Some people do not want to work

(This posting was published as a letter to the editor, in the St. Petersburg Times on 3/28/2010)

I am the office manager of a very successful recycling textiles company. We recently placed an ad on Craigslist for an inside and outside salesperson, with no results for the first three days. After revising the ad, we offered up to $45,000 a year. Two people answered. One turned it down because he wanted a car and $60,000, but he wanted to keep the door open for other opportunities. The other wanted to be inside sales only.

We eventually placed a different ad for a sales manager assistant. No money was mentioned, but we got many resumes. Eight were picked and scheduled for interviews. But to our surprise, only one person showed up and he was not sure about taking the job. He said he had to check with his wife. What is wrong with this picture?

Now I know why unemployment is so high. Someone I know who has been recently unemployed said: "I can retire for a year or two, receiving benefits, best thing that could have ever happened to me."

Maybe one of the reasons unemployment is so high is because it is too easy to be unemployed. Some people really do not want to work.

Marta Roman, RFI Inc., Clearwater

Industry Trends: Auto Repair Update

As new cars sales continue to slump in the recession, some dealer service departments and auto repair shops are seeing an increase in business in 2010. Bobby Irby, general manager of Memphis Auto Repair Service says, "A lot of people now are fixing (older cars) up rather than buying new vehicles."

Conventional wisdom has always said that the auto repair business is "recession-proof". Independent mechanics surveyed by the Automotive Service Association reported business up in 2009 over 2008. 76% expect more work in the recession. When someone is faced with a $1000 auto repair, they previously may have decided to trade the car. But now with budgets getting tighter and tighter, they just bite the bullet and do the repair. On the downside, there are also people who, when faced with that kind of bill, just turn to public transportation. There are a lot of people out there with cars just sitting in the driveway.

"People are hanging on to them right now, and they've got to keep them running," says Tim Smith of Bob Smith BMW/Mini in Calabasas, Calif. The median age for cars in 2008 was 9.4 years. Another problem is that may people are "upside-down" or "underwater" as the expression goes.

At RFI, Inc., we supply rags for the auto repair, auto body, and auto detailing industries. While the recession affects all of us, the recycled textile business remains steady and strong. We look forward to a great 2010.

Sources:
Commercial Appeal
The Early Show