Thursday, December 8, 2011

Corporate Greed

I work in retail.  Not for much longer, but right now, I work in retail.  It is a very annoying job.  I'm supposed to promote the opening of credit cards, which carry a ridiculously high interest rate, to people who can ill afford that kind of credit card debt.  Even if you can afford it, why would you?  The corporation I work for could care less about that.  There job is to sell things on credit so that the items, no matter how deeply discounted, will end up costing the average purchaser twice the sticker price.  This is good corporate business.  This is a good example of corporate greed.  This is also called the Great American Game of Shafting the Consumer!

I have many friends at the large retailer where I work.  They make diddly squat for wages and have, for the most part, few benefits.  In order to get a raise at this retailer, one must attain certain sales goals, which are manipulated by the retailer so that they are almost impossible to attain.  Therefore, you will make the same money when you leave employment as when you started.  This saves the retailer a lot of money.  Minimum wage is corporate greed.  Never mind that you came to work on time, every scheduled day, and sold plenty of shoddy pieces of merchandise at inflated prices to an unsuspecting public.  You didn't make your sales goal and you will not get a raise.  Corporate greed at work.

In the worst economy since the great depression, sales associates are forced to listen to "rallying" speeches wherein we are told how to sell more, how to make sales goals and how we're all falling down on our duties because the major retailer did not make the store sales goal the day before.  We are chastised and threatened to do better, whined at by the store manager, despite the fact that if we do sell more, it won't make a damn bit of difference to our personal bottom line or sense of job satisfaction.  The retailer will reap all the benefits.  You might get a free cookie out of the deal at an employee appreciation event.  I'm so honored.  Flour and fat.  The new corporate benefit.

At any rate, this seems to be the way of America today.  This major retailer is probably reflective of every American business operating today.  And people wonder why there are so many Toyota's (mine included) on the road.

No comments: