Avoiding The Most Expensive Car Rental Cities

Figuring out what a decent price for a rental car is versus a complete rip-off is not nearly as easy to determine as one might initially think. Rates vary depending on which company, which city, and which day it is. Strangely enough, it is not unheard of to get four different quotes on how much it would cost to rent a car on four consecutive days. One of the things that kills car renters wallets, is not doing the research to learn what the local fees and taxes on car rentals are.

In fact, local and state taxes make up an extremely high amount of the total car rental cost. In the 100 most heavily trafficked U.S. airports, the airport itself, and demanded rent was often a problem. Such add-ons averaged nearly 26 percent of the entire cost, compared with a 14 percent average for off-airport locations. In some cities the gap between on-airport and off-airport costs is nearly unbelievable. In Dallas, for example, 61.4 percent of the total cost of renting a car at the airport came from taxes, while taxes at nearby neighborhood locations only made up 17 percent of the total. Like most taxes, these just continue to grow.

The most expensive cities in the United States to rent a car (the taxes are so high that it actually is an absurd idea for most people to even think about renting a vehicle here) are Boston, New York, and Houston. In all three cities rates can easily almost double over what was advertised. At Houston’s Intercontinental Airport, if you rent a car for two days at $50 per day, you’d expect your bill to be about $100. Once taxes and fees are added in, watch out, because you will owe a minimum of $171. Aside from the big three, some of the other worst rental rates from airports include Austin, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth and New Orleans. No matter what city you are in, it is often a good idea to rent from centers away from the airport. They will always be cheaper.

Taxes and fees (which are often much higher in cities that need funds for construction of convention centers or stadiums) can increase your final bill by up to 70 percent. Watch out for these cities, watch out for the taxes. While it may be uavoidable, really weigh your options. Is it really worth this much to rent a car instead of using public transportation? At the very least, find a rental center away from the airport. It might be a little inconvienent, but at least you save yourself something, which in high tax cities, migh end up being more than just a few pennies; it might be a small bundle.

Want To Keep Procrastinating – Just Read Another Time Management Article!

Many people appear to be busy types yet achieve little in their day while others appear to go through their days in effortless fashion yet accomplish a lot. You see what’s happening here; it’s the old 80/20 rule. And yes, it applies to the way you manage your day.

In this time management article we will provide you with some handy information and techniques to hopefully send you on your way to better time management.

Another Time Management Article!

I have lost count of the number of time management articles I’ve published. Why do I write them? Because I’d love to help other people break out of their procrastination habits and lead more productive lives. If I can only help one person then I’ve done my job.

How many time management articles have you read? Are you still in the same rut now as when you read your first one. If you are then promise me this is the last article you’ll read. In fact, set yourself a goal: make this the last article you read until you have broken out of your rut!

Imagine yourself free from procrastination and how good it makes you feel. That sense of achievement and the extra cash incentive it’s added to your bottom line. Imagine those feelings when you finally read that time management article later down the track. Then chuckle to yourself and think of how easy it was to get back on track with your time.

Problem is, it’s not as simple as that for most people so let’s try and get you back on the path to better time management.

Time Management Tip

It’s important to create a good balance with your time. If you spend all your time working without having some relaxation time either with your friends or family then you’ll soon suffer what is known as burn out. Balance out your time so you have enough energy to take care of the important things in your life!

Have The Courage To Start Being Time Effective!

Try utilizing the following action plan for better productivity:

1. Organize a time management mentor. Peer pressure is powerful. By having someone you respect and even fear is a great way to keep tabs on how you are managing your time.

2. Identify procrastination. There are many things we hate to do but must and if these are tied into your livelihood, then it’s costing you plenty in regards to your bottom line. This ties in with our first tip so organize a peer mentor right away!

3. Keep a journal of your activities. This will help you identify the important from the unimportant tasks in your current schedule. You’ll be able to see at first glance where you are spending unproductive time. You’ll also see at just what times of the day you are most productive!

4. Organize your schedule the day before. This is about prioritizing your day. We’re not saying the least important tasks shouldn’t be completed; you need to list the more urgent and important tasks first. Also, if you are working towards a major goal, then list the actions first which will carry you to your ultimate goal.

Using Joint Customer Visits To Train Sales People

Many sales training techniques can be used to develop sales skills but one of the most effective tools is still a joint client visit. To ensure your sales people a get maximum training benefit from this type of on the job sales training you must not go with them as their superior. Instead you must attend as their mentor, their developer and their friend. Using work-shadowing as a training tool depends largely on your behaviour for its success. Spearhead Training sales trainers provide the following recommendations on the subject of on the job training for sales people.

Accompany them regularly. Aim to go out with them for one to two days every six weeks. Only by doing this can you help the field salesperson.

You choose the visits. Ask the salesperson to give you a rough weekly schedule and choose interesting visits at short notice, otherwise you will be presented with unchallenging meetings. After all, you want to get to know the normal day’s work.

Prepare yourself and the field salesperson thoroughly. Discuss the customer’s current situation with the salesperson, the person you are both meeting, the reason for the visit and the aim of the meeting.

At the customer’s premises, do not play the boss. This begins as early as introductions otherwise the customer’s interest will be concentrated on the sales manager.

Boss is quiet – salesperson sells! Keep yourself in the background as much as possible during the visit so that you can really experience how your salesperson conducts them self in negotiations. Only by doing this can you later correct them during the de-briefing conversation.

Do not solve problems yourself. Do not allow yourself to be tempted to solve issues raised by the customer during the visit. If you are addressed directly by the customer, then diplomatically pass the issue back to the salesperson for them to come up with a solution.

No “Father Christmas” effect. Your salesperson keeps the 2% additional commission they negotiate! In this way they can strengthen their skills; it also relieves you of work because you train the customer to actually negotiate with your salesperson. Of course you settle with your salesperson in advance the discount that they can concede to the customer using the right negotiating tactics.

Suppress your need for prestige. Consider that every gain you make for your image is a loss of standing for your salesperson. You are providing sales training to them: do not let your ego get in the way of doing this.

Let your salesperson have the experience of success. Orders which are achieved during joint trips should always be recognised as achievements of the salesperson. The sales manager does the ground work, the sales person closes the gate.

Do not start the postmortem right away with a roadside conference. After the first sales meeting on the day of the trip only mention the positive side of this meeting.

Have a roadside conference with postmortem during sandwich break. Start this postmortem with praise to build up the salesperson, then move to technical criticism and finally to questions about what the salesperson would like to improve in the future: “How do you want to go about things in the future to optimise … ?”

Agree two goals at the end of the day. Close the day with a summary. Work through the main starting points for improvement jointly with the salesperson, agree at most two goals with them and set a date for this within a maximum of four weeks. In conclusion tell your field salesperson once again what you liked about their work.

Check up on improvement at the next field sales training meeting. Do this jointly with the salesperson. Praise any improvements and recognise their achievements.

Easy Ways To Earn Money Doing Online Surveys

When you sign onto the Web to check your email, you likely see at least one or two ads telling you about online survey programs. Although most people dont take these things seriously, you can really make easy money with these various programs. In fact, there are several ways to earn money doing online surveys. Take a look at these tips to use that will help you make the most money you possibly can with online surveys.

Sign Up A Lot

When it comes to trying to make money using online surveys, the key is to sign up for as many free programs you can. Each program may only offer you a few survey opportunities each month. However, if you have ten companies offering you a few each month, you will have a better chance at actually making some money from your time. So, dont be afraid to sign up as often as you can!

Follow Through

The most important aspect of making money online with surveys is following through. If you simply delete every survey opportunity that is offered to you, you wont make any money. So, after you sign up for survey programs and choose to participate, you really need to follow through. In some cases, if you pass on too many of the surveys, you will be taken off their lists and not offered any surveys at all. So, if you are dedicated to making money online with surveys, you need to follow through.

Be General

When it comes to getting more opportunities offered to you through online services, you will need to be as general as possible. Many of these online survey programs will ask you to fill out questionnaires to allow them to know how old you are, if you are married, if you have children, and so on. The more general you can be on the surveys, the more you will likely qualify for. So, be sure to check all of the boxes you can! For instance, instead of just checking the box that you have children be sure to tell the company their genders and ages.

Overall, there is money to be made with online surveys. Be sure to use these tips on ways to earn money doing online surveys and before long you will enjoy those extra funds rolling in. In addition, many survey companies will often send you free merchandise or coupons as well. You may even be asked to test out various products. It is a lot of fun to participate in online survey programs, so go ahead and give it a try. A typical survey takes less than ten minutes and might even be enjoyable to you. Just dont tell too many of your friends, or you might not get as many survey opportunities as you would like!

The Captivating Legend Of Wine Production – It All Started In Ancient Egypt

According to the tale, the woman lost to the King and wished to end her life by eating spoiled table grapes stored in a jar. The suicide attempt did not go as she planned; instead she got drunk and eventually passed out. When she woke up, she felt as if all her troubles had vanished and this event encouraged her to continue taking the spoiled grapes. So going by this pleasant story, one can say that wine is not an invention of man but was, rather found by chance.

The history of wine is as old as civilization, the agriculture and the man himself. Archeologists suggest that wine was discovered accidentally during 6000 and 5000 BC. in the Fertile Crescent area, an area in between the Nile and the Persian Gulf. Archeological evidence has uncovered the earliest European wine production from crushed grapes in Macedonia 6500 years ago.

From the time of discovery of wine to today, wine has played animportant role in many rituals and customs of modern society . In the ancient Egyptian period, wine became an integral part of life, mainly funerary ceremonies. Only the richest Egyptians like the Pharaohs were able to enjoy wine. Wine was also common in ancient Greece and Rome and in many other European countries.

The Egyptian Times

Though scientists have identified a wine jar from Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Northern Zagros Mountains of Iran, the widespread knowledge of wine cultivation is believed to have come from Egypt. The wine making method was represented on tomb walls dating back to 2600 BC. Maria Rosa, a master in Egyptology states that wine in ancient Egypt was of great importance and only the upper class people and kings had access to wine. Rosa further points out that the ancient Egyptians labeled the wine jars with product, year, growning area and the vine grower’s name, but there is no mention about the color of the wines. A recent discovery has shown that the wines in ancient Egypt were usually red.

The Ancient Greeks

Arrival of wine making process in ancient Greece is not well documented; many believe that wine manufacturing tradition was introduced to Crete by the Phoenician traders. Strong evidence of wine growing have also been collected from Minoan Mycenaean cultures.

Wine was a very important trading article in Greece business. The Greeks were able to set up their colonies throughout the Mediterranean and this in turn eased the export of Greek wines in the region. The Greeks learned how to prevent wines from rotting by adding different herbs and spices. Wine in ancient Greece was stirred in a glass before drinking.

Apart from trading, the Greeks used wine in the field of medicine. One of the well known medicine practitioners, Hippocrates, also known as the Father of Medicine studied wine extensively for its use in medicine, specially to reduce fever, convalescence and as an antiseptic. It must be mentioned here that the Greeks were equally aware about the negative health effects produced by the excessive drinking of wine.

The Romans

The Romans discovered the viticulture (cultivation and study of grape growing) and oenology (the science of wine and winemaking). In the Roman Empire, wine formed a important part of their daily meals as water could not always be trusted to be safe and clean. During this period, wine making technology became more established with a significant impact on the Roman business. The Romans developed barrels to store and ship wine, while bottles were used for the first time in the history of the wine world. The Romans are also known to have dissolved pearls in wine for their better health.

With the expansion of Roman Empire, wine production expanded to all of its provinces. During the Dark Ages when Roman Empire fell and when Europe passed through social and political unrest, wine production was kept alive by the efforts of religious monks. Churches are known to have developed some of the finest vineyards in Europe.

Ancient China and Wine

Although wine was not much of a favorite of the ancient asian people, its production and consumption was popular in three different periods, mainly the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. In China rice wine was not as popular as the grape wine.

Wine in the Middle Ages and Modern Life

Wine became popular in the Middle Ages, it was considered as a social drink for all occasions. In the northern regions of the Europe where no grapes were grown, beer and ale were dominant and in the Eastern part Vodka made from potatoes was the preferred drink.

America, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand that manufacture wide varieties of wines are considered as the New World Wine Producers. The products of these countries were not well known to the wine drinkers until late in the 20th Century.

The industrial revolution in the 20th century has provided wine growers with new technology and innovation that has made production much more efficient. Considerable R&D advances in viticulture and oenology have helped the modern manufacturers to produce more varieties of wines of much lower cost.

Details On The New Altama Exospeed Ii Tactical Boot Lineup

The EXOSpeed II replaces the original EXOSpeed I product line, Altama’s very successful combat boot series developed and issued in the early 2000s. Altama’s new EXOSpeed II line focuses on its predecessors best features and adds numerous comfort advancements along with a new updated look.

First off, the new EXOSpeed II weighs in at a mere 18.4 ounces per boot for a size 9. This is extremely light knowing that some other combat boots come in at upwards of 10 ounces over this weight per boot . This featherweight quality makes for a military boot that is ideal for marching, running, jumping, and almost any type of heavy physical activity and operations. This boot achieves this by utilizing light, yet durable suede leather and 100% Cordura nylon upper and a compact, triple density EVA midsole.

The EXOSpeed II series also receives high marks in the comfort department. Many comfort features have been built into this boot such as an inner air mesh lining for ventilation and moisture control on the side of the upper as well as a second ventillation area in the ankle area for absolute maximum air flow. This is an ideal boot for hot weather. For maximum cushioning, the EXOSpeed II utlizes a double density EVA footbed with additional shock padding in the heel and forefoot areas. It feels much like an athletic shoe with a soft heel to toe impact during high impact activity. Another comfort attribute worth mentioning is the contoured foot last, where the sole of your foot contacts and shapes with the top of the midsole. Altama engineers were generous enough to design a contoured foot last that hugs the foot’s contours which prevents your foot from slipping, thereby reducing rubbing and blisters. These comfort features should ultimately reduce fatigue and enhance performance in the field.

Foot protection is pretty minimal but understandable since by design, the EXOSpeed series has always been a lightweight combat/tactical boot intended for soldiers required to do extensive marching, running, and physical activity. Soldiers looking for safety toe protection may want to consider a different boot.

Other qualities worth mentioning are the composite construction of the boot and open-sole pattern. No metal parts exist in the EXOSpeed II. Even the lace guides are made of high impact nylon composite which makes this boot safe for electrical hazard settings. The open tread pattern of the non-marking rubber outsole prevents debris from being trapped in the lugs.

Overall, Altama’s new EXOSpeed II series has received a wave of excellent reviews from troops in the field. Comfort during extended duty wear and minimal break-in period seem to be the most mentioned. After our thorough review, we believe the EXOSpeed II line is a winner.

Unlike the Original EXOSpeed series available in desert tan only, the EXOSpeed II comes in black full grain leather with a polishable toe, desert tan and sage green specifically for Air Force ABUs. The Altama EXOSpeed II is currently available at MilitaryBootsDirect.com.

About MilitaryBootsDirect.com: MilitaryBootsDirect.com is an online store that offers a wide variety of specialty combat boots intended for military and tactical applications. Some of our product categories include Uniform Approved Boots, Combat Vehicle Boots, Waterproof Combat Boots, Flight (Aviator) Boots, and Jungle Boots. We take pride in the fact that our goal is to match up our customers with the right fitting combat boot for their exact military or tactical application.

Get Yourself Out Of The Worry Of Waste Management

People irrespective of the nation to which they belong to are requested not to burn unwanted stuff that contains plastic and rubber. This is because the smoke produced by this type of firing can cause a great impact on the environment and the people living therein. Therefore, careful waste management is considered to be highly essential. With the declining cost of electronic items, it is believed that there will be a huge collection of electronic waste in the future and their management is going to be a great issue for governments.

Effective management of waste without causing any harm to the society is not only a governmental issue, but even organizations functioning at the corporate level should take real care in this respect. This is why companies following the best methods to recycle the wastes that are getting out of their industry are notified as green energy companies. Here, firms in Jacksonville, need not worry about the garbage produced from their industry as there are those providing eco-friendly waste management services in Jacksonville.

These professional firms have a good level of experience in solid and green garbage management and they collect the unwanted things from residences and companies via their recycling collection service. When the unwanted things are collected from the public then and there and when they are rightly educated about the harm that can be caused by the garbages to the landfills, there will not be any harm to the society.

Professional firms offering waste management services in Jacksonville are providing this service for residential, commercial and even to industrial and construction sites. If you have the talent of making some useful and attractive handcrafts with the help of waste items, you can very well reduce the production of unwanted items from your house.

Green companies also follow the technique of not letting out their unwanted things, but they recycle the same to produce some other products and this is why these companies are marked as green companies.

Some of the companies providing waste management services are also offering hauling services in Jacksonville. This means that they can tow your unwanted things and can effectively manage the items in a safe manner that is friendly to the atmosphere.

All that is to be done by companies with a huge amount of unwanted things from their manufacturing process is to find the right company offering hauling services in Jacksonville. When these services are hired, they can provide some sort of help to the society.

Now it is possible to get the hauling services can help you with the logistics of waste management. Moreover, we can get a wide variety of waste collection services including commercial and residential waste collection jacksonville. To know more about hauling services, please visit us.

Management Schools In Australia The Best One Can Get

A number of universities and educational organizations in Australia are presenting students with a wide variety of management programs. These programs cover a wide range of topics and issues like management, commerce, marketing and finance. Other than these traditional areas of management studies a number of other options are being provided as well. These are basically areas of specialization like sports, media and health.

The Masters of Business Administration programs have been tailored in such a way that they would address any and every requirements of the students. These programs are pretty highly ranked from a global perspective as well. The DBA and PhD programs allow the students to go for further specialization in their areas of preference. There are some postgraduate business programs available at Australian educational institutes as well. The programs, offered by these institutes, are substitutes for GMAT. They also have the provision of Online Master of Business Administration programs. These are primarily distance education programs and are meant for management professionals, who wish to continue their education, while holding onto a job.

There are management programs, available in Australia, which focus on Information Technology. These could be looked at as alternatives to conventional management programs. The Business School GSM of the University of Western Australia is a premier educational organization of Australia, which offers business management programs. It has two separate divisions Graduate School of Management and School of Economics and Commerce. This institute focuses on areas like finance and accounting.

Management School of Australia provides a diverse range of subjects to its students. The curriculum is inclusive of established as well as emerging subjects of management. c of the Australian University is a well known educational organization, which deals in management studies. The first year at Biztech Management School covers subjects such as accounting & taxation, hospitality management, aviation management. These subjects are provided to the students so that they can develop a wide skill level. The Bachelor of Commerce program at the Biztech Management School offers the students the choice of six separate streams that specialize in areas like accounting, finance, banking and management.

Retail Purpose Of Sale – 3 Benefits Of Retail Pos Over A Money Register

When you are just obtaining started with a replacement retail business and are wondering whether or not you should install one or more retail POS software and retail POS hardware, then in this text we tend to will discuss 3 distinct benefits of retail purpose of sale, POS, resolution over the usual money register solution.
These blessings are: Instant feedback on sales and expenses, Shrinkage reduction and Sales incentives. While the revealed logic knowledge suggests you ought to only install such POS systems when your annual sales exceed $700,000, I can offer a totally different suggestion: Check these following points and if you’re feeling that your installed retail POS resolution can a lot of a lot of than obtain itself over the subsequent year or so, you should install a POS system in your business.
Instant trend recognizing
With most trendy retail POS systems you can have instant access to sales and expense information from your stores throughout the business hours. You are in a position to collect pertinent trends as of sorts of items being purchased at any given time of day, coupons presented and redeemed at any given time, sales performance of staff, and much more. As the information are instantly obtainable and input into your retail POS accounting back workplace software, you’ll currently spot trends as they happen, not after they’re long gone. Catching a trend whereas it is still in impact can cause a very powerful boost to your bottom line profits. In addition to day-to-day trends you’ll be able to spot weekly, monthly, and seasonal trends as well. There’s no want for messy downloads and duplicate and paste into spreadsheets. By employing a retail POS system, your data will be where you wish it for the calculations and for trend spotting, instantly.
Shrinkage reduction
As shrinkage due to customer theft and employee theft is one of the key expenses in most retail businesses, the modern retail POS technology has been geared toward preventing shrinkage. Suppose you have a person who you believe of stealing cash from the money register. With a solid POS retail system, it will be simple to correlate that person or persons work schedule with the minute-to-minute sales information. Combined with put in security camera information, a modern POS will be a significant shrinkage deterrent.
Straightforward implementation of sales incentives
On the opposite hand, sales incentives are simply implemented with a fashionable retail POS solution. Each setting up the coupon campaigns and redeeming client coupons is very simple, which can help boost sales. Likewise, as for the staff performance, their sales numbers are simply tracked through a POS system, and a commission structure and payouts will be revealed daily. This data will facilitate increase sales through clear and timely incentives.

Domestic Energy Assessors Help Homeowners Show the Energy Efficiency of Their Homes When Selling

There is a new breed of professionals who you will get to know about now when you start out to sell your home. They are called Domestic Energy Assessors and are out now in England and Wales performing a brand new service.

The role of the Domestic Energy Assessor is to produce Energy Performance Certificates for inclusion in Home Information Packs. If this is complete news to you then just think of these as being certificates, like those you see on new fridges, which will provide A-G ratings on the energy efficiency of a home, plus advice on how to make further energy savings.

Energy Assessors will use their in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of the thermal performance of your home to judge on the thermal energy efficiency of properties.

This requirement has been introduced by the UK government working on the theory that these assessments of the the capability of all buildings about to be sold will encourage us all to be energy efficient. This will be good for the nation as it will be thoroughly green. It will the idea is, help avoid the need for the energy whether renewable or not.

This type of certificate is required whenever the building is constructed, sold or rented.

In the short term home owners directly, and home buyers indirectly, will need to pay for these Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) and in order to possibly carry out work to improve poorly insulated properties, they will need to pay for general advice to clients on energy efficiency measures.

This is all very good in principle, but the UK government has chosen exactly the wrong time to do this. The credit crunch is hitting the house sales market hard, it is already very difficult to sell properties, and the value of most of them is falling.

The staff that produce Energy Performance Certificates are very experienced in construction technology, building condition surveying and domestic energy assessment and are Degree qualified professionals. They do not come cheap!

Now we do accept that most assessors will not simply stop at inspecting your property, they should also take the time to explain exactly what they are inspecting, how they are going to go about it and gladly answer any questions that you may have. But, most sellers are going to deeply object to being forced by the state to take on this additional burden of cost.

The energy assessor takes measurements to analyse the cost of heating, water and lighting for a house and makes recommendations to improve the energy performance of the house. To me it looks like you the government may think that an assessment is a quick hour in the property and thats it. I doubt they have fully considered the travel time to and from the houses to be assessed, time taken to assess, time to prepare and check the report, input the data, produce the certificate and then charge a fee which includes the professionals insurance, accountant fees, advertising and many other costs – the list goes on and on, after all they will have to make a living like everyone else.