1. In a story about Fortune magazine's number one place to work in America, CBS Sunday Morning cited some poll that stated most American workers are overworked and underpaid.
2. A customer complained that dry cleaning prices are much lower in Houston. This was the second complaint (in one week) about Pensacola dry cleaning prices being higher than dry cleaning prices outside the area.
On the idea that most workers are underpaid and overworked, I tried to imagine how that polling went; Gee, do you think you get paid enough? Do you think your employer expects too much work from you, the right amount or not enough? Is it any surprise how these were answered?
The people I've met that think their pay is adequate can be counted on one hand. You may wonder how this ties into the number two issue; dry cleaning prices being too high. Well, read on...
I am fascinated with people's inability to understand that the private sector typically prices goods and services based on cost and adding some profit. Contrary to popular belief, most small businesses are not adding anywhere near the 100% profit some would have you believe. By the way, our dry cleaning prices are lower than the two larger dry cleaners in the area.
In the Pensacola area we are unable to hire people at minimum wage. We may pay more for supplies than some areas because of transportation costs (e.g. different geographic areas have different fuel costs and that affects the cost of supplies and wholesale goods). Since labor is the single biggest expense in most businesses, it seems to me that complaining about pricing is almost like saying "your people get paid too much."
We want to buy big screen tv's for under $1,000, computers for less than $500 and we expect to get our shirts cleaned and pressed for $1.99. But we don't even consider taking a job that requires significant manual labor or getting dirty. We wouldn't dream of working in a factory. When we do consider a job with a big company, we expect tons of benefits, great salaries and great working conditions. Then when all the manufacturing jobs go overseas, we get mad at the companies for "giving our jobs away."
The next time you hear someone complain about the prices of some good or service, ask them if they'd be willing to take a pay cut in order to keep prices down.
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