in reality one sort of parks and lurches inch-by-inch on the SoCal freeways during rush hour).

Twenty years in SoCal taught us to always keep bottles of water in the car (for yourself and the car if it decides to overheat). Also a good idea: keep non-meltable nourishment (our choice was SlimFast) for those three-hour traffic jams. If you live in the area, you learn to adapt to Mother Nature's extreme mood swings and the inevitability of rush hour delays on the road.

If you're not a SlimFast enthusiast, consider filling up a plastic shaker-bottle with pretzels, nuts, trail mix (without chocolate or anything that melts in the heat or is perishable). Find a travel mug or shaker bottle that fits in your cup holder with a flip top or easy-open lid - we are not suggesting that you take your eyes off the road or eat while you drive. Ken doesn't want to lose any clients : ) We offer a simple recommendation: keep some snacks in the car for those times when you're stuck in your vehicle because, as the traffic reporters like to say, "two cars have come together" and are blocking the freeway or if you have a long wait for AAA.

(Those small wet wipe containers are great to keep within easy reach, too. Just trust on this one.)

Have you taken your transportation in for a tune-up recently? Well, now would be a good time. Imagine the humiliation of having thousands of "lookie-loos" slowing as they drive by to stare at your car: hood raised, steam/flames rising from beneath or you, just waiting for AAA to show up and fix the spare for the tire that blew out, etc. (Note: gift memberships for AAA are a welcome gift for any occasion, as well as gift certificates for Jiffy Lube or other car maintenance needs. If you know someone on a budget, these seemingly impersonal gifts say "I care.") Our Mission:

We believe

So, what can we do to help you in your quest for a little coolness (and we mean temperature-wise)? Your editor used to consume pints of Rum Raisin ice cream, in front of the fan or a/c unit, taken cold showers in underwear (kill two birds with one stone - get cool, get clean undies ... perhaps we over-shared).

Now that we've covered keeping safe, fed and hydrated on the highways, how about a clever segue to keeping it cool in the office? Please read this month's Entrepreneur.com article about dealing with difficult employees:

Enterpreneur.com

5 Steps to Deal with Difficult Employees
Ignoring a problematic staffer could jeopardize the success of the entire organization.
By David Javitch, June 01, 2009

It seems that some people are just born to be difficult. We have all worked with them and most of us dislike them. Difficult people are easy to recognize--they show up late, leave early, don't turn their work in on time and have an excuse for every failing... click here for the full article: Difficult Employees

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