Monday, June 22, 2009

Tyra Needs To Take Oprah 101


I think I am a pretty fair guy. If you screw up I am going to call you out and if you do well, I am going to praise you. I don't care who you are or how much animosity I have shown you in the past, unless your name is Lindsay or Paris you have a chance of me being nice to you. Oh, or Diddy. Whatever you want to say about Oprah, it is hard to fault the way she rewards her employees. Four years ago she took all 100 of her employees plus their families to Hawaii. Just like the Olympics, four years later she is taking them all on a vacation again this year. This time she is footing the bill for all her employees and their families to take a Mediterranean cruise. Now, I know probably deep in my heart she is getting some kind of deal or discount. In case you are playing the Price Is Right showcase at home right now, the retail price of the trip is about $6000 a person. 100 people plus their families and you are talking about quite the chunk of change.

So what if the trip is free, at least she is making the effort to do something for her staff. Tyra Banks could use a lesson this. Happy employees means loyal employees which means don't do Burger King office parties for Christmas. Now Tyra doesn't make as much as Oprah. No one does. But, Tyra could certainly afford to take her staff to Hawaii and pay for it all. She won't though because Tyra only cares about herself. The only bad thing about the whole Oprah trip is that she is going on the cruise with her employees. Fail.

If you want your employees to actually have a vacation and let loose, the last thing you need is your boss on the trip with you. Vacations are about fun and debauchery. OK, well my vacations are about debauchery. But, still, imagine taking a week off and cruising Greece and Italy and Turkey and your boss is there. That part kind of blows. Still, better than Burger King.


18 comments:

  1. i don't see oprah interfering with her employees' fun. i believe she is live and let live unless you are harming someone else; i could be wrong?.

    anyhoo, her generosity towards her staff has been well documented. team o!

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  2. hmmm, the whole 'cult of oprah' thing is prob why she's going...sorta to reinforce queen status, if nothing else. you're right. she should sty home or vacation elsewhere.

    as for tyra...i wonder how tight a leash she keeps her staff on. haven't heard disgruntled employee stories about her in a while...

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  3. I'll be honest: I can't stand Oprah. Dislike for the Mighty O is rare for a woman, but what can ya do?

    Despite my feelings towards her, her show, and her introduction of Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray to the world, I have to say this is pretty awesome of her. Bravo, Oprah (it kinda hurts to say that).

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  4. Pookie, remember when the ANTM writers went on strike and she fired them all? Gotta tread carefully around the Queen Bee(yotch).

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  5. "Vacations are about fun and debauchery. OK, well my vacations are about debauchery."

    LOL...I agree. She shouldn't go with them. It's like there are strings attached when the boss goes with...

    That being said, I wouldn't turn the trip down just because she is going too....

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  6. I second what Karmen said...except the part about being a woman!

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  7. I'd love to go on a cruise with my boss and the rest of my co-workers! We'd have a blast. We actually do a mini-vacation (one day on the lake) every year and it is a lot of fun.

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  8. Cheri, a few years ago everyone at my work took a vacation to Grand Marais together. For Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It hit -50(fahrenheit) that weekend. And we still had a great time. :) I am very blessed to work with an amazing group of people!

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  11. oooh, moosh, you're right! i'd forgotten about that. wow. she's a piece of work.

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  12. It really depends on the boss. Everyone in my office is totally cool and we would have a great time together, but alas, we don't have Oprah's money to throw around. Darn.

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  13. My hairdresser's wife works on Oprah so they're on this trip right now. He said it's about 1500 people with the days scheduled out for them, daycare later in the evening so the adults can do their own thing. I think he said she rented a castle for them for one night but the rest of the time they're on the cruise boat. She's flying everyone out on private planes. He was really excited and didn't seem bothered by Oprah being there at all or the fact that it's all going to be taped for one of her shows. Personally I think it sounds awesome, and I'm not an Oprah person.

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  14. A vacation you don't have to pay for is really a vacation. I'd go in a heartbeat and I dislike Mz.O!

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  15. My Boss is a pretty laid back guy and while I'd rather not take a trip with him, if it's free, why not?

    Go Oprah! Way to be a great boss!

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  17. The Big O knows you can get more bees w/honey than vinegar. I am impressed by her various acts of giving back.

    I can't believe Tyra (Ms Tighter than Dick's hatband) Banks actually had her staff party catered by McDonalds....Damn that is pretty tacky.

    Also..FYI- I am still looking for a boss!

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  18. don't care for her either (see how nice i'm being?), but it's got to beat vacationing w/ rosie o'donnell!
    and i used to love rosie, too!

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