01-12-07

Hi friends, this is Harry Blalock; General Manager for radio stations KZMI & KCNM. It's that time once again to take a look at the issues of the week, and to offer some Food For Thought.

Obviously the big topic these days is the U.S. takeover of our control of our own minimum wage, and the ramifications of it. We have been seeing many opinions on both sides of the issue in the newspapers. Many seem to think it's a good idea and that it won't have any negative consequences on our economy. That is usually the line of thought of those who are either making minimum wage, or work for the government, and don't have to worry about the effect that rising wages will have on businesses. I do believe that the minimum wage is long overdue for an increase here, however to think that the current bill, which just passed the U.S. House of Representatives, won't drastically change things here is pure folly.

One of the first groups of workers the minimum wage increase will affect is house workers, maids and farmers. We have given ourselves a very sweet deal in enabling us to hire house workers and maids at a rate even far below our minimum wage. I believe the minimum wage for them right now is $300 or $350 a month, meaning that many local families have taken advantage of this opportunity to have someone else cook and clean for them and take care of their children. Unlike our system, which puts maids and house workers in a different wage structure, the U.S. minimum wage bill makes no such allowances. So 60 days after this bill is signed into law, the minimum you would be allowed to pay your house worker or maid would jump to $624. That means you would have to be paying double what you're paying now overnight. In 6 months, the minimum would jump to $712, in a year it would jump to over $800, and it would steadily climb like that for the next 3 years. I don't know of many local families who would be willing to shoulder such a large increase in order to keep their maids. People are going to have to start hiring extra help on an hourly basis, and looking for daycare opportunities for their children while they're working. Yes, this will be a hardship on many families who currently rely on maids or house workers, but it will also be a hardship on the many maids and house workers who will find themselves back in the Philippines in short order. There is a chance that the minimum wage won't have to take effect immediately in a maid's case if there is a valid contract already in place, but that will be for the lawyers and the courts to sort out. Even if that's the case though, it will be a short-lived reprieve because the increase will take effect as soon as the contract expires. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, since frankly I feel we have been giving the maids and house workers the short end of the stick for years, I'm just saying it will definitely be causing change in the Commonwealth.

And this is only one example of some of the challenges that the new minimum wage law will bring with it. As businesses are forced to cope with the higher wages, prices of goods and services will have to rise accordingly. Unlike some others, I don't believe there is any chance of us fighting off the minimum wage bill. I don't believe those in power in Congress would be willing to listen to us or believe us even if we went there to try to fight it off. We have lied and gone back on our promises in the past, and they remember that. Our word is basically meaningless now, and Congressman George Miller and Allen Stayman will do anything within their power to ensure that we are included in the minimum wage increase.

The situation regarding control of our Immigration is also in jeopardy now. A bill hasn't been introduced for it yet, but you can count on the fact that one will be forthcoming in the near future. I believe that is the one that really causes the most concern to us, as it would make it very difficult to remain attractive to 2 of our newest and brightest tourist destinations, Russia and China. This is the battle we really need to be preparing for right now, and making sure we are all on the same page as far as where we want to head as a community. Our arguments need to be well thought out and prepared, and much planning needs to take place ahead of time, something we're not very well known for.

Because of all these issues, things will be much more challenging in the Commonwealth in the coming days. Businesses will be forced to cut back and most likely raise prices, and some will decide it's just not worth it anymore, and will likely move to Guam. Because our contract worker numbers will be drastically declining and our tourist numbers have continued to decrease, smart businesses will stop relying so heavily on tourists alone and will start trying to entice more local businesses as well. I remember the days not too long ago when certain businesses refused to entertain me as a customer; they only wanted to deal with Japanese. Back 8-10 years ago, they could afford such behavior, but now any business would be a fool to take such a stand.

And yet we still have businesses that are anything but local "friendly" much to my shock and dismay. I was golfing at a certain golf course a couple months ago and had just finished the first hole when a freak tropical storm popped up and completely drenched us. We waited a good 20 minutes or so to see if it would quit, but it only got stronger. So we headed back to the clubhouse to see if we could get a rain check since we had paid for a full round but only gotten one hole in. I was shown a sign on the wall that said if you putted out on the first green, and only if course personnel were there to verify that you hadn't putted out, would you be entitled to a rain check. By this point there was a good 3 inches or more of water sitting on many of the fairways, making it impossible to try hitting your ball. I asked if they really wanted us to go back out and try golfing in those conditions with all the damage to the course it would cause. They said that was up to me, or I could just go home and forfeit my greens fees, but they would not give me a rain check. I couldn't believe that this local course, now under local ownership and management would have such a detrimental policy dealing with local players, but there it was. I was so disgusted with the course I had no desire to ever play there again.

But in a moment of weakness, I went back there with my son and his wife the other day. She just wanted to ride along for the scenery and to see the old World War II tank that is still on the course. On the sign at the front desk it lists the price for Japanese golfers as $150 and it lists gallery as $40, gallery would be someone just going along for the ride. I asked if she could just ride along as a spectator to see the tank, but was told that we would have to pay the full $35 greens fees for her even if she wasn't golfing. I wondered if the course is violating their lease agreement by making locals pay just to go out and see the tank, but I was also shocked that they would make a local pay the full greens fee, when they let a Japanese tourist ride around as an observer for less than 1/3 the price of the greens fee. They explained that the full $35 greens fee was still cheaper than the $40 gallery price for the Japanese, but that's not really the point now is it. This golf course was actively involved in a discriminatory pricing scheme that went against locals. Now obviously I was only dealing with the front desk girls, and was never given the chance to ask any management about their policies, but I still would have thought that the management would have trained them to bring any concerns such as that straight to them, if they truly cared about their local clientele that is. I was also told that they were pretty busy that day, so they didn't really need our business if we weren't willing to pay full rate to have someone just go along for the ride. Not exactly what I'd call a very customer friendly attitude.

The one thing I am certain of is that I am in no hurry to go back to that golf course for any reason at this point. If they don't appreciate my business any more than that, and can't see the importance of taking care of your local customers, then it's not a business that I want to patronize. If it were the only golf course on the island, I might be able to understand them behaving that way and thinking they could get away with it. But when you have other courses like Coral Ocean Point and Kingfisher with just as spectacular views and holes, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Now hardcore golfers might not care that they are treated like that, or it could be that the golf course wouldn't treat any of their "regulars" that way, but as someone who values my money and who I give it to, I will be extremely reluctant to golf there again.

I bring this up because I believe that it is very important for businesses to take stock of their policies, and their customer service right now. We can't afford to have any tourists leaving here with a bad taste in their mouths, and I seriously doubt that many businesses can still afford the attitude that they don't care if they have any local customers or not. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, and am the only one that would be pushed to not patronize a certain golf course anymore because of their policies. And I'm sure this particular golf course doesn't really care if they have me as a customer anymore, but I know there are other businesses out there who after hearing this will take a look at their policies and make sure they take care of their local customers appropriately because they value their patronage. It's all about customer service, which for far too long has been something that took a back seat to profits and convenience. But those businesses that can't figure out how important customer service is will be feeling the economic crunch much harder than those who treat their local clientele as valued customers.

I'm Harry Blalock, thanking you once again for giving me a generous slice of your valuable time, and allowing me to share my Food For Thought.