Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 17 degrees, cool, sunny and slightly overcast.
I’ve been having issues with the power cable for my laptop. It’s quite old, probably at least six or seven years, and I have already replaced the cable at least once before.
Cables seem to be an issue for me. I bought a Google Watch 2 three months ago, and after one month, the cable developed a bad contact; I had to bend the cable to make it charge, and it was getting worse. I ordered a pack of two charging cables from Amazon with same-day delivery, and they arrived around 6:00 p.m. that same day, which I found quite impressive.
I tried to buy a cable yesterday and today at the local computer accessories and repair shop, which is one block from where my mother lives. On both occasions, he was not there. I rang his number, and there was a recording saying that he would only be back on the 5th of June. How can you run a small business like that, or does he not depend on its income? Or is it just a hobby for him?
In 20 years of The Right Way School, I think I did not miss more than a week. What is cruel is how, in retail and such things as a charging cable, for example, if the local business slips up, such as being closed, Amazon is there waiting to pounce with guarantees, variety, quality and delivery.
The power of Amazon in the retail sector is colossal, overwhelming and even overpowering.
Richard, the owner of the local computer shop, was not open or available; I wanted to buy from him to support a local business and tradesman. I went there twice and also visited another shop in Brettle Lane, which was a half-hour walk. They didn’t have the correct specification cable either, so the local shop didn’t offer much variety. I gave the local businesses a chance, but they were not up to the mark.
Amazon was there in the shadows behind the scenes, waiting for me to take the initiative with just a couple of clicks. My specifications, payment details, and address were already verified, and it was all done. I bought it yesterday in the early afternoon, and while meeting Julie for lunch, it arrived. My mother received it, and it was on my table, waiting for me when I got back.
In just a minute, the package was opened, revealing the exact right cable in perfect condition. Now my computer was charging properly for the first time in a week, with no headaches or stress. I can now return to my work peacefully.
I had never used Amazon in Brazil, but during my brief stay in England, I have now used them three times, and they have not let me down on any of those occasions. The company can supply a vast range of items at various specifications and prices, and guarantees delivery, sometimes even on the same day. That is no small achievement; it truly is imposing. However, with such power, there is a risk that less powerful entities might suffer.
The sole trader, the small business owner, cannot afford to slip up, because if they do, Amazon is ready to step in and dominate. Is it fair? Probably not, no, it isn’t. However, this is the reality of the world we live in now and in the past. Things will change; well, everything changes, but not in the way everyone might want to think.
Amazon is a large, uncontrollable monster that we both love and hate. Once, small businesses, especially on high streets in small urban centres, offered a diverse range of goods and services. Now, they have shifted towards coffee shops, cafes, restaurants, and shops that can survive by specialising in what Amazon does not.
It is the same as what a once-famous, successful, and now-broke Brazilian billionaire said: ‘manufacture something that China is not, because if you do not, you will not survive’. China is in manufacturing as Amazon is in retail, everything is so polarised nowadays, that it is difficult to find a space for yourself, where will it stop?
Julie and I enjoyed a simple lunch at the Lawnswood pub, our first time eating there. I had been there previously for a quick drink alone at Christmas, and we have been for coffees, but never for a meal. We had lunch and chatted with the barman, Doug, a Scot who has lived locally for the last eight or nine years. He’s a friendly man with a typically strong, heavy accent that sometimes made it nearly impossible to understand what he was saying.
A problem resolved and lunch with Julie, NICE!
In bed by midnight.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
