Local Businesses Self Destructing

[JD Spydo]

It really pains me to even talk about this subject. But I'm seeing a very disturbing pattern developing here where I live and I'm sure it's going on all over the USA and probably other countries as well. It's the massive amount of local "Brick & Mortar" businesses falling like dominoes. I live in an upper middle class suburb of Kansas City, MO USA Earth. The name of the town is Blue Springs, MO. That town and Lee's Summint ( nearby) are two communites that people fight to get into for many reasons. Low crime rate, high rated school systems, moderate taxes and just a good down home feel to the town I was brought up in.

But lately in the past 2 to 3 years I'm seeing a very disturbing trend growing exponentially. It's that many of our Brick & Mortar businesses are going broke and quitting business at an accelerated rate. I was in one of my local grocery stores ( major chain in this area) and was going through the aisle where soup and other canned goods were displayed. I asked a lady who was stocking shelves if they had a certain brand of soup I was looking for. She said no but not to bother looking there at the store she worked in but to buy it online instead of doing business with them :eek: . I was immediately shocked and outraged!! Here we have a seemingly nice, attractive lady who I'm sure worked at that store to pay her bills in life but yet was dissuading me from being a customer and recommending me to pass up buying from them and recommending me to buy the product I was wanting On Line :eek: .

But this isn't the only case of this I've run into in the past year or so. Places I go to buy something and they tell me that they could special order it for me but then they say I could get it cheaper On Line. Do these people have sawdust for brains? Don't these people realize that they are signing their own economic death warrant? It's as though all of these local businesses are literally cowering to online giants instead of trying to generate more business for themselves in the very community that they work and live in :confused: . I just don't get it :confused: . I buy everything I can from local businesses. I've never made a purchase from Amazon or any other popular On Line retailer. Businesses are throwing in the towel without even trying to compete Anyone else notice this trend?

[bearfacedkiller]

People need to vote with their wallet. We still have our cool old mom and pop hardware store because when they built a Home Depot in town folks picketed and refused to shop there. I don’t think that Home Depot lasted for a full two years.

The majority of the items I purchased as gifts this year were produced locally, many by craftsmen, small business owners or farmers in my county or in counties that border mine.

If we want to support local economies we need to spend that money. Small business don’t stay in business otherwise. Most of my food is grown locally and I heat my house with wood harvested from close by. We should support our neighbors. One of the reasons I got hooked on Spyderco was because I lived 12 miles from there at the time.

Blaming a business owner is foolish. Sure, many of them probably are disenchanted and in despair. Our values in this country are whack. We want to consume as much as possible while spending as little possible and we are willing to do it at any cost. That is the core of the problem. The blame all rests in the laps of consumers.

[JonLeBlanc]

It's an important topic to think about and discuss. On the first instance you gave, it seems like that may be more a matter of a low level employee needing some "retraining" on how to deal with that kind of inquiry. She probably should have just said, "no I'm afraid we don't carry that item, but I could see about how we might stock it in the future," at which point you would likely give up on finding it there and look online, but at least you wouldn't have confusion and dismay in your mind. That chain grocery store would likely retain Mr. JD's goodwill. Again, the employee herself may need some retraining. Things aren't like they were in the 70s and 80s (or before) when employees generally had a sense of care for the success of, and loyalty toward, the company they worked for. What's changed? Is it industry itself? Is it a trade union mentality? Greed? Laziness? A change in the character of the regime, or of the citizen?

The second larger point you raise of business seeming to cave in to large online retailers is a tougher question. On the surface it appears to be an example of the harsh economic reality that David in fact does not slay Goliath. "Supporting local business" carries with it a number of attractive arguments, but they can appear abstract, and in some cases ideological. When a mother has to put shoes on three kids under tight budgetary constraints, she'll likely go to Walmart and disregard the argument for shopping anywhere locally owned. Her problem is concrete, whereas supporting local business because it is ultimately healthier for the community (even if it truly is) would leave her children shoeless. Now imagine everybody making these sorts of decisions; what happens to local business? You mention that local business seems to not even try to compete, and I think in many cases you're right, they just seem to fold right up. So what is "to compete"? Clearly the stocker at your supermarket hasn't a clue, she told you to type "soup" into google. So just as the employee with the blasé attitude needs to be retrained, small/local/brick-and-mortar concerns need to re-learn how to meet the concrete needs of the people they want to make a living from.

[Ankerson]

Customers are the ones that are doing it, they are their own worst enemy.

There are smaller towns not too far from me that are dead, boarded up buildings etc.

The only things that are still open is crap like Wal-Mart.

One of my relatives lives in a small town in Illinois. They used to have a lot of small businesses, was actually pretty nice.

Wal-Mart moved in and within a few years Wal-Mart and Hair Cutting places were the only things left.

Then like Wal-Mart always does they jacked the prices through the roof since the next town is like 30 miles away, and no HWY, all back roads....

People complained, well they did it all to themselves, it's completely 100% their own fault and they are paying for it now.

Stupidity has no limits...

[Ankerson]

People need to vote with their wallet. We still have our cool old mom and pop hardware store because when they built a Home Depot in town folks picketed and refused to shop there. I don’t think that Home Depot lasted for a full two years.

The majority of the items I purchased as gifts this year were produced locally, many by craftsmen, small business owners or farmers in my county or in counties that border mine.

If we want to support local economies we need to spend that money. Small business don’t stay in business otherwise. Most of my food is grown locally and I heat my house with wood harvested from close by. We should support our neighbors. One of the reasons I got hooked on Spyderco was because I lived 12 miles from there at the time.

Blaming a business owner is foolish. Sure, many of them probably are disenchanted and in despair. Our values in this country are whack. We want to consume as much as possible while spending as little possible and we are willing to do it at any cost. That is the core of the problem. The blame all rests in the laps of consumers.

That needs to happen a lot more in general.

If the locals can keep out the huge corporations their towns will be much better off because of it.

It takes the community pulling together and also the Local Politicians actually standing with them to make it happen.

[JD Spydo]

Some really great points early into this conversation guys. Yes the lady did need to be "retrained" so to speak. But my point in raising that issue was the attitude of most of the people I run into is so negative it's as though they are throwing in the towel without even putting up a fight to save their homes, jobs, businesses and towns they live in.

On my very first job I ever had I worked in a bowling alley when I was a teenager. I was a bowling fanatic when I was younger so it was kind of a dream job for a kid in a sense. But I got friends to joins the leagues and got other friends to try out the sport of bowling and my manager really appreciated it. Most of us who worked for him respected his ways and we tried to work with him and he was very fair to all of us.

But that loyalty aspect is eroding at a fast clip. And believe me I know that there is a lot of hostility from bosses and that many corporate entities discard loyal workers like toilet paper so to speak .

But Ankerson makes a great point that it's all got to start on a local level. Personally I don't want to feed Goliath ( Amazon) when I can get the item locally.

[Ankerson]

It really pains me to even talk about this subject. But I'm seeing a very disturbing pattern developing here where I live and I'm sure it's going on all over the USA and probably other countries as well. It's the massive amount of local "Brick & Mortar" businesses falling like dominoes. I live in an upper middle class suburb of Kansas City, MO USA Earth. The name of the town is Blue Springs, MO. That town and Lee's Summint ( nearby) are two communites that people fight to get into for many reasons. Low crime rate, high rated school systems, moderate taxes and just a good down home feel to the town I was brought up in.

But lately in the past 2 to 3 years I'm seeing a very disturbing trend growing exponentially. It's that many of our Brick & Mortar businesses are going broke and quitting business at an accelerated rate. I was in one of my local grocery stores ( major chain in this area) and was going through the aisle where soup and other canned goods were displayed. I asked a lady who was stocking shelves if they had a certain brand of soup I was looking for. She said no but not to bother looking there at the store she worked in but to buy it online instead of doing business with them :eek: . I was immediately shocked and outraged!! Here we have a seemingly nice, attractive lady who I'm sure worked at that store to pay her bills in life but yet was dissuading me from being a customer and recommending me to pass up buying from them and recommending me to buy the product I was wanting On Line :eek: .

But this isn't the only case of this I've run into in the past year or so. Places I go to buy something and they tell me that they could special order it for me but then they say I could get it cheaper On Line. Do these people have sawdust for brains? Don't these people realize that they are signing their own economic death warrant? It's as though all of these local businesses are literally cowering to online giants instead of trying to generate more business for themselves in the very community that they work and live in :confused: . I just don't get it :confused: . I buy everything I can from local businesses. I've never made a purchase from Amazon or any other popular On Line retailer. Businesses are throwing in the towel without even trying to compete Anyone else notice this trend?

I was in the Grocery Business for a very long time... In management for most of that time.

That Woman was correct.

It's not like it used to be when they could actually get in anything a customer wanted.

That's GONE, been GONE for a very long time now.

Every inch of shelf space is rented by the corporations that sell the products to the stores. This is all done way up at Corporate level, the stores have NOTHING to do with it locally.

So no, the store employees can't do anything, not even the store management can do anything about it if the product is not in the planogram they just can't bring it in PERIOD.

It's not that they don't care, it's they really can't do a **** thing about it.

The product reps actually come into the stores and get the planograms and CHECK to make sure they have the space allowed. If not they report to their Corp office, then they contact the stores Corp Office etc.

[James Y]

I live in a beach area, right near a district called Ocean Beach, which is filled with small, local businesses that are doing very well. And this community is part of San Diego, with plenty of major stores like Ralph’s, Target, Home Depot, etc., within a mile or two. In fact, another Target, a mini-Target, moved into a building here, and while it’s doing good business, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the smaller businesses around it at all. There is also a weekly farmer’s market. The locals are very vocal and active in keeping the “small beach town” feel. Lots of tourists also come in for this reason, too.

There was a local hardware store that had been there since forever that closed a year or two ago, not because of Home Depot, but because the owner was retiring. It was the same store where I bought my very first pocketknives as a kid back in the ‘70s. The same happened to a popular Mexican restaurant that had been there since 1960. It was still popular, but the owner decided to retire, and the previous owner, who was the last original employee who started there in 1960, had died a few years before that. These two examples were because the owners were retiring and not because business was bad for them. These things happen, but the area is striving to maintain that small beach town feel.

Jim

[JD Spydo]

Well thanks for the insight Ankerson. But there is a good ending to my grocery store encounter. I found that brand and flavor of soup at another business in town at another grocery store. The is a company known as Amy's who has great organic dinners, soups, pizzas and other items that are made with better ingredients and with less MSG and other God forsaken preservatives.

But don't give up on supporting local businesses. I'm finding more and more people here locally that are thinking along the same lines as I am. Sure there's going to be brainwashed, cell phone addicted herd animals that think they are cool for buying stuff on line.

There is a guy who I've been listening to named Gerald Celente and his website is "trendsresearch" and he stresses doing business locally to help save the nation>> you all might want to take a look at his videos and website.

[Ankerson]

I live in a beach area, right near a district called Ocean Beach, which is filled with small, local businesses that are doing very well. And this community is part of San Diego, with plenty of major stores like Ralph’s, Target, Home Depot, etc., within a mile or two. In fact, another Target, a mini-Target, moved into a building here, and while it’s doing good business, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the smaller businesses around it at all. There is also a weekly farmer’s market. The locals are very vocal and active in keeping the “small beach town” feel. Lots of tourists also come in for this reason, too.

There was a local hardware store that had been there since forever that closed a year or two ago, not because of Home Depot, but because the owner was retiring. It was the same store where I bought my very first pocketknives as a kid back in the ‘70s. The same happened to a popular Mexican restaurant that had been there since 1960. It was still popular, but the owner decided to retire, and the previous owner, who was last original employee who started there in 1960, had died a few years before that. These two examples were because the owners were retiring and not because business was bad for them. These things happen, but the area is striving to maintain that small beach town feel.

Jim

Tourist areas are generally a lot different than others.

Small businesses are an attraction.

They can shop at Wal-Mart, Target or Home Depot back home.

[Ankerson]

Well thanks for the insight Ankerson. But there is a good ending to my grocery store encounter. I found that brand and flavor of soup at another business in town at another grocery store. The is a company known as Amy's who has great organic dinners, soups, pizzas and other items that are made with better ingredients and with less MSG and other God forsaken preservatives.

But don't give up on supporting local businesses. I'm finding more and more people here locally that are thinking along the same lines as I am. Sure there's going to be brainwashed, cell phone addicted herd animals that think they are cool for buying stuff on line.

There is a guy who I've been listening to named Gerald Celente and his website is "trendsresearch" and he stresses doing business locally to help save the nation>> you all might want to take a look at his videos and website.

Yup, the smaller stores have much more to offer and can do more for the customers than the large Corps can. :)

People would be surprised what they can find in some of the smaller locally owned stores.

[James Y]

I live in a beach area, right near a district called Ocean Beach, which is filled with small, local businesses that are doing very well. And this community is part of San Diego, with plenty of major stores like Ralph’s, Target, Home Depot, etc., within a mile or two. In fact, another Target, a mini-Target, moved into a building here, and while it’s doing good business, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the smaller businesses around it at all. There is also a weekly farmer’s market. The locals are very vocal and active in keeping the “small beach town” feel. Lots of tourists also come in for this reason, too.

There was a local hardware store that had been there since forever that closed a year or two ago, not because of Home Depot, but because the owner was retiring. It was the same store where I bought my very first pocketknives as a kid back in the ‘70s. The same happened to a popular Mexican restaurant that had been there since 1960. It was still popular, but the owner decided to retire, and the previous owner, who was last original employee who started there in 1960, had died a few years before that. These two examples were because the owners were retiring and not because business was bad for them. These things happen, but the area is striving to maintain that small beach town feel.

Jim

Tourist areas are generally a lot different than others.

Small businesses are an attraction.

They can shop at Wal-Mart, Target or Home Depot back home.

True. We’re also only a couple miles from Old Town, another area (only smaller) filled with small businesses that do well, that also attracts tourists. It also has the Whaley House, an historical landmark, officially designated haunted house (the famous late ghost hunter Hans Holzer considered it the most haunted house in the country, but I doubt it’s the MOST haunted).

Jim

[Ankerson]

I live in a beach area, right near a district called Ocean Beach, which is filled with small, local businesses that are doing very well. And this community is part of San Diego, with plenty of major stores like Ralph’s, Target, Home Depot, etc., within a mile or two. In fact, another Target, a mini-Target, moved into a building here, and while it’s doing good business, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the smaller businesses around it at all. There is also a weekly farmer’s market. The locals are very vocal and active in keeping the “small beach town” feel. Lots of tourists also come in for this reason, too.

There was a local hardware store that had been there since forever that closed a year or two ago, not because of Home Depot, but because the owner was retiring. It was the same store where I bought my very first pocketknives as a kid back in the ‘70s. The same happened to a popular Mexican restaurant that had been there since 1960. It was still popular, but the owner decided to retire, and the previous owner, who was last original employee who started there in 1960, had died a few years before that. These two examples were because the owners were retiring and not because business was bad for them. These things happen, but the area is striving to maintain that small beach town feel.

Jim

Tourist areas are generally a lot different than others.

Small businesses are an attraction.

They can shop at Wal-Mart, Target or Home Depot back home.

True. We’re also only a couple miles from Old Town, another area (only smaller) filled with small businesses that do well, that also attracts tourists. It also has the Whaley House, an historical landmark, officially designated haunted house (the famous late ghost hunter Hans Holzer considered it the most haunted house in the country, but I doubt it’s the MOST haunted).

Jim

Years ago some of us went out to the stores on the coast to help out after the storms went through.

They are much different than the ones around were I live, same company, just completely different clientele. Geared more toward the tourist industry.

[JD Spydo]

I live in a beach area, right near a district called Ocean Beach, which is filled with small, local businesses that are doing very well. And this community is part of San Diego, with plenty of major stores like Ralph’s, Target, Home Depot, etc., within a mile or two. In fact, another Target, a mini-Target, moved into a building here, and while it’s doing good business, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the smaller businesses around it at all. There is also a weekly farmer’s market. The locals are very vocal and active in keeping the “small beach town” feel. Lots of tourists also come in for this reason, too.

There was a local hardware store that had been there since forever that closed a year or two ago, not because of Home Depot, but because the owner was retiring. It was the same store where I bought my very first pocketknives as a kid back in the ‘70s. The same happened to a popular Mexican restaurant that had been there since 1960. It was still popular, but the owner decided to retire, and the previous owner, who was last original employee who started there in 1960, had died a few years before that. These two examples were because the owners were retiring and not because business was bad for them. These things happen, but the area is striving to maintain that small beach town feel.

Jim

Tourist areas are generally a lot different than others.

Small businesses are an attraction.

They can shop at Wal-Mart, Target or Home Depot back home.

True. We’re also only a couple miles from Old Town, another area (only smaller) filled with small businesses that do well, that also attracts tourists. It also has the Whaley House, an historical landmark, officially designated haunted house (the famous late ghost hunter Hans Holzer considered it the most haunted house in the country, but I doubt it’s the MOST haunted).

Interesting you mentioned a "Haunted House". Because here in Kansas City we have the oldest, continually operating Hotel west of the Mississippi River. It's known as the Savoy Hotel and they have a really high class Restaurant known as the Savoy Grill. I've eaten at the Savoy Grill several times over the years and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Kansas City.

Well the Savoy Hotel is considered a very haunted place. There have been literally hundreds of accounts of people who had no belief at all in the paranormal until they spent the night in that hotel. They have been constantly renovating and remodeling it for about ten years now. The building has been there since 1868. I had a friend who worked in the restaurant and he had his own paranormal encounter and quit very soon after. And KC has other places consider haunted but the Savoy Hotel has drawn national attention over the years for that reason alone.

[James Y]

I do know many locals who will only shop at the small local stores, and some can even be quite militant about it. Around here it’s a double-whammy of tourists and locals, including locals from outside of the immediate area.

Jim

[James Y]

I live in a beach area, right near a district called Ocean Beach, which is filled with small, local businesses that are doing very well. And this community is part of San Diego, with plenty of major stores like Ralph’s, Target, Home Depot, etc., within a mile or two. In fact, another Target, a mini-Target, moved into a building here, and while it’s doing good business, it hasn’t seemed to negatively affect the smaller businesses around it at all. There is also a weekly farmer’s market. The locals are very vocal and active in keeping the “small beach town” feel. Lots of tourists also come in for this reason, too.

There was a local hardware store that had been there since forever that closed a year or two ago, not because of Home Depot, but because the owner was retiring. It was the same store where I bought my very first pocketknives as a kid back in the ‘70s. The same happened to a popular Mexican restaurant that had been there since 1960. It was still popular, but the owner decided to retire, and the previous owner, who was last original employee who started there in 1960, had died a few years before that. These two examples were because the owners were retiring and not because business was bad for them. These things happen, but the area is striving to maintain that small beach town feel.

Jim

Tourist areas are generally a lot different than others.

Small businesses are an attraction.

They can shop at Wal-Mart, Target or Home Depot back home.

True. We’re also only a couple miles from Old Town, another area (only smaller) filled with small businesses that do well, that also attracts tourists. It also has the Whaley House, an historical landmark, officially designated haunted house (the famous late ghost hunter Hans Holzer considered it the most haunted house in the country, but I doubt it’s the MOST haunted).

Interesting you mentioned a "Haunted House". Because here in Kansas City we have the oldest, continually operating Hotel west of the Mississippi River. It's known as the Savoy Hotel and they have a really high class Restaurant known as the Savoy Grill. I've eaten at the Savoy Grill several times over the years and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Kansas City.

Well the Savoy Hotel is considered a very haunted place. There have been literally hundreds of accounts of people who had no belief at all in the paranormal until they spent the night in that hotel. They have been constantly renovating and remodeling it for about ten years now. The building has been there since 1868. I had a friend who worked in the restaurant and he had his own paranormal encounter and quit very soon after. And KC has other places consider haunted but the Savoy Hotel has drawn national attention over the years for that reason alone.

.

Thanks for sharing that, Joe.

Back in 1964 or so, Regis Philbin had been a local news reporter here, and he tried to spend the night in the Whaley House, and saw something that scared him so much he ran out, and to this day will never set foot anywhere near the Whaley House. Actually, it isn’t only the Whaley House that’s haunted in the Old Town area. There are other historical houses/landmarks and a small cemetery (El Campo Santo) in the area, as well as businesses in the vicinity, that also report paranormal activity.

IIRC, the Whaley House was the first brick building in CA, or at least in San Diego. I’ve been in it 3 times, but unfortunately (or fortunately?) never experienced anything myself.

Jim

[Ankerson]

I do know many locals who will only shop at the small local stores, and some can even be quite militant about it. Around here it’s a double-whammy of tourists and locals, including locals from outside of the immediate area.

Jim

That's not actually a bad thing. :)

[James Y]

I do know many locals who will only shop at the small local stores, and some can even be quite militant about it. Around here it’s a double-whammy of tourists and locals, including locals from outside of the immediate area.

Jim

That's not actually a bad thing. :)

Not at all. In fact, it’s refreshing.

Jim

[Ankerson]

I do know many locals who will only shop at the small local stores, and some can even be quite militant about it. Around here it’s a double-whammy of tourists and locals, including locals from outside of the immediate area.

Jim

That's not actually a bad thing. :)

Not at all. In fact, it’s refreshing.

Jim

I try and do the same thing when I can, not all that many good options in my area however so.

Depends on what I am buying or looking for.

Both of the Grocery Stores I shop at are based and started in NC.

For the other stuff it depends, I can't stand any of the sporting good stores around here.

The gun stores, pretty much the same.... So I tend to stay out of those... I start shaking my head about 3 secs after I walk through the door and within 10 secs I am back out. :rolleyes:

They aren't very professional IMO... They look like they are ready for the zombie apocalypse or some stupid crap.... :rolleyes:

NOPE....

[bearfacedkiller]

It isn’t always easy. I do also shop online quite a bit. I live very rural. I simply cannot buy many things locally. In the end all i can do is try my best.