Mall Rats

I took DD#1 to the mall last night so she could drop off job applications. We've been to this mall a gazillion times but it's recently had a face lift and I've been watching my money closely for the past month or so, so I haven't been in awhile. A couple things jumped out at me as a sign of our times. One seemed like I'd hyper-jumped into the future. First, about one third of the food court restaurants were closed. Forever. Out of the fast food places left, the only one with a line (and it was shorter than usual) was the Japanese/sushi restaurant. Subway had a few people but no long lines, either. Gone were the Mexican places and a sub place. I did a double take at the soda vending machine. I've never seen one like it. There was a video of the merchandise selection on front, scrolling by so the customers could choose their selection by touching the screen. Video ads ran across the top portion of the machine. I've seen similar things but never on a vending machine. DD#1 said this looked like the malls in Japan. She's a fan of everything Japanese (except for the sushi last night which was blah - it was the last time I got it at the mall, too). I was also amazed how the Japanese restaurant's service has fallen off, how the food tasted at best blah when it used to be really good. It seemed as if the workers didn't give a damn about their product. That surprises me especially at this time when businesses are dying all over the place, when you have to provide more and better service to survive. Their prices were higher than the last time I visited. They want more from me. Don't I have a right to expect good product and good service, if not better for my extra money at least pretty good? My boss at the day job almost sounds like a broken record, but a good one. He says we have to increase our services, increase the level of everything we do so we can survive this economic downfall. My many business classes supports him. Why would someone want to provide second class (or worse) service especially now when there's so much job competition? Or is that the problem? Are people who were let go from higher level jobs taking any job they can get? Are they now apathetic to their new lesser job (lower pay, less station)? That's just a theory. My alternate theory is that they're just dumb or lazy. The mall itself has improved their look, upped their security, and moved into the future. Unfortunately it won't help if a lot of the surviving stores give decreased service or substandard products. So I was both impressed and turned off. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)