The Merchants of the Earth Will Weep and Mourn

It can be frustrating and sometimes difficult to keep myself in check when I encounter so much incompetence in the retail shopping world. People are always trying to pull one over on you it seems and then cover their tracks with excuses. Can't you just be reasonable and honest?

I went to VisionWorks in WR to get new glasses, spent $600 on two pair and have been back 4 times to try and fix them. The service there is lackluster in the sense that they are, on the surface, trying to appear like they want to help but it is apparent they don't really care all that much. I've heard that they have so many remakes for glasses that it's just commonplace for them. I imagine the employees' only way to get over this is to not go out of their way unless someone insists.

I went to dinner at Greek Village last night. It's usually an excellent experience. This time, however, the owner wasn't there and I got the sense that they weren't concerned about good service. They served me my dinner cold 3 times in a row. The 4th time they brought it out, after microwaving it repeatedly, they mashed it down and served it smoking hot. Then they proceeded to overcharge me for it. When I worked in restaurants a customer that had a less-than-smooth dining experience would be offered some sort of compensation, like not being charged or making it right in some way. Not this time. Not only did they overcharge me but they left it up to me to tell them I didn't think I should have to pay for it. Now, I will remember that next time I want to eat there and will probably go somewhere else out of embarrassment and doubt whether it will be a good dining experience.

I ordered a cacao "plant" (described as a seedling and a plant) on Etsy. You would expect an actual plant, right? Like, something with ROOTS? Nope. Just a cutting wrapped in tin foil with some coco peat for $18.

More and more I'm finding that if you want quality you have to go out of your way to make sure you get it. Professional service and excellence in business are falling by the wayside. These virtues have been in decline for a long time. There is little-to-no integrity or passion in business anymore, except for in marketing. To make sure you are getting what you expect you have to be one of "those guys" who does lots of research first and asks a whole lot of questions. Even then there are still no guarantees.

First world problems, yes, but it is ridiculous that this happens so often. I actually despise that term, "first world problems." Why? Because I live in the first world. If I lived in a third world country I'd have different expectations, right? We created this system because we wanted things to be better yet now we have people that justify the festering slack by saying, "Just be patient and deal with it. Chill man." With that attitude we can expect the customer shopping experience to only get worse. In all reality though, the Bible does say that Babylon will be destroyed. Perhaps it's best not to expect too much. After all, God is not concerned so much with our physical comfort as our spiritual growth. If we are to be patient and "deal with it," let us at least do it for the right reasons.

"All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy through the extravagance of her luxury... In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: 'Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.' And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo — cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory and precious wood, of bronze, iron, and marble;" Revelation 18

It is good to remember that this present world is passing away and all things will be created anew. Even so I still wrestle with the problems we face now - the hypocrisy, the laziness, the selfishness, the deception... If we can't be faithful to the truth in the things we have created by our own hands then it is apparent that we cannot govern ourselves without God's indwelling Spirit. Perhaps this is what it means to "come out of her My people." Don't expect this beast system to give all it says it will. Read the writing on the wall. These are the signs of the times.

"MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN."