Earlier reports said there may have been 4 intruders involved?

It will be interesting to see what actually happened, if the truth is ever released to the public...

One of the most dangerous situations any person can stumble into is a residential burglary in progress. This is not the first off-duty cop killed this way, and scores of citizens are murdered annually from walking in on and surprising burglars.

This is a sign of amateurs, or a grudge hit, as professional 'career' burglars know carrying a gun or hitting an occupied dwelling increase penalties if caught. "Professional' burglars know the difference between 'burglary' and 'robbery', with a potential additional charge of kidnapping if occupants are restrained against their will.

As his family was home, and he just got off-duty, it may have been a 'hit' rather just just plain stupid planning on the part of the shooters. Hopefully a competent investigation will commence ...

Zappos and the Core Values

Rumor has it the Core Values were written after a particularly brutal employee survey from CLT (ask Tony Hsieh what percentage of employees responded they would NOT recommend Zappos as an employer to friends on the last non-'happiness' survey).

Whatever the actual case, employee surveys are now conducted from your PC, from your login page. Management has access to responders responses to all surveys, and scheduling makes sure all employees are given time off to complete the surveys"which I'm sure promotes Core Value # 6 (Build open and honest relationships").

Tony Hsieh enforces strict observance of the Core Values as intended to be used by management, not as presented to employees and the public -- Tony himself admits not being a 'CULTure fit' is grounds termination, so following Core Values is crucial to job security.

Core Values as intended, and real meaning:

#1 Deliver WOW Through Service: even when said 'service' cost the company profits. Customers have ordered $60,000 worth of goods (200+ orders), all shipped next day air and returned, for free, only keeping maybe $250. Zappos will not cut off these 'customers' in the name of 'service'. Worn shoes? No problem!

#2 Drive and Embrace Change. Real meaning: Zappos will change your work schedules, hours and days off at whim.To complain is a violation of a Core Value, and we all know what that means"

#4 Be Adventurous, Creative and Open Minded -- being 'Adventurous' means shaving your head or dying your hair blue on'shave your head or dye your hair blue day'; be Creative, as long as your creativity follows Zappos guidelines -- remember NO non-Zappos approved reading material or other items are allowed in your possession on the Zappos campus; be Open Minded to micro and mismanagement; otherwise"

#8 Do More With Less -- more work, less salary, personal computers dating back to the dark ages, losing free catered lunches for cold cuts, charging for candy once provided free (and 'donating' the proceeds, thus Tony and Zappos receive credit -- both Tax and media -- at employees' expense); don't complain or"

#9 Be Passionate"don't even THINK negative waves, let alone mention them in earshot of one of the 'listeners'. Be Passionate in your noise making and cheering as tours go by"or else. Be Passionate in you faking it to make it.

#10 Be Humble -- I never was able to figure this one out, what with Tony appearing on Oprah twice, Donald Trumps' show, Nightline, various other programs and charging $5,000 a head to attend one of his 'customer service how to' seminars (Insights).

#11 -- Undocumented Core Value: Run your company like a spoiled, impetuous, insecure and needy child, refuse guidance by more experienced outsiders, 'discover' new business concepts (actually decades old) and claim them as your own, then send dedicated knowledgeable employees packing for any perceived slight or ego bruising, and your company

GETS SOLD.

If the editors and readers want to get a REAL feel for Zappos' CULTure, they should ask Tony what the involuntary turnover (i.e. termination) rate is at Zappos, and why.

There are many topnotch employees who are happy at Zappos, and if Call Center work is all you know, Zappos CLT (call center) is one of -- but not the - best ones out there. If being micromanaged and having to be 'guided' in everything you do is how you function best, and you are willing to work at a company that does not provide raises, Zappos has a spot for you!

Health care is free (no deductible, no co pay, ends the minute you are terminated), as are cold cuts in the lunchroom, 2 weeks vacation and 1 week sick time are given (but don't use that sick time! Sick = points; points = termination). Other than that, Zappos offers zero benefits not mandated by law.

CLT employees are treated like children, never as adults (training classes are call 'incubation', the new hires 'incubabies' and once they graduate they become 'big kids'; employees go to 'lunchie-pooh' to eat"it goes on).

Tony never walks upstairs just to say 'hi' or give words of encouragement to the very team he touts as the heart of Zappos culture and customer service. For CLT, Tony is a mythical being, a Hero of The People to be worshiped, but not seen.

What people don't realize is the 'happiness' observed in person or on the phone is staged (as are the photos). Emails are sent out daily advising CLT when tours are scheduled for that day, noisemakers are handed out and right on que the 'happiness' act goes into play, complete with cheering -- no matter how many customers are on hold, no matter how long they have been on hold. Once the tour is gone, it's back to reality.

Time off requests, including doctor appointments, have been frozen since June. If you just have to have that root canal or other medical or family emergency time off, it will cost you points, and at 70 points Tony fires you -- no excuses, no compassion. Ask Tony how living with an abscessed tooth, flu, sick family members etc., without being able to take time off, correlates to his current 'happiness' fad?

QA ("Team Happiness') monitors customer phone calls for tone of voice. When a customer says "Zappos must be great -- everyone is always so upbeat" - it's because the QA team is listening and scoring. In fairness to Team Happiness, they normally do not subtract points from your score when a customer hangs up in the middle of a speech, tells you to shut up or says 'F!@# you! But, if your QA gets scored too low, you are terminated, no matter how good an employee you are or how much positive feedback ('props') you receive from customers. It's all about the stats/scores, not the customer's experience.

Which is the strangest 'customer service' philosophy I've ever seen" but then, well run successful companies buy -- not get bought.

If an item advertised is done so clearly saying 'replica' in the description, one should not have a reasonable expectation of receiving the genuine article.

The problem arises when an item is resold to an unsuspecting 3rd party as an original, and the third party may be inexperienced in detecting real from fake.

I have a real Rolex, and it feels like a real Rolex - it's solid, heavy and expensive as heck to have 'tuned up'...just like my Ferrari (another company sue happy over 'replica' kits - see Ferrari vs. Mcburnie, the maker of the kit used to convert a Corvette into the black Ferrari Daytona used in Miami Vice).

You can no more confuse a cheap 'Rolex' with a real one than a Fiero kitcar with the genuine article!

With my credit unions current 15 year rates, I can get a $70,000 condo for about $490.00 a month before tax/insurance.

I pay $630 for a ghetto apartment.

Better believe I'm leaving the apartment market when lease expires!!

An unarmed, untrained powerless $8.00 an hour Security Guard does not deter violent crime, and neither does electronic surveillance.

Based on the amount of robberies, shootings and killings lately, I would say the same holds true for casino security.

In any event, this is most likely a losing proposition for the complainant.

True, he didn't 'have to work there', but what reasonable expectation did he have that working in a furniture store was a death penalty choice?

Or the murdered 7-11 clerk, the firefighter killed in a collapsing building, the Taxi driver shot to death and robbed, the jogger raped?

Jesus didn't have to preach...all could have avoided murder or violent death.

None of these people 'had' to be where they were, or doing what they were doing, when death found them.

Las Vegas exists almost entirely upon an economy where discretionary, disposable cash can be squandered on alcohol, overpriced entertainment and gambling.

When discretionary cash dries up and the tourists no longer come, what do you have left to offer?

Las Vegas has never attempted to attract non-gaming industries, but rather assumed the Golden Goose would live and produce forever.

A simple recovery is not going to help; we need a recovery so strong American and foreign tourists once again feel safe spending cash on extravagant vacations.

I can tell you from my experience working casino security on the Strip: the girls could save themselves about 70% of their troubles with LE if they just did their 'job' and let it go at that.

Unfortunately, hookers choose to rob ('trick roll') their clients, bring their pimps to the floor, snatch cash tickets from slot machines and approach men who obviously are in a poor position to be solicited (with wives, drunk etc.). Add pick-pocketing and purse snatching to the picture and you have the real, 'non-Hollywood' look at casino prostitution.

These activities on the part of casino hookers create an environment where even 'hobbyists' file complaints with Security over the criminal actions the girls engage in. There is a definite impact to a casino's reputation if the hooker situation is allowed to go unchecked.

This one makes far more sense than strip club and massage parlor stings, where everyone is a voluntary participant, knowing full well what they are getting into up front.

I do believe the powers that be in Vegas are grasping at straws in an effort to save the un-savable: Las Vegas. For reasons I don't fully understand, Vegas politicians seem to think eliminating the 'Sin' from 'Sin City' will bring the tourists back.

Unfortunately, just the opposite is true.

That this report comes as a surprise in and of itself validates the findings.

Having lived in 2 of the 5 top cities (San Jose/Denver) I had the report's assessment figured out 3 years ago when I moved to Vegas.

Yet some of the friendliest - and brightest - people I've associated with by far have been in Las Vegas.

Weird dichotomy...

Thank God the county has sufficient funds to go after men being 'inappropriately' touched in private businesses, not open to the general public, where 'inappropriate' touching is not only expected but desired.

While there may be isolated incidents of the Crime of The Millennia (prostitution) occurring in strip clubs, it is not the norm; we don't close bars because the might attract an occasional fight, we don't close 7-11 because it attracts robbers, we don't close schools because they may attract pedophiles and we don't close stores because they attract the occasional shoplifter.

Hopefully the county and LVMPD can find funds to go after the other 'inappropriate' touchers: robbers, molesters, muggers, assaulters, rapists etc., where the touched has neither the expectation nor the desire to be touched.