Service in the Food Service Industry.

I went to the Home Depot the other day. Nothing but giant metal shelves full of supplies, with not a customer service representative in sight. Ahh, the joys of modern shopping. It wasn't always like this though. My father tells me that when he was little hardware stores used to have people around to help you find what you need and answer questions. And if you came in often enough they would even know your name. The guy at the local fast food store doesn't even know my name, even though its always the same guy, and i always come at the same time every day, and order the same thing. In fact, I don't think we've exchanged five words not relating to food. Of course my grandfather tells me that gas stations used to pump gas for you, but when he says such obviously untrue things I can't help but shake my head and smile. The idea that someone might preform such a menial task for me, is beyond me.

But then again, things weren't always this way. Once upon a time people served you food in the food service industry, not just sat there and took your money. A few of these anachronistic testaments to monolithic food service still do exist, we call them restaurants. They used to be the standard, right up until a pair of brothers name: Dick and Mac McDonald opened up a hamburger stand in California. Now, while McDonalds success is attributed to Ray Kroc (the man that franchised the business), its the brothers McDonald who are to blame for the fast food industry it spawned. It was they who had the idea to have people take their food to their own table, and to cook up food ahead of time in anticipation of sale. However, its McDonalds success that spread these principles across America. What's more these businesses could sell food cheaper as they didn't have to pay for the same overhead as a full restaurant. All of a sudden this bargain price idea caught on with Americans. In the 70s Walmart expanded this idea to other industries.

Now people are buying stuff off of giant shelving cases that look like they belong in the storage room, not the front room. All in the pursuit of lower prices. Now there are a number of issues that this raises, from substandard pay, to immigrant jobs, to driving out local businesses and the American dream, but the one that pisses me off the most is there is no one around to help me find my quarter inch ply wood. What have we surrendered in the pursuit of lower prices? Are we really so miserly we've given up self respect in exchange for money?

So, my advice to you all is, every now and then (you don't have to all the time) you go to a real restaurant and pay the little extra for a little service. Trust me, its worth it.

excerpt taken from a speech "Economics, the Modern Philosophy" by Jim Tzenes