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My How Business Has Changed

May 17th, 2022 by Kenneth Abrahams

Business in this country has changed dramatically over the years, and not just during the pandemic. Sure, we have all heard about the devastation to the restaurant and hospitality industry, labor shortages in many business sectors and locales, plus worldwide supply chain issues associated with the pandemic. But there are things other things that have fundamentally changed in the business world.

Growing up, it was not uncommon for someone to retire from the company they had spent their entire adult life working for. Companies often offered generous pension plans and full medical coverage to entice workers to join them and to stay long term. Employees were valued; not seen as replaceable cogs where a younger, lower paid staff member would do just fine. As people worked later in life those pension liabilities began crushing many employers and they soon began to vanish, replaced by 401K and more employee driven retirement packages. Along with that, many seemed to value their core of workers less and less. Now it is more “normal” to find retirees that have worked for a number of companies over the span of their professional lives. It has been a double-edged sword as companies are less loyal to those that work there, and workers are less committed to the companies they work for. It makes me realize how lucky we are at FUN to have a core of long-time staff.

Our industry has been very hard hit by the pandemic; labor shortages, supply chain issues, as well as upwardly spiraling insurance rates have wreaked havoc within our ranks. A number of companies have opted to combat this by creating a minimum dollar amount for every job they do. Some of the vendors that we do business with won’t leave their warehouses for less than $3,500.00. Once you add the equipment rentals, staff fees, delivery and set up costs, it is even higher than that. Four years ago, getting just a moonwalk for a client wasn’t a big problem, now our clients are experiencing sticker shock when I tell them that their moonwalk needs to be part of a bigger package and will cost 4 times what they had previously paid. Some companies have trimmed their offerings, having sold off equipment during the pandemic. While others have returned to their roots as just a drop off and delivery organization, as opposed to offering full service with onsite staff. At FUN, we have been lucky to be able to continue to take dates for just one program with no package minimum. Having an event where all you need are 2 caricature artists or a 4”X6” Photo magnet program give us a call. That being said, we too are having help shortages, along with many other companies, so we can’t take on as many events per day as we used to.

If you have flown recently, you know that the airline industry is in turmoil. Few companies in any industry have seen their reputations and customer loyalty plummet like JetBlue. They were the airline many travelers chose if they flew to the destination people were going to. JetBlue boasted an above industry standard for on time performance, a friendly on the ground and in the air staff, more legroom on the planes, better snacks, great inflight entertainment options, and, in general, a great customer experience. Now, they suffer from crew shortages which is negatively impacting all the above. They seem to cancel an inordinate number of flights making this airline an unreliable mode of transport that people are thinking twice about. Recently, the Boston Globe ran an article chronicling JetBlue’s problems. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/10/business/after-turbulent-week-jetblue-long-loved-airline-is-crossroads/?p1=BGSearch_Advanced_Results

What made things even more interesting, right around that time, if not the same week, their CEO proudly announced they were adding additional cities to their route map.

Even grocery stores, which seemed to do extremely well during the pandemic, have been hit by the Tsunami of change. They too have lost staff, as a result many have reduced operating hours for the store as well as service counters like the deli, fish, bakeries, and meat counters. During peak times, less checkout lanes seem to be open with cashiers often needing to bag the groceries that they just rang up. It is also not uncommon these days to see bare shelves from lack of product plus diminished available staff to restock them.

Restaurants that waited 2 years, in some cases, to fully open, now find themselves with the problem of too many customers and not enough help. Since the pandemic began, I have shied away from eating out. But, between work and personal travel, there have been times when I really don’t have a choice, so I have been back into restaurants. It is not uncommon to walk into a place, see a line of people waiting and the restaurant is full of empty tables. Often, the hostess or host will answer the question before it is asked. Yes, we have empty tables, but we are short staffed in the kitchen, so we don’t want you to wait 2 hours for your meal. Or the kitchen just got slammed so we need to hold off seating people. In some cases, they have said that they are simply short staffed in a variety of areas. We also tend to forget that all those restaurants that closed are creating increased demand for the tables at the restaurants that are still open.

Businesses or industries that I thought either weren’t affected or wouldn’t be damaged by these interesting times have not been immune. As the date to file his taxes drew near, my son asked if I knew an accountant they could use. I turned to an accounting person that I was in a networking group with for years. I was more than a little surprised when he told me that not only was he not taking on new clients, but that they had to let go of some long-term clients because they too were short staffed. Plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and general contractors are all turning away work because they simply don’t have the staff or are already overbooked. It is, to say the least, an interesting time.

As consumers there are things you can do:

1. Plan ahead. If you wait until the last minute, you may be disappointed that you can’t find what you need.
2. Give people some slack. Many businesses are working hard to earn your trust and your business, be patient. In many cases they are doing the best they can. Yelling and being a jerk may make you feel better, it may even get you served faster, but it is simply not the right way to act.
3. Shop and eat local. Local businesses really need your support. True, you may pay a bit more for an item, but that money has a better chance of staying in the community. That, in turn, will provide jobs and many of these businesses support the community in other ways. They donate goods and services for charitable causes, support youth sports and neighborhood cultural organizations.
4. If you have some free time, a part time job isn’t a bad idea. Many local businesses need help.

It doesn’t look like this situation is going to change anytime soon. Reports are coming out that unemployment is near an all-time low, while more jobs are being created. Many people have retired or left the “traditional” workforce preferring to be an online freelance employee or starting their own homebased business. One thing is for certain, this isn’t the workforce of Laverne and Shirley or Leave it to Beaver in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s.

About the Author

Although he rarely tells people this, Ken Abrahams is the co-owner of FUN Enterprises. He is a 1982 graduate of Connecticut College and has a BA in Sociology. As a friend’s father called it, the study of the painfully obvious. Hopefully, through his work at FUN he has been able to bring some joy into people’s lives.

To find out more about the company go to our website www.funent.com you can also go to this link to sign up for our newsletter which comes out about 6 times a year https://funent.com/subscribe-to-the-funny-pages/.  Our newsletter will tell you more about the company and the products and services we offer as well as some games, things to do and the occasional cooking tip.