There's no such thing as free parking! (in downtown Vancouver)

Ok, let't talk parking! With the recent 26% Government parking tax and 12% HST, parking rates in Vancouver are working their way up to be on par with some of the biggest cities in the world, like New York or London. Coin parking in downtown Vancouver averages $1 for 20 minutes and escalates up to $1 for 10 minutes in the business district, while parkades will run you $30 to $40 per day. Monthly parking rates downtown range from $150 to $500 or more as the city becomes more croweded with new residents and businesses.

So while we can all agree that there is no such thing as free parking in downtown Vancouver, there are a few tricks to getting discounted parking in the city. Most hotels offer valet parking and although the posted price is usually very expensive, there are ways to get around it. The valets generally work for a low hourly wage and rely on their tips to pay the bills. The way to do it is to be specific about how long you will be and where you would like your car kept. Most hotels have driveway parking available and this is known as "keeping it up top". For example, if you pull up, and tell the valet you're going to be about an hour or two, hand him a $5 bill, and ask him to keep it up top, they will almost always do this for you if they are not busy. The deal is that the valets would rather you give them a $5 tip than give the city $10 for the coin parking. If you want to park all day, for a hockey game or theatre event, then $20 will usually suffice for this duration of parking. It is almost always going to be cheaper than a parkade or street parking, plus your vehicle is much more secure with the valets keeping an eye on it.

Good luck!

Job Sharing: The Future of Corporate Downsizing

How many times have you heard the expression "job sharing" as of late? Job sharing seems to be the corporations new way of of downsizing, in essence having less people do more work and take on more responsibility at less cost to the company. I know I have seen it in action many times at my workplace. The approach is something like this...

"Hey, Mike! We noticed that you have been doing a great job in your own department, and since Sally left (quit, fired or laid off), it has opened up this great opportunity of learning and growth for you. For you!! How would you like to help out by doing all the work Sally used to do, as well as your own, for no increase in pay? It will look great on your resume, and you can learn so much... it's like having two jobs but only getting paid for one!! Are you in, are you in? It's such a great opportunity for you!!"

Actually, it's a great opportunity for your employer to decrease their labor costs by over $50,000 every time someone in sales or management quits, gets fired or gets laid off. And employers generally give bonuses to upper management for decreasing labor expenses while still running the business effectively, therefore the ones who are really benefiting are not the employee who has been persuaded to do two jobs for the price of one, but the upper management, who get a big bonus and a pat on the back for not replacing a departing employee.

The moral of this story is that as less people are forced to do more work for the same wage, corporations think their bottom line is increasing when all they are really doing is killing morale and making all their employees want to go out and look for new jobs. So next time management asks you if you want to share the responsibilities of two or more jobs for no increase in pay, just say NO!