[lbo-talk] Every mark want they scrilla back (was: Walmart)

kelley at pulpculture.org kelley at pulpculture.org
Fri Mar 26 13:25:25 PST 2004


At 03:37 PM 3/26/2004, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
>I can be argued that these folks really screw patrons of these
>establishments -

it can be argued that people who default on credit card debt are ripping off the people who don't and pay for it in the form of, say, $20 fees for late payments, stricter credit rules, stricter rules for defaulting....

jiss pushin' your foot Wojtek. Jiss pushin' your foot. :)


>i.e. folks like themselves - who pay for it in the form
>of higher prices, while the owners get their cut anyway.

I'm not disagreeing with you that it's counteproductive, of course, since that's why I wrote that they are still slaves in "the long run" because "they aren't doing something more constructive to REALLY get they scrilla back." The organized ripping off is a secret. You need to be indoctrinated into it to even know it's being done. That requires that you demonstrate trustworthiness or deserving-ness to whomever is running the show on the ceramic tiled restaurant floor.


>What is more, the bosses can easily outsmart employees by posting a sing
>"If we fail to give you a check, your meal is free" - which turns every
>customer into a snitch.

Quibble: the practice occurs when you leave your $20 on the table with your check instead of taking it to the cashier b/c you're in a hurry and don't want to wait in line.

You don't even have to point to the indirect ways workers sometimes screw over their patrons.

One of the reasons why Wsome chain retailers instituted the practice of making customers sign when they received cash back from a debit card was because cashiers were not giving them all or part of the money.

Vicki Smith has pointed out that, in the service industry, one of the reasons why workers take sides with/identify with management is that they don't like the way their patrons treat them. They get back at the people they feel oppress them in the most immediate ways by doing things to irritate them or by shorting them, being stingy about portions, or just generally ignoring you or making life difficult.

Greta Foff Paules uncovers this among even waitresses who you'd think wouldn't do this b/c they work off tips. In _Dishing It Out_, most waitresses will identify with patrons. In order to get better tips, they'll bring more pats of butter, scoop out more ice cream, etc. They'll do this in direct violation of mgmt orders. However, when a patron pisses them off by treating them gruffly, they will uphold the rules and even make up some of their own.

I've written about this before, suggesting that we need to think about this issue when it comes to union organizing in the service industry.

I bring it up here because it is, again, one of those intra-class warfare things that work to actually encourage employees at Walmart and elsewhere to identify with their employees, defend them, etc.

But the situation is not hopeless. It's where people are struggling and that's where we need to be. That takes, as you say, institutions and practices. It takes hard work. It takes a willingness to, probably first of all, see it as far more complicated that duped workers mindlessly identifying with their employers.

Kelley



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