Posted on 05/28/2003 7:01:28 AM PDT by presidio9
It used to be that fans entering Fenway Park could bring in most anything they wanted: drinks, popcorn, even a full meal.
But following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, things changed. That orange soda you bought at Store 24 in Kenmore Square? Sorry sir, we'll have to confiscate it.
``Why's that?''
``It's for your own safety.''
Am I the only one who thinks this explanation a bit disingenuous? That perhaps the burgers from McDonald's or the peanuts from the street vendor aren't so much a security risk as they are a financial risk? After all, when you pay $600 million for a baseball franchise, you have little choice but to scrounge for every penny you can get.
The Sox are hardly alone. Many say they're doing things just for me. They worry about me - my safety, my convenience. They want me to be happy.
Turns out, though, it's not about me. It's about them.
Take Shaw's Supermarkets. Signs at the exits say, ``For your convenience, we've installed CAPS, a new electronic system to keep carts on our site.''
If I wheel a grocery cart out the door, the wheels immediately lock up, making it immovable.
Well, that's convenient. Instead of keeping the bags in my cart and taking them to my car, I get to carry them.
Lucky me. By the time I'm there, my shoulders ache and the plastic handles have cut through my skin. About half the time, the handles have ripped, spilling everything onto the parking lot.
The locking wheels, of course, are for the store's benefit, not mine. It's so the supermarket doesn't have to send people out looking for errant carts that cost hundreds of dollars each.
That's reasonable. But for my ``convenience''? I don't think so.
Go to most area hospitals and you'll find you need a special plastic insurance card before you can get anything done. That's true of routine services, such as seeing a doctor for a checkup, as well as for more urgent visits.
What happens if you forget the card?
``I'm sorry, but I must see your card before the doctor can see you. Down the hall, take the elevator and follow the signs. It will take you about half an hour.''
``But I'm late for my appointment. And I already have a card. I just left it at home.''
The intake nurse looks me up using her computer.
``You can already see all of my information, right? Name, address, insurance company?'' I ask.
``Yes, it's all here.''
``So why do you need me to get another one? You already have everything you need.''
``It's for your convenience, sir.''
Massachusetts has in place a law that sets a minimum price at which a gallon of milk can be sold. If anyone tries to sell milk below cost, it's illegal. Stores can be prosecuted for a violation.
Last week, the food police nailed a Mobile Mini-Mart. It had been selling milk at $1.79 a gallon, well below the everyday price of $3 or more.
And why does Massachusetts harass storeowners for selling milk cheaply? It is, we're told, for the consumer's benefit.
Now there are probably many who benefit from minimum prices for milk. Perhaps higher prices protect stores from having to compete. Perhaps the minimum pushes up the amount dairy farmers receive for raw milk. There may be others, and I expect their lobbyists doubtless know who they are.
But I know one group for certain that isn't being helped: the consumer.
Everywhere I look, companies and government say they're doing it for me - and they're lying.
The John Hancock Tower shut its observation deck, it says, to improve public safety. The real reason, of course, was that with the building about to be put up for sale, the owners figured adding a new floor of prime, leasable space would boost the price.
For my ``convenience,'' the city of Boston allows me to get a dog license by mail. My convenience had little to do with it; it's just a way to make it easier to rake in some more dollars.
Restaurants and bars install ATM machines on their premises, also ``for your convenience.'' Don't believe them: The machines are there because they get a big cut of the fees each customer pays.
Massachusetts - one of the few states in the union with this law - requires that every item in retail stores has to be individually price-marked. It's supposed to help consumers.
No way. Instead, the requirement boosts the cost of retail goods by tens of millions annually. Someone's benefiting, but it sure isn't the shoppers at Wal-Mart.
So here's a law I'd like to see. Do anything you want, but at least tell us the real reasons: It's to boost revenues, it's to shave expenses or it's to create a few make-work jobs.
But please: Don't tell me you're doing it for me.
At a local "Earth Day Festival" held in a public park no one was allowed to bring in anything including water. Seems that the rip off artists were selling water for three dollars a bottle (16oz). Many people passed out from dehydration. The Fire Department had to treat a large number. They advised drinking more water. I don't like to see people mistreated but none of them had to go to this event and all should have left when it was apparent that their health was a poor second to making money.
You have to pay to use the ATMs?
I live in Scotland. Never had a problem finding a Royal Bank machine.
But I guess, if I stop and think about it, it makes sense to charge.
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