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baltochef920 · 12-29-2008, 06:16 PM

The following is a broad generalization that may not apply to you, or your family..Please do not get all huffy and indignant if you do not fit what I have written>>

In the year 2009 we live in a world of convenience..No one wishes to expend any more mental or physical energy to accomplish any particular task than is absolutely necessary..To do so would be to somehow shortchange ourselves, and to diminish our lives in some way that would effectively cripple us beyond repair..

Everyone that purchases anything from groceries all the way to the most expensive luxury item wants a deal..No one wants to pay full retail, or MSRP, regardless of what product we might be discussing..We want our goods cheap, and we do not much care what has to happen in order for this to become a reality..

When did paying full retail price for a product become a dirty word??..Something to be ashamed of, and to be avoided at all costs??..Something that would lead one's friends and neighbors to sneer at you, and to regard you with pity for being so naive and gullible??..When did the deciding factor in any business transaction, regardless of how large or how small, become the monetary value of that particular transaction??..

When did the service rendered by a business become secondary to the monetary cost of the transaction??..When did walking into a retail establishment and requiring that ONLY our needs as a customer be taken into consideration??..When did the needs and concerns of the business owner start to NOT become a factor in any business transaction negotiated between two human beings??..

When did the general public decide that businesses and their employees had NO rights to be treated humanely??..That the customer was ALWAYS right??..That the customer had the absolute RIGHT to treat a business and its employees in any fashion that they chose to do so??..That a customer could treat an employee in as rude a manner as they wished??..That employees of businesses had to stand for being abused verbally in a fashion that one would not wish on any but one's worst enemies??..And, that employees were EXPECTED to stand at attention like a robot with a smile plastered on their face while being so abused??..

When did going into a place of business to purchase a product or service become such a trial??..When did we decide that EVERY freaking waking moment of our lives MUST be filled with some form of profitable activity??..When did we decide that if there were 16 waking hours in our day, that we would have to schedule at least 18 hours of activity in our day??..When did we decide that if an activity REQUIRED ten minutes in order to be effectively transacted, that we would ONLY allot eight minutes of our day for that activity??..When did we decide that NOT giving our full attention to any activity was the preferred way to live??..

When did we decide that being electronically connected 24/7/365 was MORE important than civility??..Before cell phones and computers became readily available to the masses how did we EVER survive??..Why does any business without a website automatically assume less importance in our eyes??..

Why do we compare individual brick and mortar stores to giant retail establishments such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Ritz Camera, Adorama, B&H Photo Video, etc??..Why do we EXPECT such small retail stores to have competitive pricing against such large corporations when we KNOW that they cannot possibly obtain the same deals from the manufacturers of the equipment that they sell??..When we KNOW that their markup HAS to be greater in order NOT to sell at a loss..When did we come to EXPECT companies to sell us products at a LOSS in order to compete in business..Does anyone THINK that selling at a loss is GOOD business??..Do we not realize that if businesses sell some of their products at a loss, than they MUST by extension sell some of their other products at artificially high prices in order to stay in businesses??..Do we not realize that economies will eventually collapse if businesses do not price all of their products fairly??..

Consumers like Blue are at the heart of the problem..In this thread he has stated several times that under NO conditions is he going to pay full retail price, or MSRP, for any product..If a business NEVER has the opportunity to sell its high ticket items at full retail than it puts itself into potential financial jeopardy..This form of behavior is rampant in our society..

Do we really want to live in a world where a few thousand huge corporations dictate the price of everything??..As the brick and mortar stores slowly succumb to the retail giants, those retail giants will eventually have the wherewithal to DICTATE the prices of what they sell their goods for..

The local brick and mortar store cannot always, and should not have to sell their products for the same prices as the huge retail giants..If we allow them to fail by not patronizing their establishments, and by always choosing price over service; then we will one day come to regret it..

Bruce

12-29-2008, 06:16 PM	#18
baltochef920 Senior Member Location: Baltimore, Maryland USA Gallery Photos: 0 Posts: 162	The following is a broad generalization that may not apply to you, or your family..Please do not get all huffy and indignant if you do not fit what I have written>> In the year 2009 we live in a world of convenience..No one wishes to expend any more mental or physical energy to accomplish any particular task than is absolutely necessary..To do so would be to somehow shortchange ourselves, and to diminish our lives in some way that would effectively cripple us beyond repair.. Everyone that purchases anything from groceries all the way to the most expensive luxury item wants a deal..No one wants to pay full retail, or MSRP, regardless of what product we might be discussing..We want our goods cheap, and we do not much care what has to happen in order for this to become a reality.. When did paying full retail price for a product become a dirty word??..Something to be ashamed of, and to be avoided at all costs??..Something that would lead one's friends and neighbors to sneer at you, and to regard you with pity for being so naive and gullible??..When did the deciding factor in any business transaction, regardless of how large or how small, become the monetary value of that particular transaction??.. When did the service rendered by a business become secondary to the monetary cost of the transaction??..When did walking into a retail establishment and requiring that ONLY our needs as a customer be taken into consideration??..When did the needs and concerns of the business owner start to NOT become a factor in any business transaction negotiated between two human beings??.. When did the general public decide that businesses and their employees had NO rights to be treated humanely??..That the customer was ALWAYS right??..That the customer had the absolute RIGHT to treat a business and its employees in any fashion that they chose to do so??..That a customer could treat an employee in as rude a manner as they wished??..That employees of businesses had to stand for being abused verbally in a fashion that one would not wish on any but one's worst enemies??..And, that employees were EXPECTED to stand at attention like a robot with a smile plastered on their face while being so abused??.. When did going into a place of business to purchase a product or service become such a trial??..When did we decide that EVERY freaking waking moment of our lives MUST be filled with some form of profitable activity??..When did we decide that if there were 16 waking hours in our day, that we would have to schedule at least 18 hours of activity in our day??..When did we decide that if an activity REQUIRED ten minutes in order to be effectively transacted, that we would ONLY allot eight minutes of our day for that activity??..When did we decide that NOT giving our full attention to any activity was the preferred way to live??.. When did we decide that being electronically connected 24/7/365 was MORE important than civility??..Before cell phones and computers became readily available to the masses how did we EVER survive??..Why does any business without a website automatically assume less importance in our eyes??.. Why do we compare individual brick and mortar stores to giant retail establishments such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Ritz Camera, Adorama, B&H Photo Video, etc??..Why do we EXPECT such small retail stores to have competitive pricing against such large corporations when we KNOW that they cannot possibly obtain the same deals from the manufacturers of the equipment that they sell??..When we KNOW that their markup HAS to be greater in order NOT to sell at a loss..When did we come to EXPECT companies to sell us products at a LOSS in order to compete in business..Does anyone THINK that selling at a loss is GOOD business??..Do we not realize that if businesses sell some of their products at a loss, than they MUST by extension sell some of their other products at artificially high prices in order to stay in businesses??..Do we not realize that economies will eventually collapse if businesses do not price all of their products fairly??.. Consumers like Blue are at the heart of the problem..In this thread he has stated several times that under NO conditions is he going to pay full retail price, or MSRP, for any product..If a business NEVER has the opportunity to sell its high ticket items at full retail than it puts itself into potential financial jeopardy..This form of behavior is rampant in our society.. Do we really want to live in a world where a few thousand huge corporations dictate the price of everything??..As the brick and mortar stores slowly succumb to the retail giants, those retail giants will eventually have the wherewithal to DICTATE the prices of what they sell their goods for.. The local brick and mortar store cannot always, and should not have to sell their products for the same prices as the huge retail giants..If we allow them to fail by not patronizing their establishments, and by always choosing price over service; then we will one day come to regret it.. Bruce Last edited by baltochef920; 01-01-2009 at 08:09 AM.