Of course we all know about the major issues the economic crisis has brought like unemployment and house foreclosures.
But what little changes have you noticed?
For example, I get my hair cut at a cheap place called Cost Cutters. It used to be a fairly sleepy place, but now when I go in there is always a long wait. When I got my hair cut this morning I asked why it was so much busier and the beautician said that many of the people used to go to fancy salons but were looking for ways to cut costs and decided cheap haircuts are the way to go.
My dad just explained to me last week how McDonalds has removed the “double cheeseburger” from their $1 menu and replaced it with a “McDouble” which is two patties but only ONE piece of cheese. If you want the double cheeseburger with two pieces of cheese you have to pay a little extra.
I think this is a brilliant move on McDonalds’ part. I bet they save millions of dollars and, at the same time, America will save billions of calories.
The library I work at is much busier. More people are getting on our computers to job hunt or file for unemployment. Also, people who would normally pay their fines are letting them slide until they build up to the point where they can’t use their card ($5).
I’m currently temping, and I’ve been surprised at how much high quality, short term office work is available. I guess that companies still have projects that need to be completed, but don’t want to commit to hiring permanent employees and then have to deal with layoffs.
I’ve also noticed that the quality of customer service in Calgary has increased dramatically in the last few months. Suddenly people actually try to help you when they realize that they can’t just quit and get another retail / restaurant job within the hour. It was pretty pathetic in the keyed up super boom time of 2007 or so.
The turnover at my workplace (a call center) is much lower than it used to be. People who might have been inclined to leave before aren’t going to if they cannot find a different job or don’t want to risk going to a job whose future may be less certain.
I’m getting a lot less junk mail, specifically credit card offers.
Also, there tend to be a lot more people in the supermarket at the time I go than there used to be, so I assume people are eating at home more.
And there are also now car ads on the radio (and presumably on TV, too) that advertise that if you buy a new car, they’ll buy it back if you lose your job.
I’ve also noticed that several new kids have transferred into my kids’ public school classes. The teacher says they are almost all from private schools that their parents can no longer afford.
That’s interesting. I was at McDonalds’s looking at the dollar menu and was wondering WTF was a McDouble. The dollar menu is now the value menu and costs $1.29.
There’s a place near my office building (in midtown Manhattan) that sells pizza for 99 cents per slice. These days, there’s a line all the way down the block. I guess people are cutting back on lunch expenditures.
I know. I’m one of them. My wife was laid off in January.
I came across a couple of panhandlers in my neighborhood on Saturday night. One looked ‘new’, the other looked like an old-timer. I can’t remember the last time I saw a panhandler around here. Maybe it’s a Saturday night thing (I’m not out in the neighborhood very often on Saturday nights these days) or maybe it’s a The Economy thing. Or maybe I just don’t get out enough.
And those places where I go “gee, I wonder how they stay in business”? - a whole lot of them are no longer in business.
Junk mail is down. Especially credit card offers, refinancing, and equity loans.
I haven’t seen realtors of any kind doing any advertising.
Land cleared for condo developments have sat empty for a few years now.
Attendance at my sons daycare is down. Several teachers left for lack of hours.
A typical strip mall that had a Dunn Bros. Coffee, Papa Murphys Pizza, Quizno’s, second hand kids clothes shop, Fantastic Sams haircut place, AnyTime Fitness, and Edina Realty Office has now only Papa Murphys and Fantastic Sams.
Recently built (last 4 years) brand new strip malls that never got occupants and still sit empty.
Big Box retailers closing up and will soon be empty, Circuit City, Linens & Things, World Market.
Home improvement giants Lowes and Home Depot which were packed every weekend 5 years ago are pretty empty on weekends.
12 ladies cutting hair at Great Clips this past weekend and every chair was full.
Wallmart packed with the ususal riff-raff pushing out carts filled with kids and crap. (I don’t think they got the memo about the recession).
Fri/Sat night popular chain restaurants wait 4 years ago 90-120 minutes, now they can seat you immediately.
The main thing I’ve noticed is the customer service. Suddenly, the surly girl at the gas station in town is REALLY happy to see me, and ever so helpful. That’s just one example of many, but it’s the one I find the funniest. Six months ago, she acted like disemboweling me on the minimart floor would bring her pleasure, and now she wants to know how that sweet little boy of mine is. Ha.
The thrift store we go to is a lot busier now than it used to be. They also seem to be not getting as much stuff, as people hold on to things longer.
Not personal experience, but there was an article in the Times that consignment stores are hurting. They sell at 2/3 off, but the department stores are close to that discount these days, and customers would rather buy new.
We also just booked a 12 day Mediterranean cruise for under $1,000 a person, including fees, for an oceanview room. While looking we saw some repositioning cruises that were absurdly cheap.
The school bus has a lot more kids on it now. I guess it used to be that some parents would drive their kids in to school, but now are either working extra shifts and don’t have the time, or can’t afford the gas.
It’s the opposite here. Schools are dropping bus service to save money and parents are having to organize carpools to get their kids to school. They aren’t happy about it.
I’ve also noticed that there are more blank billboards around town (at least four that I can think of have nothing but bare wood or remnants of the previous ad). Companies aren’t as apt to pay big bucks to advertise to drivers stuck in traffic.
The trains aren’t quite as tightly packed, thanks to fewer people having jobs downtown.
I asked one of our favorite checkers at the supermarket, and coupon use is way up. She didn’t have any actual numbers, but they’ve gone from being able to slip coupons under the cash drawer to needing to stack them up next to the register.
The fridge at the office has gone from an empty box where people stash a few yogurts to being crammed with lunchbags as more people are bringing lunch from home.
I receive lots of seed and gardening catalogs, and some of the ones I’ve received in the past few weeks state that growing your own fruit and vegetables is a great way to save money on foodstuffs. I wonder if more people will try growing a garden or expand an existing one this spring.
