Quote:
Originally Posted by DRJDVM's '69
On thing that strikes me when this type of topic comes up...we are all alittle hypocritical.....
We ALL buy stuff online....ebay, amazon, craigslist
We ALL shop at the big box stores like Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes
We ALL eat at the chain restaurants like Applebees, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut
We all buy stuff from Summit and Jegs, Tire Rack, Enco, Grainger etc etc....
We dont go to the local "mom and pop" hardware store (when they used to exist) even when the service was way way better...but the prices were alittle higher...
We dont go to the local owned restaurant even when the food and service are better...
We go to Dominos or Little Ceasar's pizza since they have 2 for 1 deals...even when the pizza sucks compared to the local "no name" pizza joint...
We go to Taco Bell to get 99 cent tacos rather than to the local mexican restaurant
We go to the cheapest gas stations even though the place is a dump, the pumps suck and the bathrooms should be condemned
We are ALL guilty of eroding the sense of looking for the value in an item or service rather than just the price....we are all guilty of locking in on the price as the most important in 9 out of 10 situations
Its not until it affects our profession or has a direct impact on our own ability to make a living that we get pissed off.... me included
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Good post Ned. And I agree .. all except the chain food stuff. I don't eat that crap. It's gross and unhealthy and I eat good local food. Have you not seen the Fast Food Nation movie or book?
But you're right. Since when do we as consumers owe it to certain companies or vendors their profit to feed their family? I've run a small business for 7 years now... and I don't EXPECT anyone to put food on my table to buy my car parts. That sense of entitlement don't sit well with me. I either compete in my marketplace and make the sales and get repeat business, or I find new customers to backfill old ones, or I don't... and I shut it down and do something else.
Entrepreneurs are not guaranteed profits. They put up risk capital to potentially make more than the guy who has a "secure" job working for some other entrepreneur or company.
Business landscapes and marketplaces constantly are changing.... new technologies.... new competitors.... Al Gore's internet.... many things have small and large impacts. That's not new. The people who make it and push forward don't sit around and complain about it. They GET IT DONE!