Self-Sufficient Sally

My summer job involves checking people in and ringing people out at a high end salon and spa in my hometown...yawn. The interesting part of my position is not asking in a faux-chipper voice: "how was everything today?" which in my opinion is two steps up from "do you want fries with that?" The highlight is my chance to observe consumers and their behavior. Lately, the women checking in for their cut and color are shooting back startling replies to my "can I get you something to drink?" question.
Before I could list coffee, tea and ice tea one woman waved her hand at me and said I will just get it myself. Taking matters into their own hands modern consumers are craving a treatment of "unservice." The implications of this trend are two-fold.
One perspective is from that of a company's: forward-thinking businesses are putting some of their labor into the hands of customers because they are saving dollars and cents and flat-out making sense (good customer service rests on the premise give the consumer what she wants, so if she wants to pour her own lemonade, let her!) This all started a few years back with specialty coffees and have-it-your-way combos popping up in the fast food niche. The idea behind customization of the product by the consumer offers her the chance for self-expression (the Nike create-your-own-pair online promo comes to mind) and ultimately a chance to be in control.
Now, the trend has evolved into a world of where a consumer hits a canine cleaning booth by day and heads to a self-serve lounge/pub by night. This trend does more than save companies money, it also empowers customers by giving them a sense of independence. Unservice is a win-win for all. Or is it? Now at a Dallas hospital new check-in kiosk computers are allowing patients to record symptoms and join a virtual list which nurses will review to determine which patients are most in need of urgent care. There are also those self-serve nightclubs popping up around the globe (for when you are not in the ER but ready to mix a heart-attack cocktail, which is a festive name for the always popular: red bull and vodka) One such place is MiNiBAR, which opened in Amsterdam along the Prinsengracht canal. The club offers a wall of 45 private mini-bars which patrons get access to after leaving a credit card at the front desk. The concept is simple: you become your own bartender at your own exclusive party, but the idea of paying to mix your own drinks...well Sally (the fictitious manifestation of the Self-Sufficient Consumer) is all in!

Streamlining?

So I happen to see my readership growing (Yayy! thanks to all my loyal readers) and I know that blog culture is such that you probably read-up on the rarities and trends I post along with clicking through a few of your other favorites. I found a new way to approach the blogging world that reminds of me those new smartphones that stream your facebook and twitter and texts on one screen... here is a fun, easy-to-watch explanation of what I mean:


So you can go to bloglovin and sign up to streamline your life. In my modest estimation this will make your life exponentially simpler, especially if you have a few blogs you "love on." I often click from the Sartorialist to fashionista and back, but now they are all on one screen. Well, this is quite the time-saver, that's for sure. But, maybe part of the fun of "loving on a blog" is that you are stealing precious time away from your day to do so?
I am not sure that I am gonna convert to bloglovin, but while giving it a shot I came across the chic cyclist pictured above (streaming from The Sartorialist). She is living proof of an old saying your mother might have whispered when you got nervous about backyard play: once you learn how to ride a bike you never forget! And yet our biker is mixing stripes and prints (a mommy No-No!) it just goes to show you how much your perspective, when reading a blog, or examining a photo, impacts the interpretation. I guess that is why I am not so concerned about this new streaming technology. I would rather waste-time and cruise like my friend pushing the petal-to-the-metal in heeled clogs-- maybe not the most practical-- but most certainly an unique approach.