Conference 7.286::digital

Is there any doubt that possession of "Child On Board" signs should
be a firing offense even in employee-owned vehicles?  On the other
hand, a Zippy the Pinhead sticker is in eminently good taste, so I guess
they cancel each other out.

As far as window obstruction goes, I was warned in high school (on Long
Island, NY) by either a Business Law or Driver's Ed instructor that
cops like to use alumni stickers on the back window as an excuse to
harass people (especially young people).  So, you are not being paranoid
about that.


On a separate note, I heard from someone in the field this weekend that
employees who receive a company car decorated with the Digital logo
get a $25/(month?) discount on the charge for the car.  Someone who
was enrolled in the program habitualy parked out front of an H-P plant
when on-site.  Someone at H-P complained, and was told "Sure, we can
get rid of the logo, but someone has to pay the $25, and it isn't going
to be the employee, and it isn't going to be Digital".  H-P withdrew
the complaint, rather than subsidize the anti-logo.
				/AHM

RE: .1
    
    Alan, it's true that employees with the Digital logo on their DECmobile
    pay less.  But only field service people are eligible to have the
    logo, and they aren't given any choice about whether they have it
    or not.  I have never heard anyone complain about either having
    it or not having it, but I just wanted to clarify how it works.
    
    						Pat

    What about the DECmobile that I saw yesterday at a well-known lumber
    yard, complete with field service toolkit, Tektronix scope, and all
    the other nice hardware in the back, that was left WIDE OPEN?

Re .2:

The two people who told me about the car plans:

1.  Said something about the program possibly being extended to other
groups besides field service.

2.  Were quite clear about there being an option for getting a car without
a logo.  Either it is a local policy for them, or someone in your experience
is not following policy themselves in allowing people a choice.
				/AHM

    Software Services did get cars until recently - they are being phased
    out for that group according to Fleet Services.  I had one when
    I was with SWS and it was expensive to replace when I came to engineering.

    
    jeh

    re 140.5
    
    SWS still has cars, if I'm anything to measure by.

    Re .2:
    
    >   it's true that employees with the Digital logo on their DECmobile
    >   pay less.  But only field service people are eligible to have the
    >   logo, and they aren't given any choice about whether they have it
    >   or not.

    It seems reasonable to me that field service should have a company logo
    on their transport.  Some functions can definitely suffer from having a
    car that can be identified as coming from DEC.  I have visited customer
    sites and seen salespeople's cars, identified as being from rival
    manufacturers, sat in the car park.  On many ocassions that was
    our first indication of our opposition in a sales campaign.
    
    Field Service vehicles in the UK are now fitted with one-way mirror
    glass in the back to prevent thiefs seeing how much valuable gear
    there is inside.  It works very well provided the doors are shut!
    :-)
    
    Graham 

    You do now, but if you check with fleet services I believe you will
    find you won't get another one when your car hits 60,000 or 3 years
    - you'll be out one decmobile.

    We were told that if we travel a sufficient number of business miles
    we can order a new car when ours reaches 60,000.  The term "sufficient"
    wasn't defined, but I was told that with the 25,000 - 30,000 business
    miles I drive each year I won't have any problem ordering another
    DECmobile.  It's the people who drive 1500 business miles a year
    who are being targeted, and there are lots of them.
    
    						Pat

	A couple of years ago, I purchased one of those "I (love) digital"
    bumper stickers.  I have come close to sticking it on my bumper on several
    occasions, but have always resisted for some reason.  Now I know why I
    have resisted, and it's because I'm just not proud enough of my '78 Buick
    Skylark to parade the digital logo around on it.

	I guess I'm afraid that potential customers or competition would get
    a good laugh at seeing such a clunker associated with the Digital name.
    Maybe when I get a brand spanking new car I will feel better about using
    my bumper sticker, until then, I will avoid everyone the embarrassment.

						-DAV0

    re .-1
    
    	speaking of the I love Digital stickers; does anyone know where
    I might find one?  (just got a new car...)
    
    brian

    Brian...
    
    	This was just asked through the ASKENET notes conference and nobody
    seem to know where to get them.  I got mine at a local computer
    store that was opening up, that was selling DEC Rainbows, and Pro's.
    
    	If you do find a place, please post it in the ASKENET conference,
    so that others may benefit.
    
    	- Gale
    	

    Doesn't the DEC "bookstore" at the Bedford Training facility still
    carry them?
    
    Deb

	The DEC bookstore at BUO, yep!...that's where I got mine.  Like
    I said, though, it was a couple of years ago.

	I was also going to invest in some of the micro-chip jewelry they
    had at the cash register, but my scotch blood said NO!  Later I broke
    down and returned to buy a VAX-on-a-chip tie-clip, but alas!  They had
    gotten rid of the whole line of chip jewelry!  I was exceedingly bummed
    at the time, but have since gotten over it.

	Anyway, getting back to the topic of car stuff on company vehicles,
    I wonder if the whole problem rests on the fact that we (digital) do
    so little advertising, that when we do see something with the digital
    logo on it (besides one of our computer products), we feel almost as
    though our collective pee-pee is showing or something!  Maybe if we
    were a little more into the marketing of our products in the promotional
    sense (like virtually all of our competitors), then maybe we would be
    a little more used to seeing the d-word in public and wouldn't have
    hissy-fits about it being seen amongst such American symbols as Garfield
    the cat and Zippy the pinhead.

							-DAV0

    I know that it's tackey to get off the subject but ...
    
    The computer museum on the wharf in Boston still carries the chip
    jewelry.  They also accept mail order and even have a catalogue.
    I suspect that they don't carry the Digital bumper stickers since
    we are no longer officially their sponsor.
    
    I highly recommend the museum to anyone who has the least interest
    in computers and their history.
    
    Don

	I feel my English blood taking over!...I may have to go down
    to the museum and buy a computer-chip tie tack!  I wonder if they
    sell system interconnect cable ties now?  I'll take one in grey.

	That place is great!  Last time we all went down there, my
    wife (who works at DG), had the DECtalk display saying "I like
    Data General better".  I immediately ran over and typed in "Data
    General sucks!" for a few repititions.  We had the place rolling
    with laughter after awhile.  There's alot of stuff to see (and hear)
    there, so much so that I forgot about the chip jewelry.

	By the way, why isn't DEC a sponsor anymore?  Too expensive?
    ...or is this yet another example of how the digital logo seems to
    be eluding the general public?

						-DAV0

    Zippy the Pinhead stickers ? Jewelry? I just SOLD my perfectly-
    usable personal vehicle since I've had a DECmobile for 10 months.
    I finally decided that the DECmobile wasn't gonna get yanked...
        
    I work in the Southwest for Software Services. My 'ratio' of personal
    to business is high (i.e. not a LOT of business miles) but when
    I DO haveta drive somewhere it's a MINIMUM of 250 miles round trip..
    'Fly', someone said ? This is Software, not Sales ! 
    
    So while you twitter about the Computer Museum and jewelry and DEC
    bumper stickers, I'm gonna be trying to find out if there's still
    a DECmobile in my future !
    
    karl moeller sws III

    Yes, working for SWR can be a real bummer.  We DO need to make margin,
    don't we?  And, of course, the margins are quite realistic and fair.
    And there's not TOO much overhead at the area level anymore.  I
    should know, that's what *I* am.
    
    Sorry if our little levity has interrupted the sad news about the
    total confusion about whether DECwrecks will continue.
    
    My point of view is to not worry about something that I have no
    control at all.
    
    Do you worry about a comet hitting the earth a lot?  (^;

    Don

    re -1:
    'Do you worry about a comet hitting the earth a lot ? (^:'

    No. Only once.
    
    karl moeller

    re -1 and -2
    
    I only give it a passing thought.
    
    -bs

    re .16:
    
    Digital is not the sole sponsor. In order to be tax-deductible,
    the Museum has to ensure support from more than one organization.
    I forget the required %, but it was tricky between DEC's direct
    contribution and the matching gifts of employee's contribution.

    For those of us *not* in the field:
    
    a) What's a REMF?
    
    b) Explain Plan A, Plan B, and anyother car plan there may be. Please.
    
    		Alfred

    a) A REMF is a Rear Echelon Mother F**ker (ie: Area [Regional] 
    Support People, like myself)
         
    b) Plan A:  You get to choose from a couple of cars that Fleet Services
    decides on.  If you don't like the choices - tough.  You then pay
    $24.00 a week to drive a Reliant or Celebrity or other dull kind
    of car.  However, you pay no maintenance or insurance.  This is
    the plan that appears to be getting more stringent (ie: 50% or more
    business mileage.)                                           
                                                                 
       Plan B:  You get to choose the car that you want.  As long it
    fits within some fairly minimal guidelines, anything from a Chevette
    to a Porsche to a Cadillac, etc. is OK.  For this, DEC pays you
    $180.00/month plus 8 cents a mile as well as tolls and parking
    (business use only)  You, however, take responsibility for maintenance,
    insurance, etc.  You can deduct business use from your taxes.  Nice
    thing is you actually own the car (or lease it) so if you leave
    DEC, you still have wheels.
         
       Plan C:  Whatever heap you own.  DEC pays 20 cents per mile and
    other business associated expenses.
         
    Perry 

  
>       Plan C:  Whatever heap you own.  DEC pays 20 cents per mile and
>    other business associated expenses.
         

    	The amount for plan "C" is now $.21 per mile.
    
    	- Gale

    REMF is a term that originated in the military, not in Digital.
     However, it seems to have become standard Digital terminology.

    What fleet person approves cars for you guys in MAR, Perry?
    
    How do you convince them that any Porsche carries four or five adults?
    
    Some fairly simple math shows that the break even point between
    Plans B and C is just over 16,000 miles a year.  After that point
    Plan C is better.  The primary advantage of Plan C is that you get
    to REALLY pick the car of your choice AND the insurance of your
    choice.  On Plan B you must show Digital on your insurance policy
    with business usage on the vehicle.
    
    Positively don

        Plan B: I didn't need to put DEC on my insurance policy - only
        had my agent provide a statement to DEC that I am insured. 

    Don,
    
    No one said it had to seat four adults *comfortably*.  Any 2+2 is
    "legal." (at least for Software Services)
         
    I did have to get double the level of liability insurance to qualify
    for Plan B.
         
    RE: $0.21...oops, forgot about that (Big Deal, right?)
         
    Perry

    Let see if we can further cloud this issue by explaining the policy
    as it did apply to me (until a few weeks ago)
    
    
    Field Service Engineers (you remember them!) have the following
    options:
    
    Plan 'A'  A beach wagon color white, with no logos  usually a Ford
    LTD or Dodge/Plymouth 'K' wagon.  For this plan you pay $24.00 per
    week to DEC for the 'personnal use' of the vehicle.
    
    Plan 'D'  DECWagon  this is the same type as above but with the
    stripes as refered to in earlier replies.  For this plan you also
    pay the $24 per week but at the end of the month (about the 28th)
    you receive from Traveletter Expense Account a check for $ 57.00
    this is figured into your W2 at the end of the year.  (This is DEC's
    way of saying thanks for the free publicity?)
    
    As far as decorating the vehicle, even the 'I Love DEC' bumper sticker
    is against Company Policy.
    
    You can also have plan 'B' in F/S however you need extended liability
    coverage and also be able to have enough cargo space for some of
    the larger kits (e.g. RP07, TU81 etc.)  
    
    
    As far as the 'child on board'  That is completely legal, DEC does
    allow for Personal use of the Car in off hours.  
    
    The reinbursement for travel is .21 per mile but I believe that
    decrements after so many miles to around .08  Can anyone verify
    that?
    
    Mike.
    

                I know that at one time there was a sliding scale 
        (actualy a multiple step function) on milage vs amount paid. One 
        of those change points (the first one) was at 400 miles in any 
        given week. Since I periodicaly had to make the trip up to 
        Burlington Vt. by car (my own), andn that would have been over 
        400 miles, I usually planned the trip so that it crossed the 
        weekend. That put the trip up in one week, and the trip back in 
        the next, thus avoiding the 400 mile per week limit! 
                
                I also know that the policy was changed quite a while 
        ago to eliminate that step at 400 miles. I don't do enough 
        driving at this point to be conversant with the current policy.
                
                /s/     Bob