Customer Care

This morning I glanced at an article in the Seattle Times about how increased costs related to Amazon.com's discounted shipping programs were one of the chief causes of the company's 30% quarterly profit drop from a year ago, which caused its stock price to drop 2.5% in response. I usually don't read the business section that thoroughly, but this article contained a quote that caught my eye. David Garrity, an analyst for Caris & Co. (whoever that is), said, "It appears that consumers are rewarded rather than shareholders."

That's right. Favoring consumers over shareholders is apparently a shocking thing to do and must be punished. No wonder the U.S. economy sucks. If you're just trying to make money and you don't care about what you're doing or the people who are buying it, then it's either not going to happen or it's not going to last. If more companies focused more on excellence in their fields--and I mean real excellence, not the smarmy kind that comes on posters with pictures of skydivers or mountain climbers--the profits would come on their own. Not immediately and temporarily, but slowly and sustainably. Worked for my company anyway, at least until the shareholder-fawning suits bought it.

Guess I'll be making myself a big, fat order from Amazon.com.