Your August 2017 News & Updates
Quick news and takes on the markets affecting your business. Where is resin going, where is paper going, and what is on Ron’s mind?
Resin Market
Since I was off on my predicted resin drop for the month of June, I decided to ask someone who answers more questions than I do.
Ron – “Hey Siri, what will resin prices do?”
Siri – “Risen is a 2016 movie starring Joseph Fiennes and Cliff Curtis. It’s available on iTunes.”
Ron – “That’s not what I asked, Siri”.
Siri – “RISEN, is a popular biscuit and donut restaurant located in Charlotte, would you like directions?”
Well, my relationship with Siri is a little complicated. She seems to work for everyone else but me.
So, without Siri’s help, let me try another crack at it. Resin stayed flat again for another month in July and in August, it appears to show strength as business activity is picking up in the export market and domestic usage. The industry is trying to push a price increase which they stacked two on top of each other. Will it go up? Ask Siri.
Paper Market
Buying paper is like paying for a DJ. The last time I had an event with a DJ, the gentleman showed up with a song list and an Iphone and a computer. I think I could have hit “SHUFFLE” on the Iphone as well as he could. It seems like I don’t know what I’m getting for my dollar but I shelled out $600.00 for 4 hours of playing his best of the 80s list.
OCC continues to show more strength and propelling paper to higher and higher heights. The “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of my vendors continues but I am seeing the most bizarre change in the market. I am being asked for orders but not given any type of incentive to place them. I suppose you can call it professional begging, or as my local NPR station might call it, we won’t stop this pledge drive until we get money. I believe the paper market may stay in a stable position but I don’t think we will see any drops or even many spot deals. I am hoping for stable but I never know in this volatile market.
Ron’s View
I recently had my DNA tested by 23andme.com. I hate to sound like the commercial but wow, I was amazed. I knew I was Heinz 57, but I never knew that I can draw my ancestors from so many places. The biggest shock to me is that my largest DNA percentage showed that I am 31.8% Irish and only 28% Korean. Here is the second jolt to my system, I am 16% Japanese, which I had absolutely no idea that I had any Japanese DNA and it seemed to be a surprise to my Mother as well.
My last name is of German descent and one that I grew up with which was like growing up with your first name like that Johnny Cash song, “A Boy Named Sue”. I took many a verbal beating over the last name, Grubbs. I grew up with the notion that I was a worm or that my name meant “chow” or a colloquialism for casual dining. However, my DNA test shows that I have only 14% Northern European/German descent, seems like such a small amount of ancestry to take such a ribbing.
I recently returned from a trip to Korea to take my Mother to her homeland. It has been 12 years since her last trip and things have changed so much as you can imagine. The society and the progress is blindingly fast. One thing I joked about was the customer service that I notice about Korea. It’s lacking to say the least. When we went out for Korean BBQ, the lady argued with my Mother about what meats to order. The lady was insisting we try the specialty but none of my family was interested in eating octopus and she was upset with us for saying, “no”. Also, the lady yelled at me for putting soy sauce on rice. In this instance, customer service was lacking. I bring this up because my Father was insistent upon the tenants of which we live by. Every customer is deserving of the respect of a quick response and access is the vitality of our business. Our bond and partnership is the fact we love to deliver great service. It is ingrained in us.
I recently had some dealings with a company in South America. The film was just okay but the pricing was lower than the US market. However, the communication was terrible and the service was awful. Orders could take 16 weeks or 10 weeks, they couldn’t tell you. Also, they would screw up orders and shipping and the person in charge of their sales would berate you and your team. The quickness of getting scolded for a mistake, which was actually their mistake. It’s so bad that I wouldn’t buy from this person if her pricing was at .10 a pound. So, when it comes to selling to our firm, I am always disappointed because it’s very rare when we are treated as we try to treat our customers. Maybe it’s because we are not perfect and we realize that but we go out of our way to make things right.
We will screw up, it’s a part of life, but we will do anything and everything to make it right. So many times, we are making up for the mistakes of our suppliers and expending the energy and money to fix their mistakes. So many times, they don’t even acknowledge this nor do they seem to care. However, we never have that attitude here, I now know why; it’s in our DNA to care.
Here is my DNA test results:
https://you.23andme.com/published/reports/cdaa23e3a4a2463f/?share_id=5ea97ff7ad5f4268
