Widebrim
I'll Lock Up
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In that particular example, maybe it's because bagging groceries is a minimum wage job and even getting someone to take that job is tough enough without expecting them to buy a new wardrobe. A kid that looks presentable by your (and probably my) standards is either smart enough to find a higher paying job or doesn't need/want one.
Your first point has some truth to it, Jim, but I'm sure that when you bagged groceries years ago, there was still a standard as to how to dress. And to tell the truth, most boxboys/girls don't dress like they just came from a rock concert; I think that all supermarkets still require uniforms except on certain days.
Your second statement brings to mind something even, perhaps, more important: the un-leveling of the playing field. Even though as a society we pride ourselves on universal education and equal access, in some ways there is a greater discrepancy between classes and ethnic groups than there was decades ago (I speak of in the USA). Here in southern CA, for example, restaurants often will showcase photos of their establishments from years past, and such photos often feature workers of different backgrounds. Yet almost universally, if you look at the present workers in said restaurants, you will see a mostly un-diversified staff, and that includes areas which do have a mixture of ethnic groups, so it's not just a result of recent immigration patterns. Yes, there will always be groups at the bottom of the hiring ladder, but in years past that bottom rung at least had some representation from groups which now hardly frequent it, at least in major cities...