by Trent Rosser
Ok, here we go again. I haven’t pulled this thing out in some time, so I need to dust it off. Yep, it is that ole soapbox that I keep in the back of my mind, only to bring it out on special occasions. So stand back as I dust this thing off, stand on it and voice out an opinion that could possible offend a few people. Now I have said this before, the opinions and views from Rosser Rambling are mine and do not necessary represent anyone or anything associated with me. Here we go.
First I want to talk about something that we really cannot do anything about. Inflation is killing us. The other day I decided to get a bottle soda pop instead of a fountain drink. I was walking by one of the coolers and seen a soda pop called “Big Red”. I remembered drinking this back in the early and mid 80s with my grandmother. Yes, we were taught to call them soda pop, or Coke, but my grandmother always called them “soda water”. I know that everything has become more expensive, but $2 .00 for a bottle drink? This is crazy! My grandmother would give my brother and myself a dollar a piece to get us a bottle coke back then. Plus, we would have change left over. Years ago, (will not tell exactly how long ago) I would have to walk home from school in Jr. High. I would have exactly 1 dollar left from lunch. I would walk into a “Circle K” and buy a 12 ounce bottle soda and a candy bar (they did not have the 16oz bottles yet). After the cashier would give me my change I would put a quarter in the Pac Man machine, play the game and still walk home with 1 penny. Today after work, my wife and I bought a candy bar, and a fountain drink. So two drinks and two candy bars cost over $6.00! Plus the portion sizes have gone down and the prices have gone up. Here is an example, when I was in my mid 20’s I decided to get something at a restaurant called hamburger steak. They brought out a huge, thick meat patty covered in sautéed onions and mushrooms dripping in brown gravy. OH. My. GOD! So simple could be so good!! As the years went by I would order one and they mushrooms are gone, then the onions. The other day my wife and I ate out at a nationwide restaurant and I ordered the hamburger steak and fries. After all, fries soaking up the brown gravy is delicious. Can you imagine my surprise when they brought out my fries and a very thin meat patty? It looked as if they took the meat off of a McDouble from McDonalds and put it on the plate. No bread, no gravy, just a patty and fries. What happened to the thick patty, sautéed mushrooms, onions and brown gravy?
Now I understand that not only have prices gone up, but so have paychecks. My first job was as a sacker at a Safeway supermarket making minimum wage of $3.15 or $3.35 an hour, can’t remember exactly what it was back then. The minimum wage now is 7.25 an hour. I make a little bit more than that now so it is not too bad, but I don’t believe it makes up for the entire inflation of the sodas. I added it up with my paycheck and here it goes, get paid, the bank already takes out the truck loan, plus the signature loan. Then I pay the rent, and gas bill and the electric bill. Ok… lets see, skip the water bill this month and the insurance….wait a minute. Hold on a sec, let me think…ok, add groceries and dog food, and more dog food. Yep, I have it now, after I pay only half my bill and after taxes, I not only get to eat once a day, but I have a cool quarter to show for it! Yea me! Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one to stand up and tell the world to raise the minimum wage. If we did that, I would need to get a loan to pay for the 2 drinks and 2 candy bars.
Now here is another thing I want to talk about. This is a new year which means we get to start over. I have talked about customer service before, but it not in a good light. Here is where we can start over. How many of us call a company to make a complaint? How many have talked to someone being upset and tell them “I want to talk to your manager!” Nearly all of us at one time or another have been upset and if we did not call and complain about something, then we sure wanted to. Most big companies actually have a certain department to take care of the unsatisfied customers. We have all heard of the complaint department. I must admit, I have done it many times. But like I said this is a new year, how about we do something a little different. We are quick to call and complain on a person or a policy for a company, but what about calling to congratulate someone on a job well done. When is the last time you called a fast food restaurant to let them know that the “gut buster” burrito was one of the best you had and that John Doe was very nice and took the time to inform you of the menu. How about this, I will start. There is a man that works at La Fiesta name Jose Lopez. He has worked there for nearly 18 years and is still going strong. My wife and I go to La Fiesta quite a bit and he is always there. For some reason, I want to call him George. I still don’t know why? He has always talked to us and took care of us even if we were not at his table. I notice the other day that he was like that with all the customers and not only us. Jose is one of the ones that does something that a lot of people do not do any longer. He takes pride in his work, and it shows. Since my wife and I have been going in there, I do not believe that I have ever seen him without a smile. George, ahem, Jose is always happy to help and offer suggestions and would be one of the ones that I would call his supervisor to explain that he needs a raise. If people were quick to call to praise an employee, his employer would have to send him home with pay to stop the calls. Now, if I can only get a Mexican restaurant to fix a good hamburger steak! So let’s start the New Year with a good omen and let’s start praising for a job well done instead of complaining. After all, as my grandmother would say, “ You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar!”
