The American retailer’s employee handbook became famous for its brevity: use good judgment in all situations, and there will be no additional rules. Whether the card was quite that short is argued about. That it became an American business legend tells you what the audience wanted to believe.
retail
OBO
Or Best Offer. Three letters appended to a price in American classified advertising, on Craigslist, in shop windows, on cars parked with a sign. The seller publishes a number and an invitation to ignore it in the same breath.
Disposable
An American product category with its own aisle: razors, cameras, cutlery, containers, contact lenses. The word is a selling point rather than a criticism, and what is being sold is the absence of an obligation.
The refill
Free refills on soft drinks and coffee are standard in American restaurants, and portion sizes are a recognised point of international comparison. Abundance is part of what is being sold.
eBay
A company built on the premise that nobody knows what a thing is worth until people bid on it. The seller sets a starting price, which is understood by everyone involved to be a floor rather than a valuation.
What the customer is buying
The customer is always right. Whatever the customer needs. We’ll make it work. Happy to flex on that. Yes, and we can bill it. American supplier speech accommodates first and prices afterwards. The refusal, where it comes, arrives as a number rather than as a no.
Employee of the month
An American workplace institution with a photograph on the wall, a parking space, a plaque and a public announcement. Nothing about it is private. The recognition is designed to be seen by everyone who was not chosen.
The SUV
Light trucks and SUVs make up the great majority of new vehicle sales in the United States, and the shift happened while fuel economy standards were tightening. Given more efficient engines, American buyers bought larger vehicles.
The GS mark
Geprüfte Sicherheit — tested safety. A German mark applied to products that have been examined by an approved testing body against a defined set of requirements.
It is voluntary. Manufacturers pay to be tested, pay to carry the mark, and submit to periodic re-inspection of the production.
German consumers look for it. A voluntary mark only works where enough buyers check for it to make the cost worth paying.
Kelley Blue Book
The standard American reference for used car values gives several figures for the same vehicle: trade-in value, private party value, dealer retail, certified pre-owned. Not a price. Four prices, depending on who is buying from whom — and each is presented as a range.