Witnessed today, two potential brand gaffes. I keep finding these with Ana, who is interning with us.
   As we drove past Lower Hutt KFC, we noticed a window cleaner. Not weird. Except he was part of the guys in uniform—probably one of the lads behind the counter usually—and he was on the second storey, with no harness or any safety equipment. Not a good look. KFC may or may not be good for your health, and probably the latter if you are dangling outside the second storey doing a Frank Spencer.
   Meanwhile, a van for some computer-geek outfit—Geeks on Wheels, if I remember the name right—was parked outside the Mt Vic tunnel today. A few folks do this, to catch passing traffic and get some brand exposure. Not only can I not remember the name correctly, I understand the van was parked there five hours ago.
   Lads, if you are going to use the ‘A’ Team van as a billboard, move it after a while. Otherwise, some people might think you were stuck on a job for five hours.
   Finally, I hear that a major supermarket chain forces its check-out folks to scan 18 items per minute. Any fewer, you get told off. This one is hearsay, but Woolworth’s was named. Next time you shop, ask behind the counter if they do this. I have had nos from New World and Pak ’n’ Save. However, I have not shopped at Woolworth’s in New Zealand since November 1993, ever since they denied me service due to my race. (The story gets worse. I may fill y’all in one of these days. I’ve been biting my tongue for a long time.)
   If the 18 target is true, then all I can think of are sweatshops. This is New Zealand, for Chrissakes, and we expect a bit of friendly banter, not some kid trying to break a Guinness record to prevent his supervisor from abusing him or her. Posted by Jack Yan, 10:14  permalink

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