Quote:
Originally posted by Dawson70
The "babyboomers" are in control at this moment. They have been allowing these companies to dismantle our industry and have created foreign policies, such as NAFTA, to only benfit themselves. There is no "insight" on repercussions, because frankly, they don't give a shit. They will dump the shit barrel over to the rest of us, and I doubt we will be able to repair much of the damage. Not to mention, they are greety and control freaks. If they don't have something go just there way, they blow a fuse. I have seen more temper tantrums from 50 year olds than I have 3 year olds. It strikes me as "spoiled" and that is how they deal with issues.
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It goes a bit deeper than this, in that many of these baby boomers are directly profiting from such an arrangement, either through stock portfolios, or by by actually being in control of these companies--or otherwise in a position of executive power.
As for things being cheaper at Wal-Mart...how much is your time worth to you? I've never gotten past the cash register in a reasonable amount of time, and forget about returning anything--it's a nightmare. I used to work as a returns associate at a certain home improvement chain. There were a grand total of two returns employees on location at any given time, while we usually had ten cash registers ringing up purchases. God help you if you (1) need to bring something back or (2) can't locate the item you want to buy. Then there's getting in and out of the parking lot.
And then there's places like Best Buy where they almost assault you with offers for extended warranties, magazine subscriptions, and any add-on purchase they can think of (toner and paper for your printer, free installation of any electronics smaller than a shoebox, extra this, extra that). There was a big scandal with a Jiffy Lube-type franchise where one of the employees stated anonymously that the customer NEVER, EVER leaves the building with just the $39.99 oil change.
Sure, you may shave a few bucks off, but these places charge a hidden fee of customer contempt, harassment, and general inconvenience. At the returns desk of that home improvment store, we would take your driver's license information and store it in a database. It was to catch people trying to cheat the company, but there's probably a better way. The point is, the company doesn't give a shit about you, so this method is Good Enough.
We had one guy who refused to show his identification, and it took him at least ten minutes of wrangling with an assitant manager who--I shit you not--called the legal department on the other side of the country in an effort to try to enforce the invasive policy. Here this customer was, being forced to hold up the line just so he could maintain his legal dignity.
I think they only have two returns registers open precisely so that they can pile up people behind you, making you feel self-conscious about not accepting whatever the policy dictates. Sure, there were people who came in, bought something, used the shit out of it, and tried to get a refund. There were people who came in with expensive products I'd never seen before, claiming they'd gotten them at that store, with no receipt or other proof of purchase. Sure, you save a little pocket change by shopping at Home Depot, or Best Buy, or Wal-Mart.
But you know why so many poor people shop there? Because the corporations have run everyone else around them out of business--people who could have employed you and
definitely would have paid you more money. Instead, you're flipping burgers or--the ultimate cosmic slap in the face--you're working for the very store that pushed everyone else out, because you can't find work anywhere else and must put up with their meager pay and typically chronic understaffing.
Joe's Hardware Shack might not be the efficient, money sucking machine that gets shareholders all hot and bothered; it's likely not the kind of place they would ever have to stoop to shopping at--but an energetic, motivated employee is what makes all the difference in the world. Instead of slouching his way through the day, inwardly scowling at his boss and everyone who walks through the front door, he gets all his work done, keeps the line moving, answers questions, tidies up, and can brighten your day with nothing more than a friendly smile. His smile is so powerful precisely because of the standard megastore employee we're used to: slouching his way through the day and inwardly scowling at his boss and everyone who walks through the front door. Smugly shirking work and talking shit about the customers barely out of earshot.
Why are these employees so crappy? Because they've been forced to work there by the store, in the Borg-like assimilation I outlined above. Taken to its logical extreme, almost everyone could be employed by one megastore or another, while an elite ruling class dabbles in the stock market and take cruises to lush, tropical climes.
Hypothetically.
Take a look around you.