The Guardian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:27 pm
nobthehobbit wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:33 pmAnd the Cardassians might be customers, but they tend to harass the staff and damage the bar more than the Federation and its allies do (well, mostly it's Klingons who trash the bar, but they don't have as much of a presence on DS9 as the Cardassians do on Terok Nor). So Quark has fewer customers and, probably, higher repair bills.
Interesting. I never got the impression that Cardassians were destructive in that way. They like order and Quark operated under their ministrations for awhile already. Seemed to like it. In fact, once the Federation moved in, that's when he decided to pack up shop.
Maybe not that destructive, but they could be surly drunks sometimes (look at Damar). And anyway there weren't as many of them as during the Occupation,
and the Founder was there, so there may have been some self-consciousness about wanting not to look too bad compared to the fastidious Jem'Hadar and Vorta.
Quark wanted to pack up shop since he thought the Federation would be bad for business (being internally post-capitalist and all) but after a while he realized that, in fact, he was doing just as well with humans (and now Bajorans!) as customers as with Cardassians.
The Guardian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:27 pm
nobthehobbit wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:33 pmUltimately Quark's not much into the weapons business, which means he prefers peace, since that's better for his business. And he knows full well that Starfleet's not going to rest until they've at least retaken the station (Sisko left his baseball behind, don't forget--never mind Jake), which means he's not going to have peace except with Federation/Bajoran control of the station.
You're forgetting the 34th Rule of Acquisition. (Probably not.) I think that goes to what I was saying about the Federation having an effect on him. Peace being good for business is much more his forte at that point. There was a time that Quark didn't bat an eye at profiting off the Occupation, despite the sympathy that he had for the Bajorans. I honestly think the weapons thing was the last hurrah of the old Quark. Yes, a strike against my point of view (as you alluded to) is that he had always resisted Gaila's urgings to get into the weapons business until he was in financial straights, but I think that suggests that he never really had a stomach for promoting war, drawing that line just past profiting from it. I don't know if I'd say the same thing about later-series Quark.
I'm not forgetting the 34th Rule; my point is that for what Quark is good at doing, peace is better for his best lines of business than war is. War and peace are both good for business, but not necessarily equally so for the individual businessperson. Quark can't move as much tulaberry wine in wartime; Gaila can't move as many weapons in peacetime. He's not bad at handling small military goods (look at his dealings with Natima Lang and Sakonna), and he can still do some stuff with military equipment (stealing a cloaking device in "The Emperor's New Cloak") but ultimately he makes more money--and is a good deal personally safer--price-gouging on root beer and holosuite time, rigging dabo tables, and trading with the Dosi and the Karemma.
The Guardian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:27 pm
nobthehobbit wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 2:33 pmThe immediate focus of his complaint might be root beer (I don't think it's futures; I think he probably has an overstock that he can't sell)...
Sorry. That was just a joke. Trying to word it in a fun way.
As a side note, I really didn't mean to hijack the thread. I think Quark is a complicated character. I think he starts as a villain, but isn't one by the end. I don't think he even has it in him to be one anymore.
I think that more describes Rom than Quark. Quark is a consummate businessman, going wherever he sees the best opportunities for profit. He was doing good business under the Occupation and thought the Federation would cut into his profits--and for a while, his profits probably did drop, since the station wasn't that busy. But eventually it became busier than it ever was under the Cardassians, he became the primary point of contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the Dosi and Karemma, he was able to diversify his business somewhat (more species visiting the station means more types of food and drink you can sell, which reduces the risk of shortages), and, as noted, he was, by and large, probably just personally safer with the Federation around. (And after all, you can't enjoy your profits if you're dead.)