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Every city is the same and every shop is selling identical goods. Every bank is selling products no one other than an actuary could tell apart.
Would we vote for this? I can't answer for everyone but surely the majority would say no, however, this is the world we are accelerating into. One big gloppy pseudo American Corporate culture.
Let me state straight away that this is not an American gripe, no, I have many friends in the US and as a nation they have the same mix of issues the rest of the world has. No, this is a gripe about the way we, as a Western population, accept the blandness dished out to us so that a very tiny percentage of people can get ever richer.
Don't let anyone from these companies fool you about customer satisfaction or choice. This is all about selling as much as possible to gain market share, to drive up the stock value and bank millions in the process.
There is also the growing trend of making or sourcing products as cheaply as possible and moving jobs to locations that don't have the stringent employment laws the West has. This allows them to drive down costs even further until so that the small business and their employees are so dependant upon the Corporates business, that they will make practically any concession.
So the next time you sit down, kick of your branded trainers and sip your 3 pint of milky foam whilst browsing through mortgage offers tailored just for you, so the house you buy can be filled with the same stuff as the rest of the country. Just stop and think Is this value for money, are the people who make, support, service or supply these products being looked after and have I just got value for money?
By: C H OLeric
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But thank you, we're on the same wavelength.
Councils offer this because unfortunately, a lot of the people in the towns up and down the uk cannot accept change or to have something culturally different than the usual big corporate company crap. Then of course, these companies can afford to make ludicrous bids to beat anyone else and probably the odd back hander here and there.
What's worse, is, I don't know what to do about it. I've stopped shopping at Tesco now and some other places and yes I do wear some branded stuff but there's so little choice when it comes to fashion unless I want to dress like everyone else I'm pretty much screwed.
Finally, what Wally has written down below about an ex colleague of his does not surprise me in the slightest. I've met and worked with no end of people like that.
Literally all the shops that line the platforms and open areas in the new station are all high-margin shops, where a jar of marmalade costs twice to three times that anywhere else. What the dickens does one need champagne bar when there hungry and homeless in this country.
I try to "rebel" against it, by occasionally buying locally grown food. Try and do this as many times a year as you can, even once is better than never. In addition I never go to Just Tesco for example. I will use Sainsbury's, Morrison or Asda. Once there I never buy the same brand of product be it toothpaste or tissues. If it's advertised do your absolute best to avoid it, this means go for the one that is advertised less or ideally not at all.
I do not buy NIKE products, they have been "outed" too many times for the use of child labour in Indonesia & Cambodia. This is blatant cheating and mass child abuse. If they get away with it there, then one day it might be your children or grand children. Yes other clothes producers do it, but NIKE have no excuse and the others do it because Nike do.
Let me first say that she stated clearly that it was the best holiday she had ever had, and wanted to return next year. I quizzed her about her trip and got the usual responses
"the food was amazing", on closer examination I discovered that they had eaten british breakfast, club sarnies for lunch, roast on sundays, steak, chicken kiev etcetc.
"the people are so friendly" ,the only thais her and her family met were the ones who waited on them day and night , of course they were friendly.
Downsides to her holiday were the two trips she went on, one was to a local market which I remember well, selling everything from amazing fruits,spices to dried meats and live chickens. This she hated and felt ripped off by the tour organizers. "why would I wanna buy fruit or chickens"
The other was a visit to an elephant sanctuary where lunch was disgusting and the flys and mosquitos were everywhere.
A trip she did love was to a market which sold dodgy dolce and gabbana rip offs and cheap imitation watches.
I do not claim that everyone is like caroline but I get the feeling that there are many like her, to me they have never been to thailand (incidentally, probably the easiest and most western of far east countries). She didn't experience the food, the culture, or the people, even in their most diluted form. She wanted a home from home in paradise which is what she got and the sooner that market is replaced with a row of starbucks, mcdonalds and pizza huts, the more complete her holiday will become.
It may be a crying shame to some of us but to large portion of our lazy, consumer driven society, the sooner the better.
On the other hand I do agree the big firms can have too much power and so get away with ripping off customers. But its buyer beware and when there is no other option they have got you where they want you.
Anguinished and CH O'Leric...i'm in total agreement.
They profit only a very few by their operations, their Golden Circle. They rip-off any or all others involved. They rip-off
a) Their shareholders [who could be pension funds] by promising growth, but never actually delivering. In the meantime the Golden Circle inside the organisation profits enormously via stock options and all other kinds of scams.
b) Their employees by eventually sending work overseas to cheaper workforces, never actually increasing real wages back here at home, constantly threatening that if your productivity wavers in the slightest the operation will close down in this country.
c) Governments, by mispending Government grants, by fiddling taxes.
d) Customers, by producing uncompetitive goods with very confusing price plans, and hidden costs and charges.
These are Evil Times