Why I don't have bumper stickers on my car

When I was young I thought bumper stickers were cool.  I would collect them from anyone handing them out.  I wouldn't actually put them on the family car, Dad wouldn't allow that, and later I wouldn't put them on my car either.

You see, I learned at a young age that things change over time and not always for the better.

One of the easiest to get stickers was for the local radio stations, but guess what.  That's right, the radio stations are the first ones to change.  Not just ownership but format.  My saddest day was when the hottest rock and roll station became a country western format. Ugh.

Radio stations always seem to be changing but not all.  Some have found a formula that works and they stick with it just tweaking some minor things but staying true to the same old simple format.  They will never be the latest fade or at the top of the listings but they are solid, dependable and somewhere near the top of the listings.

Restaurants also change and when they do it is seldom a good thing.  'Now under new management' the banner screams.  You ask yourself why, did it need new management, what was wrong with the old one, what will new management do that the old one did not, is this going to be worth a try or should I wait a week and see if they are still open?

I like it if a business is making a change not just for the sake of making a change but because it is trying to do something better.  If it isn't making it better, then don't bother.  If the formula is right but it is no longer working then something has changed and not for the better.  What is it about the formula that you are no longer doing right?  If you have a solid group of type A customer then why on earth would you risk alienating them just to attract a faddish type B customer.  Instead continue to serve your type A customer to the best of your ability and if you must, start a new business to try and serve the type B customer.  That sounds more like win win to me.

But that doesn't happen, and businesses change, radio stations change, quality changes, service changes, very, very few things remain the same.  So a recommendation you or I might give today may not be the same as one offered tomorrow.  In fact you might do a complete 180.  And bumper stickers are hard to remove.  (I remember reading a bumper sticker once that said 'vote for Clinton' and in smaller print at the bottom it said 'easily removed with gasoline'.)

Do you wish you hadn't put a bumper sticker on your car?  Leave a comment and share your favorite.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.