[lbo-talk] U.S. working class: functionally literate

Matthew Snyder mwsnyder at gmail.com
Thu Mar 3 10:14:38 PST 2005


Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> wrote:
> Retail sales, especially hardware stores. Virtually all sales associates
> working there are working class. You can get useful information on various
> products and know-how from older associates (say, 40+), but if you ask
> younger ones (20+) a question, the chances are you will get a dumb look and
> either "I dunno" or he will read to you the product's label.

Of course, you can experience exactly the opposite behavior at a computer or electronics store. The younger salespeople are much more likely to provide detailed information and to have a familiarity with the product line, in my experience.

I see no reason to assume that this discrepancy has to do with anything other than experience on the part of the salespeople. I'd expect more informative answers from an older staff member at a hardware store because it's likely that staff member has worked more extensively with the tools than a younger staff member.

Why do you attribute this to a "dumbing down"?

-- Matthew Snyder Philadelphia, PA



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