Why jamba juice just does not get it!!!

As I write this post, I checked Yahoo Finance and Jamba Juice (ticker JMBA) stock price is at $2.39. Compare this to Starbucks whose stock price is at $48.76. Wait a minute... isn't is supposed to be the other way around i.e. in this health conscious society, shouldn't the stock price of the company that offers fresh squeezed healthy fruit and vegetable juices be higher than the stock price of that company that sells harmful-to-health-strong-coffee??? what gives? Well, I am not surprised at all. In the past couple of months, I have gone to Jamba juice a couple of times and come back disappointed. I have noticed stark contrast in my experience at the two rivals (if I may call them). 1. Its the people - I went to Jamba juice and as I paid at the counter for what I wanted, I noticed that there were only two employees in the store and they were both trying to tell each other to go make the juice. Now, this was shocking.... c'mon if your employees feel that their work is a burden and don't want to do the work, what can you say about the company?? Compare that to starbucks, where you are always greeted with a smile and no one is trying to pass on the work to others.... 2. Price - I ordered a simple orange-carrot (medium size) and a single shot of wheatgrass. The bill came out to $8.50 or so. Now for that price, I can have a decent Indian lunch buffet complete with dessert and all... I felt the price was ridiculously high. Ok, starbucks is not cheap either... I know. 3. Time - Just recently when I went to Jamba juice (in the morning on my way to work), I ordered my regular orange carrot juice. There were no people in line. I emerged out of the shop after a good 25 minutes.... whoa!!! and with a drink that I did not originally order. Here's what happened. I ordered my juice and the lady started making it. Within a few seconds I saw her shaking her head. Apparently the orange juice machine malfunctioned. She opened it, took a part out, took it away, cleaned it up, assembled it again and started to juice.... and then the machine got stuck again. She let out a big sigh and this time took a bigger part of the machine out to clean and reassemble. All this while I am watching unsure to pity her or the company. For god's sake, have a backup machine in the store... how much can it cost?? Anyway, the lady came back and re-assembled the machine and just as she started to juice the oranges again, the machine got stuck a third time. As she started to disassemble the machine again, I intervened and put her out of her misery. I just did not have the patience or time to keep on waiting. I told her to give me just carrot juice instead. She said sorry and her co-worker made the carrot juice for me and I left. Now, as I mentioned - the company should have a backup machine in place for situations such as this.... imagine customers going in and being told the juice machine is out of order??? Secondly, if they cared enough about customer satisfaction, they could have offered me the juice for free (for the time I wasted standing there). Not that I wanted free juice, but I am pretty sure if it was starbucks, they would have done something to make up. 4. Product - One time I went to Jamba juice and felt quite lost in their menu. I wanted a fresh squeezed juice and chose something. Turned out to be a frozen/icee juice drink. I took it without complaining since this is what I had chosen. Now, I was trying to sip my juice and each sip would cause extreme brain freeze... gosh, horrible experience. 5. Snacks - Well starbucks carries yummy/unhealthy snacks but then they never claimed to be a health conscious business in the first place. Jamba juice also has unhealthy, calorie rich snacks (talk about confusing marketing message). Just to prove how lost their marketing is, right next to the snacks is a sign that read "Every sip deserves a snack (or bite)". What the heck??? Oh well, they just don't get it. If you are promoting good health, look at trader joe's or whole foods - the messaging and the whole experience is completely aligned. At the very least train your workers (or hire people) who don't run away from work.

A tale of two temples ...

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the two major temples in the Bay Area - The one in Livermore and the other one in Sunnyvale. Here's my impression of the two temples, which I must say has not changed over the last 10+ years. Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Livermore - We went to the temple on a weekend to meet a friend of my wife who was visiting from Canada and the temple seemed the ideal mid-point meeting place between our house and where she was staying. When we reached the temple, I must say the first impression was amazing. The temple looks marvelous, all with its authentic architecture etc and great organization (separate office building, shoe racks, shop for selling the big laddu prasadam etc). Ample space, neat and clean, well designed and constructed. I do not like two things about the temple though. 1. Inside the temple, no carpeting where people can sit. There are 10-15 sub temples inside the temple and it looks a bit chaotic. I mean, make up your mind what you want to have in there. My personal preference is one area for the idols and rest should be seating area where people can sit and relax/meditate/pray etc. The interior has not changed (at best) or more sub-temples have come up inside than before. The priests were quite aloof with no one even available to give prasad to the devotees. Big donation boxes all over the place, screaming out for donations. 2. The food area - surprisingly, this time around there was some food for people to enjoy - not a proper meal. Yogurt rice and some other rice dish. The table was set outside in the open (back side of temple) while the proper community hall was lying unused/vacant (I have seen it used for private parties/functions previously). There were very few tables and chairs (sitting on the floor was not an option since this was outside). The food was spicy and therefore the kids could hardly eat anything. As people sat there, after a little while some people came and started packing up the tables and chairs not bothering that people were still sitting. So, we got up and left. But before leaving, we did buy a few of those Big laddu prasad from the office (ironically, you have to buy the prasad from the temple). Sunnyvale Temple - A few weeks later, it was Janamashtmi (Lord Krishna's birthday). So, we all went to the temple in the evening. Now, this was a very different experience (I think they touched a new low that I haven't experienced in the past). There have been very serious allegations about the temple trustees/management (how they have siphoned off the donations/funds for personal use, how the trustees are life long members and not answerable to anyone etc etc) and I tend to believe that the allegations are to a large extent true. The temple is in a horrible shape. Fortunately, renovation work has started on the barn (that people used to call a temple) and it was closed to public. They have a community hall which was constructed a few years back and is much nicer. The temple idols were all moved to this new location. My first reaction when we reached the temple was a groan since as usual the parking was a nightmare. The place was crowded, parking spaces were too few and too tight. Anyways, fearing the worst, we entered the temple and I was pleasantly surprised. Even though there were 2-3 stations for idols, it wasn't bad and people were actually standing in line patiently waiting for their turn to view the idols and pray. Soon enough our turn came, I grabbed hold of my son and daughter (wife was a little distance behind), told the kids to close their eyes and pray very briefly. Within 10 seconds, a loud rude voice jolted me out of my connection with the almighty. "Keep moving. Do not stand here and pray. There is food outside that you can go and eat". I was SHOCKED!!!! how pathetic can this be...I understand people behind us waiting in line for their turn but 10 seconds and I am told that I am not allowed to pray. jeez. Anyways, without saying anything I moved on to the next station which was not crowded at all (and no lines). Prayed a bit and got some prasad. Met my ex-boss and chatted with him for a few minutes. Next, we went outside for food. Again this was in the open and a very very narrow and congested plate. No seating arrangement, just standing and most peolple were spilling onto the road. Waiting in the line for food, another so called temple administrator walks up and shouts in his typically north indian rude manner (to everyone standing there) "Be careful how many napkins you take. Use what you take. This is not Taco Bell". I mean ouch!!!! no class, no sense, no manners.... very hurtful. Quickly grab some food and eat it while standing. Quite uncomfortable esp. for the kids. After a few minutes, we left for home. Overall, the Livermore temple experience was more satisfying in the sense that the money seems to have been well spent for the temple construction but the connection with god seemed missing. At sunnyvale, the funds with almost 100% certainty have been swindled but I felt I was in a temple....despite all the rudeness all around. Now, my recent visit to both these temples have not altered my prior opinion about these places (rather they have been reinforced). All the more reason to look within one self for those wishing to connect to God.

A month later....

Well, graduation came (June 15th) and done. We all went to LA for the commencement ceremony. It was a grand affair, met some of the friends (possibly for the last time). There was so much excitement in the air - sense of relief on faces and anxiety (about future) on others. Overall good fun. Its been a month and a half since I resigned from Cisco and have sometimes wondered whether I did the right thing. Each time the answer (in my mind) comes back loud and clear - Yes. However, the fact is looking for a job when you don't have one already is 10x more difficult. I have talked to a few companies but I am not super excited. Some of them are doing the same stuff that I was doing before... Well, it will be some time before I get back into the workforce. Meanwhile, I am exploring some startup ideas as well with a few friends. Making some progress but lot more needs to be done. A very close friend of mine (from college days - India) called me yesterday and graciously offered to help with funding my venture. His offer itself meant so much more to me even though I amy or may not take his money. True friends are indeed a gift from god. Son is signed up for summer camp and there he is exploring a startup of his own. He is in a sales role and yesterday he and his team worked on their business plan. Today I will be going to their company fair and listen to him pitch his products and possibly buy some. :) A great exposure for him and his fellow campers - sets them an a completely different plane of thinking. :) While son is away for camp (atleast this week), I take my daughter out for bike rides in the morning. Time is just flying by ... P.S. On a whim, i decided to do some research on wide angle lenses for my Canon SLR camera and boy - are they expensive. At such times, you wish you had a second job so you wouldn't have to think as much about buying expensive things. :)

TieCon 2012

Spent 2 days (Friday and Saturday) at TieCon 2012. I must say each year I come back very impressed from the conference. For one, the sheer task of organizing such a big conference and no glitches. 150+ volunteers.... they even had one keynote speaker chicken out (Cisco VP) at the last minute and yet recovered quite gracefully from it and had someone else fill in. Second,thousands of entrepreneurs in attendance - huge networking opportunity and the sheer energy - quite amazing. Third, the choice of key note speakers - Deepak Chopra (always impressive and elegant as ever), Sam Pitroda (super impressive and down to earth) and others. Then, the panels and topic selections very very relevant. Overall, 10 out of 10. After the excitement of the last 2 days, it is back to work (or the lack thereof). :) Heck, I am not complaining. I am oscillating between starting and not starting a job search. Hopefully, will decide soon. It is a weird feeling not bringing home a paycheck.

Goodbye Cisco!!!

This week Monday - The work day started as usual.... but then there was nothing usual about what was about to come.Reached work around 9, Boss was already busy assigning action items to me :), Had a meeting scheduled with CMO from 10:30-11:00 to finalize details of my marketing launch plan, 11:00-12:00 - regular product management meeting, lunch,.... But I just simply couldn't concentrate on my work. Went through my meetings and grabbed a quick bite to eat for lunch. 1:00 - Saw that my second line mgr was back from lunch, I trooped in and announced my resignation from the job. 7+ years at the company and this was the culmination. In the next 2 hours, talked to my manager and the VP of Marketing and I was out of there. Clean cut of ties, the end of the journey. As the news of my departure trickled to my peers, they started calling me one by one asking what my plans were but what could I tell them. I hadn't made any plans before resigning except that I wanted to be out of there. Last few days have been relaxing as I got to go to the kids school and attend their spring program(s), take care of some other tasks that I wanted to do but never had the time to do.... Well, what does the future hold for me. I don't want to rush into job search mode right away and take the first opportunity that comes my way. MBA graduation is a month away - that is priority. Job search will start but when the time is right. After 18 longs years of non-stop working, it is time to recharge my batteries. As far as Cisco is concerned, I left some good friends behind and they will be missed. Hopefully, I see them again and get to work with them in a future role.

concert

Looking forward to Sunday. Why? you might be wondering. Well, famous ghazal singer of yester years (Pankaj Udhas) is coming to town for a concert. And I have bought the tickets. Hopefully, he still has some magic left in his voice.... I am going with low expectations though. :) Wifey is not into ghazals or anything even remotely close... so it will be me and a neighbor friend. A few weeks back Rahat Fateh Ali khan had come but I had already bought my tickets for Panjaj Udhas... else I would have gone there. In a week or so, Jazzy B is also coming (Punjabi Singer) but I will unlikely find any company to go there (alone is no fun). I have half a mind to ask my Bidri friends but then getting my weekends back means spending some time with the kiddos...not away from them.

Internet

A month of nagging from my wife was enough for me to ditch AT&T today and sign up for a new phone and internet service provider. We have had AT&T for 10+ years or maybe 15.... Wife has been complaining that the internet speed is too slow. I downloaded an APP and tested the speed. It turned out to be 2.9Mbps download and .29Mbps upload. I know for sure that some other folks in the neighborhood have better internet speeds. So, today I went ahead and order phone and internet from Sonic.net. Looks like they lease their lines from AT&T but they promise speeds of upto 20Mbps. It will take 5-7 days for the service to switch and I am keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, it turns out good. Oh, BTW the sonic service is at half the cost of AT&T service. I guess it's people like me (who don't shop around) that are keeping companies such as AT&T in business.

Roadshows

Supposedly, a perk of the marketing job... this week I got to go on a roadshow and tour the midwest. I and a colleague flew to Dallas, did some customer presentations for a new huge hospital that is coming up. While Dallas is beautiful and people are nice, it is somewhat of a concrete jungle. The next day we flew on to Wichita, KS. Wichita is a typical small town, USA and very green. At the Wichita airport, it felt as if we had landed in some 1960s era town. The car rental lot was smaller than a small parking lot and was shared by all of the 5 car rental agencies. Our hotel was a good 1 minute driving distance away. :) Houses don't have fences and land is in abundance. Since this roadshow was meant for SLED customers, the next day we drove to a school and I presented to a bunch of school IT directors. In Wichita, I met the local SE (Kewal). I must say, I am very impressed with the guy. He is such a jovial fellow and it was a pleasure interacting with him... so full of energy and cheerful. In the afternoon, he drove us to our final destination - Kansas City. Now, KC is much bigger than Wichita but it was again a very green city. The city is itself split between Kansas and Missouri states. The next day my colleague presented to about 20 customers. In the evening, it was time to head to the airport and come back home. 4 days on the road went like a breeze. Even though the trip was fine, I didn't enjoy it much. The night before I was to leave, I was tucking my son into bed and he had sadness all over his face at the thought of me going away. He wanted to know why I had to go and then I noticed a tear trickle down from the side of his eye while he lay in bed. He wanted to know if I would still have to go if I called in sick. That visual stayed with me throughout my trip and I just couldn't wait to come back. It was late on Thursday night when I reached home and the kids were already asleep... but sure enough early in the morning, he walked into our room, lay down next to me, hugged me tight and went off to sleep... quite peaceful. :)

Spring break!!!

Breaking away from tradition, we booked our spring break vacation plans 2.5 months in advance. :) So, last weak we flew to Houston, TX and then drove down to Corpus Christi. CC (for short) is a beach town in the gulf of mexico. As luck would have it, our hotel (Radisson) was right next to (yes of course the beach, but ...) the star attraction - USS Lexington. The evening we drove in, it was a bit windy but soon we were on the beach (right outside our hotel) wading in the warm waters. :) The hotel was decent and we spent the next two days there. The CC beach is pretty nice - neat and clean. Somehow, we missed the Texas spring break crowd by a couple of weeks. :) so, we had the beach pretty much to ourselves. The next day, we walked over to the USS Lexington. First time ever for me to see a US Aircraft Carrier. We got to walk all over the place - the flight deck with the actual fighter planes, the bridge (captain's quarters), the artillery station, the flight simulator.... amazing.

Then, we moved to a resort in Port Aransas - about 30-35 miles away. This was probably the best part of the vacation. The hotel suite (more of a condo, calling it a room would be insulting) was huge and nice. Two rooms, living room, fully stocked kitchen, balcony, 3 TVs, music system, 4 pools, water slides, walk to the beach, restaurant - you name it. This was luxurious living. We spent a couple of days here, often venturing out and exploring the local scene.

Finally, for the last leg of our vacation, we moved to Galveston, TX and checked into a nice Holiday Inn hotel. Now, this hotel is nice but after Port Royal, in Port Aransas, we felt cramped in a single room. :) The beach (very beautiful) was right across the hotel (across the road).

Throughout the vacation, the temperature was between 60-80F but we didn't feel the heat. Nice winds, an occasional shower .... Food was surprisingly not an issue. We found many options for vegetarians and people were very friendly. Finally, last night we flew back to SJ and after a day's rest, gearing up for work tomorrow.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

This president's day long weekend, decided to take a break for the daily hum-drum and head over to the mountains for some snow play with family. We decided to go to a relatively closer place this time. As usual booked the hotel at the last minute (some habits die hard). The ride was pleasant and the kids were quite eager and excited in anticipation of snow. We booked a suite in a hotel about 45 minutes away from the ski resort in a quaint old town. Signed up the kids for skiing lessons for the next day and then chilled out. Nice dinner in a local shop and then there was some light snowfall overnight. Headed over to the resort the next day and while the kids went through the skiing lessons, me and the missus sat and enjoyed the scene. Finally, in the evening when we were ready to head back home, we could see the disappointment on the kids face knowing that the vacation was too short, we stopped by the roadside and went out for one last snow play. The next 2 hours or so were really awesome. They built their own snowmen, we did some tubing down a not so gentle slope, a big free-for-all snow fight... :) great fun. I could imagine the scene from the Robert Frost poem (above) as the sun was setting and we were merrily playing in the snowy woods, totally oblivious of the 200 mile journey ahead. After everyone had their fill, finally we headed home. :)
Today I hear that another snow play trip is in the works. :) Should be fun.

Netflix

Finally took the plunge. Bought a blue-ray/dvd player with built in wifi and a subscription to netflix. I used to cringe at the thought of watching TV streaming over the internet but I must say I am impressed. At $10/mo, it should be giving Dish/Directv/cable a run for their money.

Pros

- HD quality
- No interruptions due to repeated buffering etc
- TV episodes and movies
- lots of content (kids, adults)

Cons

- No live tv (I still can't get myself to buy an antenna to get the free channels over the air)
- Initial connection setup time (2-3 mins - turn on, choose netflix, choose a selection etc)

The question now is whether to take Hulu+ service as well or not? Even if I do, I will still be down $20/month which is far better than the $85/month I am paying for dish. Decisions, decisions!!!

New year eve...

Let me begin by answering the top question in your mind right now - Yes I know new year is already 9 days old. It's just that I am getting the time now to write about it (or rather I should say if I don't write now, I won't have time for another 3 months).

Winter break - stayed at home. No snow this time around (even till now) and it did not make sense to go to ski resorts when there is no snow. Watched "The adventures of Tintin" in the theater and must admit - it is a well made movie and was a lot of fun to watch. The kids wanted to have a pet at home - "snowy". :) Rest of the days were well deserved do-nothing relaxation days although there was house work since wifey was working throughout the break (no break for her).

For new year's eve party, we broke tradition and did not go out. We organized a party at a friend's house in the neighborhood. Food - Music - dancing - fun is probably the best way to describe it. About 35-40 people and everyone had a great time. Partied like anything till 2 am or so before heading home. :)

New year resolutions - I don't believe in making resolutions esp. on New years day. If you want to do something, you can resolve to do it any time of the year. I do hope that this year is happier, healthier and wealthier for us. :)

School has started and it is going to be a wild ride this qtr - 12 units instead of the regular 8 units. bring it on....