Let’s make consumer protection great again.
The last four years of inflation notwithstanding, the rise of technology in every aspect of life has made ordinary consumers increasingly vulnerable. The abusive denigration of consumers as de facto store employees is common in the proliferation of self-serve checkouts. If technology is replacing people, doesn’t that mean fewer salaries, benefits and associated human costs? Yet prices remain high. Businesses compelled to raise wages would merely raise prices to compensate. What can consumers do about it? We can refuse to comply — consumers don’t work in stores! Of course, corporate bigwigs will say, hiring humans adds costs that they would pass on — but they have already done that — the prices have already become exorbitant despite technology.
Another egregious affront to consumers is the rampant gift card scams, which companies fail to prevent (keep gift cards behind the counter, like cigarettes!) and worse, fail to remedy in the store. Working class people cannot afford to wait while corporate offices deliberate on what to do.
Local store managers should be empowered to compensate defrauded customers on site. KOHL’s in West Jordan sold me such a card. I called the number on the card: talked to an agent in a foreign country I can barely understand. I talked to the store manager; he handed me another number to call and offered placating words. Sound familiar? Finally, after over two hours of calls, transferred and dropped calls, another agent told me that the issue needs to be resolved with my bank, since the gift card was paid for with a credit card.
Big box stores like KOHL’s should have better policies for managing the sale of their gift cards, including protective packaging; they should be subject to government regulations.
Automated customer hotlines and customer service agents are just part of a technology-dependent system to discourage customers from demanding real human solutions.
Technology without humanity is a perversion of society, open to fraud and abuse. Let’s make consumer protection great again!
Teresa Stillo Ramirez, Taylorsville
