What on earth is a computer printed label doing on my cup? At least sku# 33994 still tastes good.
The blog of W. David Winslow - Greensboro, NC.
What on earth is a computer printed label doing on my cup? At least sku# 33994 still tastes good.
<rant>
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. For me, it is a time to stop, spend time with family and give thanks to God for His many blessings in my life.Earlier this month, I was disappointed to read that several major retailers have decided to open on Thanksgiving day. Now the hundreds of thousands of people who work in those stores will spend Thanksgiving working rather than spending time with their families giving thanks. I understand that some jobs necessitate that folks work on a holiday. I understand that for many people Thanksgiving is more about a day off than any particular "thanks giving". However, those things aside there is simply no decent reason that a big box retailer *needs* to be open on Thanksgiving day.From my point of view this is evidence of the low regard that these companies have for the their employees. Don’t misunderstand me; these retailers certainly have the right to open their stores whenever they want. Their employees also have the right not to work for them anymore. This is not an issue of rights at all; to me it is an issue of balance.I think it is important for a business (of any size) to balance the needs of three groups of people: customers, employees and investors. This concept is certainly not mine. One CEO who represents this concept very well is Jim Sinegal of Costco. Do a search for him if you are more interested in this topic.While I respect the rights of these companies to open their stores, I honestly think they would be better served by letting their employees rest up and prepare for the busy Holiday shopping season ahead. I hope that their sales results are poor on Thanksgiving day. I also hope that their competitors who treat their employees better (like Costco) crush them on black Friday. Nothing changes the behavior of a cold heartless giant corporation faster than bad financial results.</end rant>