Sugar Beats
03-06-2009, 05:55 AM
everyone.
I saw this news story (maybe some of you did too) last night that took a little different angle on what happens when 1 person losses their job. I found it very interesting.
Peggy worked @ DHL for 19 years and was recently let go. First things first, as many of us would do, she started looking for other employment and in the mean time decided to scale back.
She realized her tire had a slow leak. She decided she couldn’t afford to go to her mechanic, someone she had been going to for years +. So she found a way to take care of the leak herself… no visit to the mechanic.
The newscaster went to the mechanic & his shop. He spoke w/ him and asked him if he wondered why he hadn’t seen Peggy in awhile? The mechanic said he had wondered about her, she was usually really good about bringing her car in regularly for oil changes & maintenance. The newscaster relayed Peggy had lost her job & was scaling back; she did have an issue w/ her tire but didn’t feel she could afford a visit. The mechanic stated he was sorry re: her job & thought his business seemed to be down 40% (his estimate) from the beginning of the year.
Peggy usually goes to get her hair highlighted & cut every 6 to 8 weeks @ the local beauty salon by the same girl. Well she decided no way she could afford that and so she has not gone for that service. The newscaster went to the salon to visit Peggy’s former hair stylist & told her the news as well. She relayed almost the same sentiments as the mechanic. She wondered what had happened to Peggy, a reliable, good customer who she hadn’t seen in some time. Her business was down as well.
Peggy’s shower head in her bathroom was on the fritz. You guessed it! Do you think she called her plumber, someone she would normally call to come on over & fix it? Nope! Peggy said she “googled” the problem w/ her showerhead, went and picked up a small part herself & fixed it. Newscaster spoke to the plumber and yes, same story.
Peggy used to frequent her favorite little restaurant owned by people she’s known for years once a week or so. Do you think she’s stopping by & having a meal every week now? Nope. They talked to the restaurant owners & same thing. Business is Down!
Peggy did decide however to enroll in a computer class. She is also holding meetings @ her home for other laid off DHL workers as kind of an information/sharing support group.
Peggy’s not the only one losing out here. All the places she would normally not think twice about going to for goods & services are losing a loyal customer's business.
Even though Peggy was the one to loose her job, everyone is losing out.
I thought this piece was insightful as they followed Peggy through what many of us would consider the normal & daily routine of our lives. Do we stop & think about the places we stop & spend our money at? Or the lively hood of others if we were NOT to go do those things anymore? We all feel bad when we hear someone has lost their job. But it goes much deeper than that. It affects all kinds of people & their income as well in the immediate community. This story is exactly why I fear this “recession” or whatever the heck you want to call it is going to stay with us for awhile. I fear it’s only going to get worse.
Didn’t mean to discourage anyone for the day. I just thought it was something interesting to think about.
I saw this news story (maybe some of you did too) last night that took a little different angle on what happens when 1 person losses their job. I found it very interesting.
Peggy worked @ DHL for 19 years and was recently let go. First things first, as many of us would do, she started looking for other employment and in the mean time decided to scale back.
She realized her tire had a slow leak. She decided she couldn’t afford to go to her mechanic, someone she had been going to for years +. So she found a way to take care of the leak herself… no visit to the mechanic.
The newscaster went to the mechanic & his shop. He spoke w/ him and asked him if he wondered why he hadn’t seen Peggy in awhile? The mechanic said he had wondered about her, she was usually really good about bringing her car in regularly for oil changes & maintenance. The newscaster relayed Peggy had lost her job & was scaling back; she did have an issue w/ her tire but didn’t feel she could afford a visit. The mechanic stated he was sorry re: her job & thought his business seemed to be down 40% (his estimate) from the beginning of the year.
Peggy usually goes to get her hair highlighted & cut every 6 to 8 weeks @ the local beauty salon by the same girl. Well she decided no way she could afford that and so she has not gone for that service. The newscaster went to the salon to visit Peggy’s former hair stylist & told her the news as well. She relayed almost the same sentiments as the mechanic. She wondered what had happened to Peggy, a reliable, good customer who she hadn’t seen in some time. Her business was down as well.
Peggy’s shower head in her bathroom was on the fritz. You guessed it! Do you think she called her plumber, someone she would normally call to come on over & fix it? Nope! Peggy said she “googled” the problem w/ her showerhead, went and picked up a small part herself & fixed it. Newscaster spoke to the plumber and yes, same story.
Peggy used to frequent her favorite little restaurant owned by people she’s known for years once a week or so. Do you think she’s stopping by & having a meal every week now? Nope. They talked to the restaurant owners & same thing. Business is Down!
Peggy did decide however to enroll in a computer class. She is also holding meetings @ her home for other laid off DHL workers as kind of an information/sharing support group.
Peggy’s not the only one losing out here. All the places she would normally not think twice about going to for goods & services are losing a loyal customer's business.
Even though Peggy was the one to loose her job, everyone is losing out.
I thought this piece was insightful as they followed Peggy through what many of us would consider the normal & daily routine of our lives. Do we stop & think about the places we stop & spend our money at? Or the lively hood of others if we were NOT to go do those things anymore? We all feel bad when we hear someone has lost their job. But it goes much deeper than that. It affects all kinds of people & their income as well in the immediate community. This story is exactly why I fear this “recession” or whatever the heck you want to call it is going to stay with us for awhile. I fear it’s only going to get worse.
Didn’t mean to discourage anyone for the day. I just thought it was something interesting to think about.