A Rant on Business Practices in General

Times are tough in business, and when things are tight any expense that doesn't contribute to the bottom line is jettisoned. That's understandable. Companies have to take certain actions today to assure they will be around tomorrow. However, we have been shedding American employees for some time now, not because they don't contribute to the bottom line, but because they don't contribute enough to the bottom line.

I once heard the saying, "Corporations don't cry". It's one of those tidbits that leave an indelible imprint on the mind. Whenever I call an American company and end up talking to someone named "Howard", who I know damned well is halfway around the world, I can actually hear the bubbling sounds that my boiling blood is making.

I know I'm not alone. I am in communication with people every day. Today, one of my customers expressed delight when I answered his question about where Extendamatic gating is made. "Right here in the U.S.A.", I said proudly, and added, "by Americans". I don't purport to know if that's important anymore. All I know is that it's important to me!

Maybe it's because I'm older and remember stuff, like how I used to be able to approach a cash register and simply buy something without the pathetic exercise of club cards and tracking systems that make transaction time intolerable and personal privacy invadable. Or, how about trying to call a company hoping to get an intelligent, helpful person on the line instead of a recorded menu with a "bridge to nowhere". Yeah, I remember stuff. Corporations may not cry, but I swear I can hear them laughing at me.

What's sad to me is that this has become the normal accepted business model and it is not one that we subscribe to at Deken. We now have a generation that doesn't know what it means to wind a watch, so business activities and transactions that place the burden of inconvenience squarely on the customer are now considered normal. Nobody seems to remember what it used to be like. At Deken, we do. And we strive to bring that personal and caring experience to everyone we meet.