Okay, so this story is a bit different than my usual posts, but I saw this earlier and had to say something about it.

In the video above, the news reporter goes undercover to show how valet companies in Los Angeles, CA are taking up public parking spaces to make money. One owner says that he only does it because he needs more room. I’m sorry, but that is no excuse to take parking spaces from the public to profit from them.

Chris and I both discussed this and thought that perhaps someone’s pockets are being padded so that the valet companies can get away with this. If these signs are illegal to put up, then how are they not being arrested or at least fined for doing it?

Then, there are valets that are parking without putting money in a meter and getting tickets on other people’s cars. That’s outrageous enough, but to make matters worse they aren’t telling people that their car had a parking ticket put on it.

These business practices are deplorable and should not be tolerated. It is awful that it’s happening somewhere as densely populated as LA, but there’s not much that most people can do except hope that law enforcement can do something about it.

Wal-Mart is starting to roll out Project Impact. The project is meant to make stores more easily navigable by customers and put certain items closer to where the customers would logically think they belong.

Wal-Mart stores haven’t exactly been known for their ability to be easily navigated or for their friendly staff and accommodations. The stores are more often known for their low prices and convenience of a one stop shop. While the employees of the stores are getting a bit of a “pick-me-up” from the store redesigns, I honestly don’t believe that chipper mood will last too long after the project has been implemented.

So what happens when a store goes through a Project Impact change? Here’s what an article from Time said:

“We’ve listened to our customers, and they want an easier shopping experience,” says De La Rosa. “We’ve brightened up the stores and opened things up to make it more navigable.” One of the most noticeable changes is that Project Impact stores reshape Action Alley, the aisles where promotional items were pulled off the shelves and prominently displayed for shoppers. Those stacks both crowded the aisles and cut off sight lines. Now, the aisles are all clear, and you can see most sections of the store from any vantage point. For example, standing on the corner intersection of the auto-care and crafts areas, you can look straight ahead and see where shoes, pet care, groceries, the pharmacy and other areas are located. And the discount price tags are still at eye level, so the value message doesn’t get lost.

The idea sounds great in theory, but I can go to my local Wal-Mart store during any given time of the day or night and have to battle with palettes set up in the aisles as well as empty shelves. When I think of Wal-Mart, this is always going to be what comes to mind. There’s really nothing easy about a trip to Wal-Mart. Once you’ve added in shoppers with cell phones, it makes the whole situation that much worse.

Wal-Mart has to battle the opinion of shoppers like me, who have been burned in the past by what the store has done (or not done) to help my shopping experience.

Source

Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, resigned today and left his post as one of the five members of the SEC.

The resignation was expected. President Obama nominated Mary Schapiro to lead the SEC and is waiting for her to be confirmed by the Senate. Until then, he is expected to name one of the four remaining commissioners to head the SEC.

This is a hard time to be in any public office. The SEC chairperson will have a lot of weight on his or her shoulders and will be blamed for things that may or may not be his or her fault.