I had to take an elderly friend shoe shopping and the reception we received at a local shoe store was unfriendly to say the least. It was a big store, two shoe aisles deep and absolutely no visible benches until the very back corridor (children's shoes) parallel to the entrance... so I picked up a bench and moved it over to the adult area where my elderly friend wanted to try on shoes.
(1) Don't make customers need to ask and search for benches in a shoe store!
Then a clerk came along and started harping about fire regulations, etc.
(2) The polite customer friendly response would be to apologize and move the bench to the end of the *nearest* aisle in keeping with fire regulations to best accommodate the limitations of their elderly, frail customer.
When I pointed out their customer had physical limitations that the store was not accommodating, the response was to submit a complaint online.
(3) Do not disrespect the comments of a live customer to their face! It should be the responsibility of every employee to improve the quality of the product and service of any company they work for. This especially includes passing the face-to-face critiques of customers up the chain of the company.
I was so livid, I've decided to never buy from that brand store again. I seldom buy that brand shoe and now I am much less likely to buy them also... no Skechers for me (my friend too).
BTW, I am not saying I was 'right' in my actions but the clerk was absolutely 'wrong' in the way they interacted with us.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Unpaid caregiving is another sign of the need for a different economic model
TRRN has a story about the cost of unpaid caregiving to both caregivers (who are primarily women) and the economy overall. The guest said:
This goes to two points I always return to...
(1) The current definition of economy and economic activity is focused solely on generating profit. This leads economic (essentially all) public and private policy to measure success (and existence) on ability to produce a profit. But the majority of the economy (the workers) don't prioritize profit; their primary reason to work is self-maintenance and well-being. So a far better definition of economies is: self-organizing and self-sustaining systems of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that promote the well-being of all participants. Such a definition would rule aspects of offensive war-making to be anti-economic (major reduction in status) and personal caregiving services would increase in status; after all, caregiving adds almost immeasurably to human well-being.
(2) The power elite establish and maintain their status by controlling information by a number of means. I've written about state secrecy (so called 'national security interests') and intellectual property. The above quote is another way to control information - self-censorship for the sake of job security. This has also crept a little into cultural embarrassment... needy family members are a sign of weakness so caregiving is not often mentioned.
The solution to information control is transparency. But the level of transparency necessary to fully open up an economy cannot be driven only by policy. They must also be a massive cultural shift to social and cultural transparency. It's not easy but these are ideas and concepts that must be mulled and allowed to percolate through individual and societal expectations.
They often don’t tell their employer because they’re afraid of being essentially fired if they disclose that they’re caring for—You can’t really hide that you’re caring for children, but you can hide that you’re caring for a disabled spouse...
This goes to two points I always return to...
(1) The current definition of economy and economic activity is focused solely on generating profit. This leads economic (essentially all) public and private policy to measure success (and existence) on ability to produce a profit. But the majority of the economy (the workers) don't prioritize profit; their primary reason to work is self-maintenance and well-being. So a far better definition of economies is: self-organizing and self-sustaining systems of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that promote the well-being of all participants. Such a definition would rule aspects of offensive war-making to be anti-economic (major reduction in status) and personal caregiving services would increase in status; after all, caregiving adds almost immeasurably to human well-being.
(2) The power elite establish and maintain their status by controlling information by a number of means. I've written about state secrecy (so called 'national security interests') and intellectual property. The above quote is another way to control information - self-censorship for the sake of job security. This has also crept a little into cultural embarrassment... needy family members are a sign of weakness so caregiving is not often mentioned.
The solution to information control is transparency. But the level of transparency necessary to fully open up an economy cannot be driven only by policy. They must also be a massive cultural shift to social and cultural transparency. It's not easy but these are ideas and concepts that must be mulled and allowed to percolate through individual and societal expectations.
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