Henri wrote:
Man, am I the only one to think that this is *really sad*? It's not easy to get people to understand the consequences either.
No, you are not the only one who thinks it's sad. Unfortunately we have been conditioned to seek low price over almost everything. Here in America, and I'm sure it is also happening in most of the developed world, the little guy is being put out of business by mega corporations. Here in the East Coast you rarely see an independent pharmacy, or supermarket, or department store, etc. anymore. My feeling is that few, if any, care. Years of conditioning of win at any cost has eroded the concept of play fair. We just don't care that people's livelihood are involved. Here in the U.S., if certain things happen, we could see a significant loss of labor laws, environmental protection erased or ignored. All this is rooted IMNSHO in the loss of the value of fair play, and the perceived value of win at any cost and immediate gratification, damn the future.
My background is in photofinishing. When I moved To Mass. last fall I couldn't find work in the field ( I won't work for Ritz, so I didn't try them). My prediction is that in 5 years you won't see a 1 hour lab in a drugstore or big box chain. Processing will still be available. Most of it will be mail order with a few independents who managed to survive around. Roll counts are down. It become a viscous cycle as labs then try to cut costs by hiring less trained (i.e. cheap) help who can't, or don't care to help. Lousy processing hastens the shift to digital which means less rolls.
Rant over
Butch
