Show love to iStore Cape Town

An article that got my attention today is the story of a woman who

After months of lodging complaints with the Core Group, Apple’s distribution company; begging Apple in the US for help; trying to open a case with police; and even writing to the new National Consumer Forum, she finally got her money back last week.

But she has been asked not to buy Apple products from the iStore again, and about this she is upset.  If you aren’t off buying a Dell or something else after this much “stress” and time Apple has cost you, you are just being a martyr.  Also, it is a sign of just how superior Apple’s product is, that you would go back for more despite all the other problems, whether real or perceived.

Jeffrey Tucker writes a brilliant article on exactly this topic today over at Mises.org: that customers are very quick to throw insults and be aggressive toward merchants of products that really improve our lives, while letting themself get trampled on when it comes to state services.  This is despite the fact that the state FORCES us to give our incomes to them, while providing us NOTHING in return, while merchants have to PERSUADE us to hand our money to them, before they PROVIDE us with a good or service.

Show Love to the Merchant Class

People can be downright nasty to store clerks and stores. It’s their right: a feature of the market is that you don’t have to trade with anyone in particular. And yet, it still troubles me when people are so dismissive of attempts at entrepreneurship. Why not refrain from buying and walk away? Why hurl invective or behave in a rude way?

In the sports store the other day, I heard customers muttering that this glove is too expensive, this tennis racket is too tightly strung, this shoe is too gaudy, this exercise equipment is not all it says, and that the store should carry this brand of ball, not that one. Most people are happy, else the place could not be in business, but other people (again, rightly) just assume that it is their right to dislike, refuse, cut down, put down, and generally dismiss any merchant with a wave of their hand.

Compare to the scene at airport security. This same class of citizen marches in lockstep, permits himself or herself to be subjected to invasive searches, holds the tongue even when subjected to barking orders from the TSA, and even allows property to be confiscated from personal bags. No one dares utter a word of protest or even complaint for fear of landing in the slammer. The goal is just to get to the other side of the government barrier, where the mini utopia of airport commerce awaits to serve us in a real way — and that hamburger and beer had better be served up immediately, else we will demand our rights!

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