Sign of the Times

The stock market may be at an all time high - or it was, last time we checked - but we don't think that's a sure sign that our actual economy is getting better, and here is an example of why. Joie de Vivre has been in business for almost twenty nine years so we'd had a lot of experience with placing and receiving orders. Back in the old days, we would actually call our orders in or mail them to our various suppliers. This generally took a lot longer than faxing or emailing - mail, obviously took a couple days just to arrive, and a phone conversation could meander off in any one of many different directions. (Fear of pronouncing Joie de Vivre and an attempt at a phonetic lesson being high on that list!) But today, we don't pick up the phone that often; we email or we fax. And back in the booming economy days, we often waited several weeks for our order to arrive - companies were busy. But times have changed: we placed an order this morning and received the shipping confirmation a few hours later. Which means people are sitting around waiting for something to do. This is particularly true for suppliers with manufactured goods - our craft accounts - people who actually make their products themselves are not close to this fast. Anyway - this means if you don't want the order instantly, you'd better put a future ship date on it. Much of the time I'm glad to get what we need quickly - but on the other hand, I do wish people were busier - i.e. doing better with their businesses. It seems to me that would be a very positive economic sign.