John Lewis

John Lewis is a cool game designer, artist, poet, and general techie.

He plays a mean game of Blood Bowl and is the longest running active player of Core Wars (see also rec.games.corewars.) An active player of online games, he was known as neo until the movie "The Matrix" ruined the login. Games he was good at include bolo, avara, action quake and myth.

Engaged, as of last writing, to Katherine Tombeau. I hope I get voted up for that.

John Lewis PLC is a company in the UK, which runs the John Lewis department store and Waitrose the supermarket, among other little things. It is a partnership, which means the profits go to a bonus of ALL the staff. In reality, this aint much good, because it amounts to little and no one really cares any more, which is the intention.

John Lewis, the retailer blazed the trails (to the best of my knowledge) for price guarantees, with its policy:

"Never knowlingly undersold"

Meaning, of course, that if you do find an item cheaper elsewhere, they will refund you the difference.

It is best known to myself, and many Londoners as the one shop on Oxford Street which refuses to entertain any of this late opening nonesense.

Not sexy or glamorous, but sturdy, reliable and with a reputation for quality that your mother would like, it is the Volvo of department stores.

The John Lewis Partnership operates some policies which might seem mighty strange to most onlookers...

It's almost run in the same manner as a government agency. Not quite all that efficiently, but it gets things done. And the staff don't always seem to care.

The staff are known as 'partners' - because, as noded above, they own a share in the company. They have their own Partners' Entrance, Partners' Canteen (very cheap and very tasty food is served here - they do treat their staff well), I even spotted a toilet for "Cleaning Partners Only".

Their "Never Knowingly Undersold" policy allegedly involves negotiating deals with suppliers so that they can get better margins than anyone else. Buying is handled by comittees for each store - it ain't centralised. This is where the civil service aspect comes into play.

While they're open on Sundays (here in Glasgow, at least), they're closed on Mondays. An exception is made in the run-up to the Christmas period, when they're open until about 4.

Until very recently, the chain didn't accept credit cards, but I believe this is changing.

Oh, and if you want to buy some electrical goods, do it here. Not only will you get the best price anyone else happens to be offering, but they'll throw in a pretty good extended warranty, for free.

http://www.john-lewis-partnership.co.uk/

John Lewis is the legendary leader of the Modern Jazz Quartet (aka MJQ), for which he was the primary composer and musical director. He died at the age of 80 in the year 2001, of complications arising from prostate cancer.

The African American Lewis distinguished himself with his more than 60 year career in jazz. He innovated the synergy of jazz and classical music discipline to create the distinctive and enduring MJQ sound. His mission to take jazz from the back-room bars to the fine concert halls of the world was supported by his insistence that all members of the quartet dress well, in tuxedoes.

He is the composer of several noted jazz standards, including Django, and Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West.