In the Black community, we frequently hear about the need for economic strength through entrepreneurship and how Blacks must support Black-owned businesses if we are to overcome the economic challenges that continue to plague our communities. I try to do my part whenever possible, even after several local experiences that have left me sorely tempted to throw up my hands and take my business elsewhere.

For example, when dealing with Black-owned establishments, I often get the impression that some of the employees would rather be doing anything but serving customers. Now I know that less-than-customer-friendly service is a national problem, but I feel the effects far more keenly with a Black-owned business because I presume (foolishly, perhaps), that given how hard it is to start, much less maintain, a Black-owned business, the employees would go out of their way to make customers as happy as possible. Alas, this has not always been the case, as the following experiences readily attest.

Let's begin with beauty salons. Going to a black beautician these days can be an all-day affair. I've had a chemical relaxer for many years, and although the process takes minutes, I can recall few times when a beautician completed the process in under three hours. Instead, I've had countless experiences where, appointment notwithstanding, beauticians would keep me waiting--often until after they'd served customers with "high-maintenance" hairstyles. I know women who've spent as much as SIX HOURS getting a relaxer! An executive I used to work for gave up on black beauticians-she simply grew tired of making appointments, only to be kept waiting for what seemed like forever for service.

Sometimes, I would use the services of a Black-owned beauty school. Despite an excellent product line, the school's salon services are poorly managed. Customers sit for hours waiting for some of the students to straggle in long after opening time. These latecomers rarely arrived with a sense of urgency, much less an apology to the supervisor for being late. Once I left work early and arrived at the school, only to discover that no chemical processing was being done that day because none of the students assigned to handle these services had bothered to show up!

I've often wondered what would happen if the Asian community ever decided to establish beauty schools in the predominantly Black sections of our major cities? Assuming that the academies were run as efficiently as many of the Asian-owned restaurants, I am virtually certain that the Black-owned beauty schools-not to mention some of the professional salons--would soon be out of business.

Speaking of restaurants, I'm reminded of an incident several years ago when my church family and I decided to forego the Asian-owned carryout we often frequented after church and try the Black-owned restaurant a few doors down. Compared to the Asian-owned restaurant whose cashiers always greeted us as soon as we walked in, we entered the Black-owned restaurant and could hear voices in the back, but it was several minutes before anyone came out. Eventually, a woman showed up and took our orders. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. When someone asked why the orders were taking so long, the woman explained that one of the cooks hadn't shown up. Finally, we got our food. It was quite good-but we never went back.

I know a woman who resolutely refuses to deal with Black-owned businesses if she can possibly help it. She feels she needn't put up with surly attitudes and slow service when she is spending her money. The attitude problem doubtless has its roots in slavery, where overseers knew that the best way to preserve the slave system was to inculcate distrust between the slaves while instilling within them a total trust in their overseers. Hence, we should not be surprised at the difficulty some Blacks have when it comes to serving other Blacks.

To demonstrate, I recall an incident a few years ago when I traveled by AMTRAK to an academic conference with two of my college classmates. AMTRAK, of course, is not a Black-owned company; nevertheless, the experience we had makes a point about how we Blacks too often serve each other. At the ticket counter, the Black ticket agent stapled our tickets together in one envelope. When one of my classmates asked for separate envelopes, the woman argued that since the tickets were paid for using one credit card, we didn't need separate envelopes. My classmate insisted, and the agent very reluctantly complied. As we turned to leave, she whispered to me that she didn't expect one of "us" to be so disagreeable. Translation? Blacks should be grateful for whatever service they get from other Blacks.

An acquaintance once told me what happened when she booked a cruise using a Black-owned company. As the departure date approached and she hadn't received a confirmation, she called the company and asked why they were taking so long. The answer? The company prided itself on its "laid back" way of doing things.

In yet another instance, I went to a Black-owned bookstore which was set up in a kiosk in a shopping mall. The store was staffed by a young woman who was wrapped from head to toe in African attire. A few minutes of conversation about Black-authored books convinced me that the woman was virtually clueless about the Black book market. Thankfully, the company provided order forms, and I left an order with a small deposit. (Months later, having received nothing, I called the company and was promised a refund which, to my recollection, never came). At another Black-owned bookstore, the clerk was equally clueless about a recently-released Black memoir--even though the author was making the rounds in the local media and conducting a reading at the Smithsonian museum!

Even still, I have faith in the future of Black-owned businesses. And my faith is paying dividends. A Black-owned company is helping me with my Website, another one designed my business stationery, and yet another one-which had been recommended by the previous designer--did the printing after the first company she chose proved to be a disaster. (The "be grateful" attitude had, once again, reared its ugly head. The manager couldn't figure out why it was important that he match the colors that the designer gave him.

Thankfully, the designer refused to accept the order and got my money back.) Not long ago, I attended a local business conference and was pleasantly surprised to see many exhibits featuring several black-owned, small businesses. With few exceptions, the booths were professionally designed and operated. Clearly, well-managed Black-owned businesses can be the rule rather than the exception. I intend to keep an eye out for them and use their services as much as possible. And I hope you will, too. []

2/25/07 Republished

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