---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I say 'serve you better,' I mean…"
description: "\"When I say 'serve you better,' I mean 'increase our profits.' We newspapers are very big on profits these days.\" — Dave Barry"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png"
---

#  When I say 'serve you better,' I mean 'increase our…

![“When I say 'serve you better,' I mean 'increase our profits.' We newspapers are very big on profits these days.” quote by Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png)

> “When I say 'serve you better,' I mean 'increase our profits.' We newspapers are very big on profits these days.”

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Businesses often disguise profit motives as customer service, revealing self‑interest behind altruistic language.

**In simple terms:** Profit drives service claims.

Key Takeaway

Recognize hidden profit motives.

Themes

business ethics consumer awareness marketing

Mood

skeptical informative

Type

satirical critical

When to use this quote

- advertising
- corporate policy
- customer relations
- budget planning

Key Concepts

economics psychology communication

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you tell genuine service from profit‑driven rhetoric?
- What signs indicate a profit motive?

A Different Perspective

Not all profit‑driven statements are deceptive; some may genuinely improve service.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/)

## Related quotes

> [On behalf of the newspaper industry I wish to announce some changes we're making to serve you better. When I say 'serve you better,''…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/on-behalf-of-the-newspaper-industry-i-wish-to-announce-some-changes/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [But in the past, US companies have been able to increase their profits through downsizing in the US, through colonizing other people's resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-korten/but-in-the-past-us-companies-have-been-able-to-increase-their-profits/)

[David Korten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-korten/)

> [An increase in shareholder value can arise for reasons other than greater efficiency, such as increased power and the resulting ability to increase profits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/an-increase-in-shareholder-value-can-arise-for-reasons-other-than/)

[Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/)

> [Businesses just want to increase their profits; it's up to the government to make sure they distribute enough of those profits so workers have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mujica/businesses-just-want-to-increase-their-profits-it-s-up-to-the/)

[Jose Mujica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mujica/)

> [Everyone is now praying at the altar of every last dollar of profits to please shareholders. If you invest in your people and treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chieh-huang/everyone-is-now-praying-at-the-altar-of-every-last-dollar-of-profits/)

[Chieh Huang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chieh-huang/)

> [The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to-increase-its-profits/)

[Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/)

> [“The recipe for success in business is this: increase profits and forecasts by reducing expenses through labor elimination and restructure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-talmage-mathis/the-recipe-for-success-in-business-is-this-increase-profits-and/)

[John-Talmage Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-talmage-mathis/)

> [One, which I mention several times elsewhere, is the need for patience if big profits are to be made from investment. Put another way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-which-i-mention-several-times-elsewhere-is-the-need-for-patience/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Something out of the ordinary course of business is taking place that creates an investment opportunity. The list of corporate events that can result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-greenblatt/something-out-of-the-ordinary-course-of-business-is-taking-place-that/)

[Joel Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-greenblatt/)

> [And sometimes I actually start to think human life is just as cheap to corporate America as animal life, so long as there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-scholz/and-sometimes-i-actually-start-to-think-human-life-is-just-as-cheap/)

[Tom Scholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-scholz/)

> [What is a danger is that we stay stuck in a new normal where unemployment rates stay high, people who have jobs see their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/what-is-a-danger-is-that-we-stay-stuck-in-a-new-normal-where/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [People work hard and companies make big profits, but employees don't see that they share in the wealth they help to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/people-work-hard-and-companies-make-big-profits-but-employees-don-t/)

[Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/)

> [“We assume that multimillion-dollar companies are turning big profits, but it’s rare to find a truly profitable business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-michalowicz/we-assume-that-multimillion-dollar-companies-are-turning-big-profits/)

[Mike Michalowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-michalowicz/)

> [“Fear generates big profits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/fear-generates-big-profits/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [Why don't these companies making big profits just pay people better than $14 an hour? It's kind of simple. When you're making record profits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika-brzezinski/why-don-t-these-companies-making-big-profits-just-pay-people-better/)

[Mika Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika-brzezinski/)

## More by Dave Barry

> [This is true; virtually all edible substances, and many automotive products, are now marketed as being low-fat or fat-free. Americans are obsessed with fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-is-true-virtually-all-edible-substances-and-many-automotive/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [The hardest thing about being a guy is that women don't accept that you really are just a simple, pathetic, labrador retriever-like creature. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-hardest-thing-about-being-a-guy-is-that-women-don-t-accept-that/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [The ultimate camping trip was the Lewis and Clark expedition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-ultimate-camping-trip-was-the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/although-golf-was-originally-restricted-to-wealthy-overweight/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Entire new continent can emerge from the ocean in the time it takes for a Web page to show up on your screen. Contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/entire-new-continent-can-emerge-from-the-ocean-in-the-time-it-takes/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [He was distracted by a giggle, and turned to see a rare sight: a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/he-was-distracted-by-a-giggle-and-turned-to-see-a-rare-sight-a-girl/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [The major parties could conduct live human sacrifices on their podiums during prime time, and I doubt that anybody would notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/the-major-parties-could-conduct-live-human-sacrifices-on-their/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Don't you wish you had a job like mine? All you have to do is think up a certain number of words! Plus, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/don-t-you-wish-you-had-a-job-like-mine-all-you-have-to-do-is-think-up/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [“Despite the gulf, physical and cultural, between the United States and Japan, both societies are, in the end, made up of people, and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/despite-the-gulf-physical-and-cultural-between-the-united-states-and/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Before going on a diet you should consult your doctor, or at least send him some money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/before-going-on-a-diet-you-should-consult-your-doctor-or-at-least/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Never trust anything you read in a travel article.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/never-trust-anything-you-read-in-a-travel-article/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it "Christmas" and went to church; the Jews called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/in-the-old-days-it-was-not-called-the-holiday-season-the-christians/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Always remember that if editors were so damned smart, they would know how to dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/always-remember-that-if-editors-were-so-damned-smart-they-would-know/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

[Explore all 867 Dave Barry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

## More Bigs quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/)

[Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/)

[Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/)

> [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/)

[Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/)

> [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/)

[Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/)

> [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/)

[Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/)

> [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/)

[Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/)

> [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/)

[Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/)

> [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/)

[Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/)

> [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/)

[Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/)

Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When I say 'serve you better,' I mean 'increase our profits.' We newspapers are very big on profits these days.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dave Barry"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-increase-our-profits-we-newspapers/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bigs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-increase-our-profits-we-newspapers/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb1/dave-barry-222_bigs_when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-incre_509446.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When I say 'serve you better,' I mean 'increase our profits.' We newspapers are very big on profits these…” — Dave Barry",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Dave Barry",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When I say 'serve you better,'...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-increase-our-profits-we-newspapers/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/when-i-say-serve-you-better-i-mean-increase-our-profits-we-newspapers/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
