Business As Usual

Over the last decade or so, I have watched the principals that made an American company last, degrade at an increasingly faster pace. Customer Service is fast becoming a lost art. Modern day companies seem to care more about the bottom line than they do about whether or not their customers (or their employees) are happy. Profit is now king. Big companies claim to value their customers and their employees, but I'm not buying it.

Executive Director and head of the Goldman Sachs United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Greg Smith wrote an article in the NY Times, Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs. Mr. Smith makes some very insightful observances about how a culture that once valued  its customers needs, and promoted a sense of morality has seen a major decline. I think that what he has to say about Goldman Sachs can also be said about big business in general.

The one thing that upsets me (and I'm sure, most people) is the lack of trust that Corporate America is promoting. In the case of financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, there is a certain amount of trust that an individual has to have to do business with them. These people are handling your money after all. You have to trust them to do what is in your best interest. We're talking financial stability for a lot of people. Misuse of this trust can mean the loss of retirement funds, or housing, or college tuition.  If everyone were a financial expert, we wouldn't need companies like Goldman Sachs in the first place, but we do, and trust is an integral part of doing business. I agree with Mr. Smith when he says that losing that trust means losing future business.

I do believe the same can be said for the service industry as a whole, including retail. People trust these companies as their source for goods, service, and as their employers, but many companies are quickly becoming known for electronic call centers, dropped calls, and a general atmosphere of disdain for the customer. Have a problem? Don't bother contacting customer service. Chances are, you won't get the outcome you desire, or deserve. Sure, if you walk into a brick and mortar store, you will likely get what you want right away. That is because they want to get rid of you as fast as possible, but companies that can rely solely on telecommunications, will. Then they don't have to deal with you. I really don't understand how a company can sustain this kind of behavior long term, and not lose a significant amount of business.

I guess the motive is to make as much money off of the public as quickly as possible, because nothing lasts forever. I have to applaud Mr. Smith on his courage, for saying what so many people would like to say.

I'll Stay Home, Thank You Very Much

My husband and I are fortunate to be able to work from home, so we don't get out much. We most certainly don't get much of a chance to go to the movies. Not that we would want to. There isn't really a whole lot out there that is worth spending the money on. Sure, I guess you could say that some people go to the movies for the experience and not the actual movie, but you could also say that we are cheap and would rather save the money and forego the experience for a nice quiet evening at home. We wait for the movies we want to see to become available on Netflix. Yes, I know we are way behind.

We finally saw Paranormal Activity 3 on Netflix last week. I have to say that it was just as bad as the other two. There was a little more action in this one, so it moved along a little quicker, but the scariest thing about this movie was the 80's decor and I kind of knew from the trailer that there would be absolutely no point whatsoever to the whole "Bloody Mary" thing. I couldn't have been more right. This movie (like the others) is probably better for insomniacs, because it will put them right to sleep.

I remember when we went to see the first Paranormal Activity (we did see this one in the theater). After sitting there for what felt like forever, eventually people started complaining about how boring it was. The guy in the row in front of us, the people a couple rows back too. I'm pretty sure that was the only time I had gone out to a movie and heard that many complaints. My ten year old daughter was just as bored as everyone else. It's not that hard to scare a kid! Come on now! I find it really hard to believe that these movies are as successful as the advertisements claim them to be.

Paranormal Activity is one of the many movie franchises that have kept us home (along with work) instead of venturing out for our entertainment. Like I said before, we wait for everything to come out on Netflix, and thanks to them, I've seen some pretty awesome movies that I've never even heard of. I don't think that will last too much longer though, with the way things are going with them.

If you're looking for something interesting to watch, you can find some hilarious reviews for some pretty obscure movies (we watch weird stuff) on my husband's blog,  The Horror Movie Hits Blog! Some of them might surprise you. Hint - be sure to check out Troll Hunter. It's actually pretty good!

License and Registration Please

The other day I was looking through Yahoo for the latest news from my area, and I found myself becoming increasingly irritated by one particular article. The article, Listen up: Restaurants pay high price to play copyrighted music on WRAL.com stated that a Raleigh Pizzeria has been ordered to pay thousands of dollars for not buying a license to play popular songs in its restaurant. Other restaurants have been sued as well. Licensing companies actually pay people to go in and make recordings of what a restaurant is playing in order to "collect songwriter’s royalties".  Does this mean that if a restaurant owner purchases a CD, and plays it in their establishment, that they still have to buy a license? Has anyone ever heard of free advertising? Did it ever occur to anyone that if a restaurant owner plays a certain type of music that it might lead to their customers going out and purchasing a song, or album because they liked what they heard? I mean, come on…Really?

Honestly, I understand that musicians work hard and deserve to be paid. I'm all for capitalism. People who work hard deserve compensation for their efforts. The problem is that the vast majority of people who work the hardest get paid the least. The very people who put their lives on the line for everyone else don't make millions of dollars like those in the entertainment industry. Where is the line drawn between being fairly compensated for what you do, and greed? 

I think that most of the frustration comes from those entertainers who flaunt their success in ways that border on the ridiculous. Does Billy Rockabilly really need a 23 bathroom mansion? Does he really need a diamond encrusted jet to get him around from place to place? This form of excess makes me sad for all the children in our country who don't have a roof over their heads, or a diamond jet.

Sure, all those people who are filthy rich give to charities all the time, and super mega stars even give free concerts on the “Today Show” to thank their fans for the $19.95 they spent on their last album. Do they stop to think about how many hours it took for that fan to earn that $19.95? How many milliseconds does it take a music mogul to earn $19.95? What about the expense it takes for a regular Joe to start a small business, and try to achieve his piece of the “American Dream” without having to pay thousands of dollars for a music license on top of it?

Who knows how many millions of dollars entertainers have donated to various causes. Maybe they don’t want anyone to know. Maybe, some problems are just so big (insert sarcasm here) that no matter how much money you throw at it there will always be: the mentally ill sleeping on the streets, children going hungry, or dying because they have cancer and their parents can't afford the treatment. There will also be those people losing their homes because our President gave all our money away, and those who benefited from it refuse to give up their 400% profit. Even if it did come from the very people they're kicking out on the street (Phew!!). I guess one person can’t make a difference.

If you're thinking that I'm angry, I'd say, "Damn right I'm angry!" The music industry is fast becoming the poster child for what is wrong with this country, and the people in it. WAKE UP!! Where does all that money really get you? Does it make you happy? When the end comes will you be able to say that you were the best person that you could have been?

Capitalism is great as long as you avoid the pitfalls of greed, and selfishness. Apparently, it seems that most people don’t, but that’s just my opinion.

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What is Art?

Last week, a friend of mine came down from Connecticut to visit. On Saturday, we went to the North Carolina Museum of Art. We took a stroll through the East building* where all the contemporary art was located. As we looked at the photography there, I got to thinking. Who makes the determination as to what is considered art, and what is not? There were photographs there that anyone could have taken. I don't mean to insult the artists, but there wasn't really anything special about the composition of the photos, or the lighting, or anything else. I could have taken those pictures.

I decided (and I told my friend this) that I don't think that I would ever want my work to be in a museum. I think that the art world is a little too pretentious. It is fairly clear that the determination as to what is "Art" is made my some big wig, with lots of money. If they like it then it's "Art". The only real fair determination of what is good art is when the decision is made by the masses. This all reminds me of an art competition at my former school.

The poetry club was looking for a piece to use for the cover of their tenth anniversary poetry compilation (a rinky dink club really), and they put out flyers requesting submissions for art. The prize was two hundred dollars. I submitted some pieces, but other people in the school kept telling me that what I submitted didn't really represent the name of the club. Well, no one really specified whether the work should represent the club, or poetry itself (I decided that representing poetry would be the best option). In the end, the group decided that it would be easier to use photographs for their cover. They chose a photograph taken by a kid who was a well known brown-noser. There is no doubt that he knew the teacher that was heading up the poetry club, and I am sure that he spent a little time on his knees kissing her behind. Oh, the picture he took represented the name of the club, but it wasn't all that great. My point is, that it really isn't the quality, or the originality of the art, it usually boils down to who you know, and how well you can kiss their ass!

I'm not saying that I deserved to win. I'm sure that there were other works of art that deserved it more than mine. May the best artist win, but it ticks me off when the winner, clearly isn't the best artist. There are some fantastic artists out there who are extremely skilled at what they do, but very rarely (it seems) are they recognized for their skill, their technique, and their dedication to their craft.

I think I'll stick with the masses, and if they like what I do, then hopefully I will be able to make a decent living. I don't need to be rich, or even  recognized with awards. I just want to spend the rest of my life doing what I love to do.

*Patrons are not permitted to take photos in the East building, but you can take pictures in the West building where the classical art is.

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