The Upside of a Down Economy
Eating lunch in a communist country, I asked the waitress
if the water had been boiled. “More or less,” was her
indifferent reply. She came back half an hour later with a
part of our meal, flinging it on the table, spilling some,
and disappearing before we could bother her with more fool
questions. Another half hour yielded the next part, and so
on. All told, our order took about three hours. I think she
liked us, actually; but what’s the incentive to rush if you
can’t get fired and the pay’s the same no matter how hard
you work?
Did you know the U.S. is a “service economy?” That means
most of our GDP comes from providing sales, advice or labor
of some kind; as opposed to manufacturing goods.
So, how do you like the service?
I’ll tell you how small business owners like it: phooey. My
entrepreneurial friends put in long hours and take huge
risks to build up their tiny enterprises. In the meantime,
their employees skulk in late, work while stoned and steal
from the cash registers. They consider themselves above the
work for which they were hired, and demand raises after a
month. Employers go begging for workers acquainted enough
with the alphabet to file correctly, who have a positive
attitude, or at least no ‘tude at all.
That’s where this terrible economy will help. We’re going
to pay closer attention to what we’re doing because we’re
going to be walking the tightrope of life without a safety
net. We’re going to gripe less about our jobs and just be
really, really glad there’s food on the table. We’re going
to work above our pay grades.
The customer will be king again. Imagine barely crossing
the threshold of a warehouse store before someone offers to
help you. Imagine your fast food order being right the
first time. Imagine someone checking “in the back” for you.
Could all this fear and uncertainty actually ultimately
make us more grateful for what we have and therefore
happier? Stay tuned.