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Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

theguardian.com

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Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#71

Post by AnthonyMouse »

BrenBarn wrote: post #53
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually making the case for why agencies like the CFPB are a bad way to go about this. If that was a class action lawsuit instead, the plaintiff's lawyers aren't going to drop the case just because there was a change of administrations.

It's more a case for why the US system of government is a failure.

Which system of government is capable of operating at the scale of the US without going sideways? It's not the EU, look at what just happened with Chat Control.

Maybe the problem is attempting to regulate at that scale to begin with.

Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#72

Post by giardini »

m4x wrote: post #28
SoftTalker wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rage is not approprate in most cases. It gets your blood pressure and adrenaline spiking, but doesn't do anything to fix the problem. It probably makes it worse because it clouds rational thought. Cheap goods have always been junk. Buy less, better stuff. Buy once, cry once.

What do you do when the expensive options are also junk? Relatively few manufacturers actually focus on quality today.

Regardless of price why buy junk?

Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#75

Post by [deleted] »

rkagerer wrote: post #45

This all comes down to humane treatment of your fellow human beings. I grew up in an era where that was a core expectation of our culture. But I see that tenet degrading in various ways - how we broadcast our views on social media (reduced empathy), how we interact in the real world (less patience and understanding), the polarization of our politics (less compromise and thus less effectiveness), and how organizations…

[deleted]

Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#76

Post by godelski »

rkagerer wrote: post #45

This all comes down to humane treatment of your fellow human beings. I grew up in an era where that was a core expectation of our culture. But I see that tenet degrading in various ways - how we broadcast our views on social media (reduced empathy), how we interact in the real world (less patience and understanding), the polarization of our politics (less compromise and thus less effectiveness), and how organizations…

Every little fight is what got us here, but that's also how we get out. Do good for the sake of good. Don't let others push you beyond your ethical bounds.

The good thing is we don't need everybody to do this. Even a small percentage can build momentum. So speak up and back up those who do. It makes it easier for others and causes people to be more nervous to float unethical ideas.

Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#77

Post by dyauspitr »

rkagerer wrote: post #45

This all comes down to humane treatment of your fellow human beings. I grew up in an era where that was a core expectation of our culture. But I see that tenet degrading in various ways - how we broadcast our views on social media (reduced empathy), how we interact in the real world (less patience and understanding), the polarization of our politics (less compromise and thus less effectiveness), and how organizations…

I don’t think a high trust society is compatible with modernity. In my opinion, a high trust society comes from a relative naivety in most of the population that just sort of did what their grandparents did without thinking too much about it. In an “information” inundated populace, it becomes very hard to have a common culture which is the absolute basis for a high trust society. Maintaining a common culture isn’t easy either, it takes generations of shibboleth building, universal thought termination phrases and a brutal society-wide suppression of the “other”.

Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#79

Post by thomassmith65 »

25 years ago, 'customer focus' was the buzz word.

Gmail (and similar products) killed it.

The internet made it possible for a company to serve hundreds of millions of people without the overhead of listening to, or supporting, or giving much of a shit about them. "Why are you complaining? It's free!"

Gmail envy makes it seem like you're some underachieving sucker if you bend over backwards to deliver a great customer experience.

It probably would be possible to have a billion customers and make them happy, but the number of employees it would take would only make you rich, instead of unfathomably rich.

Re: Why are US consumers so angry? It's not just high prices

#80

Post by russelg »

m1llie_ wrote: post #40

I feel a very similar sentiment in Australia. Everything is poorly made and full of anti-features. It breaks prematurely, and software updates make it worse by disabling features, adding things I don't want, or holding functionality I already paid for to ransom as a subscription. Warranties aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Every warranty claim I've made in the past 5 years (a fair few) has been a Kafka-esqu…

The key in Australia is to buy from a physical retailer. They often cannot give you the runaround as under consumer law, they're responsible for the resolution.
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