Wow, I started making a comment in reply to one in the previous post, but it kind of turned into a rant of my own so I turned it into a stand alone post. My blog continues to be cathartic, thus decreasing my desire to become a spree killer.

Ted, I’m not entirely sure where you were going with a portion of your reply, but I do agree that the lax hiring standards and focus on profit over customer loyalty is killing retail sales as effectively as the “Big Box” stores have killed small, locally owned businesses. If I could buy tractor equipment online (and I might be able to) I would. As to the distinction between my previous work and vocations, I disagree. From Merriam-Webster for “Work“:

1: activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: a: sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result b: the labor, task, or duty that is one’s accustomed means of livelihood c: a specific task, duty, function, or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity

Except for the family farm, all of my previous employment has been public service of some sort or other.

As a youth, in the mornings we were up very early to drive the 9 miles to the farm to feed/water livestock. Any big non-routine jobs had to wait until Sunday or were tackled even earlier. I went to classes from 08:00 until 15:00, had to be at the store by 15:30 five days per week. I was required to stay until closing, clean up, re-stock and prep for the next day before I could leave, usually around 18:30-19:00. Saturdays went from 08:00 until 18:00. While at work I swept, mopped, lifted boxes, moved trash, handled inventory, worked the prescription counter, cash register and prepared and served food at the soda fountain. For this I was paid $1.85/hour when I started because in a family business you don’t have to pay your kids minimum wage. I started work when I was eight years old, and had to stand on a wooden Coca-Cola case to reach the register. Employees were required to perform their tasks interacting with the public with a friendly attitude and make an effort to ensure the customer was satisfied in virtually every way, even if they were total assholes. The penalty for poor service was having to listen to some customer verbally ream you, then get the same treatment later from whomever was supervising.

I fail to see how that doesn’t meet the definition of “work” because at the very minimum, when I got home, I was really freaking tired. My point with all the above ranting is that we did all that crap with a generally positive outward attitued because it was expected of us. If some customer had ever called the store to see if we had an item in stock but actually did NOT have it when they came to buy it, I would have caught unholy grief from at least two people in authority, and be expected to bow and scrape as an apology.

At some point that attitude in retail changed because it occurs even in the smaller businesses around here. Last month I needed some lumber for a project and decided to bite the increased cost to purchase materials from the nearby family owner lumber yard. One thing I needed was a half dozen pine boards 1″x3″ x6′ and twelve 1″x4″. The clerk said they only had 8ft ones in stock and asked if that was OK. I said sure, I can always cut them to length it they are too long, but don’t have a way to stretch them if they are under 6ft long.

When we get home I find they have loaded 18 1″x4″ pieces, no 1″x3″s. When I called back to ask WTF, the same clerk said, “Well, you said they could be longer so I thought it would be fine if they were an inch too wide. </facepalm> It wasn’t like the lady was twelve years old or inexperienced. She’s worked there since I was in high school. Claire can back me up on this, it happens almost every place we go. The management and staff just no longer give a damn if we are happy or not.

Is it a problem with the ratio of wages:responsibility? I have no concrete idea. My best guess is a combination of that plus heaping spoonfuls of poor training and poor social skills and lack of work experience all the way up to management. I had the benefit of excellent co-workers for the most part, having worked with the public all their lives, and a good education that included social integration rather than hammering standard boilerplate textbook material into my head.