The Focus Group

Shop Talk reveals the one skill that you should employ if you want to be a great leader. Caught My Eye answers the question as to what happens to decommissioned ships and looks at software that tracks your work efficiency. The creator of the Miracle Mop, Joy Mangano, is our business birthday. We’re all business. Except when we’re not. Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrC Spotify: spoti.fi/2pC19B1 iHea...

Consumers have filed a lawsuit against the makers of Fireball Whiskey. Allegedly, the little bottles of Fireball whiskey do not contain whiskey, but a malt beverage with whiskey flavoring. Then, Sheetz Convenience Marts are coming under scrutiny for their “smile policy” that forbids placing people with broken, missing, or discolored teeth from working on the front-line greeting customers. Finally,...

Shop Talk expands on an 85-year-old Harvard study on happiness and recommends these 4 simple practices each week to make us all happier. Caught My Eye explores the difference between European and American cashiers. Also, a pristine low mileage 1979 Pontiac Trans Am is found in a Michigan garage and promises to bring in quite a bit of money at auction. The creator of Pac-Man, Toru Iwatani, is our B...

China is regulating tattoos labeling them as immoral, western, and not in keeping with Confucian Societal norms. But first, over 70% of advertised direct-to-consumer medications have a low therapeutic value versus what is currently on the market. Finally, the Canadian Girl Guides drop the category of Brownie and will now call members Embers. Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrC Spotify: spoti.fi/2pC19...

Shop Talk covers three stories about the cancellation of Ronzoni’s Pastina, female M&M’s and Martha Stewart’s ode to Dry January with Tito’s Vodka. Caught My Eye reveals some Star Wars toys that may be worth a fortune. Check your attic! Also, a Penn State professor, Sam Richards, encourages straight men to watch gay porn to see if they may be bisexual. The same class also teaches females how to ur...

One Million Moms are up in arms about a TurboTax commercial that shows a same sex marriage. If you blinked, you’d miss it, but this is on the radar for the religious righteous. Then, a Polish town that passed anti-LGBT legislation creating a LGBT Free-Zone has reversed their decision when they realized they would lose funding from the EU. Finally, Japan is offering Tokyo residents an incentive to...

UPenn Professor and author, Peter S. Fader, is our guest on Shop Talk. Peter is the Frances and Pei-Yuan Chia Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School and his expertise centers around the analysis of behavioral data to understand and forecast customer shopping/purchasing activities. His latest book, The Customer-Base Audit, encourages marketers to put the customer first for success. Caught My...

Out and Advocate magazines come under a new LGBTQ managed entity called Equal Pride. Leadership says a focus on the underserved and GenZ LGBTQ audience will be a priority. Louisiana is going to require a government issued ID to access online porn. Finally, a couple rented a Tesla during the recent cold snap that gripped most of the lower 48 and learned the pitfalls of EV ownership in weather extre...

Shop Talk shares a recent study that highlights six mid-sized cities that LGBTQ people should consider for retirement. Caught My Eye looks at people who have died in 2022 that while not celebrities, certainly deserve notice. Esther Snyder, co-founder of the famous burger chain In and Out Burger, is our Business Birthday. We’re all business. Except when we’re not Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrC Sp...

Welcome to 2023! This week we look at the increase of same sex married couples in the USA and then discuss the reusable grocery bag. If you are not using your reusable bag over 7,000 times, the environmental impact is questionable. Finally, a Trump Super Store in Myrtle Beach, SC continues to do well since opening last year. Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrC Spotify: spoti.fi/2pC19B1 iHeart Radio:...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Tim and John pull some favorite interviews from their 2011 Holiday Special. Join The Focus Group as they welcome The Fabulous Beekman Boys, Preppy Legend Lisa Birnbach, Actor Taylor Negron, and the Butch Baker David Arrick. Holiday tunes from Crooner Michael Richard Kelly, musician Tom Adams, and concert and cabaret artist, Eddie Bruce, add to the festive occasi...

Happy Holidays! Tim and John reach back into the Holiday Special vault from 2010 to bring you this week’s TFG Unbuttoned. Career Coach Andrew Giuliani joins the party, and we host a Manhattan tasting test. Crooner Michael Richard Kelly, and famed pianist Tom Adams, provide a festive landscape with song. Enjoy! Apple Podcasts: apple.co/1WwDBrC Spotify: spoti.fi/2pC19B1 iHeart Radio: bit.ly/2n0Z7H1...

Shop Talk covers a CNBC story about LGBTQ workplace and consumer acceptance. Caught My Eye reveals a huge aquarium that collapses in Berlin, Germany causing much damage and the death of exotic fish in the lobby of a Radisson Hotel. Also, find out how to say acai and we reveal the most mispronounced word of 2022. Jim Rose, co-founder of the Jim Rose Circus Show of Oddities, is our Business Birthday...

As the Covid virus has another spike in China, there has been a run on canned peaches. Many people think the peaches have some sort of medicinal effect on taming the virus—which they don’t. Then, an anti-LGBTQ billboard arrives in Richmond, VA. Angry residents of the progressive Carytown neighborhood made quick work at removing it. Finally, there is a warning about lead in dark chocolate, but don’...

Shop Talk triggers John and Tim to talk about the importance and nuance of the phone call versus text or email. Caught My Eye announces the end of the restaurant bear in Albania, and we remember George Newall, one of the creators of Schoolhouse Rock, who just died. Gizmondo executive—Tim kept saying Gizmodo, but it is Gizmondo—who was supposed to put Sony and Nintendo out of business, Stefan Eriks...

Indonesia is poised to criminalize sex and cohabitation before marriage for residents and tourists. Some in the government are protesting the state’s legislation of morality, but it looks like it will pass and become law. Then, France is limiting—or forbidding—some short hop commercial jet travel when a train will suffice to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, an update on a story we co...

Author Erin McHugh joins Tim and John to talk all things Pickleball. “Pickleball is Life” is Erin’s 31st book and she tells us she had a lot of fun writing this one. But first, VW in Italy may want to re-think their social media handle and a Lake Elmo, MN library gets a book back after 47 years. The creator of Hello Kitty, Shintaro Tsuji, is our Business Birthday. Happy 95th! Shintaro! We’re all b...

A recent UK study suggests that we need to be extra diligent in cleaning our hands when using the self-checkout at a store. Apparently, the area is full of bacteria including fecal matter. Then, despite all the press and popularity of electric vehicles, in the last 10 years they have only saved 2.5 days’ worth of gasoline in the USA. Finally, Merriam-Webster revealed the word of the year for 2022:...

Shop Talk shares some tips on how to spend and acquire less. Hint: know the difference between need and want. Caught My Eye announces that department store Macy’s has broken ties with The Salvation Army this holiday season. Also, discover the secret hidden in the Swiss chocolate brand Toblerone’s logo. Angier “Angie” Biddle Duke, America’s youngest ambassador and bon vivant is our business birthda...

Celebrate your fandom with Star Trek Spirits. Purchase vodka or rye whiskey in custom bottles to match the iconic Romulan Ale first featured in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” But first, learn what states have the highest and lowest consumer credit scores and the importance of checking yours each year for accuracy. Also, The Freemasons are allowing women to join the male only group if they init...

Shop Talk covers a UK study that investigates reducing the work week by a day, reducing hours while keeping pay the same. Anecdotally, everyone who has tried it likes it. Difficult to do with some service jobs of course. Caught My Eye looks at an old fort that just sold off the coast of England and the percentage of Americas that have not experienced snow. Gwynne Shotwell, President, and COO of Sp...

The NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority is celebrating the release of Dolly Parton’s Greatest Hits Collection—Diamonds and Rhinestones—by issuing a special MetroCard. All you NYC Dolly fans be on the lookout. But first, a Catholic cemetery in Ohio erased the date of when a gay couple legally married from a tombstone. While the cemetery leadership later apologized, they still did not address how suc...

Shop Talk discusses four unexpected perks of a remote workforce. Caught My Eye looks at the $10 monthly membership fee that Planet Fitness says after 30 years they will not change. Also, a new crop of toys including #LiteBrite and a spinning top are inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. Charles Dawson Butler, voice actor for more than 97 animated characters, is our Business Birthday. We’re all busin...

The famed baker in Colorado that went to the Supreme Court over not wanting to make a cake for a same-sex wedding is now embroiled in a lawsuit regarding a gender transition cake. Is there only one bakery in Colorado? Then, climbers from the Pink Summits visibility campaign place a Rainbow and Ukrainian flag on top of Putin Peak in Kyrgyzstan to protest Putin’s anti-LGBTQ legislation and regime. F...

Shop Talk discusses the three tests Apple uses in hiring for certain roles. Caught My Eye reveals Queen Elizabeth’s friendship with Tom Cruise. Also, a French national posted about a fake country on social media and it has gone viral. Be sure to put Listenbourg on your list when you next head to Europe! Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, is our Business Birthday. We’re all business. Except when...