Loss of Customer Service.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/04/09/25-things-vanishing-in-america-part-2-customer-service/

Of course you can use the whole "stop being a whiner, that's the way things are" defense of the status quo but I think most people are starting to see how bad things are getting.

One sociology professor at my college once explained it to us this way.

We are being trained to work for the corporations.

In the past we used to have shit done for us by other people.

For example: we are tellers working for our bank dealing with automated machines. We have to do the work. They used to pay people to deposit money and take out money for us. Now we have to do all that work AND they tell us it's more convenient!

First I thought this was BS. After all going through the ATM was easier than going into the bank and waiting for a teller to help me...

...but wait. I remember when I first started depositing money as a high school student at my rural hometown's bank there was no ATM. And I NEVER had to wait because there was always at least 3 tellers working in the bank.

Nowadays I think you would be pretty lucky to see 2 tellers working in a rural branch of a bank.

That's because the banks hired themselves a new employee to do all your banking. YOU. And YOU PAY THEM FOR IT.

...

Recently I went into a Walmart late at night to get a new shower head and a bunch of other stuff. I got my own purchase and walked back to pay. There was NO CASHIER. I had to ring myself out at the self checkout line.

This doesn't seem like a big deal of course.

But just consider it.

I just worked for Walmart as a Cashier and a Bagger.

For free.

A mere ten years ago I could have gotten someone to ring me up and ANOTHER person to bag my purchases.

But the norm has become you working all these little extra jobs for free and not getting any of the benefit.

And if you complain? Well then you are a "whiner" and a "wuss" for not wanting to bag your own purchases and be your own bank teller. People are so influenced by "the way things are" they see NO PROBLEM with the status quo.

This is NOT "the way things are" this is how some asshole trying to generate a little bit more profit for his company decided how things should be...and we all just went along with it.

...

Of course I can come up with a hundred other ways customer service sucks in this country.

And it isn't all big corporations either. The small businesses in this area are mostly being run by some pretty stupid people as well.

All in all I think this country really needs to revamp some shit and generate some more intelligent middle class people. This generation of stupid consumers who go along with everything that is forced upon them and possess such ignorant arrogance is not doing anyone any good. Stop all this oppression of our intellectuals and force the bulk of our population to own up to their shortcomings.

...

I suppose the best you can do is find stores that you like run by people with a half a brain and support them.

Hopefully, with this depression going on stores will be willing to help out people.

Hopefully, with this depression some of the losers will be put in their place and we will emerge stronger and better.