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Commentary
Attitudes evolve with economy
By Britt Johnsen
Published:
Thursday, February 20, 2003
Britt Johnsen -- Staff Essay
I have been working in customer service since I was a 16-year-old and it has just lately struck me how interesting it is to see the many types of evolution occur within the world, particularly among the world of business.
It all started at Sam Goody in the mall (which has been closed since the beginning of January) where business was only okay and I was more optimistic and idealistic than ever before, due to lack of experience.
The economy has gone up and down since its inception; but that summer before my junior year in high school illustrated that idea in a way more clear to me than I had ever experienced. Fluctuations in the economy and other societal issues definitely affected businesses by which I was surrounded.
There were days the mall would be completely empty. Days like that that repeated themselves lead to the closing and opening of several stores from wing to wing in that St. Cloud mall with which I've had much experience.
Throughout these fluctuations in business, my optimism and idealism have decreased. It's sad to see places come and go. So many owners and businesses appear and disappear and the attitudes of people have appeared to have completely changed since I was 16.
Many strong memories of that idea have included restaurants. For some reason, they have always hit close to home for me. There's the scenario where a small business that is just starting out is crushed by the ridiculously high rent of Crossroads Center.
I remember quite vividly one man whose dream was serving Japanese cuisine and it was destroyed by lack of business in a financially demanding building. I never saw him again and there's no telling where he is now. Whether his life has improved or diminished since that loss, the fact that is hard to accept is that there is a lack of demand for something a person admires.
Chain stores, on the other hand, are a little different. When Sam Goody closed and I was part of the management team, it was very tough to deal with because I depended on my job for the satisfaction and comfort I felt every time I went there.
I knew that the space would be replaced by a hopefully more successful business and the closing of several Sam Goody stores would feed their corporation. It was sad to see it go because it was one of the charter stores of the mall and because people who regularly went there to either spend money or gain money would be affected by the loss. But people move on and find several other options for spending and gaining money, so the loss is not as significant.
As of early January, I was forced to venture off into the world of employment beyond Sam Goody. Having experienced everything I did in the mall, I was glad to move on to Media Play, because although it was still in St. Cloud and still a part of the Musicland corporation, it was out of the mall and let me expand on my varied knowledge of entertainment and business.
But now I have realized that, no matter where people go, no matter where people are, attitudes are changing along with the economy. Stores close and open; prices of things fluctuate; people always want their own benefits and get frustrated when that doesn't happen. All these facts are making employees and consumers alike rather cranky, bitter and pessimistic.
I'm definitely not part of the cranky, bitter and pessimistic crowd that I've seen lately more often than not, but it's making me rather nostalgic for more idealistic, optimistic times. The older I get, the more the economy shifts and the more people with whom I deal who are affected by such shifts, the more I yearn for the rose-colored glasses frame of time where I had no idea that people can be so cynical.
Moreover, what I really yearn for is the grip gained by people on their sense of evolution. They should realize that change, whether they like it or not, is and always will be a reality.
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