So Very Dark

Today, as I was leading a customer to a book, she commented on how much she liked the store.  I said thank you, and told her I like it too.  She then went on to discuss how very much more than Barnes and Nobel and Borders she likes our store, ’cause they’re big chains and, well, she knows that JB is technically a chain but they only have like, 5 stores, right?  and aren’t all big and huge like the other two.

I nodded and smiled but in my head, I was screaming the same thing that I do whenever I hear people make similar comments and comparisons.

WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH BEING SUCCESSFUL?!?!?!?

SERIOUSLY people!  I encounter this mindset so often and it really bothers me–the idea that getting rich and successful is a shunning-worthy offense.  If you offer a product and people really like it and want to pay money for it and as a result you are able to expand, offer your product to more people (who also really like it) and make some cash for yourself too, why is that BAD?  Is it just because the people who found it first are no longer part of an exclusive members only club?  Because they can no longer feel superior for knowing about something awesome? Or perhaps it’s that they begrudge the people who became so popular the fact that they are no longer down in the lower levels of society after unleasing something kick-a**, that they are now wealthy when they started off struggling and suffering along with the rest of us.

When I find something I like, I WANT the creators to become successful.  I want their product to stay available to me, and I want other people to get to experience it too!  Not only that, the people who offered me said product made me happy, brought me something new to make my life more enjoyable, and if they prosper and make money because they did a good job…well…isn’t that how it’s SUPPOSED to work?

All people can do, however, is complain.

‘Such and such band sold out.  They used to rock but now they’re rich and successful and work for the man.  They no longer sing about being poor and angry.’  GOOD!  They AREN’T poor and hungry any more, they have different things going on in their lives and are singing about them instead!  Sure, some bands DO get crappy after ‘making it’ but just because a band becomes popular doesn’t mean that their music goes downhill.  I have rarely found that to be the case.  Often, as they grow, their talent has a chance to mature and gain polish.

‘I hate Starbucks.  I only go to independent coffee shops’  You know what?  I think Starbucks coffee is decent at worst, delicious at best.  You know what else?  A lot of the independent coffee shops I’ve been to have coffee that tastes like crap.  Yeah.  I’m talking about you, Aromas.  Frickin’ burn beans.  Yeah, some indi shops are awesome.  There are at least two in the PGH area that I love, but not BECAUSE they are…because they have good coffee and good atmosphere.  Something that Starbucks (and similar shops) deliver.  And yes, I have heard that Starbucks is a little hostile on the business end of things, and no, that’s not nice.  I conceed that point.  BUT, I don’t think that’s why they are popular.

One of my coworkers told me, previous to the release of Breaking Dawn, that it really irritated him when books got popular enough to have release parties.  IMHO, the idea of a book becoming popular enough that people are holding parties when it comes out is AWESOME!  Yeah, Stephanie Meyer is ridiculously famous now for her fluff-and-angst filled cracknovels.  GOOD FOR HER!  No they aren’t great literature, but I sure as hell enjoyed the series and was sad when it ended.  I can’t wait for her to write more.  J.K.Rawling is now the richest woman in England.  ROCK ON.  Harry Potter is fantastic and the fact that people lined up outside bookstores waiting for new books to come out and screamed when the first copy was lifted into the air is AWESOME.  People are getting excited over BOOKS.  This thrills me.

And as for the Joseph Beth/Barnes & Nobel comparison?  You know what?  JB would LOVE to be B&N.  Seriously, it’s not like JB isn’t corperate.  Moreso every day, in fact.  You know what they want to do?  SELL A LOT OF BOOKS AND MAKE A LOT OF MONEY.  Yes, they try to keep that community feel, and focus on customer service, but the bottom line is…the bottom line.  And you know what else?  I LIKE Barnes & Nobel.  I really do.  My first experience with one was in Seattle, after a long walk in the rain, coming into a warm dry store with places to curl up and read and fireplaces and TONS of books.  I LOVED it.  Yes, it’s hard on small bookstores because they can’t compete with the prices and selection that large bookstores can offer…so what?  Large bookstores should…limit their selection and raise their prices?  I LIKE being able to find the book I’m looking for, and to curl up and browse through it without some grouchy shopkeeper informing me that if I want to read it I have to buy it, and then not spend the entirety of my bank account when I do purchase the book.

Becoming successful is supposed to be the GOAL of a business.  Yes, it would be nice if people could make great coffee and play great music and offer great books and whatever else without charging a dime.  But that’s not how business works.  If I had a bookstore I’d fail horribly, ’cause when I tried to convince a customer to buy a great book and they said that they’d think about it when they had more money, I’d just give it to them so they could experience a great read.  I’d go under in a month.  We live in a capitalist society and as such, making money, becoming a household name and having people flock to your product means you’re doing something right.

So next time you want to rant about someone selling out, maybe instead try saying, ‘Good for them!’