The Cost of Waiting and Japan May Open Up

The Cost of Waiting and Japan May Open Up. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

U.S. beef producers like many other commodities are hoping to get their product into a much broader array of markets and things like the recent signing of the three free trade agreements helps. Now the Japanese government has announced it will review its current restrictions on U.S. beef according to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.

VILSACK: It’s an opportunity for us to take advantage of the recently signed free trade agreement with Korea, Columbia and Panama. It’s an opportunity for us also to send the same message to Japan.

I know you have had to take time off from work to sit at home and wait for some repairman, delivery, phone or cable installer. It’s not only frustrating, it's a huge waste of money. How much? A recent poll of more than 1,000 adults finds that time spent waiting for in-home services and appointments cost American workers $37.7 billion in 2011. That’s billion with a “B”. Most Americans face losing wages or sick days. The report should be a smack in the head for companies since about 70% of respondents said they would recommend a company simply because a representative was on time. But only 43% would recommend a company if they have to wait an extra 15 minutes for someone to show up.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange report.

(Grange)

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.