It ‘ That Battery Running On Empty? Charge Up At Delta’s Gates
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Delta Air Lines is hoping to eliminate road warrior nightmares — such as boarding a plane with a dead laptop battery or powering up a cell phone only to have it die before the plane has landed. Every one of Delta’s gates at 19 U.S. airports are due to receive more power outlets, part of $ 2 billion in improvements Delta plans to make to its airport facilities, fleets and onboard services by 2013. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport travelers should find more charging options this month.
Two recharging stations will be installed at each Delta gate, each featuring six standard 110-volt outlets and two USB ports. Domestic Delta Sky Clubs that don’t already have recharging pads for smart phones and other mobile devices will be fully equipped, too.
‘THREE FOR ME’
If HealthPartners’ new “Three for Me” individual health insurance product sounds familiar, you may be thinking of its precursor, the popular “Three for Free.”
The reason for the change? The three free doctor visits that used to be included are no longer, well, free.
Instead, “Three for Me” offers three free online consultations with a nurse practitioner, a service called “Virtuwell.” It also includes three doctor visits, but with a copay.
Deductibles start at $ 4,000 and can go as high as $ 10,000. Monthly premiums start at $ 62.
Spokesman Jeff Shelman said the insurer made the changes because it wanted to include “Virtuwell” while keeping premiums affordable.
HealthPartners is no longer selling new “Three for Free” policies, although existing policyholders can stay on it if they want.
As with most other individual policies currently sold by insurers in the state, kids under 19 cannot be the policyholder.
SCROOGED
Think again when you buy that bottle of perfume as a Christmas gift for that aunt you see once a year. It’ll likely be a lost effort for both of you. That’s the conclusion of Joel Waldfogel, an applied economics professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, who says Christmas gifts will lose $ 14 billion in value by the time they reach the recipient. Waldfogel says to look for alternatives to sweaters and socks for people whose tastes you don’t know such as gift cards and charitable donations in the recipient’s name. Even gift cards, which are an $ 80 billion industry, lose about 10 percent of value because they aren’t fully redeemed. Waldfogel is author of “Scroogenomics: Why you shouldn’t buy presents for the holidays.”
SIERRA BRAVO NOW JUST THE NERDERY
Fast-growing Sierra Bravo has assumed the name of its largest business enterprise, the Nerdery, which has provided Web-based services provided by nerds to about 160 marketing agencies in 29 states.
The Bloomington-based company, founded in 2003 by three programmers, was dubbed “Sierra Bravo” as a result of a hasty brainstorming session that was “pulled from thin air by applying aviation-alphabet lingo to our last name initials” before their first prospective client meeting, recalled a founder. Mike Schmidt (the “S”) reached a quick consensus with then-CEO Luke Bucklin (the “B”).
Sierra Bravo was started to help corporate clients blend their legacy computer software systems with Web technology. Over time, most of the 170 employees of the company have come to work on Web-based projects for marketing clients.
