NightSide News Update

It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio home.

Thanks very much, Emmy, you gotta stay warm, baby, it's cold outside.

As they sing in that song, it is cold outside tonight.

I heard nineteen degrees, but I suspect it feels a lot colder than that. So if you're in your car, I hope you get the heat turned up. We'll keep your company wherever you're headed this mid December weekend. Today is Friday the thirteenth, and we're going to talk about that later on tonight. Plumb your brain for your superstitions. Did you think about it today? Did you not think

A little more wary than usual. We'll figure that out later on tonight.

Well, also at nine o'clock, I'm going to talk about Louis ti on. You know, Louis passed away in October, and once again the Veterans Committee on the Baseball Hall of Fame chose to pass him by. And I've done a little research here. I want to get a little bit of a bandwagon rolling for Louis t On.

This guy deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. So we'll get to that.

And there's another subject or two would like to talk about tonight, a little bit of New England.

Nossalasar at ten o'clock.

What are some of the great institutions that have gone on I've passed on here in New England that you missed. We'll talk about that, but first off, we have our Nightside News update and we're going to start off with Katie Johnson, who writes for the Boston Globe, and she has an interesting article on the top places to work in Massachusetts based on employee surveys. Katie Johnson, I think we've had you before. Welcome back to Nightside. How are you tonight.

I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Yeah.

Correct, I think we did speak before, at least once.

Correct.

I have done this list for maybe ten years, so chances are good.

Okay, that's great. I'm glad to hear it. Now.

This is not a survey that you did. This is a survey according to enter Gauge is what is ener gauge. It makes it sound like it's an energy company because we got two g's but know why, So tell us what eder Gauge is.

First, well, Energauge is an employee engagement company, so you know, also a play on the name. And yes, they do these surveys for publications around the country where they take surveys, anonymous surveys of employees at companies and we ended up surveying three hundred plus companies and it's like twenty five questions that they ask them and then they rank them, you know, different weights for different questions and come up with a ranking of companies in four different size categories.

I see that there's the categories.

Is I understand that are big big companies which would be a thousand employees are more Top large companies two hundred and fifty to nine ninety nine, that's still a big company, Top medium sized companies one hundred and two forty nine, and top small companies fifty to ninety nine. So you don't this company that does the work here.

Right, They don't do the tiny companies and I think the small number makes it harder to quantify the results or something like that.

Okay, so they know the companies they want to do they do they survey employees in every company. How do they? I know how they do political polls? But I'm interested in how they do this.

Well, they invite companies.

They invite thousands of companies and then ones that want to do it. Then they have to survey a certain percentage of their employees and they have to get the completed survey, so they have to reach a certain amount to qualify.

So what what I'm doing here is I'm qualifying this myself. This isn't on the level survey that they had made an effort here.

So let's talk about the.

Let's talk about a couple of the top companies that maybe people are familiar with. Let's let's why don't you take the lead here, let me let me listen attentively, attentively.

Okay, Well, I can tell you what the number one companies are.

Uh, if that's what you're interested in.

Okay, So the number one small company is a brain Tree insurance agency called Fisher Agencies. The number one mid sized company is a Boston business and tech consulting firm called s c I Boston, and they do a cool thing.

Uh.

You know, we like to call out different things that these companies do, and this one they have a bi weekly dinner time staff eating at their downtown office. And to make it easier for parents to attend, they have on site childcare movies and kid friendly food. So you know, they they make it easy to bring your kids. And it's nice that they think of you.

As, you know, the whole person. You have a lot of things going on besides work.

The number one.

Outside the only downside of that would be if you have a couple of kids. It's great to be able to bring them in, but you've got to get back into the city if you live outside of Boston.

I guess I don't like.

It, right, Yeah, yeah, let's.

Get okay, Yeah, I'm only having fun with you, all right, and give us the top large company. This is now we'll get into the companies that maybe some of us will actually have done some business with.

The number one large company is a Waltham real estate firm called the Lamachia Realty and they've won before, I believe. And then the largest company that was number one is a brain Tree, senior living company called Senior Living Residences. Know, these aren't necessarily all household names two people, but it's always interesting to learn about new places.

Now, I'm assuming that you're not that they did not release the names of the worst companies to work.

You know, it's funny you say that, because I've always wanted to do that list, but for some reason, you know, the leadership team pushes back on that. I don't think they'd get much in the way of advertising dollars either.

Well I'm talking I'm talking about energet Gauge probably has a deal with the companies that if they don't turn out pretty well, you know that cauld that that won't be mentioned.

I guess.

So, yeah, they don't release the names of the of the bottom once.

Yeah, sure, yeah, okay, so, and no one knows all the different companies that participate. What percentage of companies around the state do you think participate in this? Is this a really good sample? I mean, obviously they do a good sample in terms of the different sizes. I get that, But is your sense that this this whole project, this seems to be me from what I know about it, it's really really on the up and up and on

We do believe that. Yeah, we do it. We do it every year. I mean it's certainly not every company, or even the majority of them. I mean there was only three hundred and twenty three companies that went through the entire process of being surveyed, right, So, so not every only companies that think they're going to do well will do this to begin with. Right, So the lot of the companies kind of select out, and so you get kind of the.

Anyway, well, when you mentioned that number, if there's three hundred and twenty three companies competing, for lack of a better word, and one hundred and seventy five have been recognized as one of the companies with the happiest employees, you got about a fifty to fifty shot to Yeah, the odds are not dead. No, absolutely not bad. Which I could get those odds on my football picks on the weekend. But that's another story for another time, Katie.

Well, it ran last weekend, Dan little late, but that's okay. I came out in the Sunday magazine, but you can still find it online.

Absolutely, I appreciate that. Well, I wish we would next year. Let's do it ahead of time, because that way we can generate little business for the Globe on Sunday. There'll be a lot of people.

I'm serious knowing well, to your producer's credit, they tried to get me on last Friday night, but I had planed, so they you know, punted for this week.

So we'll take what we can get.

We won't tell the Globe.

They'll never know. It's between you and me.

You got it all right, Katie, Thanks very much.

I appreciate you. A good sport. Talk to you soon, Okay, thank you, thank you. I like people who have a sense of humor and who can kind of play radio a little bit.

Just have some fun with it.

We come back when I have a little bit more of a serious conversation. And these are tips as I read this for landlords that anyone should know before they rent out their property. So normally, normally you would think that someone would be saying beware that person's a bad landlord or whatever. No, this is quite the contrary. This is tips for landlords to avoid what they characterize as the monster tenant. Okay, we'll be back on Nightside right after the break.

My name's Dan Ray.

This is Nightside on a Friday night of Friday the thirteenth here in Boston, Massachusetts. You're listening to WBZ Radio ten thirty on your AM dial, Boston's news radio, and you can all see always listen to us over the internet, just whoever your internet provider is. We're right there WBZ Boston WBZ Radio, or you can call download where at iHeartRadio station. Download for free the iHeart app. You can listen to us three sixty five twenty four to seven

Now back to Dan Ray live from the window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.

All right back to the conversation of the hour. This of course is the night Side News update and our next guest. This is sort of a kind of a change up, if you will, in baseball parlance. Ten landlord tips that anyone, And I assume that means a landlord should know before renting out their property. Suzanne Segrament is my guest.

Hi, Suzanne, how are you tonight?

Great?

Thanks Dan?

How are you doing?

I'm doing just great now. Victim of monster tenants? So this is from the perspective of the landlords.

Correct, yep, that's me all right, So tell.

Us what the I can imagine there are some tough landlords, but I also suspect there were probably some some tough tenants. What are the ten landlord tips that people? And there are a lot of people who were small landlords. They have a three decker here in Boston or somewhere in our listening area, and they rent out a couple of floors, and not only do they have tenants, but they have people living in the same building in which they reside.

Yeah, well, first they just want to say that we had a monster tenant that you cannot believe, who moved in and tore down three bedrooms without permission. It was absolutely insane. So these tips come from direct experience of a really, really bad tenant. The first thing is really important is that you have to do a background check and a credit report. Even if your broker gives that to you. Most people think, oh, the broker is going to do all the work and they're going to do

I don't know why that should be illegal, especially if it's a public record.

Yeah, I don't know. I think maybe illegal is the wrong term. But you can't, at least in New York, where they're very pro tenant, you can't use housing court information to make a decision about them something like that.

It's it's problic.

Yeah. You might see a LinkedIn profile with a lot of great educational background, and that's not going to help you unless you're actually call the schools and find out if that person actually went there. What's on LinkedIn could be made up basically, and that's what happened with our tenant. He made everything up Harvard, a master's degree, a PhD. Everything was completely made up, and documents were forged and we were completely colored.

Did it take you to evict this person, Well, it took us.

It was three months. We were very lucky. I found twenty other victims around the world, and so he's done this to a lot of people before, and we were lucky.

You said that this tenant.

Destroyed three bedrooms or it was yeah, a party it was it a party animal or was it some guy who thought that he could they could improve your property by taking a wall or two down.

No, he was actually it was the middle of the pandemic, and he was looking for a payout, if you can believe that. So he moves into people's places and kind of destroys them or does some kind of chaotic things so that you want him out, and then he expects you to pay him to leave.

Because in some states it's tough to ect, can take months or years to evict even ye.

Okay, which is the pandemic.

Yeah, yeah, wow, okay, So there was.

An eviction moratorium at the time. During the pandemic, So there was really nothing we could do. But we did finally get him out. It took us four months.

Four months and so he never paid you any rent. And how much damage did he do to your uh, to your property that that you you're probably never going to be able to sue him for or at least sue himself.

Now there's a lot of he's had a lot of judgments ahead of us, so we're way back in the line. I'd say it's probably three to four hundred thousand dollars worth of damage overall, including legal fees and loss of value of the property, just and also putting the bedrooms back. I mean, it was just devastating to see my daughter, you know, my my darling baby daughter's bedroom kind of you know, in pieces on the ground outside, outside the floor. It was it was really really tough situation.

Well, you know, I know you're not supposed to resort to us lawyers call self help, but boy, it would be great if you had somebody who would be willing to go in and just I don't know, you teach him some manners would be one way there an instructional course in appropriate.

I like that is that like that's like Boston speak, teaching someone manners.

That was a very subject we would never invoke, imply, or suggest any form of violence.

But uh, well he actually sorry, go ahead, I was just gonna say he was violent. I mean we brought our architect with us when he ended up punching her in the face and breaking both her her hands. So he was a really bad guy. He's it's called the Monster Tenant. I mean, he's the Monster Tenant. I wrote an article about it.

And where can folks find that article, Susan, It's.

In New York magazine. And there's a lot of stuff I'm sharing on my social media at Suzanne Segerman Instagram and Facebook and Susanne Segraman dot com.

You'll see a lot of.

Suse Susan s u z A N N E and Segrament is s E G G E R M A N what a couple of the other in the in the two or three minutes that we have left, And again, I want people to reach out and be in contact with you sound like an awfully nice person. And it's it's amazing how how many jerks there are in the world, and this guy seems to be a class Uh yes, I hope he's going to be doing it to other people. So this is this is a cautionary tale. Give us a couple of other tips. Obviously, you really want to

I would assume that's.

That's a good that's a really good one. You have callow them up, talk to them directly and see if you can verify the landlords too, because a lot of people just give you the names of friends, so you know, you have to figure out who they really are the landlord and get their real number and checking references. You know, you again want to check their references, but find out if you can if their references are real people as well.

If I had a chance, between references and checking out the former landlords, I mean, references can be glowing and they the person might be a buddy of theirs or something. But again, if someone like this is the monster tenant and they've done this before, well they're going to be very likely. This sounds like a guy that truly should be indicted for extortion in my opinion, did you ever consider filing a criminal charge against him of extortion?

Well, I went after him, and I sent packages of information and all the information I gathered on the other victims to various law enforcement agencies, and eventually.

There's a federal investigation on him.

Right now, he's on the loose still, so look out out there. Don't we think he's overseas, but there is an investigation underway.

Yeah, it would be great because it seems to me that when he has a track record of doing this to a series of people and.

Then demanding money for.

Him to leave the property and stop doing damage, you talk about a quid pro quo, and I'm speaking as a lawyer, that's extortion, plain and simple, and someone like that should go away for a long time if you can prove this is a pattern in practice of his activity. You sound like a lovely person, Suzanne.

And.

I don't think he thinks so well.

I'm seriously if it was me, i'd be bitter and angry, and I don't sense that in your voice. I sent That's what you're doing is trying to get the word out so that other people who work hard have you know, an additional piece of property that they're willing to rent out. Uh and and they become the victims victims of extortion. That's you're you're a victim of extortion. And uh I I'm guessing from your area code you're in the New York area.

Uh.

Yeah, actually I'm in Connecticut. But we used to.

In terms of the legislature down there does nothing to protect property rights for uh, you know, people who who own property, and for landlords. It has always assumed that the landlord is the bad person, which is just so unfair. Susanne, I really thank you. How can folks they just google your name, Suzanne, Segrament s E G G E R M A n uh and s U z A N N E you said on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

Yeah, we're also google my monster tenant and you'll find the article.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Let's get the word out there, Suzanne, thanks so much for doing this. I'm so sorry for what you had to go through, but hopefully spreading the word here will prevent this guy and others of his ilk from taking advantage of decent people and basically engaging in extortionate practice.

In my opinion, thank.

You, Susan, Well Thanks so much, Dan, have a great holiday you too, Thank.

You very much. Right back at you before we get back at eight thirty.

Gen Z gen Z actually wants to shop in person, and that's helping Mauls make a comeback. By the way, I was in a Target today doing some shopping and I'm going to ask a couple of questions about this. I can't tell you how many items I was stunned to see are now walked up between under lock and key. But we're going to talk about gen Z first. Maybe later on tonight we'll get to that issue. We'll be back on Nightside right after this.

Thanks.

It's Night Side with.

Boston's news Radio.

Here.

Welcome back.

We are often on this hour of night Side talking about the tendencies of gen Z, and tonight we're right back with gen Z. We're talking with Scott Barredale, who's an expert on branding and trust. He heads up a company called Idea Grove. Good name from marketing company. Scott Baradale, Welcome to Nightside. How are you sir?

Thanks for having me.

You're very welcome.

So first of all, we always have to define gen Z, make sure we're talking about the same group of people. Give us the age range of gen Z today or give us the birth year of people who are born gen Z.

Well, you're basically talking about your teens and to the mid to eight twenties. To this point, it end at about twenty seven.

Yes, so these are probably.

People who were born beginning in nineteen ninety six.

Or or is it later than that.

That's about right, nineteen ninety six, And so today the oldest gen Zs would be probably, as you said, in their late twenties, and the youngest I think that they stopped gen Z in twenty twelve, so they would be very early teens, so early teens, the twenties. So these are the folks who traditionally have populated malls, and all of a sudden, this group is kind of going against the tide. I mean, the tide in recent years was

What's going on?

Well, I mean, I think it's part of a larger trend where you know, gen Zers who have spent their whole lives on their phones are maybe trying to branch out a little bit, you know. There they can shop on their phones, they can take pictures on their phones, they can listen to music in their phones, and and what's hot with them now, things like vinyl records and the kind of old fashioned early two thousands of digital cameras have made a huge comeback. And getting getting out

Is it also kind of a cheap way to get out and spend the night? I mean, I'm assuming that there was still malls. I was in a Target store today doing some Christmas shopping, and I was stunned because I had never seen this before in a Target, in a Target, that something as things as simple as men's socks, we're under lock and key. Now, I get it, you know, I'm used to.

I'm serious.

I'm used to going into stores where you see, you know, some of the you know, the technical equipment that can cost one hundred, one hundred and fifty dollars lock and key or jewelry, under lock and key forever. But men's socks fifteen dollars under lock and key.

You know, well, in a lot of cities there's been real issues with shoplifting, and there's been retailers that have taken the approach that, hey, don't do anything, let people steal things because we don't want to deal with the liability. And this is what it ultimately ends up with. You know, everything's locked up in at least the stores shutting down in bad neighborhoods, and lots of things happen when you're not willing to kind of stand up and frankly do it right in terms of security asolutely.

And it also scars shop is away. But who wants to be in a store when when the store is being robbed, you're you might you might be part of the robbery on the wrong end of the well, there's no no good end of a robbery.

We put it like that. But yeah, this was in kind of a suburban mall area. Let's see.

It's I was surprised to see it, and I gotta tell you I'm now as an investor going to look at Target and see if by them taking a fairly dramatic stance, I mean, because it was like, you're not going to steal socks. I mean there was there was still you know, large toy items which were not under lock and key, but you couldn't walk out with one of these, you know, talk of trucks or something like that under your arm or a basketball.

Uh.

Yeah, it just it just struck me.

So let me come back to the gen z is it Do you think this is something that is going to bring malls back or is it the last gasp of malls?

You probably study this a lot more closely than I do.

Yeah, I mean, I think it's an interesting question. We don't know for sure the answer.

You could.

I give you two different comparisons, and it could be one or the other. One is final records. You know, if you go back to the seventies and eighties final records, there were three hundred million plus vinyl records sold a

I think, well, I.

Think it's interesting.

I know that in my where I live, there's a deluxe movie theater where you can go in and you pay a little extra, but the seats are pretty comfortable, it's immaculately clean. You have the opportunity to have to order drinks or dinner while you're watching a movie. I mean, it's a very different experience than buying a ticket for a ten or ten dollars and sitting there and realizing that somebody's spilled you know, I can of coke underneath your feet because when you go to get.

Up your your shoes are sticking to the floor. But so is this. Let me you look at this nationally.

We're a New England where we're Boston and New England radio station where we're heard in thirty eight states over the year to what we call terrestrial radio. Just an old line station that's been around for one hundred years. As you may or may have heard of our call letters. But w b Z, yeah, well known east of the Mississippi. Lots of different people. Are malls coming back better in different areas of the country. I'm assuming that if malls

I just want to wait until spring. You know what I'm saying.

Is this a regional phenomenon or is this something that's occurring across the country.

Well, yeah, I mean I think what's happened is that a lot of the kind of experiences that you have traditionally had in cities like a Boston or like New York where you didn't have kind of that suburban mall because you could kind of walk down the street and

All all great points. You know, there are some cities that have done that. I mean some of the great small cities like Savannah in Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. They had that charm. It's tough to create that charm. I love Dallas, spend in Dallas many times in my career in television and just travel. It's great city, historic city, and all of that. Some of it bad history in terms of the assassination in nineteen sixty three. But I

I don't know.

Back to the future, I guess, is what we're talking about. I really enjoyed our conversation, Scott, and I'd love to keep back, happy back at some point and talk about any other trends that you folks see. You sound like at a great company that is really on top of things. And I'm going to check out Target and see what their value is. I'm serious having that experience today. I had that happened to me about thirty years ago. Walked, you know, a home depot and it was actually got

Now back to Dan Ray live from the window World Nice Sight Studios. I'm WBZ News Radio.

Well, we're going to talk about Boston's new Museum of ice Cream with us. Is one of the co founders, manishvo the nice Welcome to Boston and welcome to Nightside.

How are you.

I'm great, Thank you so much for having me.

I see that this Museum of ice Cream is already open in a few other cities around the world, Miami, in Austin, Texas, and now Boston. Is it currently opened I know the tickets are available, or when exactly did you scoop the first scoop of ice cream here in Boston?

The first scoops we just did previous this week and tomorrow morning at ten am is the grand opening. We opened the doors up to the public for the first time.

Tell us some of the features, because this is much more than just going in and buying an ice cream con what do we how's give us, you know, pitch me on it. Why it's a great family event?

Absolutely, I mean, this is a museum of ice cream. This is a experience, and this is an experience that's going to take you on a journey that taps into your inner child. Think Willy Wonka meets your favorite ice creams, favorite worlds of Sprinkles. You are going to slide down a epic slide, You're going to swim in sprinkles. You're going to play in a Fenway Park inspired what we

Yeah, I'm looking at some of this sprinkle pool, carnival, sensory lab, cookie living room.

This is not.

This is quite an investment. You located in the seaport, right. Everybody knows where the seaport is, but whereabouts.

Yeah, it's right off the seaport of Boulevard, right across from the Snowport and where the fairies come. So it is right in the heart of it. And it's so exciting. I mean, I grew up outside of Boston and Whaland and to see the seaport evolve. You know, a lot of people think about it as now a night life and evening destination, and it is packed at night, but we really are going to bring a night and daytime attraction for families. And then of course we have a bar.

Start my goodness, Well, I'm looking at other besides ice creams, and not that there needs to be, but I'm looking at you have one called something called the Cookie living Room, which looks to me like people are sitting in chairs that are kind of shaped like cookies. But are there cookies or is this ice up the moment you arrive until.

The which you leave.

Don't worry, We we add some, we add other topics and other you know, everything in the universe of ice cream is fair game. And the chip Witch I feel like growing up in in Whaland I that was to me the ultimate ultimate treat when you got that chip witch at lunchtime at the cafeteria. And so so this is our first time ever making our ow to the chip Witch. And and not only you do you have to find that chip wich. You're gonna actually have to You're gonna actually have to do some work to get

Oh yeah, you think of Friendlies. I think of Brighams, Yeah, absolutely, remember you.

Know getting you know, you know chocolate shakes at Brighams as a kid, and uh yeah, there's there's unbelievable history of ice cream. So how did you get involved in this, your guy from Whaling to Massachusetts. I'm sure you didn't wake up one day or when you were growing up in the fifth grade and the teacher said, and Ish, what do you want to do when you grow up? I want to have an ice cream venue? You know, how did you how did you find your way to this.

I can tell you if any of my teachers from Whale Mill Score Whale in high school are listening and then then kind of guessed that this was my profession. I think we could have they could have won the lottery.

N like as a bank robber or something.

I mean, come on, I mean, I mean, I was a pretty I was a pretty active I mean I was a pretty active student. I was a pretty good athlete. I mean, in Massachusetts, it's you know, to me, it's sports, culture and ice cream. Those are the three things that defined me. And and and honestly, the museums. I went today's a lsterirt gardener museum today. I hadn't been in a few years. And I grew up on art, I grew up on culture, and I grew up on the

Well, we hope many people have an opportunity. They were able to go to your website, which is pretty simple, Museum of ice Cream dot com slash Boston. But you just go to Museum of ice Cream dot com you'll find the Boston the locations.

Again, you're in New York, Chicago.

Singapore, Miami, Boston, and Austin, Texas. So those are very interesting cities geographically and culturally. And I suspect it's going to be a big smash here in Boston. The tickets you got to you gotta figure out what time. The ticket prices vary a little bit, and uh, and there is a there is a break for kids on tickets. There's adult tickets and kids tickets, and I think that's smart as well. Kids age two and below are free.

I like that.

Well that I forgot got to ask you. Do you love ice cream? And what's your favorite?

For me? It's chocolate.

It's any form of chocolate ice cream. I mean that seriously. I'm a big ice cream guy, but it's got to be. My best is chocolate with hot fudge and Jimmy's or you know, Hershey chocolate pieces on top of it. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. I'm a chocoholic, that's all. With chocolate, I'd be doing time at Conquered State Prison if it was still open.

Okay, well, maybe we need to make a signature treat for you at some point and everyone needs to try your signature triple kadruple chocolate.

More than happy. I would minish my producer would give you my direct line. I would be honored. I've been around a long time at WBZ, first in television, probably when you were a kid I was on.

TV, and now you're bad.

I remember, okay, So yeah, feel free. Rob will give you my direct number if you want to give me a call. I'd be happy to talk. I love ice cream and I love innovation because this is something that's that's different. And hope I wish you all the best, and I wish you great success and look forward to me at the out point.

What an honor, What a pleasure to be on with you.

My pleasure right back at you have great holidays and Rob will take care of you. Give him my direct number, and we'll do what we can. We'll figure out what we can do again. It's the Museum of ice Cream dot com. And it's always great to listen to someone from community like Whale in a great community with a new idea which I think is going to work here