FunCouple5280
Posts: 559
Joined: 10/30/2012 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LizDeluxe I have a question for anyone who cares to answer. Let's suppose there is a business in your area who is the very best in your area for whatever product or service they provide. For the purposes of this discussion it really doesn't matter what their business is. Could be a restaurant or an automobile repair shop or a florist. They provide the best service and price and product. Maybe you've never shopped there before or maybe you are already a regular customer. Nobody else in town can touch them. One day you find out that the owner's political affiliations and beliefs are the polar opposite of yours. We're not talking about them doing anything unethical or immoral or illegal in the course of their business. Nothing like racism or prejudice. Just their basic political views. The sort of stuff we discuss here in P&R. Would you decline doing business with them or cease doing any further business with them simply because they had different political beliefs than you even if there was nobody in your area who could provide the same quality product or service who was cut from the same political fabric as you? Truthfully, unless you carefully voir dire every prospective business you patronize you probably already do business with someone who is the polar opposite of you politically. Just curious. Yes, but I take a different approach. I avoid businesses that are openly political, regardless of whether I agree or disagree. I think, when you own a business as I had once, you stay the fuck out. Religion and Politics have no place in business. While I may have strong views on certain issues, I didn't want to exclude any possible market segment. The only exception I can think of would be a store or business that catered to some loony section of the population like a head shop or christian book store. I feel that way simply because I don't like business playing to big a role in politics either. So, if they know that by being political, they loose my business maybe they will shut up and focus on me the customer and what makes me happy. This also goes for a lot of media too. I really hate ultra-political musicians. Someone with hardly the IQ of monkey should just shut up and sing not preach. Anecdotally, I did like to know the politics of my customers as a contractor. That told me more than anything. Sometimes I wouldn't take jobs or avoid doing business with them based on that info. For example: Fundy Christians were cheap-asses who complained a lot and didn't pay, so I rarely even submitted bids once I knew they were that type. Ex-military republicans always paid and on time, but you better do a damn good job and follow the schedule. Free spirited liberals liked to change their minds and not pay for the changes, and complain that you couldn't just do it for them, but would pay after negotiations. I like blue-collar union types, clear expectations, paid and respected and any labor troubles you had. Gun nut hunter types, had no sense of style or class but paid well. Society blue blood liberals where cash cows because they over spent on crazy fanshionable stuff and paid whatever it took to get it done yesterday.
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