The New Job

So yesterday I started a new job with telecommunications company Vodafone. It's the largest mobile phone service provider in the world and it's a company I've wanted to work for since 2004.

My role in the organization is that of "Real Time Business Support Manager".

I work in the Credit & Collections sector of the company. In other words, we deal with the contracts consumers and businesses have with us to provide their mobile phone service. Everybody from regular consumers, to small businesses, to large companies such as BMW or Johnson & Johnson, to government agencies such as the National Health Service, the cops, etc., get their mobile phones and service through Vodafone.

Specifically, I work in collections. When people or companies don't pay their bills on time, the information comes to us and we try to get them to pay their bill.

In my role, I look at the processes of 1.) how we try to get them to pay their bill, 2.) of why they don't pay it on time, and 3.) at what point during the collections process they will usually pay their bill. I have a team of three credit experts who work for me and together we look at all of the above data and we try to come up with ways to save the company money and provide better service for our customers. For example, I'll be given a goal by my boss to reduce costs due to late bill payments by x% and then my team and I try to find ways to reach this goal. If it looks feasible, we'll implement.

I also have to analyse data myself to see if I can identify ways to provide better service and/or reduce costs.

So basically, it's a role that encompasses management, IT, marketing, finance and business. I have quite a lot of experience in a lot of these areas (though not all) and so it seems like it's a great fit.

Now that I'm out of the USAF, I think I've finally found a company and line of work that I want to stay with for the long-term. I see my future working for Vodafone and in the IT/telecoms sector.

Vodafone have offices around the UK in Newbury, Banbury, Nottingham and Stoke. I'm based in Banbury which, as luck would have it, is about 20 mins. from my house in Buckingham! I'll have to travel to the other three location approximately once a month each, but I'll also be able to work from home four to eight days a month. The company issued me with a brand new Dell laptop and Blackberry.

The Banbury office is actually a complex of two huge buildings in a business park in the English countryside. Each building has its own staff restaurant and Wiis and XBoxes are dotted around the two buildings for the use of the staff. There's also free drinks and free tea or coffee which is great.

My boss works in the Stoke office (about two hours north), but has told me that she'll let me decide my own hours, when I work from home and seems very smart and really nice. I am part of a team of three managers who work for her and the other two guys are also very friendly and helpful.

In short, I think I may have found the perfect job. There are great prospects for moving up or moving to other sectors within the company such as sales (getting companies to choose us for all of their organization's phones) or marketing. Financially, it's great money. I get to wear whatever I want (which after years of business suits and military unifroms is quite liberating). The people I work with and for seem to be genuinely nice and it's close to home.

What more could you ask for?

Anchorman - The Legend of Rod Sergeant

Here's me in my first anchor position as I present the Keesler Air Force Base 3rd Quarter review...(original link found here)

The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force meets Staff Sgt. Rodriguez (and in his spare time does a few other things during his visit to Keesler!)

So, the current Chief Master Sgt. of the AF, Rodney McKinley, made an official visit to Keesler for the first time since taking office and yours truly interviewed him, wrote a newspaper story about his trip and made the below video...(original link here)

Insider Knowledge About Starbucks

As some of you may know, I work part-time at Starbucks. I've always been a Starbucks whore and when I decided that I needed another job to bring in some extra cash, I thought it would be cool to work at Starbucks (and the tips don't hurt either)!

For the record, as a "partner" (which is a twattish way of dressing-up the word "employee"), I get all the free drinks I want when I'm at work, 30% off drinks and merchandise at all other times and a free pound-bag of coffee (or box of Tazo tea) per week.

I'm also privy to some interesting knowledge which I will pass on to you all (and you might use the next time you go).

First of all, if you like the Peppermint drinks (as in Peppermint Mocha, or Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha), did you know that you can order these all year round? They're only advertised at Xmas, but you can get them all year.

Next, if you like the Chai lattes, order them next time with no water. I love Chai, but was never keen on Starbucks' version. That is, until I started working there and realized that we're supposed to make them with half hot water and half milk! Customers that I've introduced this to, all agree that it's far better with all milk than with the milk/water mix.

You know how you can order Frappucino Lights? Well, you can't order the Frappucino Cream Lights anymore since the Cream Light powder has been discontinued. Don't fret, though. The regular Cream mix (made in the Strawberries & Cream, Chai and Green Tea Frappucinos) is made with nonfat milk anyway.

Have you ever had a Green Tea latte or Cream Frappucino? Did you like/dislike it and wonder what gave it its unique taste? I can now reveal that its made with....Melon syrup!!! Well at least I thought it was interesting.

Did you know that the brewed-coffee Starbucks makes is thrown away EVERY HOUR to keep it fresh? What a waste! But at least you know you're regular joe is fresh.

And speaking of the brewed coffee, did you know the bolder the coffee is, the less caffeine it has? Weird, right? But true. The mildest blend we do, the Breakfast Blend, actually has the most caffeine and all the Extra Bold blends (Italian Roast, French Roast, Xmas Blend) have the least caffeine. This is because the longer a coffee is roasted (to make it darker and bolder), the more the caffeine and other chemicals evaporate from the bean. So if you're one of those customers who says "Give me the boldest thing you got! I can take it! Grrrr!" You're actually consuming less caffeine than the quiet, bespectacled fellow reading Middlemarch in the corner.

Did you know that for milk you can have whole, 2%, 1% ( a mix of 2% & nonfat), nonfat, soy (which has a slight vanilla flavor and is delicious!) and organic?

Did you know that everything on our menu - the fraps, the peppermint lattes, the caramel macchiatos, EVERYTHING, can be done decaf? Just ask.

Next time you go, create your own drink! For hot ones how about a white chocolate orange mocha latte, or a turtle latte (caramel and mocha)? As for fraps, what about white chocolate raspberry cream or ginger chai cream or even raspbeery green tea frappucinos?

One last thing, you can try before you buy ANYTHING on the menu. They will give you a "short" of any drink you want for free.

If any "barista" (puh-leeze) gives you static about the above, just ask for the manager or the "shift" (shift-supervisor).

That's all I can think of right now, but if I remember anything else, I'll post.