Sunday, March 23, 2008

Hola! Bienvenidos a los Estados Unidas!


In today's New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/business/23haggle.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin there's an article* that talks about American retail stores like Best Buy, Circuit City and Home Depot telling their employees it's okay to haggle with customers about retail price tags.
Many have read by now that Best Buy and Circuit City are planning to close their stores due to the economic recession. Gotta wonder about Home Depot...
But if anyone doubts that Bush has managed to turn us into a second rate country that's imitating the sales tactics of Mexican mercados, here's your proof.

*Sorry, my efforts to create a hyperlink failed...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Finally a domestic application for what I learned in the Peace Corps!

Karen Zipdrive said...

Isn't it odd to see it happening?
It's too bad so many lower and middle class Americans have to suffer well before recession hits the white boys in the corner offices.
Maybe they'll be willing to haggle over the price of their mansions when they are forced to sell.

Distributorcap said...

i cannot tell you how many empty store fronts i see in manhattan these days

the greedy owners of one of my favorite restaurants - Florent - want to raise his rent from $5000/month to $60,000 -- yes 60!. hence he is closing his doors in June.

while the economy tanks, the greed of the bushbots continues on unabated

Anonymous said...

Any entrepreneur who can afford a $60,000 per month storefront will have to be selling a product or products the average NYC consumer can no longer afford.

Anonymous said...

Bernanke's house is now worth less than the $840k he paid for it in 2004.
Karma is a thing of beauty.

dguzman said...

Holy moly, they want their pimply-faced kid employees to haggle with customers??? Wow. I had not read that Best Buy and Circuit City were closing, but you do have to wonder about all those huge box stores out there, now that money is so freakin' tight for us regular folks. Of course, some people will continue to buy buy buy and reap the rewards of their greed. Are you listening, BushCo?

Unknown said...

Here is your link:

http://tinyurl.com/2bmmly

A site called Tiny Url will do that for long-assed addresses.

I read that at 3am this morning when I couldn't sleep..and damned if I didn't think along the same lines you are Karen.

The ball and chain has been haggling with them for years..he brings in the ad for the other store and they always match it, so it's not new for Best Buy and CC, but if they are telling their employees to actually instigate the bartering..that is new.

Damn, this recession is gonna take down a lot of retail stores..does BushCo plan on bailing them out too? Like the fuckwit is trying to do for Bear Stearns?

Lulu Maude said...

As a former employee of Home Despot, I'm trying to imagine my department boss Empowering us to make hot deals. I can only imagine him breaking out in hives.

Anonymous said...

I just bought a car radio at Best Buy and when I asked for a discount, the pimply faced salesman said he'd give me a 10% off. Then he took my radio to the register for me and told the pimply faced cashier to go ahead and give me 15%, and the pfs winked at me. So I said "why not 20%" and he said OK.

So I say, let's go for it. I'm going pull out my wallet when I buy crap and tell them "this is all I have on me, take it or leave it."