In my job of selling things like polos, winter coats, etc to people who call me, one of the biggest complaints I get is country of origin. I don't know what it's like in other countries, but the people here in the States are currently on a "I want things made in America" kick. They usually whine that there are people here out of work, and they would "gladly pay more for American made"....I'll get to that later.
I had a call today, where for 25 minutes, I was given nothing but item numbers of items so they could find out the specific country of origin. She did ask occasionally the length of sleeve, but for the most part it was where was it made. Now in some other countries where we have customers this is important....I once had an online chat with someone in Turkey, and they have very strict rules about Chinese imports. I didn't mind that chat. This lady however was here in the good ol' US of A, where no such restrictions occur. And of course, the ultimate question....did she buy anything? I'm sure you know by now that this is a rhetorical question.
As for my "I'll pay more for American made goods" crew. I have proof that that is the biggest pile of steaming donkey poo known to humankind. At my company, we are slowly bringing back American-made goods. Gentleman called in to look at two different pairs of jeans. Pair A was made in China and sold for $50 and Pair B was made in the USA and cost $94. So while he was complaining about the lack of American made items, just take a guess which pair he bought. He commented that he just cannot justify paying $94 for jeans. These people who scream about wanting American made items just don't want to pay American made prices. They think that "Made in America" label is cheap. The textile mills in this country still tend to be union shops, which means the employees are making more than our minimum wage. There is also American based transportation. Then they call me. I make a good deal more than minimum wage. That all adds up, so your American made jeans really are $94.
Shoot. Me. Now.
End rant.
I had a call today, where for 25 minutes, I was given nothing but item numbers of items so they could find out the specific country of origin. She did ask occasionally the length of sleeve, but for the most part it was where was it made. Now in some other countries where we have customers this is important....I once had an online chat with someone in Turkey, and they have very strict rules about Chinese imports. I didn't mind that chat. This lady however was here in the good ol' US of A, where no such restrictions occur. And of course, the ultimate question....did she buy anything? I'm sure you know by now that this is a rhetorical question.
As for my "I'll pay more for American made goods" crew. I have proof that that is the biggest pile of steaming donkey poo known to humankind. At my company, we are slowly bringing back American-made goods. Gentleman called in to look at two different pairs of jeans. Pair A was made in China and sold for $50 and Pair B was made in the USA and cost $94. So while he was complaining about the lack of American made items, just take a guess which pair he bought. He commented that he just cannot justify paying $94 for jeans. These people who scream about wanting American made items just don't want to pay American made prices. They think that "Made in America" label is cheap. The textile mills in this country still tend to be union shops, which means the employees are making more than our minimum wage. There is also American based transportation. Then they call me. I make a good deal more than minimum wage. That all adds up, so your American made jeans really are $94.
Shoot. Me. Now.
End rant.
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