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Barbienomics or Why Britain Should Make Less
Comments
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A lot if what we're paying for is marketing hype.
Amstrad springs to mind.
Toyota Aygo or Citroen 1?"If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
There is actually a problem with Britain not manufacturing and that is the we lose a lot of menial jobs.
Sadly not everyone can be a highly paid professional and if we don't have menial jobs in the economy it makes it much harder to have working opportunities for everyone.
I was involved in advanced manufacturing just before the rise of the China situation.
Believe me, the vision for a number of manufacturing companies here involved a large percentage of automation.
It didn't involve large numbers of staff on the shop floor.
I have this feeling 'progress' is about making more profit for the higher layers in society, and reducing the role of the lower segments.0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »Toyota Aygo or Citroen 1?
Excellent point, much as Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat are often selling a car that is 90% the same with different badges, slightly different specifications, and a few external design changes.
But with all these things, including the Aygo/C1 choice, there are still ways in which the Brand is interacting with the consumer to give different outcomes. Service and customer care levels being one of the biggest ones.
If my wife's Audi needs a service, her local dealer will provide a loaner car of the same standard, or a car and driver to take her where she needs to go and collect her later if she doesn't need the loaner. I doubt the local Skoda dealer is always so helpful.
It's just one small example, but it's that kind of differentiator that is a part of why you would choose to buy an Audi, rather than say, a similar Skoda.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »Without people at the bottom of the pile there is less for the "parasites" to feed on. So at some point the whole food chain suffers.
Menial probably isn't PC.;)
I know I know, I was thinking of the right word but having a sore throat and feeling a bit out of it my PC boots don't seem to fit very well this morning.
And it's worth adding to that, that technology is making many of these jobs redundant with the slow but gradual death of the high street and even in established retail outlets such as supermarkets with automated checkouts.0 -
There is actually a problem with Britain not manufacturing and that is the we lose a lot of menial jobs.
Sadly not everyone can be a highly paid professional and if we don't have menial jobs in the economy it makes it much harder to have working opportunities for everyone.
Shipbuilding, coalmining and the steel industry used to provide well paid jobs for manual workers. Gradually, the emerging low-wage economies priced us out of these sectors.
We now pin our hopes on our design, engineering and marketing capabilities to provide income to the UK. Unfortunately, many of the emerging economies (particularly in Asia) are starting to educate their children to a higher standard than we educate ours. Give it a generation or two and these economies may well take those high income jobs from us.
We need to get back our hunger for education and success, whilst dismantling the barriers that prevent our workers from being competetive globally. Our benefits system was affordable when we had a thriving economy, but over generations has become increasingly less affordable, as well as making us all softer and taking away that hunger to do better for our families. High housing costs have also added to wage costs, making us increasingly uncompetetive in the global economy.
We need people to wake up to the challenge presented by the rise of the emerging economies. Complacency is our biggest enemy."When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson0 -
A lot if what we're paying for is marketing hype.
A lot of what we're paying for is customer experience as well.When the Berlin wall came down, and the east Berliners rushed into the west for their first macdonalds and Coke, they had plenty of real cause to celebrate but at the end of the day when they calmed down they would have realised they were eating a minced beef sandwich and washing it down with a drink remarkably similar to the Pepsi they were already used to.
And yet all over the World, people buy MacDonald's, even in cultures that are not immediately friendly to such concepts.... France and Japan being obvious examples.
So there's obviously something else behind that success rather than just brand/marketing hype.
What MacDonald's in particular have done so successfully is standardised quality control and presentation of a product, such that they taste exactly the same no matter where you buy one.
And they invest vast amounts of money in training and supply chain management in order to ensure that the quality/consistency of product remains identical from Shanghai to Sydney to Miami to Aberdeen to Afghanistan.
They're probably the best in the world at it.
And the result is that no matter where you are, you know exactly what you're going to get when you order a Big Mac and Fries, a filling meal at a reasonable price and you also know that the service will be good.
That's obviously worth something far beyond what a corner cafe selling a meat sandwich and Pepsi can ever offer.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »A lot of what we're paying for is customer experience as well.
And yet all over the World, people buy MacDonald's, even in cultures that are not immediately friendly to such concepts.... France and Japan being obvious examples.
So there's obviously something else behind that success rather than just brand/marketing hype.
What MacDonald's in particular have done so successfully is standardised quality control and presentation of a product, such that they taste exactly the same no matter where you buy one.
And they invest vast amounts of money in training and supply chain management in order to ensure that the quality/consistency of product remains identical from Shanghai to Sydney to Miami to Aberdeen to Afghanistan.
They're probably the best in the world at it.
And the result is that no matter where you are, you know exactly what you're going to get when you order a Big Mac and Fries, a filling meal at a reasonable price and you also know that the service will be good.
That's obviously worth something far beyond what a corner cafe selling a meat sandwich and Pepsi can ever offer.
From my experience McFlurry`s are not the same in the UK as the USA. The American ones are bigger in size and have more bits in them.
I would also say that McDonalds service varies considerably. It is a lot better in America.
Also went to the McDonalds in Paris years ago. Never again, worst McDonalds experience I have ever had.
BUT on topic WE NEED JOBS0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »Excellent point, much as Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat are often selling a car that is 90% the same with different badges, slightly different specifications, and a few external design changes.
But with all these things, including the Aygo/C1 choice, there are still ways in which the Brand is interacting with the consumer to give different outcomes. Service and customer care levels being one of the biggest ones.
If my wife's Audi needs a service, her local dealer will provide a loaner car of the same standard, or a car and driver to take her where she needs to go and collect her later if she doesn't need the loaner. I doubt the local Skoda dealer is always so helpful.
It's just one small example, but it's that kind of differentiator that is a part of why you would choose to buy an Audi, rather than say, a similar Skoda.
If people really can afford it fair enough but so many people chase the experience that can't.
They are driven by a dream "forced" on them not reality.
Whilst people can afford the premium service it could be argued they are excessively paid/rewarded, relatively or sitting on an investment pile that is stifling the life blood of society.
Trickle down can't be relied on.
My local garage will provide all those services (albeit not atop of the range Audi) at a fraction of the price leaving me spare cash to do other things.:)"If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »A lot of what we're paying for is customer experience as well.
And yet all over the World, people buy MacDonald's, even in cultures that are not immediately friendly to such concepts.... France and Japan being obvious examples.
So there's obviously something else behind that success rather than just brand/marketing hype.
What MacDonald's in particular have done so successfully is standardised quality control and presentation of a product, such that they taste exactly the same no matter where you buy one.
And they invest vast amounts of money in training and supply chain management in order to ensure that the quality/consistency of product remains identical from Shanghai to Sydney to Miami to Aberdeen to Afghanistan.
They're probably the best in the world at it.
And the result is that no matter where you are, you know exactly what you're going to get when you order a Big Mac and Fries, a filling meal at a reasonable price and you also know that the service will be good.
That's obviously worth something far beyond what a corner cafe selling a meat sandwich and Pepsi can ever offer.
Certainly offer consistency.
Consistently dreadful and not particularly competitive these days.
The corner cafe is probably no better I will grant you but you are less likely to meet clones in there.
It is amazing how the USA invented brands that really extract extra revenue out of nothing of meaningful substance just experience/image. ."If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
grizzly1911 wrote: »It is amazing how the USA invented brands that really extract extra revenue out of nothing of meaningful substance just experience/image. .
You could say that of all brands, globally, or indeed of any almost any product that provides something beyond the "basic minimum".
There is nothing mechanically better about a Cartier (french) or Rolex (swiss) watch than any of a thousand companies making watches of comparable quality, serviceability and durability for a tenth the price.
There is nothing better about a pair of Levi (American) jeans than there is a pair of Lee Cooper (British) jeans, or for that matter a pair of Asda jeans. I have a pair of Tesco jeans I bought for £5 going on eight years ago and still wear regularly. Probably made in the same street in the same town from the same denim as most designer brands.
But again, wouldn't it be a dull world if we didn't have the choice as consumers to wear what we want, to buy what we want, and to have access to millions of choices of products at an endless variety of price points.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0
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