tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post9018325196862319968..comments2024-03-02T03:29:09.759-05:00Comments on SerandEz and Friends: Honesty and the Jewish Community IV: Seeing is Believing (and Ignorance is Bliss)Ezziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-52787109384588451192011-04-11T18:32:20.843-04:002011-04-11T18:32:20.843-04:00There was a chassidish clothing store in Monsey, m...There was a chassidish clothing store in Monsey, my mother like to frequent, for the mere fact that they had a sign displayed above the register that read as follows: "We don't collect (sales0 tax, we pay it".Sernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-25953880198348423322011-04-07T19:28:05.695-04:002011-04-07T19:28:05.695-04:00Where is my watermark?????Where is my watermark?????Dianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14621768233627156896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-9863802579371161922011-04-07T16:44:45.816-04:002011-04-07T16:44:45.816-04:00That's not my point. My point is not that hone...That's not my point. My point is not that honest merchants don't stay in business, but that dishonest ones do and are able to do so even if some honest customers stop shopping there because a) most don't realize b) they have intrinsic advantages which consistently attract more customers to their stores.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-12542256128148978972011-04-07T16:43:17.359-04:002011-04-07T16:43:17.359-04:00Some years ago, I was seforim shopping in Brooklyn...Some years ago, I was seforim shopping in Brooklyn. Some merchants collected sales tax at the register and took credit cards, and others didn't. The former group had no problem staying in business and even expanding.Bob Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-28151548447629476662011-04-07T16:26:27.545-04:002011-04-07T16:26:27.545-04:00By cutting down their credit card processing fees ...By cutting down their credit card processing fees a store saves a lot of money, and many people don't even know that these practices aren't allowed since they are so commonplace. The store owner was shocked that I argued he wasn't allowed to do what he's doing, and even tried to make up justifications as to why he's excluded from the rule, until I called him on all of them. I doubt that most people know this information.<br /><br />The same is true of those who take more cash transactions and leave them unreported - by avoiding taxes the store is able to bring their costs lower and attract more customers. The same applies especially to those who don't charge sales tax if you pay cash - these stores are clearly not reporting those transactions, and the consumer if willing to go along saves money. It's not just merchants who are dishonest.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-69683908121665309582011-04-07T16:21:45.566-04:002011-04-07T16:21:45.566-04:00The cost of bad service or poor cooperation (in ti...The cost of bad service or poor cooperation (in time wasted, bad feelings, etc.) is part of the big picture. You haven't really demonstrated that good practices automatically increase the total cost. If good practices attract higher volumes of business, they can cut costs.<br /><br />Now, if the bad guys collude to squash or keep out competition, that's a legal matter!Bob Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-36191760064382378882011-04-07T15:42:24.166-04:002011-04-07T15:42:24.166-04:00Bob - Personally that's what I typically do, b...Bob - Personally that's what I typically do, but most people do not it appears. That means these vendors don't feel a pinch from acting improperly. If anything, shady business practices and the money it saves them lets them keep prices lower than honest stores.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-77050587540473218472011-04-07T15:40:06.668-04:002011-04-07T15:40:06.668-04:00Ezzie, If you need to buy product or service X and...Ezzie, If you need to buy product or service X and one or more vendors of X act outside proper business practices, are there no better vendors around to patronize? If there are, patrons should take their business to the good guys. If there aren't, there is a good opening for the right type of new competitor.Bob Millernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-20934696877712681062011-04-07T11:16:35.378-04:002011-04-07T11:16:35.378-04:00Sara K - thanks!
Zzb - your comment made me check...Sara K - thanks!<br /><br />Zzb - your comment made me check; I hadn't seen that before. that's good to know that it changed. That said, the rule is capped at $10; it doesn't apply to debit cards (and I told the owner it was debit); and he himself thought he wasn't allowed to but didn't care. That's a much larger problem to me.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-68956743672145390422011-04-07T11:10:08.720-04:002011-04-07T11:10:08.720-04:00Anon2 - that's certainly part of it.Anon2 - that's certainly part of it.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-59903729620799375302011-04-07T11:09:28.894-04:002011-04-07T11:09:28.894-04:00Anon - no, a community is made up of the individua...Anon - no, a community is made up of the individuals within. One of the purposes of this series is to make the very points you do. It is ridiculous that people truly stop their legitimate behavior on such beliefs; even in the rare case where someone does say or do something, what damage is there really from people knowing you act properly and normally? It is almost as if the perception of doing things which are not done is worse than doing something legitimately wrong. I think that people have more power to stop wrongs than they believe.Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-47286330939632928362011-04-07T10:50:05.004-04:002011-04-07T10:50:05.004-04:00If I'm not mistaken, the Dodd-Frank Act actual...If I'm not mistaken, the Dodd-Frank Act actually made it legal for businesses to set credit-card minimums.ZZbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-55940246051481913562011-04-07T10:41:35.200-04:002011-04-07T10:41:35.200-04:00[[Applause...Applause]][[Applause...Applause]]SaraKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08053908720926177402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-23161621906136166712011-04-07T09:19:01.910-04:002011-04-07T09:19:01.910-04:00As long as the Rabbonim of these ethically challen...As long as the Rabbonim of these ethically challenged individuals do not reprimand them or speak out them, or even ban them from the synagogues this type of behavior will continue.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13326001.post-73619316855974502612011-04-07T08:16:17.870-04:002011-04-07T08:16:17.870-04:00Does a "community" have some identity or...Does a "community" have some identity or life of its own separate from the people in it? People can be scared into altering their (actually legitimate) behavior by actual or implied threats that their community will come down on them otherwise, even when there is no basis for this. Do people really think their friends, neighbors, and associates are this petty? On the flip side, wrong practices go on that nearly all people generally dislike, but they feel they have no power to establish better order in the community. anyhow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com