One thing this election cycle that has pollsters, economists, and incumbent politicians perplexed is why Americans don’t think the economy is doing very well. Unemployment is at all-time lows in many states. The stock market is doing great. Wages have increased substantially since pandemic started to wane. Productivity numbers have increased in that time as well. And inflation has come down from the nearly double-digit rates we saw last year. So why then do so many people think we aren’t doing great?
A number of interactions I’ve had the last week of so have given me some insight into why so many of us are down on the economy–and it has less to do with numbers than it has to do with service. The level of frustration that I felt not being able to get basic human assistance makes me feel like American businesses (and society at large) are going downhill.
Let’s start with a visit to my credit union to make a sizeable cash withdrawal for a payment that cannot be made on-line. This was around the noon hour, when a good percentage of those needing banking assistance have time to get to a branch to meet with someone face-to-face–so there was a bit of a backup. The two tellers were doing their best to help as many customers as they could, but the nature of the service requests had them tied up with each person for a considerable amount of time. That led to general discontent in the line, with some folks making their displeasure known audibly–but not loud enough for those working at the branch to hear. I doubt anyone went home thinking “Wow, things are going really great here”.
Then another trip to a previous credit union of mine to formally close out an account turned into another half-hour period of frustration–as the person at the counter couldn’t do that for me–and of course, the person that could was tied up the rest of the hour in meetings. I was asked if I would like to come back at another time to complete my transaction? “To spend another half hour standing here while employees struggle with my request?” It sounds like the next time I have an afternoon to waste, I’ll give it another try.
And then a stop at a government office revealed that the employment situation isn’t any better in the public sector. One person at the counter–while others milled about behind the glass or wandered in and out of the office with no discernable purpose–left me in another sit-and-wait scenario. That was exacerbated by the need to get in and out of whatever program was needed to work in because of “issues”–and then a problem with the printer, and the next thing you know, that was another half-hour plus of time not well spent.
I followed that up with a trip to the grocery store. In a couple of aisles there were items that had fallen off shelves, but continued to sit on the floor. There were empty spaces where I usually find items I need–leaving me to wonder if they were sold out, or if no one got around to restocking the shelves. There were employees around, but most of them were fulfilling on-line grocery orders with the carts that take up more than half the aisle. Since they are working on a deadline to have the orders filled by the time the customer arrives for pickup–they don’t have a lot of time to help you or to check on the status of those missing items.
My rounds took me to a chain hardware store, where I am not really familiar with the layout of items. I realized quickly that I would have to make a decision: spend time wandering around looking for the one item I needed, or to spend time wandering around looking for an employee that could help me find the one item that I need. Wouldn’t you know it, that worker knew what aisle it would be in–but not exactly where in that 100-foot long aisle. So I got to enjoy the hybrid search for both a worker AAN the single, small item I needed.
And then it’s off to the checkout area with the in-stock items (which are NOT any cheaper than they were last year) to find that just two registers are staffed. Sure, they have self-checkout–but I had a good load of items (including a gift card that requires cashier activation) and I like to use paper bags, which are not stocked at the self-check counters. As fortune would have it, I along with everyone else ahead of me in line had some beer or other forms of alcohol in our carts, and wouldn’t you know it, the cashier is underage and cannot check us out–meaning the front-end supervisors has to keep coming back just to run the bottles over the scanner.
Later that week, I needed to make an appointment for a service. Imagine my surprise upon learning that a fairly common thing would take more than three weeks to see someone about it. Fortunately, this is something that is causing me neither physical discomfort or threatens to put me in the poor house–but I feel sorry for anyone in need of immediate help to avoid a crisis.
I’m a member of a Wisconsin Supper Club Facebook group that provides reviews and information on restaurants across the state. In the last couple of weeks two supper clubs have announced “temporary” closures due to staffing issues. Others are cutting way back on the days that they are open, with some operating just three days a week. There have also been reductions in menu offerings because there just isn’t enough kitchen staff to prepare all of that food. As anyone that eats out regularly will tell you, supper clubs are not alone in that situation.
And finally, a birthday celebration put me in the company of several young adults in their early 20’s and late teens. From what I could tell between all the “I was like” and “I mean” and “You knows”, none of them are gainfully employed. The reason given by several? “It’s too stressful”. Since it was not my place to provide some “tough love” I held off on sharing my experiences of working full time already at their age–and that having to meet expectations of other people is a part of the human condition–not an undue burden upon your life.
Meanwhile, I have passed at eating as some of my favorite drive-thru restaurants because the line is outrageously long. Notice that I didn’t use “fast food restaurant”, because some of the locations around here are anything but fast. Yet, the people who should be staffing them with their limited work skills are at home too “stressed out” to get out of bed. I’m old enough to remember the reason nobody worked as such places is that “minimum wage isn’t worth it”–but considerable wage hikes (and price increases) have done little to get those same people off the couch.
So why then should anyone who goes through the same things that I have the past few weeks think that “things are going great”? When I walk into stores, credit unions, and government offices and I see all of the registers, windows, kitchens, and customer service centers fully-staffed and working efficiently, I will start to think that “America is back”. And no rosy campaign speeches, promises of tariffs on foreign goods, or Paul Krugman opinion pieces in the New York Times claiming that consumers are too dumb to know how good they have it are going to change my mind.
