previous: Peter Rasmussen Re: The capitalist pig and the socialist french fry -- 7/25/2003 3:57 PM

The "Customer Service" focus (OH SO LONG)

7/25/2003 10:36 PM

nic

The "Customer Service" focus (OH SO LONG) You know what is more frightening than hospitals considering patients "customers"? It is our government considering us as "Customers".     This shift sounds like a good thing, "Hey we are the government and we are here to serve your needs." Whether or not the former executive types who now run our government realize it or not their shift treating us like customers is bad for democracy.     Lets see if I can articulate... Normal businesses aside from cable companies, Microsoft and Lockheed have compeditors, correct? If a customer has complaints and do not feel satisfied with services or goods they go to the competition. They may enjoy even less satisfactory service with the competition but continues to use them cause they'd rather not swallow pride and go back to the first company. Neither company really gives a shit about the "customer". A whiney customer is an expensive customer, thus the whole MBA 80/20 rule applies (were it 20/80)? 20% (the unsatisfied) of the customers don't have a say in changing a business. Shareholders (citizens) do have a say.     The parallel:     Our nation's current corporate leadship does this. Whether or not they are knowingly doing it. Citizens again have a say, customers do not. An example. If 20% of our population 58 Million were willing and able to protest in D.C. because they are against the war or current healthcare system (as examples) the government would take notice. We all know that the traffic in D.C. is intolerable, imagine who would take notice if even 5% of our population showed up on the city's doorstep. The entire world would. How could that be considered a "special interest group"? Sure majority rules, but suppose 3 of the 4 casters on your rolling tool box are bad, you may be able to ignor it. That is until one of them begins to squeek.       Our being treated as customers does a couple things. It strips our voices and it makes us complacent, cause there are no other options. Especially when Republicans and Democrats strategies are on the same side of the coin flip.     -----------------------------------------------   Skip the following as it is only a predenfense against flames about how liberal I am:     The only difference is Republicans require a "Big Evil Foreign Tyrant" in order to remain in power. To which the Bush Simplespeak is so successful. "We will not tire, we will not faulter, we will not fail" functions to empower the Republicans and in particular Bush as the only person (company) capible of fixing the situation. Thrusting the citizen into the customer role. It is a far cry from, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." which empowers the citizen. "...You are either with us or against us." only functions to cement the customer complacency, by not tolerating dissidence. Heck I wanna not care when all the sudden the world went from vivid HDTV color to Black and White. The Democrats? They take our money and at least attempt to put it back into our infrastructure (which incidentally I feel is THE most important investment to grow ecconomies, take massive public works projects like our Eisenhower freeway system that was once great and is now becoming ruins). But we as citizens still take the customer role. Things were really TOO good. Minimum payments on the maxed out Gold card is okay, cause I still have the Sears card and Circuit City financed my new big screen which will never display CSPAN in my home only South Park. I am okay. Yeah, the Democrats made you okay but they succeeded in making you as complacent as the Republicans do. This time you are not afraid, you are fat.   -----------------------------------------------     To sum it up, Republican and Democrat leaders increasingly look at we the citizens as cutomers.     -Citizens have voice and power to change things, they have a 'shareholder vested interest' in their government. They give a damn and raise hell until EVERYBODY in the joint hears them.   -Customers have little power to change policy little voices that can be esily silenced (it takes only drop of fear or a dash of fine things). With the ultimate result of complacency.       Oh what a blathering!   nic

 

Replies:

Frank DeSalvo Living to work or living to live -- 7/25/2003 10:44 PM Mark Hammer That's not long, THIS is long -- 7/27/2003 3:17 AM