And Then I Held A Glass Of Water To Her Lips While She Was Tied Up

I wanted to make money. When I moved to NYC to get a fulltime job I was rich. I was making $40,000 a year. This was a huge move up from my prior salary of $28,300 a year.

I thought I should be able to hire a butler on that kind of money.

I bought a suit. I started looking at nice apartments. I figure I could afford the massive budget of $800 a month, give or take a "few hundred".

One time there was an apartment available uptown. I met the real estate guy. While we were checking out the apartment he accidentally dropped his suitcase and about a dozen porn magazines fell out. He apologized while he picked them up and stuffed them back into this suitcase.

I couldn't afford his fee of 5% of the year's rent. I had no money other than what was coming up on my next paycheck.

So I lived with my parents which meant I had to get on a bus at 6am and I didn't get back from the city until about 10pm each day.

Finally, I was hanging around Washington Sq Park doing nothing and I met Elias and he needed a roommate. It was just $300 a month. I got the futon and he got the couch. It was one room. The broken shower was constantly running and the kitchen was so bad I didn't set foot in it once.

We kept different hours so I was usually asleep when he got home. With a girl.

He and the girl would go into the bathroom and start having sex with her perched on him while the wall pushed back and forth, as if it were ready to burst and they would fall right through. My bed was against the wall and I'd try to sleep but also I'd stay up and listen.

Elias was a strong chessplayer and made his money gambling chess in the park. His brother Jorge maybe is the most talented chessplayer in history but never really pursued the game after he was a teenager.

One time I was sick and in the middle of the night Elias woke me and told me we were getting kicked out of the apartment.

Then I decided I needed to make even more money.

Nobody had websites then. I thought this was a big problem that I wanted to solve. Everyone needed a website.

My brother-in-law and I did a website for a diamond wholesaler on 47th street. "If you tell anyone you are doing this website," he said, in his thick Russian-Jewish accent, "I'm going to have to kill you." People say that as a joke but he was serious.

And now he's dead. He was looking for diamonds in an obscure part of Russia and his plane crashed.

Nobody on the street (known as the Diamond District in NYC) was allowed to know that a wholesaler was selling direct through the Internet. We charged $35,000 for that.

My take was $17,500 which I used to pay for a year's rent at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC.

It was all cash. I gave it to the owner of the Chelsea in a paper bag and he said, "are you a drug dealer?" I don't think he was asking this to see if I should live in his building or not. I think he was just curious.

Then we did HBO's website for close to $100,000. I was working at HBO and outsourced the site to my brother in law. Then we did AmericanExpress.com and LoudRecords.com, BadBoy, NewLine, and Miramax.com and TimeWarner.com and websites for The Matrix, the Wu-Tang Clan, Con Edison, and many others. We were in business.

I worked all day at HBO and then all night at Reset, the name of the company. We got an office, then we got a bigger office. We had big parties.

Maybe five other companies knew how to do websites in NYC at the time and we were the smallest but I like to think we did the most creative sites.

We did a site called "Shoebox". I asked one of my neighbors at the Chelsea, who was a professional submissive, if she would let us photograph and interview her and her girlfriend, a professional dominatrix who was around 7 feet tall and had some sort of extra chromosome that enlarged everything about her and made her constantly lactate.

They came over to our office where we had a big photo studio and they had about 20 pairs of shoes and all of their lingerie. The highlight for me was holding a glass of water up to Maria's lips when she was completely tied up and thirsty in between takes.

The site was so popular that Con Edison came over and said, "that's what we want our website to look like."

Nobody knew what they were doing.

It's hard to be a first-time entrepreneur. I should've made our services into a product, for instance, raised money, and aimed for a big IPO.

Instead we sold for a multiple of our profits. Maybe the only Internet company back then that was profitable. Stupid.

I knew technology but I knew zero about business. I wish I had just even one mentor then who could've told me about the business side of things.

We also wanted to try out different ideas. While we were running a website business we also tried to be a rap label, a producer of TV shows, and even a tea company.

We found a rap group we liked and almost signed them but then lost interest.

About half the companies we worked with had employees who asked for bribes in order to throw business our way. "Bribe" is a strong word. Sometimes it was more subtle. "Favor". Nevertheless, we always paid the bribe.

Humiliation was common for me. I'd fly out to California to pitch Jim Carrey's agent about doing his website. "This is going to be HUGE!" his agent said. "you HAVE to go to a party with us later tonight." And an hour later I would call for directions to the party and the agent would say, "Wait, wait, wait a sec. Who is this?"

Another time I hired someone to be CEO while I was still working full-time. He's a good guy but I didn't understand how to make a deal. He wanted 10% of the company that would vest in six months. In six months and one day he took his 10% and quit and made a sitcom for MTV.

Water under the bridge. We're good friends today.

We felt like we were the wild west. Rappers with guns would stroll into our offices. Trent Reznor would hang out throwing around ideas for the Nine Inch Nails website.

Miramax executives would scream at me over the phone if one pixel was out of place on their logo. One day we spent the day tasting different teas. We wanted to pitch Honest Tea but it didn't work out.

Clients would get shot and killed at awards ceremonies in the music industry. HBO one time wanted to buy us but that's when I had to admit that I was at both places and had to quit working at HBO.

My first day on the job I cried because I had no idea what to do or who to do it to and people stopped returning my calls after I left HBO.

Then we started getting calls to get acquired. One guy said, "I don't know a hamburger from a website but I know that a stock with an Internet company is going to go up." He was from a company that manufactured burn gels and they wanted to buy us so they could put ".com" at the end of their name.

I went on a vacation to Paris. There's a restaurant at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. The guy sitting next to us was celebrating. He had just sold a chain of Papa John's pizza stores. When I got back to New York he kept calling me and wanted to invest. Maybe he would've been my smart investor but we never took in any money.

Eventually we sold. Eventually people realized that it doesn't cost $75,000 to make a three page website about Dennis Miller. Eventually the entire web design business went bankrupt as an industry before it reinvented itself as "full services" in the Internet space.

I didn't know what to do after we sold the company. I felt totally lost.

I had money and it seemed lonely sitting in a bank account. So I bought a house. I rode helicopters every week to Atlantic City. I made a lot of new friends who all wanted something and none of them speak to me anymore.

I played poker every night for 365 straight days. "Ingrid says hi", Brian Koppelman, the writer of Rounders, wrote me the other day. Ingrid was usually in charge of the Mayfair Club, the best poker club in NY in 1999. Portrayed by Famke Jannsen in the movie.

Every day was a mask to fool someone into having a relationship with me. Into doing business with me. Into not firing me. Into buying my company.

When I actually had to "be myself" I went broke and lost all of my relationships almost instantly.

I no longer even speak to my partners in the business, all of whom are blood relatives. I was drinking, gambling, running businesses into the ground, spending, and betraying.

I could say, "I wish someone had given me advice" during this time but perhaps many people tried to.

I wish I could say, "I listened" but I honestly didn't have the ability to listen. I didn't even know what listening meant.

Listening is a more difficult skill than "Doing". Because you know the difference between "done" and "not done". But there's no line that tells you whether you listened or not.

This is the entire reason why the self-help business is a scam.

There's absolutely nothing that could've helped me. I would later lie down in the street and pray for a car to run over me while my baby girls were upstairs playing.

I wish I could re-live the entire experience. Like the blizzard of 1996 when we all went to work at midnight to finish a website and it felt so good to deliver. Or when I was scared I'd have to fire everyone because I lost a big client and didn't tell anyone. 

Now when people ask me what I would do differently I always say the same answer, "I wouldn't change a thing".

Job Interview: Why Only 3 Questions Really Matter

Even for the most fearless amongst us, job interviews can be nerve wracking. In order to give us the best chance of success we tend to prepare for many of the difficult questions we anticipate, questions like:

• Why should we hire you?
• What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
• What are your key strengths and weaknesses?

Of course, you can never predict how an interview will go and what questions you will get. You might get an interviewer who fires one tough question at you after the other, or one that turns the interview into a more comfortable, natural two-way conversation. Preparing, therefore is difficult. In most cases we practice the answers to a long list of possible questions. The problem is that this can leave you over-prepared and as a consequence your pre-conceived answers can come across a bit robotic.

From my experience, there are really only 3 questions you have to prepare for and you can link most of the interview questions back to these three. Preparing for these three questions also means you can answer most questions more naturally, simply by referring mentally back to your preparations for these three questions.

Basically, any interviewer wants to establish 3 key things:

1. Have you got the skills, expertise and experience to perform the job?
2. Are you enthusiastic and interested in the job and the company?
3. Will you fit into the team, culture and company?

However, during the job interview, the interviewer might use many different questions and angles to get to the answers. If the interviewer doesn’t get what he or she wants from one question, they might ask them in different ways. Or they might probe from different angles to test for consistency in your answers.

Here is what’s behind these 3 questions:

1. Have you got the skills, expertise and experience to perform the job?

Think about the key skills you might need for the job you have applied for and assess your own level of expertise and experience in that context. It makes sense to identify the more specific or technical skills that your potential employer might expect as well as some more generic skills such as being a good communicator, having good IT skills, being a team player, etc. Once you have prepared for this question it will help you answer many different interview questions without getting sidetracked into talking about things that are not relevant. Remember that you want to demonstrate that you are aware of the key skills, expertise and experience required to do the job and that you have what it takes to perform it. Always go back to the key skills, expertise and experience when answering scary (and sometimes silly) questions like:

• Tell me about yourself?
• What are your greatest strengths / weaknesses?
• What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
• Why do you think you are right for this job?
• What do you think the main challenges will be?
• Etc.

2. Are you enthusiastic and interested in the job and the company?

Any potential employer wants to know that you are interested in the company and excited about the prospect of working there. You therefore want to demonstrate that you have researched the company, understand its strategy, current performance, structure, market position and products and that you can’t wait to join them. For most, you will have done your homework before you even applied for the job, but if you haven’t then check out the ‘about us’ section on their website and search for the latest strategy documents, annual reports, key statistics as well as the company history. Show that you know them and demonstrate your enthusiasm for the job and company. Here you might also want to think about your ambitions and how they fit into the company you have applied for. You can then use the insights for answering questions such as:

• What do you know about our company?
• What do you think our company is aiming to achieve?
• What do you know about our products and services?
• Why do you want to work for this company?
• Why do you think this job is right for you?
• What motivates you?
• Etc.

3. Will you fit into the team, culture and company?

This final key question is about your personality and your style and how you as a person fit into the team and culture of the company. Companies have different cultures, which translate into different ways of behaving and working. It is important to make sure you fit in and don’t feel like a fish out of water. In fact, it is important for the company as well as for you. Again, hopefully you will have done some research prior to applying for the job. Sometimes, it can be tricky to find detailed knowledge about the company culture, in which case you simply talk about your assumptions and why you feel you fit in. One relatively new website that offers a glance inside companies is Glassdoor. The site is still in its infancy but provides a growing amount of data and information about what it is like to work for different companies. You want to map the culture of the company or the team you are planning to join and compare this to your personality traits, style and behaviors. Again, once you have done this you can use it to answer questions such as:

• How would you describe your work style?
• How would you describe yourself?
• How would your colleagues describe you?
• What makes you fit into our company?
• What makes you a good team member?
• If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
• Etc.

Of course, any interview is a two-way process. In the same way the interviewer wants to find out that you are right for the company, you need to assess whether the company is right for you. Each of the questions can be turned around so that you can assess:

1. By joining this company, will I make best use of my skills and expertise and will they help me to grow them further?
2. Is the company excited about having me work for them and will they give me the necessary support?
3. Is the company culture the right fit for me so that I can flourish and be myself?

If you ask relevant questions from your point of view then this will make the interview more balanced and create a more natural conversation.

Top 10 Tech Predictions for 2015

My top 10 technology trends lists cover trends that I think will be important over the next three years or so. As 2014 is now well underway, it’s time to focus on what’s around the corner so we are ready for massive change and newfound complexity.

1. Data Intensive Applications Will Rule Wireless IP As I predicted a decade ago, IP will eat everything. And I was right. But now, for my next prediction: Wireless data applications will eat IP in less than three years. The size and magnitude of this change is impossible to imagine, but the implications for service providers will hit like a tsunami in 2015.
2. Mobile Data Congestion is Already a RealityService providers must start to off-load to other wireless technologies like WiFi immediately. They also need to create space for new applications like those used in advanced technologies like robotic surgical operation. Data off-loading, like WiFi itself, is an immediate need for all service providers worldwide.
3. Applications Must be the Center
   Networks must be redesigned so that applications are the center of the universe. Networks must adapt and adjust traffic needs of the application such as latency, jitter and packet loss absorption to provide spontaneous and ubiquitous coverage across the world.
4. Data Traffic is Rising By 2015, 91 percent of internet traffic will be video, including HD and 3D video. The current internet is not designed for these needs. We have to design networks, and applications such as CDN, to be able to handle the load effectively and efficiently. Additionally, management of traffic at data centers poses another major challenge for service providers. Data center traffic will exceed five zetabytes in 2015 and 76 percent of that data will stay inside the data center. This demands brand new architectures, much different than the models developed with Layer 4-7 switch in the last decade. In addition, 50 percent of video is for downstream mobile traffic and Over-The-Top (OTT) players like Netflix who make their revenue on the backs of companies like ATT, Verizon and others. These OTT players will command 35 percent of US peak downstream traffic.
5. Rising Data, Declining Revenue
   This trend, already visible, will continue — and accelerate — in 2014 and 2015. Today data revenue and traffic are disassociated in a data-dominant world. Revenues are beginning to plateau so CXOs must be ready to help CEOs create innovative ways to take revenue away from OTT players starting now.
6. Cloud Computing Will Plateau
   Cloud computing implementation will plateau by 2015. Technologies such as quantum computing will take their place at the center of our universe for decades to come, and the traditional Moore’s law computing model will be replaced.
   
   For example, in 1940, computers processed one CPS (cycle per second) every 150 seconds. As computing has improved, we moved up to common PCs like the IBM PS/2, which ran at 250 CPS. When the Cray computer was needed for massive processing, it had only 86 million CPS. By 2015, early quantum computers will handle 38 TCPS, and we will be able to see to the edge of the universe with massive computing at 14B light years away with computers that can handle 8.6 Quadrillion CPS. Computing will finally surpass Moore’s law.
   
   For you techies: Quadrillion means 10 to the power of 15 CPS performed every second. This number, which blows people’s minds, has profound implications for cloud and other technology. Services will develop that are so massive it is hard to even imagine them. If they are not careful, quantum computing will create real headaches for service providers by 2015.
7. Knowledge Mining Rules!
   Knowledge mining will replace all data mining and information mining; this will have a huge impact on data retention and compression across the entire enterprise.
8. The Advent of LTE-A
   LTE-A will finally become reality, with peak speeds of up to 1 Gbps+; LTE-A will compete with FTTH technologies.
9. New Radio Developments
   New Wireless RAN technologies will use cognitive radios; small sites and femto cells will be history like other technologies.
10. New Technologies to watch for in 2015:

- Thumb Print Scanners

- Large Mobile Storage like SATA in smart phones

- Fuel cells with battery life exceeding 3-10 days on a single charge

- 3-D printing

- IPv6

- 100 Mbps broadband speed for consumers

- Autonomic computing

- Quantum computing in all types of verticals such as security, surgery and mainly,

robotics

- 50 billion end points including RFIF- and GPS-based devices

- 10:1 ratio of wireless devices to wire line

- Speech-to-speech translation in real time will finally become a reality with

technologies such as quantum computing

- Implantation of “nano computers,” quantum computers which are one hundredth the

size of current PCs and one thousandth the weight of the smallest Laptop and PC in

the world

- Green technology will finally become real and affordable for consumers and

businesses to use, which will lower oil dependency and create jobs beyond what

we have ever seen in the past 100 years

- Wearable Networks: networks that, in case of failure, return to their original state

with no manual intervention

- Intelligent optical chip will finally become reality. Light can be stored on a chip which

will allow massive amounts of optical processing

One final note: The years between 2020-25 will be dominated by machines. Consumers and businesses will live in a robotic world — a scenario eerily reminiscent of the Terminator franchise.

4 Sales Strategy Lessons from House of Cards

Netflix subscribers rejoice – the much-anticipated second season of House of Cards premiered this week. Centered around an ambitious and cunning politician named Frank Underwood (portrayed by Kevin Spacey), the show has generated widespread acclaim from viewers and critics.

Underwood is known for his particularly ruthless political tactics, but he ultimately gets his way through sheer determination. While we don’t endorse any under-the-table dealings, sales professionals can still take a few lessons from Underwood when looking to advance their goals.

Keep these 4 thoughts in mind when structuring your sales strategy:

1. Know (and grow) your network

In season one, Underwood served as the Democratic House Majority Whip under a new White House administration. He had already established a reputation for cunning political insight, collecting numerous allies and holding them in his back pocket. He knows they can be trusted, and he uses them to further his goals.

Selling is a team effort, and your network plays a significant role with successful prospecting. Become familiar with you individual network, then use TeamLink to find the best path to your prospect. You stand a greater chance of success with a trusted source introduction than by reaching out cold.

2. Tell a compelling story

Most politicians are able to recite talking points and pull numbers from a recent poll. But truly gifted lawmakers can weave a story that captures the attention of their constituents. Underwood hails from South Carolina, not normally considered Democratic territory. But he leveraged his familial and military connections to win the rural seat, and then used his political talents to ascend higher.

Talking points might get you into the boardroom, but a compelling, relevant story about achieving results with similar companies can help win over prospects. Boost your chances even further by looping the customer into your story – it will show that you aim to represent them, not the other way around.

3. Engage directly

Underwood may have his loyal assistant in Doug Stamper, but he’s not afraid to do the work himself. In fact, he sometimes relishes direct contact with friends and enemies – it gives him more opportunities to read and understand their behaviors. His lengthy stay with presidential advisor Raymond Tusk served to evaluate his capabilities for higher office. Underwood is in his element during these direct discussions.

Making the initial connection is merely the first step – now you need to provide consistent, direct connections. Give your prospect a reason to keep engaging – a personalized piece of content helps build trust between both parties. There is no delegating with selling tactics – you are your own brand advocate. Make sure your profile is up to date, and enhance it with unique and curated content – think of it as a personal microsite.

4. Don’t speculate

Frank Underwood always has a plan. The entire story arc of the first season revolves around his elaborate plan to reach higher office. Underwood never makes a move without first assessing the risks and rewards – which then strengthens his tactics.

With the wealth of searchable data available from LinkedIn Sales Navigator, there’s no need to speculate on prospect behavior. Advanced segments help narrow your focus based on geographical or demographical metrics, allowing you to plan your methods before the initial contact.

Here are just a few of the data points you can leverage:

• Title
• Experience
• Seniority
• Company size
• Location

Connect Me In Twitter : https://twitter.com/arjunsantosh

Productivity Hacks: Why 4 a.m. Is the Best Time to Work

 

For me, the most precious commodity in business is time. And I find I am most productive when I balance time that I spend with others with blocks of time during which I can think, write and —my favorite — build earnings models.

When I was in corporate America, I tried for awhile to schedule no meetings on a couple of Fridays every month, thereby giving myself the luxury of blocks of time to think. It worked ... sort of. But I had one significant problem: email. Some people can ignore email, but I have never formed the discipline of not checking email repeatedly and obsessively during the course of the day. It appears that I am addicted to the rush of endorphins that occurs when one receives a batch of emails, which I guess is better than being addicted to other things.

So now I work when others sleep.

I am never more productive than at 4 am. I brew a cup of coffee, I keep the lights pretty low, I sometimes light a fire in the fireplace, and I let my daughter’s cat sleep next to my computer. My mind is clear, not yet caught up in the multiple internal conversations that we all conduct with ourselves once we gear up for our first meeting of the day. And there’s a peace that comes from knowing that my family is all in bed and safe upstairs while I work. It is at this time of day that I often have a rush of ideas (some of them actually good).

Yes, this does mean I have to go to sleep earlier, but I long ago recognized that I am out of gas by about 8 p.m. every evening. Any work that I try to do after that isn’t up to my standards anyway, so I give myself a break then. I use that time to be with my children, to socialize ... and to get to sleep so that I can start again at 4 a.m

Follow Me On Twitter: https://twitter.com/arjunsantosh

A Survivor’s Guide to Bullies, Backstabbers and Bastards

As I survey employees about their jobs, one thing most of us say is we’ve all worked for our share of terrible bosses.

Some of these managers are Bullies: Controlling, picky and petty. Some are Backstabbers: Taking credit for your work and undermining you at every turn. And others are just plain Bastards: Mean, vindictive, conniving.

And, if we are lucky, we get all three in one package like my worst boss Voldemort (not his real name). A kindly grandfather-type before we began working together, he quickly became a dictator after his appointment over me—removing people who had worked for me for years without my input, taking huge expenses from other operating areas and putting them into my P&L, storming into my employees’ offices and screaming at them if they didn’t do his insane bidding. One morning at a private breakfast meeting, as I attempted to explain my frustration, he nixed any further discussion. I remember wondering what prison sentence I would have to serve if I stuck a fork in his eye.

Maybe you have had this

Now, to be fair, some of these folks are insecure because they are in over their heads, others have never been taught proper interpersonal and managerial skills, and some believe their harsh behavior is not only accepted but encouraged in the business world.

More often, unfortunately, these folks are just bad to the bone.

Over the last 30 years I have collected more than a few horror stories of such bosses, and a few strategies to survive the evildoers above us. First…

Don’t Lose It. If these jerks can get you to lose your temper they win. And they know it. No matter how tempted you may be to fork-stab your boss, don’t lose your cool. The irony: You will go to prison and he will become a beloved martyr. Take a deep breath and live to fight another day. As the Brits say, keep a “Stiff upper lip.”

Talk it Out. Never, ever go to war in public with a bad boss. In private, have a calm conversation with your boss about the type of direction you need, how you best react to feedback, etc. Be polite, positive, and focus on how you can do your best work. Telling the boss he makes Stalin look like a sissy will just create an enemy. This discussion may not solve your problems, but it’s a must-try first step.

Don’t Complain Up. Unless a boss’s behavior strays into harassing territory—when you’ve got to tell HR or the big boss—realize that if you get into a pissing match with your boss you will lose. These guys are survivors. And avoid the temptation to sit around in the break room venting with your coworkers. There are no secrets in a corporation. The odds of your bad-mouthing getting back to your boss are just about 100 percent. In the end, you’ll just earn a reputation as a “high maintenance complainer” who no other managers will want on their team.

Confide to an Outsider. Find a trusted confidant outside the company who you can talk to about the problem, either a family member, friend, mentor, religious leader, or therapist. If you let the problem fester it will drive you to anxiety and perhaps even depression, which will adversely affect your life not only inside but outside of work too.

Don’t Lose Confidence. Sad, but many bad bosses derive a sense of twisted satisfaction when they force you to doubt yourself and your abilities. To this end, they’ll pit their people against each other, yell or threaten, look down their noses at you, and let you know who’s really in charge. It is a power trip. To block the bad energy, buoy yourself. When I was working for Voldemort, I left a desperate voice mail message to an old colleague and asked him to tell me that I was great. His genuine email came a few hours later. He said, “You are not Chester, you are Spartacus.” Then he told me all the ways I was talented. It made me laugh and tear up a little. It got me through that day and many more as I read and re-read it.

Realize You Won’t Change Them. It is only once in a blue moon when bad managers change, and it’s typically only after harsh intervention from those above them, not below. So don’t expect them to suddenly become more touchy-feely or “get” you. If you are going to stay working for them, you need to make peace with your situation and find fulfillment elsewhere in your life.

Get Out of Dodge. There are times when, for the sake of those you love and for your own sanity, you have to transfer to another department or leave the company entirely. Do so on good terms (you may want to come back one day after the boss has been led from the building in shackles). Find a place to land before you bolt.

Move On. The best revenge is to live well. Take solace in the fact that when you wake up in the morning you are a good person. Forgive them their errors, and don’t spend a minute more thinking about them. Enjoy your life and your family.

Admittedly I broke every one of these principles during my working career, but this is the advice I give now to those I counsel with, and I think it can help save a lot of heartache and pain.

Let me know how you’ve survived a Bully, Backstabber or Bastard. Your advice may be the inspiration someone out there needs to feel just like Spartacus.

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When Companies Underestimate Their Customers

Richard Barnes wishes he hadn't rented the car.

The vehicle, which he reserved for on a business trip in Atlanta, was absolutely fine. It's what happened afterwards that makes his blood boil.

Barnes picked up the vehicle at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He drove it to the Hyatt in Atlanta. The next day, he returned it to the airport without a scratch.

"Four months later I received a bill for $12,000 for an accident and damage to the car I had rented," he says.

Say what?

Yep, $12k for a rental car returned undamaged. I recently wondered how careful you have to be in order to not get scammed as a consumer.

But there's another side to this issue: How careful do businesses think we are?

For the record, Barnes is no dummy. He's an academic who works for a prestigious Northeastern college, and he knew that he hadn't caused $12,000 worth of damage to his car, and he also knew he had certain rights.

You'd be surprised at how many customers just roll over when they're faced with a $12,000 bill, or more precisely, how fast their insurance companies play dead.

As I reviewed Barnes' correspondence, it seemed they just mixed up the cars and sent him the wrong bill. When I checked with the rental company, it said it no longer had the records of the incident, because the car rental company in question was under new ownership. How convenient.

How dumb do they think we are?

Underestimating your customer — that seems to be a time-honored tradition in American business, and particularly in the travel industry.

SeaWorld is probably regretting that this week, as several A-list musicians canceled their appearances in the wake of the troubling revelations about the treatment of its whales in a documentary film called Blackfish. I guess they didn't think anyone reads Change.org.

It's hardly the only time the travel industry underestimates us. Consider this: The price of a roundtrip flight from my home airport, Orlando, to Frankfurt, Germany, is about $1,200 in economy class. If you'd rather fly in first class, it's $12,000. Now, no one likes to be stuck in the back of the plane, where there's virtually no legroom, service is practically nonexistent, and the other passengers sometimes behave like Barbarians.

But $12,000? Do they think we'll miss that decimal point?

Similarly, loyalty programs often cater to the intellectually-challenged. Sure, it's nice to be treated like the average economy class passenger in 1977, with ample legroom and reasonably good service — but in exchange for what? Pledging our undying fealty to a too-big-to-fail airline? Playing their little frequent flier game with points that consistently lose value and don't even belong to you?

Do they think we won't notice what's happening here?

We're getting played.

Revenge fantasies

I'm heartened when travelers outsmart the companies who underestimated them. When I see folks gaining the upper hand by using unsanctioned strategies, it can be gratifying. Not always, but sometimes. Even though we all know that loyalty programs are harmful to the travel industry — particularly to the average air traveler — we can get some small satisfaction when a clever blogger figures out a way to game the system so that passengers, and not the company, come out on top.

That includes me.

Barnes' story has a happy ending. He phoned his car rental company and asked the company if someone else had rented the car after he'd returned it. Yes, a representative said.

"How many miles are now on the odometer?" he inquired.

"11,680 miles," said the employee.

When Barnes returned it, he noted 4,000 miles on the car.

"Has the car been in an accident?" he asked innocently.

Yes, said the representative. Who? The representative gave him a name. It wasn't Barnes'.

"It turns out that a subsequent driver crashed the car long after I'd rented it," he says. "But I was being charged for the repairs."

He says he asked the car rental company to drop the claim, and it did.

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