Today was a very good day.
Yesterday I had read quite a bit about some really bad management decisions that caused some very successful businesses to fold. Now tell me if I’m wrong about this one. Walgreens always had these miniature shopping carts–a regular cart, but about 1/3 the size of a real one. I loved them because they were just right. I could stick my cane (when I use it) in the body of the cart, lean on the cart itself and have , enough room for the few things I usually buy. Today they were gone–like they never existed. Instead they have replaced them with really big over-the-arm baskets–more than twice the size of the ones in a supermarket. Who benefits from that? I could not use them at all, so I had to just walk without anything to lean on. When I went to the Pharmacy department, I ended up juggling my keys, and the huge plastic bag (sealed by them) with my RX in it and the cane. It was irksome. I am assuming a certain percentage of the customers of Walgreens (being as it is a drug store) might have a mobility problem, or a strength problem. No way could a small person with issues manage one of those huge baskets. I’m thinking–what did all those great big baskets cost? Why totally eliminate the mini-carts which were so handy? It would seem that nobody in management thinks beyond the tip of their noses. I hope Walgreens isn’t the next business to fail. Heaven knows where I would have to go to get my prescription then.
Aside from that, it was a good day today.
Have a good night, all.
See you tomorrow
God bless everybody.
Patty
I’ve seen such things, and have to wonder. I honestly believe that a lot of these decisions come from the glut of MBAs found in today’s business world. Robert McNamara was one of the WW II “Whiz Kids” whom designed the logistics that aided the Allies in their war efforts. This is what began to popularization of MBAs, and if you work for a medium to large corporation, these days, MBAs have become very commonplace.
In some cases, they are great. A former coworker earned his MBA after years working as an accountant and the MBA perhaps added some polish to his abilities, but his base competency had already been established, long before he took the courses required to complete his Master’s. But sometimes, there are MBAs from diploma mills who have little or no practical experience and in some cases, seem to feel the need to justify their existence.
From such persons have come some of the most inane and ill-conceived decisions I have ever seen, reducing every choice to numbers, while completely ignoring the fact that customers have free will. That’s what this sounds like, to me. A decision based upon some poorly conceived study, which totally ignore the reality of the situation, or the need of the customers whom actually fund the continued existence of the business.
I would suggest quietly making your concerns known to the manager, as a matter of feedback. It just might help.
It amazes me.
Many businesses today do amazing things, although amazing doesn’t necessarily mean good.