Former secretary of labor Robert Reich had a tough holiday. It seemed everywhere he went he either had to wait or was delayed. While everyone thanked him for his patience, that resource quickly ran out.
The old saw says time is money. But now that most of us are working and commuting longer hours than ever, our time is worth more than money. Time is the most precious thing we have. And if the market worked like it does in textbooks, we'd penalize companies for costing us time. We'd pay them for their product and we'd bill them for our time. That way, they'd have an incentive to staff up when they need to, or devise backup systems for when something goes wrong, or give customers better notice of delays -- even though these steps might cost them more.
Hopefully the airlines will be among those that take notice. Wait times of 3-4 hours on the ground are not uncommon these days.
The real solution is for us to vote with our wallets -- reward companies that value our business and walk away from those who show no respect for customers.
And, in both cases, let them know why we have chosen to stay or leave.
- Jim Grinstead
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