I saw a sign posted by a local restaurant. It wasn't local to Greensboro but to a place I once lived. The name of the business is familiar to me, although I don't know if it is the same owners. When I lived in this area it was a mom and pop store. I didn't frequent this store as it wasn't it my neighborhood but would certainly stop in when I was in there's. I have to say I was a bit puzzled by that sign. It was a sign designed to deride Trump. I'm not so concerned about that, everyone has a right to vote and support whomever they choose. What I wonder about is why a business would do such? Is your business so successful that you are not concerned with offending some of your customers? In this instance, unless the demographics have changed significantly since I lived there, I can only see this sign as hurting business. But perhaps it won't, perhaps it will attract the type of customer they obviously want. As I said, everyone gets to choose. After all, it is their business. I was just surprised and a bit puzzled seeing that. As I have mentioned in the past, I don't believe one should wear their politics on their sleeves. Never has this been more evident than in today's political climate. Want your car keyed, paste bumper stickers all over it, want your business boycotted, put political statements in your windows. Reminds me of my Navy days. Guys wearing Ganja tee-shirts and having marijuana leave tattoos wondering why there lockers were being searched, and why they were being drug tested. Yeah, right on brother, the man is just out to get you.
I remember those little mom and pop stores growing up. Almost every neighborhood had one. They were places were you could get the basic necessities. They opened early in the mornings for the working men. The same group of men would gather there each morning for coffee and to discuss the day. Kids would be dispatched to these stores for a loaf of bread or some other immediate need. The owners were the ones behind the counter for the most part, sometimes their kids. It was the neighborhood that supported those stores through the long winter months. The summer crowd would add the needed income to survive. And it's true, birds of a feather do flock together, and the people frequenting those stores had like interests and political leanings. The later was rarely discussed unless it was in agreement to some foolish proposition from the " other " bunch. Those places were an extension of home in a way. You felt comfortable, important and needed. It was a relationship.
I arrived here in Greensboro to see the last of that kind close its' doors. The building has since been torn done, replaced by two houses. I didn't get to go there often before they closed up shop. I also witnessed the demise of two local hardware stores. You know the type, old, crowded places that carried just about everything a man would need to make repairs around the house. Those hardware stores were for the common man, what we have taken to calling a do it yourselfer. Back in the day it was unusual to have someone else do it for you. Only the rich folks did that sort of thing. But now, fixing something around the house is a " do it yourselfer " thing. Only the crafty guys and girls do that. Personally I blame Government intervention for the majority of that. All the permits and inspections required makes it impractical for the common man to do anything significant, all they can do is minor repairs and such. And then you have the emergence of Lowes and Home Depot. The do it yourselfers paradise. Aisle after aisle of stuff you can do that makes you look like a real contractor! They will even give you a video on how to do that. The neighborhood hardware store can't compete with that. Shame too, a fella could learn a lot from the hardware man. Ace hardware attempts to use that in their advertising as a selling point. They are trying to be the modern day version of the local hardware. Thing is, they are not centered on a neighborhood, they want a much broader base of clients.
Times change and business adapts to those changes. I understand that. It is just that I miss the mom and pop stores. I miss that feeling that you belonged. You felt like you were a part of it all not just a customer. This was my store and my neighborhood. Strangers were welcomed, treated respectfully, and talked about when they left. If one of these strangers said something out of turn, something contrary to the norm, it may be met with a quick retort, followed by a chuckle or two. The meaning was conveyed, nobody got offended.
Yes the times have changed and business with it. What I don't like is the fact that business has gotten so big that the customer really doesn't matter anymore. It's the only way I can see it. Why else would you post blatantly offensive signs in your window? Doesn't make sense to me unless you are so confident that customers don't really matter. It's a strange concept to me. I remember well when the customer was important. And the customer wasn't important only to avoid being sued, they were important to staying in business. The very reason for that old saying, the customer is always right. Well when I read that posting on Facebook about an old mom and pop store that I remembered from my youth it made me sad. Another mom and pop store gone. At least it is gone in my mind if they are choosing to post stuff like that. It ain't the way we did it back in the neighborhood. Or is it that the neighborhood is gone?
I remember those little mom and pop stores growing up. Almost every neighborhood had one. They were places were you could get the basic necessities. They opened early in the mornings for the working men. The same group of men would gather there each morning for coffee and to discuss the day. Kids would be dispatched to these stores for a loaf of bread or some other immediate need. The owners were the ones behind the counter for the most part, sometimes their kids. It was the neighborhood that supported those stores through the long winter months. The summer crowd would add the needed income to survive. And it's true, birds of a feather do flock together, and the people frequenting those stores had like interests and political leanings. The later was rarely discussed unless it was in agreement to some foolish proposition from the " other " bunch. Those places were an extension of home in a way. You felt comfortable, important and needed. It was a relationship.
I arrived here in Greensboro to see the last of that kind close its' doors. The building has since been torn done, replaced by two houses. I didn't get to go there often before they closed up shop. I also witnessed the demise of two local hardware stores. You know the type, old, crowded places that carried just about everything a man would need to make repairs around the house. Those hardware stores were for the common man, what we have taken to calling a do it yourselfer. Back in the day it was unusual to have someone else do it for you. Only the rich folks did that sort of thing. But now, fixing something around the house is a " do it yourselfer " thing. Only the crafty guys and girls do that. Personally I blame Government intervention for the majority of that. All the permits and inspections required makes it impractical for the common man to do anything significant, all they can do is minor repairs and such. And then you have the emergence of Lowes and Home Depot. The do it yourselfers paradise. Aisle after aisle of stuff you can do that makes you look like a real contractor! They will even give you a video on how to do that. The neighborhood hardware store can't compete with that. Shame too, a fella could learn a lot from the hardware man. Ace hardware attempts to use that in their advertising as a selling point. They are trying to be the modern day version of the local hardware. Thing is, they are not centered on a neighborhood, they want a much broader base of clients.
Times change and business adapts to those changes. I understand that. It is just that I miss the mom and pop stores. I miss that feeling that you belonged. You felt like you were a part of it all not just a customer. This was my store and my neighborhood. Strangers were welcomed, treated respectfully, and talked about when they left. If one of these strangers said something out of turn, something contrary to the norm, it may be met with a quick retort, followed by a chuckle or two. The meaning was conveyed, nobody got offended.
Yes the times have changed and business with it. What I don't like is the fact that business has gotten so big that the customer really doesn't matter anymore. It's the only way I can see it. Why else would you post blatantly offensive signs in your window? Doesn't make sense to me unless you are so confident that customers don't really matter. It's a strange concept to me. I remember well when the customer was important. And the customer wasn't important only to avoid being sued, they were important to staying in business. The very reason for that old saying, the customer is always right. Well when I read that posting on Facebook about an old mom and pop store that I remembered from my youth it made me sad. Another mom and pop store gone. At least it is gone in my mind if they are choosing to post stuff like that. It ain't the way we did it back in the neighborhood. Or is it that the neighborhood is gone?
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