Lately, as I've been driving around the metroplex, I've begun to notice that there are a lot of businesses that have malfunctioning signs, where some of the letters or a portion of the sign is not lit. Not a big deal, except that many of them are not getting fixed on a timely basis. For example, the Spring Creek BBQ on Preston Road in Frisco has been "reek BBQ" for awhile.
I love "Spring Creek BBQ".... not quite so sure about "reek BBQ"....
After noticing that one months ago, I've begun to notice what seems like a LOT of this. Now, this might be what I call "Purple Car Syndrome": once you notice a purple car, you tend to start noticing all the purple cars, which makes you think there is a trend toward purple cars. Observational data-gathering while just driving around is not necessarily empirical nor impartial. But the number and/or percentage of malfunctioning signs isn't what intrigues me... it's that they are not getting fixed. And that I can confirm from memory as I keep seeing the same ones over and over.
If I were a business owner, I would think this is something one would want to fix fairly soon. Your name is your brand, and it's out there in glorious neon for all to see. And that leads to my new LEI (Leading Economic Indicator).. alert the media and those folks in D.C. take note here....
(Full disclosure: I have **no** chops as an economist. Despite all the things I have learned in life, the interests I have, and the subjects I've studied, I've never put any cycles into economics. Which is pretty funny since that field is often tied closely to mathematics. Most people don't realize there is no Nobel prize in math... so if a mathematician ever hopes to get a Nobel, it will be in economics. As for me? The sum total of my knowledge in economics comes from the bartering systems of various role-playing video games I enjoy. "I got meat. You want wheat?")
And so, the new LEI that isn't quite so Nobel: I can't help but wonder if... the preponderance of half-lit signs I'm seeing isn't indicative of what ails our economy at the present moment. Things aren't horrible, but they aren't great either.. and maybe the business owners are having to really watch the coin. In situations such as that, it might just be the case they don't feel they can put some funds in the "fix the sign" bucket. Sort of like us, our house and the fence. I would love to completely replace our fence for aesthetic's sake, but given the size of our yard and the cost of doing so, it's something that must be saved for and designated for the future.
But... I'm not trying to attract folks to my house with my fence. These businesses depend on their signage to catch the consumer's eye, and right now many of them are doing so for the wrong, yet often hilarious, reasons. And the armchair economist in me can't help but wonder if that's not significant.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
If you feel moved to comment, I welcome your input. I do moderate all comments due to the Internet Troll Contradiction Act of 2015, so it may be a bit before the comments appears on the page....