Understand the Bait-And-Switch Scam

Understand the Bait-And-Switch ScamUnderstand the Bait-And-Switch ScamAlthough the term bait-and-switch is complained about often by consumers, its rarely used correctly. The legal implications of using actual bait-and-switch offers can be severeand include prosecution, fines, and even the closure of a business. Knowing just what constitutes bait-and-switch is vital. A shady or unusual selling tactic may bedrngnis be to your liking, but if its not illegal, very little can be done about it. Before diving into the ins and outs of bait-and-switch advertising, take a look at the general definition. Bait-and-Switch Advertising In brief, bait-and-switch isthe action of advertising goods that are an incredible bargain, with the explicit intention of substituting unten liegend or more expensive goods at the time of the purchase. In effect, the incredible offer is the bait, just like the attractive maggot or fly on the end of a fishing line. This offer is designed to lure you in, but inst ead of getting something too good to be true, you get a very different verstndigung im strafverfahren indeed (the switch). Its either a much more inferior product or service, or you get what is advertised but at a much greater price. Either way, each instance is a clear case of fraud and is punishable by law. The practice is most commonly used on electronic items like TVs, Blu-Ray players, audio equipment and computers, high-end digital cameras, lenses, and accessories. But that does not mean you will not find bait-and-switch in other areas. A meal, a pair of shoes, or even the kind of Internet service you get can all be sold using bait-and-switch techniques. How the Scam Works The advertiser will produce an ad that offers something for a price well below the current market value for instance, a new 10 Android tablet for $50, when the usual price is $350. Its almost too good to be true, but this bait catches many people. The customer will then go to the store to buy the $50 tabl et and be confronted with several options The tablet is no longer available, but there is another one for sale for $100. This is a smaller tablet, inferior in every way from the one advertised, and is twice the price. Having made the trip to the store, many people will fall victim to the bait-and-switch scam and simply buy the inferior product rather than leave empty-handed.The tablet is available, but its actually much more expensive than the ad stated. The consumer will then be told that its a slightly different model than the one advertised, or that the one advertised was available only to the first 2 customers. Either way, its now in the hands of the consumer to buy the same tablet for two or three times the price advertised. Some slick salesmanship can easily close the deal. The tablet is available, but it is not actually the advertised tablet. Rather, its an inferior product, perhaps a cheap copy or fake, or one that is refurbished or stripped down to the very bare essentials. This happens a lot with digital cameras, when advertisers will offer a new camera for half the retail price, but will then sell something from the grey market. This is a camera that is not meant to be sold in the US, and will not come with anything other than the body. It will also not have a warranty. While it is not illegal to sell grey market cameras, it is against the law to advertise them as the real deal and sell them without informing the consumer. What Is NOT a Bait-and-Switch offer? It is just as important to know what is NOT a bait-and-switch offer because falsely accusing someone of using this tactic can have vast legal implications. So, lets clear up the muddy waters of the term. The following are situations that consumers often claim to be bait-and-switch but are actually just cases of bad luck, errors, or crafty (but legal) advertising practices. A Pricing Error This is by far the most common complaint, especially with the surge in online deal forums. The adv ertiser will list a product for a price unheard of- say $50 for a brand new 60-inch tft-display TV. This is simply a pricing error, its clearly too good to be true and the retail store would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars honoring the offer. However, the online store will accept the price and let you check out with the insane deal. Later, you will get an email stating that the order has been canceled, and your money refunded. People cry bait-and-switch but its not the case. Its just an error, and the consumer should know better. Limited Quantities Available Another one that catches consumers unawares is the limited quantity deals. The retail store will advertise something for 90 percentoff, but make it applicable to the first 10 customers only. After that, everyone else pays the usual price. This is not bait-and-switch unless the advertiser fails to disclose the offer details. This scenario is most often brought into question on Black Friday, but its not bait-and-switch. Its more like a loss leader, which brings people to the store for incredible savings in the hope that they will buy more. Slick Wording This is borderline shady, but if done correctly its just a case of not truly understanding the way the ad was written. For instance, if an advertiser says All Blu-Ray Players UP TO 90 percentOFF then you jump to the conclusion that all Blu-Ray players are going to be massively discounted. Not so. If one Blu-Ray player in the store is actually sold at 90 percentoff, the advertiser has met the requirements of the ad. Every other player can be 5 percent off. And the one that was so drastically reduced could have been broken, a display model, old, repackaged or missing components. Another way to use tricky language is to say offer not valid in all stores or online pricing only, individual store prices will vary. Again, not nice, but not bait-and-switch. Bait-And-Switch advertising is illegal, underhanded, and the refuge of the dishonest business. If youre a consumer, resist the urge to get upset every time you miss a deal the advertiser is not always trying to pull the wool over your eyes. However, if its a genuine bait-and-switch scam, report the business immediately.

5 Things to Look for in Your First Boss - The Muse

5 Things to Look for in Your First Boss - The Muse5 Things to Look for in Your First BossIf youre going through your first job search for a full-time position, probably the last thing on your mind is what kind of manager youre going to have. Thats completely understandable. After all, youre probably running around with your hair on fire conducting informational interviews, cleaning up your resume, and crafting cover letters. You just need a job.But consider this Your first manager can either challenge you to be the best person you can be and help you get there- or lock you in distributionspolitik with zero concern for your professional development or goals.So, if having a successful career beyond this first position is at all important to you, look for these traits in your first manager.1. Someone Who Brags About You to OthersMany people have had the experience of a supervisorin taking credit for their work. Its feels pretty horrible. The flip side of that is someone who regularly br ags about you to other colleagues. Not only does it feel great and keep you motivated, it means you wont need to go through the awkward process of bragging about yourself to the higher-ups. Recently invited to speak at a conference? You wont need to toot your own horn if you have a manager who will do it for you. How do you find an awesome supervisor like this? During your interview, try asking Can you tell me about some of the latest accomplishments or professional triumphs some of your team members have had? If its easier than breathing for your potential supervisor to sing the praises of other people, thats a pretty good sign.2. Someone Who Encourages You to Branch Out Beyond Your Current ResponsibilitiesIf one of your professional development goals is to develop additional skills or expertise in areas outside of your job description (and it should be if you want to keep moving up), then make sure you have the kind of manager who lets you try out your new ideas- not one who restr icts your work strictly to whats in your job description.Some questions you could ask to sniff this out might be What are some of the career paths of people on your team? What would you see as the career progression of someone in this role? or How would you see my role growing as I gain additional expertise?3. Someone Who Mentors You and Cares About Your Professional DevelopmentThe benefits of having a mentor have been well documented. So, you can imagine how helpful it is to have a manager who doubles as a mentor. More importantly, its vital to your career to find a manager who isnt mora concerned about how many hours youve worked than your latest professional accomplishments.Go with your gedeihlich on this one. Feel out what kind of rapport you can build with your manager during the interview process, and go from there. It also doesnt hurt to ask about whether the company has structured mentorship programs or in what ways it supports employees growth. This gives your interviewer t he opportunity to either tell you about company policies or how more informal professional development happens (and has the added benefit of indicating that this is a priority of yours). 4. Someone Who Models Professional BehaviorIf youve gone through a couple of interviews, you probably already have a pretty good sense of basic professional etiquette. But as you take on more responsibilities and start managing people of your own, things get a little bit trickier. This is where having a stellar manager who models professional behavior is very handy in preparing you for more complex workplace situations. Theres no real trick in looking for a manager like this, but watch out for how your potential future manager treats and talks about others.If you get the opportunity to interview with other members of the team, ask them how they would characterize their supervisors style of leadership. And pay attention to the little details Did the hiring manager review your resume before your inter view or make you wait during the interview while he or she reviewed it? Someone who seems to fully have his or her act together is a good sign.5. Someone Who Checks in on YouLastly, but most importantly, a manager has to actually be present. Independence is great and is certainly something many people cherish in their work environment, but its incredibly important to have an accessible manager. A manager who just isnt around not only prevents you from doing great work- but also wont be keeping up with your professional accomplishments to share with others or mentoring you to help figure out areas you should grow in. Of course, you dont want to come off as a needy employee who requires a daily check-in, so try asking about performance reviews and work backward from there. Something like, I assume there is an annual performance review- can you tell me more about that process? and Are there opportunities for me to check in with you about my progress on my work prior to the performance review? will help give you a sense of the reporting relationship.Having a great first manager can help you hit your career goals faster than you ever imagined, so be thoughtful about the kind of boss you want, and be on the lookout for signs of a great relationship during your interviews. Of course, this is important for all jobs you seek throughout your life, but you never forget your first

Turbo Expo Attracts the Worlds Turbomachinery Experts

Turbo Expo Attracts the Worlds Turbomachinery Experts Turbo Expo Attracts the Worlds Turbomachinery Experts (From left) Panelists Vinod Philip of Siemens Gas Turbines, Alan Epstein from Pratt & Whitney, and Stuart Jeffries of ExxonMobil at the Turbo Expo keynote session. For the 58th year, ASMEs Turbo Expo convened turbomachinery professionals from around the globe. This years conference, sponsored by the Societys grenzberschreitend Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI), drew mora than 2,400 attendees to the San Antonio Convention Center in Texas from June 3-7.The Turbo Expo, which this year consisted of 1,025 technical papers being presented during more than 280 technical sessions, has earned a reputation during its many years in existence for bringing together preeminent experts from around the world to share the latest in turbine technology, research and development, and applications in the areas including gas turbines, steam turbines, wind turbines, fans and blowers, solar brayton and rankine cycle, and supercritical carbon dioxide. In addition, Turbo Expos three-day exhibition offered exceptional networking opportunities. The exhibition attracted many of the industrys leading professionals and key decision makers, whose innovation and expertise are helping to shape the future of the turbomachinery industry. More than 120 exhibitors including GE, Pratt Whitney, Alstom, ANSYS and Dresser Rand displayed their latest technologies and innovative services to attendees on the trade show floor. (From left) Thomas Sattelmayer, Christian Eichler and Georg Baumgartner, co-authors of the paper Experimental Investigation of Turbulent Boundary Layer Flashback Limits for Premixed Hydrogen-Air Flames Confined in Ducts, with ASME President-Elect Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb at the conferral of the ASME Gas Turbine Award. The award is presented annually for outstanding contributions to the literature of combustion gas turbines or gas turbines thermally combined with nuclear or steam power plants. The keynote panel session, on June 3, addressed the theme of Trends in the Global Energy Supply and Implications for the Turbo-Machinery Industry. The keynote panelists were Alan Epstein, vice president of Technology Environment for Pratt Whitney Stuart Jeffries, Global Facilities engineering manager for ExxonMobil Production Co. and Vinod Philip, head of engineering for Siemens Gas Turbines.Following the keynote session, seven awards were bestowed during the IGTI Awards Program ceremony. The 2013 award winners included Tony Strazisar, recipient of the ASME R. Tom Sawyer Award Christian Eichler, Georg Baumgartner and Thomas Sattelmayer, winners of the ASME Gas Turbine Award Allan Volponi, the 2013 recipient of the grenzberschreitend Gas Turbine Institute Scholar Award and Randall Mathison, winner of the Dilip Ballal Early Career Award for contributions in the gas turbine industry within the first five years of a career.Also honored during the ceremony we re Milt Davis and Nicholas Frederick, who received the John P. Davis Award for the paper Investigation of the Effects of Inlet Swirl on Compressor Performance and Operability Using a Modified Parallel Compressor Model Sigmar Wittig, who accepted the 2013 Aircraft Engine Technology Award for outstanding contributions in the field of air breathing propulsion through inspiring leadership, education and research and Rainer Kurz, who was given the 2013 Industrial Gas Turbine Technology Award for outstanding contributions and industry leadership in low emissions combustion system research, design, development and deployment.During her introduction of the awards program, ASME President-Elect Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb noted the important role IGTI and the Turbo Expo play in the international gas turbine market. As technologies advance and the global population surpasses 7 1000000000000 people, IGTI will continue to be a vital source of innovation, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill de velopment, she said. Each year, Turbo Expo offers presentations enriched by new advances in research and technology. This is an exciting time for the energy sector, and IGTI and our industry will continue to grow and adapt to the demands of a changing world. The trade show floor at the 2013 Turbo Expo featured more than 120 exhibitors from the turbomachinery field. Turbo Expo featured many other special events during its five-day program, including a welcome reception, an Honorary Lectures featured session with IGTI award winners Sigmar Wittig and Ranier Kurz, a special panel session honoring the life and career of Prof. Dillip Ballal, and an early career engineer and student mixer.A tour of Southwest Research Institute was offered on the last day of the conference. The tour consisted of a visit to SwRIs turbomachinery labs, material and coating labs, hydrocarbon and multi-phase flow closed loop test facilities, and its aerospace structures labs. ASME Turbo Expo 201 4 will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany, June 16-20. For more information on the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute and the Turbo Expo program, visit http//igti.asme.org.