You will appreciate David Mitchell’s views on customer service.

Happy Labor Day

I hope they’ve been sued for it.

I had my GM write me up for not being happy enough, and that even though I’d lost a parent due to a long and painful illness it had happened nearly a year ago and that I needed to get over my depression and get on medication or into therapy or I wouldn’t have a job. As is the case with most restaurants, I didn’t…

I was bullied into signing a form and made to promise that I would not seek medical attention.

I’m currently in the middle of a really bad case of contact dermatitis. Several people at my gym gave suggested using something one girl makes that has six or seven different essential oils and a few additional carrier oils as a cure. They looked at me weird when I pointed out that plant extracts can contain hundreds…

Because regardless of their skill set (and every job needs some kind of skills), people should be able to pay their basic living costs. In some areas, $15 an hour doesn’t even cover it.

I’ve read in a few places that she might be a test case for the legal group representing her. If that’s the case, I hope these are her sincere beliefs and she completely understands what’s going on and she hasn’t been pushed into this by a lawyer because I can’t see any way she’s going to win this case in any court,…

The lengths to which corporations go to avoid taking social responsibility is astonishing, from not paying workers a fair wage to elaborate tax dodging schemes. Apparently they only have a social conscience about this that don’t cost too much and can be used for PR purposes.

Every time I hear that kind of thing I picture the person saying it as a screaming toddler.

I think most people should do menial work at some point in their life, but that’s because I believe that many people are incapable of learning empathy without first hand experience. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be paid for it.

Didn’t the John in Papa John’s complain about this when Obamacare was passed? That he’d have to raise prices by a few cents to cover the cost and the consumers wouldn’t like it, but they actually had no problem with it.

I work with someone like that right now and they’re rare and wonderful people.

I just finished re-reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s book Bright-Sided, which is largely about how America’s culture of relentless happiness can be downright dangerous and a good portion of the book is about how corporations dealt with their massive restructuring by basically hiring life coaches to tell people that being…

I agree that a regional approach would be good. I left the Bay Area just before the housing cost went through the roof.

I agree. Isn’t that what status symbols and posting your life on the internet is really all about?

I can’t remember which one specifically, but apparently Mitt Romney broke rank and supported it.

I think there’s a strong argument to be made that a lot of people near that wage are being underpaid. I also wonder if it could be used as a salary negotiating tactic.

What if you’re both being underpaid? I agree that in many fields, mine included, that people with college degrees are underpaid, but that’s not related to minimum wage, it’s more about the perceived rate of success in that field and schools not making sure students understand what they can actually do with their…

To your second point, would you support a minimum wage based on the average cost of a number of goods in an area? You could calculate how much rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, etc. costs and making sure people are paid enough to cover those expenses.