What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Barbershop - Raising Prices As They Re-Open (1 Viewer)

What do you think of the Barbershop starting haircut auction bids at twice regular price when they r

  • Totally Fine

    Votes: 69 37.7%

  • Mostly Fine

    Votes: 28 15.3%

  • Barely Fine

    Votes: 8 4.4%

  • On The Fence

    Votes: 15 8.2%

  • Kind of Not Cool

    Votes: 20 10.9%

  • Not Cool

    Votes: 23 12.6%

  • Totally Not Cool

    Votes: 20 10.9%
  • Total voters
    183
fissure man said:
I’m trying to figure out how everyone is acting like they’re getting thrown out on the street when every bank, lender and landlord is required to suspend foreclosures, evictions, lates fees and penalties. 
Click to expand...
that doesn't mean that they never have to pay those obligations.  and frankly, the sooner that more money gets back into the economy, the better it will be for everyone, right?

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
It is all meaningful.   Do you think the cost of business for barbers post pandemic are the same as pre-pandemic?  How much does a gallon of bleach cost now versus before?  You think they will use the same capes over and over again after every cut--or do you think they will have to purchase far more?   LIfe for brick and mortar businesses just got a lot more complex and complicated.  You doing a quick google search and applying that to people's livelihoods is insulting and meaningless. People in the brick and mortar sector are not just dots on a graph.  I know that makes people that don't exist in our sector feel good to convince themselves that everything is just fine--but let me tell you-- the vast majority of us are getting slammed far more than you will ever digest. 
Click to expand...
Wrong. You know nothing of me or my situation. 

 
Doug B said:
For a lot of places, this will be make-or-break. If the increase of prices drives down demand ... or if the jewelry store down the street can cut corners and undersell you by 10% ... not a good scene from any perspective.

If a whole lot of businesses end up raising prices, and almost no people have wage increases ... what's going to give?
Click to expand...
Put it this way.  Our business had the best year ever last year in regards to our top line.  We were on pace to beat that this year before the pandemic. With that said--even with our banner year--our bottom line margins were small because brick and mortar was already getting margins attacked by online businesses.  We literally had to work on smaller margins with greater volume to exist.   If we are now forced to work with reduced margins, have 2-3 months of rent to pay while being forced to close by no choice of our own--things just got a lot more murky.  My guess is that many jewelry stores will close--and in the long term--the ones that are lucky enough to survive will gain market share.  That still doesn't eliminate the fact that a lot of people are going to shift to e-commerce until this pandemic gets figured out.   Keep in mind--I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm going to do what i can to make us survive--but I just find it insulting that some people just seem to not understand the challenges that brick and mortar are facing because of this. 

 
Long Ball Larry said:
that doesn't mean that they never have to pay those obligations.  and frankly, the sooner that more money gets back into the economy, the better it will be for everyone, right?
Click to expand...
My mother works for a concrete company locally. Her company just received $400,000.00 to cover payroll.

$300,000 must be used for payroll and the loan is 100% forgiven.

The remaining $100,000 can be used for company operating expenses. 

Here is the kicker.... They have over $3,000,000 liquid in reserved and they are working every single day. 

Thats just one company in this great republic. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FREE to a company that is doing fantastic. 

 
fissure man said:
My mother works for a concrete company locally. Her company just received $400,000.00 to cover payroll.

$300,000 must be used for payroll and the loan is 100% forgiven.

The remaining $100,000 can be used for company operating expenses. 

Here is the kicker.... They have over $3,000,000 liquid in reserved and they are working every single day. 

Thats just one company in this great republic. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FREE to a company that is doing fantastic. 
Click to expand...
I assure you that her company has a healthy relationship with a banker that knowingly made that happen.  The banks are playing the favortism card as they always do.   

 
fissure man said:
My mother works for a concrete company locally. Her company just received $400,000.00 to cover payroll.

$300,000 must be used for payroll and the loan is 100% forgiven.

The remaining $100,000 can be used for company operating expenses. 

Here is the kicker.... They have over $3,000,000 liquid in reserved and they are working every single day. 

Thats just one company in this great republic. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FREE to a company that is doing fantastic. 
Click to expand...
i believe you, but there is a wider variety of circumstances than just that.

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
Keep in mind--I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm going to do what i can to make us survive--but I just find it insulting that some people just seem to not understand the challenges that brick and mortar are facing because of this. 
Click to expand...
Thanks for laying it out. Broadly, there seems to be two classes of challenges pulling against each other.

One would be the varied challenges to small-business owners as you've described.

The opposing set of challenges are on the consumers' end: How much cost-of-living increase can consumers absorb without commensurate increases in wages? And how will it affect buying decisions post-COVID?

The easy answers are "Businesses will have to eat the lost revenue!" and "Customers will have to pay more!" In practice, it's going to be a lot more complicated.

 
No problem with it.  I think some may view the auction as a charitable contribution to a business that was hit hard by the lockdown and bid accordingly.  Like paying more than something is worth at any other charity auction.

I would obviously feel very different if it was an auction for an essential or emergency service.  Is there such a thing as an emergency haircut?

 
Doug B said:
Thanks for laying it out. Broadly, there seems to be two classes of challenges pulling against each other.

One would be the varied challenges to small-business owners as you've described.

The opposing set of challenges are on the consumers' end: How much cost-of-living increase can consumers absorb without commensurate increases in wages? And how will it affect buying decisions post-COVID?

The easy answers are "Businesses will have to eat the lost revenue!" and "Customers will have to pay more!" In practice, it's going to be a lot more complicated.
Click to expand...
Oh for sure.  If anything--this pandemic will magnify the extent to how e-commerce will attack the margins of brick and mortar.   Brick and mortar that wants to survive will have to charge a premium that people are willing to pay because of exceptional customer service or because they are providing an exceptional experience.   People will pick and choose which brick and mortar businesses that they are willing to pay a premium for--and the others will fall by the wayside.  The key is that the power is in the hands of the consumer.  The massive closure of small businesses in any neighborhood will have negative economic effects for the people that live in those neighborhoods--and that is an invisible cost that many are not taking into account.   The best advice I can give is this--if there is a small business that you really care about in your neighborhood--you should pay more and support them for the next few months to try to dig them out of the hole that they were forced in.   Nobody wants to live in neighborhoods where the shopping centers and strip malls are baron and unoccupied.   Of course--I'm only talking about people that are in a position economically to support these businesses.  

 
WDIK2 said:
No problem with it.  I think some may view the auction as a charitable contribution to a business that was hit hard by the lockdown and bid accordingly.  Like paying more than something is worth at any other charity auction.

I would obviously feel very different if it was an auction for an essential or emergency service.  Is there such a thing as an emergency haircut?
Click to expand...
Right, we already have charities out there for theaters, theater workers, restaurants and restaurant workers. I am sure the haircut auction would be seen similarly by many. Also, the barbershops likely to do this were ones with very high demand to begin with. Where I get my haircut, there's a line at the place 45 minutes before it even open. They could have been charging extra for reserved morning appointments for the last decade. I am sure if they want people would pay to get a slot in the first 2 weeks back. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
jvdesigns2002 said:
The best advice I can give is this--if there is a small business that you really care about in your neighborhood--you should pay more and support them for the next few months to try to dig them out of the hole that they were forced in.   Nobody wants to live in neighborhoods where the shopping centers and strip malls are baron and unoccupied.   Of course--I'm only talking about people that are in a position economically to support these businesses.  
Click to expand...
Will be interesting to see if there enough folks in the blue to help the small businesses described in the red. How many businesses can be kept afloat by those consumers in sufficient economic positions to start paying premiums for virtually every good and service they consume?

Something else to consider -- can Johnny-come-lately small businesses open up in 2021-2022-beyond that start from jump street being financially healthier strictly through never having had to go through the pandemic?

 
Voted mostly fine with it before I saw it was an auction. As an auction I'm totally fine with it.

Had it been a permanent/semi permanent price surge I'm back to my original vote, and that would change to totally fine with it if they had added protections of some sort to prevent spread of Covid-19

 
I would be fine with it.  I think my barber charges like $12.  I always gave him $20.  If/When he opens back up, I'm sure I'll give him $40 a cut for a while.  Of course, that is my choice, but if they came out and said "We were closed for too long.  We have to charge $24 a hair cut to help keep the business afloat for the next 6 months." I'd be totally fine with that as well.  And would still give him $40.

 
I have no problem with a barbershop doing whatever they can to stay open, but these types of things are a sign that the industry itself is on shaky ground. If your business can only survive on charity and promotional stunts, doesn't that imply that your line of work is inessential and replaceable?

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
This is not a parallel argument.  The goverment forced certain businesses closed--there was no choice This was not a slow down in a business cycle. The government said that some businesses can remain open--while others have to shut down. The goverment will also force businesses that rely on volume to exist to somehow exist on limited volume.  The government is doing all of this--all without the guarantee that they will make the workers and owners of those businesses "whole". The loans are a rigged raffle--where the big boys get their money instantly while the others are left getting denied over and over again.  I agree that the lockdown was necessary for public health--but the government should have bailed out every business that got screwed through their imposed lockdown.  They bailed out the big banks that caused the last crisis--but they seem to not care about the innocent businesses and employees that their own laws have destroyed.  
Click to expand...
Not trying to be argumentative, and not denying the hardship that a large number of people are experiencing, but I'm not sure I get why the reason behind the economic hardship matters in my comparison.  For a restaurant owner, salon owner, and workers in those establishments, they have no control over the pandemic, and have no control over the government forcing them to be shut down.  I am sympathetic to those going through hardship.  I don't deny they are.

But, when the real estate market bubble burst, those working as realtors had no control over the bubble bursting.  They were not the speculators.  They were not the investment bankers.  They were not the loan originators.  They were not in control of bursting the bubble.  They went through the same hardship of having their income drastically dropped, and while not overnight like the shut down, it was very quick.

The real estate bubble isn't the only example you can find of workers in an industry who suffer economic hardship due to circumstances out of their control.

 
fissure man said:
My mother works for a concrete company locally. Her company just received $400,000.00 to cover payroll.

$300,000 must be used for payroll and the loan is 100% forgiven.

The remaining $100,000 can be used for company operating expenses. 

Here is the kicker.... They have over $3,000,000 liquid in reserved and they are working every single day. 

Thats just one company in this great republic. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FREE to a company that is doing fantastic. 
Click to expand...
They almost have too otherwise the company down the street does and uncuts  the competition and puts them out of business 

 
Doug B said:
Will be interesting to see if there enough folks in the blue to help the small businesses described in the red. How many businesses can be kept afloat by those consumers in sufficient economic positions to start paying premiums for virtually every good and service they consume?

Something else to consider -- can Johnny-come-lately small businesses open up in 2021-2022-beyond that start from jump street being financially healthier strictly through never having had to go through the pandemic?
Click to expand...
That's the million dollar question.  This event will probably lead to two classes of people. People that can't wait for things to open up and want to get out there and spend money from being locked down for so long. You'll also have negative spending from those of which believe that this was an eye opening event--and they want to protect their finances in the case of a second wave (which is very possible).  

Honestly--I don't think that many people will be jumping in line to open up brick and mortar small businesses after this.   Maybe rents will drop as businesses evaporate--but insurance costs that include closures due to pandemics will increase. Small business owners will have to provide a lot more sick pay, extreme sanitation standards will force costs to go up.   If anything--people found out that on two months of lockdown that they are better off starting businesses that they can conduct from home that don't have the risks, restrictions and costs of typical brick and mortar.  We just found out that the goverment can arbitraily put you out of business if your business requires a property that you don't own or occupy to exist.   Don't get me wrong--there will still be risk takers out there--but my guess is that this scared a lot more potential future brick and mortar business owners away. 

 
Bull Dozier said:
Not trying to be argumentative, and not denying the hardship that a large number of people are experiencing, but I'm not sure I get why the reason behind the economic hardship matters in my comparison.  For a restaurant owner, salon owner, and workers in those establishments, they have no control over the pandemic, and have no control over the government forcing them to be shut down.  I am sympathetic to those going through hardship.  I don't deny they are.

But, when the real estate market bubble burst, those working as realtors had no control over the bubble bursting.  They were not the speculators.  They were not the investment bankers.  They were not the loan originators.  They were not in control of bursting the bubble.  They went through the same hardship of having their income drastically dropped, and while not overnight like the shut down, it was very quick.

The real estate bubble isn't the only example you can find of workers in an industry who suffer economic hardship due to circumstances out of their control.
Click to expand...
Realtors were not innocent victims of the last bubble burst.  They knew exactly what was going on. When a realtor markets properties to people that they know cannot afford them even though they are certain that the banks will probably approve the loans--thats different than a government coming into a well running healthy business and saying--you have to close now. Period.  If a realtor tells me that they had no idea what was going on during the bubble--they are either ostriches with their heads in the sand--or they are lying.  When people making $50k a year were buying $750k+ homes like water with little to no down payment---everybody in the real estate and banking market was complicit in it blowing up. 

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
Realtors were not innocent victims of the last bubble burst.  They knew exactly what was going on. When a realtor markets properties to people that they know cannot afford them even though they are certain that the banks will probably approve the loans--thats different than a government coming into a well running healthy business and saying--you have to close now. Period.  If a realtor tells me that they had no idea what was going on during the bubble--they are either ostriches with their heads in the sand--or they are lying.  When people making $50k a year were buying $750k+ homes like water with little to no down payment---everybody in the real estate and banking market was complicit in it blowing up. 
Click to expand...
A realtors job isn't one of financial advice, but to help buyers buy and sellers sell.

The point of this thread was a question posed to the customer, not to debate the justification of the shutdown and who's fault it is.  Obviously you have been directly affected by it and are bitter towards the government.  That's a different conversation.

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
That's the million dollar question.  This event will probably lead to two classes of people. People that can't wait for things to open up and want to get out there and spend money from being locked down for so long. You'll also have negative spending from those of which believe that this was an eye opening event--and they want to protect their finances in the case of a second wave (which is very possible).  

Honestly--I don't think that many people will be jumping in line to open up brick and mortar small businesses after this.   Maybe rents will drop as businesses evaporate--but insurance costs that include closures due to pandemics will increase. Small business owners will have to provide a lot more sick pay, extreme sanitation standards will force costs to go up.   If anything--people found out that on two months of lockdown that they are better off starting businesses that they can conduct from home that don't have the risks, restrictions and costs of typical brick and mortar.  We just found out that the goverment can arbitraily put you out of business if your business requires a property that you don't own or occupy to exist.   Don't get me wrong--there will still be risk takers out there--but my guess is that this scared a lot more potential future brick and mortar business owners away. 
Click to expand...
I'm starting to feel my inner-entrepreneur kick in. I mean, it was always there (I've worked for myself for 20 years), but I'll be honest: I haven't done anything innovative or different in a decade now. I've treated my business/work almost like a job. It happens. 

But changes are coming. People will be forever scarred by this, whether they realize it or not. Time to start thinking on this a lot more.   

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bull Dozier said:
A realtors job isn't one of financial advice, but to help buyers buy and sellers sell.

The point of this thread was a question posed to the customer, not to debate the justification of the shutdown and who's fault it is.  Obviously you have been directly affected by it and are bitter towards the government.  That's a different conversation.
Click to expand...
I totally understand that its not a realtors job--but I'm not saying that. I'm saying that they were fully aware of what was going on--and the vast majority of them that had any forward thought knew exactly that the end result was not going to be good regardless of it was their job or not.   Most knew exactly what was going to happen and did it anyway knowing that they had a built in scapegoat.  If that absolves them of fault--thats fine--but that doesn't mean that they are innocent victims of a system that was somehow out of their control. They were a part of the system that blew up.   Most businesses effected by this had nothing to do with anything pandemic oriented. That's a true innocent victim. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ilov80s said:
How could they have not? I am sure many have gone to people's homes to cut hair in violation of the orders, but I can't imagine it's anything close to 100% of the usual revenue. 
Click to expand...
talked with my barber maybe 2 weeks ago (been going to him for..... 7 or 8 years now) and he said he's at about 15-20% take home right now with doing online classes for people & haircuts on the sly.

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
I totally understand that its not a realtors job--but I'm not saying that. I'm saying that they were fully aware of what was going on--and the vast majority of them that had any forward thought knew exactly that the end result was not going to be good regardless of it was their job or not.   Most knew exactly what was going to happen and did it anyway knowing that they had a built in scapegoat.  If that absolves them of fault--thats fine--but that doesn't mean that they are innocent victims of a system that was somehow out of their control. They were a part of the system that blew up.   Most businesses effected by this had nothing to do with anything pandemic oriented. That's a true innocent victim. 
Click to expand...
Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, but mom and pa realtor should have seen it coming and did something about it.  OK.

 
Bull Dozier said:
jvdesigns2002 said:
I totally understand that its not a realtors job--but I'm not saying that. I'm saying that they were fully aware of what was going on--and the vast majority of them that had any forward thought knew exactly that the end result was not going to be good regardless of it was their job or not.   Most knew exactly what was going to happen and did it anyway knowing that they had a built in scapegoat.  If that absolves them of fault--thats fine--but that doesn't mean that they are innocent victims of a system that was somehow out of their control. They were a part of the system that blew up.   Most businesses effected by this had nothing to do with anything pandemic oriented. That's a true innocent victim. 
Click to expand...
Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, but mom and pa realtor should have seen it coming and did something about it.  OK
Click to expand...
You guys are aware you are in a thread about barbershop pricing, right? 

 
Already plan on paying my guy double next time, for the same reason I haven't stopped the $120 direct deposit I make every other week to the couple who cleans my house, and they haven't been here in 6 weeks. As long as its a short-term/couple of weeks thing to get them somewhat caught up I have no problem with it. If someone can't afford it then wait another couple of weeks.  :shrug:

 
Doug B said:
For a lot of places, this will be make-or-break. If the increase of prices drives down demand ... or if the jewelry store down the street can cut corners and undersell you by 10% ... not a good scene from any perspective.

If a whole lot of businesses end up raising prices, and almost no people have wage increases ... what's going to give?
Click to expand...
They will have to lower prices or people will have to further into debt. Unfortunately these kinds of economic crises are often a kind of negative feedback loop. What likely happens long term is the rich get richer.

 
Joe Bryant said:
Another, "Check what I think against a bigger group of folks" question. Thanks for letting me ask here.

I had this discussion with a few people in real life and wanted to get opinion from the folks here.

Tennessee, where I live, looks like it will be allowing barbers shops to open soon.

PLEASE - Don't turn this into whether Barber Shops should or should not be allowed to open yet. There's a ton of discussion on that already. 

For the sake of this poll and thread, please assume they will follow the guidelines set and keep the discussion only to what the Barbershop is doing here. 

Obviously lots of people need a haircut.

There's a popular local barbershop in town that is auctioning off haircut appointments for when the shops are allowed to open up.

Starting bid is twice the normal price of their haircut price Pre-Covid 19.

What do you think of the Barbershop doing that?

Again - my question is about how the Barber is pricing the haircuts. NOT about whether shops should open or not. 

I'm not saying what I think either way yet. I want to hear what you guys think. 

Also to add - there are several barbers at this shop and they said the money generated over what would have been normal prices would be shared among the barbers. 
Click to expand...
Depends on what kind of Barber shop this is Joe. Is this a popular one like a Hair Cuttery or big name brand? If that is the case I'm totally against these larger ones doing it. I go to a local shop (When its open) that is run by Italian immigrants. They have had really good prices over the years and the Women who owns it (Was a brother who own it he died and now she has full ownership of it) also suggests going to a better salon if theres stuff hair wise some people want they either don't do there or not really good at doing. over the years they've raised the prices but it's only by a few $s in the past 5-6 yrs. They and other small independent shops have been struggling. If they started charging double of what they had, I got zero issue supporting my local barber in that degree. They do great work. 

Now if its a big brand shop I'm totally against this. I'm not against them raising prices a little but to be bidding for haircuts? Thats a little too much 

 
Joe Bryant said:
Minimum jump is twice normal price of a hair cut. 

Normal price is $25. Minimum bid for securing a spot when they reopen is $50. 

I have no idea how it's going for them. I just saw it being offered. 
Click to expand...
No way am I paying that much on my hair. I think it's ridiculous women pay this much if not more for a stylist. What kind of shop is this that Normal haircut is $25? I pay at most $12 and thats without having a shaving and the extras for any styling. 

 
Like anything it’s all about how they market it. If they are able to use the right combination of sympathy and excitement, people will look at it as a borderline charity event. I would also auction off deals like buy X haircuts, get Y free cards. That gives the regular a deal but puts an immediate surge of cash into the business. Maybe auction raffle tickets with the winner getting free hair cuts for a year. Auction off the first week of appointments. It’s something I would try if I had that line of work and the ability to communicate with them. That’s the trickiest part is the organizing people in one of the few businesses today that you frequent that doesn’t have your name, email, etc.

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
I manage a fine jewelry store.   We will have to raise prices.   Our shop is small so to abide by social distancing standards--we will only be able to allow a couple customers in at the same time.   Every jewelry or watch repair we take in now just got a lot more complicated.  We'll have to have the customer place the piece on a tray first.  We then will put the tray in a uv-chamber for 20-30 minutes, conduct the work, sterilize the piece again via uvc-chamber or sanitation wipes.   We will have to do a complete sanitation of the shop 2-3 times per day.  Our investment in cleaning supplies, masks, hand sanitizer, uv-c equipment, the payroll hours that will now have to go to just cleaning and sanitizing as opposed to selling is huge.    People have to understand that for brick and mortar businesses--our cost of business will go up dramatically because of this pandemic--and we'll have to operate on limited volume if we care about the safety our our staff and our customers.   If we don't raise prices--we become extinct.   This is not about greed--it's reality. 
Click to expand...
In cases like Yours JV I get it and I understand that. I have more issues with bigger brand companies doing this. Many of them are able to afford to pay their employees more then they do already. The last few yrs I've been more of a supporter of the mom and pop shops and local then spending it on some big business type. Some of the local shops make it more personable for the customer and workers. Knowing your name, having an actual conversation with you about how you are or your family, etc. These big business just give you the typical BS and try to be friendly to make their commissions and sweet talk you into something that really isn't a deal. 

Your explanation here is very good and something that needs to be understood by many people. I respect and appreciate that and so should others. Plus if you do great work to begin with your customers (Especially regulars) should have zero issue spending that extra money right now until be get back to a more normal 

 
Joe Bryant said:
If there's anything, I'd hope empathy gets more attention in all this. 

I see a fair bit of "Oh they'll be just fiiiiiiine" from my white collar privileged friends. Where their biggest worry is how they get the zoom background to look great as they keep making their full salary while coping with the "struggles" of work from home life. "It's SOOOO Boring".  

Spare me. 

Lots of regular folks, especially service industry people, are having a super tough time with this. 
Click to expand...
Thank you. I work as an essential worker in a grocery store. I do everything from Cashier, to checking, to cleaning, etc etc. One of my customers a regular came in maybe 2-3 weeks ago after this started. During a down period (I know surprising in a grocery store that early) she was talking to me. She said she hoped after this is over we as Grocery store employees get way more respect after this and people are more kind and show some empathy. A few customers have been tipping employees (not just my store but other places as well) for working. And I'm not talking $2-4 here either. I've gotten two $20 tips from people, a $10 tip etc. Customers just showing their appreciation for us. We aren't suppose to take them but at the same time what is the employer going to do Fire people they need? Plus I think since my department is considered a cafe we are technically allowed to get tips where other parts of the store can't. Its a lot easier though when customers show you respect. 

I hate the white collar Privileged people or those better off then most of us complaining about exactly you said. My favorites are those who have been Furlough and will go back to work eventually complaining about not working. A ton of essential businesses have job openings including grocery stores. Go work there for a bit. Maybe you'll learn some empathy and appreciate what these people finally do. 

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
This is not a parallel argument.  The goverment forced certain businesses closed--there was no choice This was not a slow down in a business cycle. The government said that some businesses can remain open--while others have to shut down. The goverment will also force businesses that rely on volume to exist to somehow exist on limited volume.  The government is doing all of this--all without the guarantee that they will make the workers and owners of those businesses "whole". The loans are a rigged raffle--where the big boys get their money instantly while the others are left getting denied over and over again.  I agree that the lockdown was necessary for public health--but the government should have bailed out every business that got screwed through their imposed lockdown.  They bailed out the big banks that caused the last crisis--but they seem to not care about the innocent businesses and employees that their own laws have destroyed.  
Click to expand...
This is where we as voters can force a change. Start with your local elections and work your way up. Find out which politicians and government official voted to help big business before the small guys. Give them the pink slip at election time. There's ways for us to fight back but unfortunately too many are so convinced these politicians are for them and the trickle down effect method that has been shown to be a bogus argument by the big boys to get more money. 

 
I voted kind of not cool.

I agree its a free market so they can do what they want but I wouldn't get my haircut there.

My mind would change if the money was going to some kind of charity.

 
fissure man said:
My mother works for a concrete company locally. Her company just received $400,000.00 to cover payroll.

$300,000 must be used for payroll and the loan is 100% forgiven.

The remaining $100,000 can be used for company operating expenses. 

Here is the kicker.... They have over $3,000,000 liquid in reserved and they are working every single day. 

Thats just one company in this great republic. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR FREE to a company that is doing fantastic. 
Click to expand...
Your mothers company has someone on the inside doing them favors. Usually with these companies theres someone they know or owes them a favor. Usually a big client who will help get them that loan faster. In some cases some pay off is made as well to a local politician such as campaign money given or endorsement to them in the next election. Its corruption at it's finest. These bigger businesses know the little guy can't compete with what they can do favors wise to get what they want and use that to their advantage. It's sucks for people in places of work just as GB though. 

 
Doug B said:
Thanks for laying it out. Broadly, there seems to be two classes of challenges pulling against each other.

One would be the varied challenges to small-business owners as you've described.

The opposing set of challenges are on the consumers' end: How much cost-of-living increase can consumers absorb without commensurate increases in wages? And how will it affect buying decisions post-COVID?

The easy answers are "Businesses will have to eat the lost revenue!" and "Customers will have to pay more!" In practice, it's going to be a lot more complicated.
Click to expand...
Why should we just accept this as a whole from business and customer standpoint? SHouldn't we be working together to fix this rigged and broken system that helps the big boys over the little guys though? We should demand better from people who are in charge of the mess. 

 
Totally fine. As a consumer, I've missed one haircut during the stay at home period anyway. If I pay double for the next one, I end up with the same end result, at least financially. If I typically cut my hair more often, even bigger savings! All the folks complaining can just get shorter haircuts to stick it to them.

Seriously though, their overhead is going up. Someone's gonna have to pay for it. 

On a related note, I think we all should be prepared to pay more for goods and services. If you can afford it, a concerted effort to buy American will help. Or at least not Made in China.

 
DJackson10 said:
Your mothers company has someone on the inside doing them favors. Usually with these companies theres someone they know or owes them a favor. Usually a big client who will help get them that loan faster. In some cases some pay off is made as well to a local politician such as campaign money given or endorsement to them in the next election. Its corruption at it's finest. These bigger businesses know the little guy can't compete with what they can do favors wise to get what they want and use that to their advantage. It's sucks for people in places of work just as GB though. 
Click to expand...
Or maybe they applied and got lucky or made the cut  :shrug:

 
I have no problem with people charging whatever the heck they want for a luxury service, regardless of any external factors.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

KarmaPolice
  • Poll
FBG Movie Club - DotM: Steven Spielberg
3 4 5
Replies
230
Views
7K
need2know
need2know
Anarchy99
Top 250 Best Selling Rock Albums (1967 - 1981)
12 13 14
Replies
675
Views
16K
zamboni
zamboni
Joe Bryant
  • Poll
Talk About Alcohol
8 9 10
Replies
467
Views
14K
Kiddnets
Kiddnets

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top