I have worked in a lot of places; a lot of restaurants and some retail sprinkled in here and there. However, for the last four years, I have been in a small business environment and I have learned a lot about what drives business and what keeps a company going in such a rough market.
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| Image courtesy of bplanet / FreeDigitalPhotos.ne |
Comparing corporations to small business seems almost silly because they are so vastly different, yet one exists because of the other. In the last blog, the writer discussed small book stores versus corporate ones. I do not have a lot of experience with high-volume bookstore, although I did work in one for a Christmas season during college. It was the largest Borders in Chicago, right off of the Magnificent Mile.
It has since closed, like most book stores. It was, by far, the worst job I have ever had. I bring up my past job experience so that I can parallel how vastly different the industries of small versus big business can be. I don’t work in a bookstore, but I work in a small manufacturing company in the suburbs of Chicago doing administrative work, while I still try to start up my Journalism career.
Corporate companies are not always the worst, - other than pushing around the little guy - but in the situation regarding Borders, it was the worst. I have worked in other big corporations, but for some reason Borders took the cake. I can blame most of the nastiness on the customers and the fact that it was during the holiday season, but I probably had ten managers. I didn’t know half their names, but it seemed like every day I had a different manager. Out of said managers, I don’t think one of them actually cared about books; I think they just cared about strategic marketing and selling.
Now, I am sure that is because upper management pushed to have books sold. My problem was that no one seemed to care about the products, just pushing them out the door.
Now, as I said, a lot of my hatred came from the customers. You would think that during the holiday season people would be pleasant, but if you have ever worked in retail you know the opposite to be true. People were cranky, pushy and just downright rude. I would stand on my feet for eight hours at a time at a cash register where people bought books, DVDs and the like.
It has since closed, like most book stores. It was, by far, the worst job I have ever had. I bring up my past job experience so that I can parallel how vastly different the industries of small versus big business can be. I don’t work in a bookstore, but I work in a small manufacturing company in the suburbs of Chicago doing administrative work, while I still try to start up my Journalism career.
Corporate companies are not always the worst, - other than pushing around the little guy - but in the situation regarding Borders, it was the worst. I have worked in other big corporations, but for some reason Borders took the cake. I can blame most of the nastiness on the customers and the fact that it was during the holiday season, but I probably had ten managers. I didn’t know half their names, but it seemed like every day I had a different manager. Out of said managers, I don’t think one of them actually cared about books; I think they just cared about strategic marketing and selling.
Now, I am sure that is because upper management pushed to have books sold. My problem was that no one seemed to care about the products, just pushing them out the door.
Now, as I said, a lot of my hatred came from the customers. You would think that during the holiday season people would be pleasant, but if you have ever worked in retail you know the opposite to be true. People were cranky, pushy and just downright rude. I would stand on my feet for eight hours at a time at a cash register where people bought books, DVDs and the like.
I took away one essential thing from my three months at Borders: People are impatient and they like everything to be easy, cheap and familiar. That is why so many small businesses seem to struggle. Not because they don’t have quality products, but because they can not come anywhere near the price, ease and familiarity that corporations offer.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with corporations. In theory, they are the product of the hard work and perseverance of individuals who want to live the American dream. But at what cost?
For the last four years, I have watched my company struggle and fight an uphill battle. But I will say this; we have loyalty that those companies will never find. We have the ability to do special things for customers and the ability to give them something as simple as a discount on a large order, just to make them happy. We may have to pinch pennies in other places, but the customer is, and always will be, the most important part of what we do.
We, at one point, held a very large account with a large manufacturing distribution company in Chicago. We lost that account about seven years ago and we have been fighting ever since. We couldn’t lower our costs enough for them anymore, just so that they could up-sell another 60 percent.
When you buy things for that cheap you are paying for what you get. Quality has gone out the window; that is the biggest thing with small business. Most times you know that you may pay $1 more, but you won’t have to replace that item in six months.
But that isn’t what we care about as consumers, right? We think about what something is going to cost us right now, not what it is going to cost us in the long run.
Our grandparent’s generation understood this, they spent a little more on appliances or the like and guess what, they still have those same appliances and they are still working. I guess my point is that you pay for what you get. At some point, I hope to see the little company fighting back again, and I think that is starting to occur.
Many people, when given the option, will try to support local stores, but when a conglomerate comes in and takes over what other options do you have?
As a small business you can’t compete with the marketing and the prices… it doesn’t matter if your product is superior. I guess my point in all of this was just to say that small businesses need to be supported, without them we wouldn’t even have corporations. Just be mindful of where you are buying things from and take into account whose pockets you are lining. That is my public service announcement for the day.
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