Off Target

In an early Woody Allen film called Bananas, his character's attempt to discreetly purchase a porn magazine is foiled when the cashier holds up the item and yells to a co-worker, "How much is a copy of Orgasm?"

Yesterday I was at the Target in Revere, just over the East Boston line, and I witnessed a similar scene. Two male employees, both youngish, were with an older female customer and one yelled to yet another young male employee, who was about 50 feet away, "Where are the hair removal products?!" The third employee hollers back, "You mean, like, wax?!" The poor woman must have been mortified.

If you have any contact with retail stores these days, and if you are older than 30, you've witnessed a decline in the appearance and sensibilities of the cashiers, baggers, stockers, etc. who work at such places. Now I am not saying that I would want to do any of their jobs, and I am not saying that I expect to see a 1950s-style demeanor from them. However, I do think it is clear that employers settle for lower standards among their unskilled workers.

Of course, my approach would be to pay them better and then demand more from them. With wages equal to or less than the salary paid for equivalent jobs 35 years ago (once adjusted for inflation), employers get what they pay for, and we -- the customers -- are stuck dealing with employees that have a less-than-professional attitude.