Re: Chain Stores

["Shahab Mesbah" <moscadmin@moscow.com>]

My Dearest Friends,

 

I am not sure where the feelings of personal attack is coming from. I must be miscommunicating. I never intended anyone to feel vilified because they are not buying from local business. I would, however, like to respond to a few points.

 

let us agree that chain stores (or maybe I should have used national stores) take money out of local economy. I think everyone sees that the fact that Wal-Mart makes money means that the profits go out of Moscow.

 

having agreed in the previous point I would have to say that one of the reasons why some merchants may be grouchy is that they have to struggle. the reason they do not have product is that they do not have the resources to maintain a large inventory.

I personally have not experienced the grouchiness that is mentioned here. I have purchased almost everything locally in the past 7 years. all my electronics, sports, and other products I have purchased locally. the merchants have always been very pleasant and appreciative. they have always ordered things in for me right away.

 

I have to insist that you can not penny pinch and expect great service. basically we would be expecting the local business to make very little money on the product but give you all kinds of service for free. well I am sure if you are willing to give your service for free they would also. maybe we will go to a bartering system. it is interesting how when we are faced with the same situation we want to be paid for our time and effort yet we expect others to give us service without compensation. I would assert that the reason so many of us have to work so hard for the money we get is that there are finite resources in the world and when one person has billions of dollars that means that thousands have to struggle to pay their doctor bill. is it just that there are those amongst us who work very hard yet can not afford health care for our family. if we continue to allow our money to go out of our community this situation will only get worst... I promise you.

 

again... you do not get something for nothing. the way the economy is going we are headed for a huge collapse. you have these .com companies that sell things at cost to get people to come to their web-sites so they can advertise. they are not in the business of selling stuff... they are in the business of advertising other companies who are also advertising. we are slowly becoming a society of non-producers. the days that ingenuity and creation of new solutions or products made people successful are almost gone. we are slowly becoming a big billboard. how long do you think it is going to take before the investors in the hugely money loosing .com industry figure it out and the whole thing comes tumbling down? it is our money they are playing with you know.

 

as for the point that the masses have already spoken and that they have chosen cheap over quality... unfortunately you are right... that is the problem. just because a majority believes it... it does not make it just. as I mentioned before the total cost of purchasing things is far higher that the initial price. the sooner we open our eyes to this fact the sooner we will see that Wal-Mart is way too expensive.

 

if we want to change our society to a just and healthy one we have to see beyond our needs and open to the needs of our brothers and sisters. the gap between rich and poor are widening with unprecedented speed. those of you who are history buffs... what was the cause of the revolutions in our history? you say it will never happen here... famous last words! I said that; I thought that people had too much to loose and would never go back. my native country is the proof that it can, and if we do not stop it now, it will happen. we are headed for a collapse that makes the great depression look like a royal bal!

 

with great love and admiration,

 

Your brother in arms,

 

Shahab...

 

Shahab Mesbah
Technical Director
City of Moscow

----- Original Message -----

From: Doug Krehbiel

To: Vision2020

Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 11:00 PM

Subject: Chain Stores

If we vote with our shopping dollars, then has not the public spoken? It appears to me that we should expend our efforts in getting the powers that be (Walmart) to provide the services we expect at the best price.  I doubt we will ever "throw the bums out".  I personally despise our local warehouse stores.  They seldom have exactly what I want and the service is horrendous - but the price is low.  At locally owned stores, I seldom find what I am looking for in their small inventories and I seldom get a smile or kind word in return, (I consider myself a friendly person, but maybe not) and the prices are not so low.  Bad service, poor selection and price.  There is something less than satisfying about voting for the least worst, but I am guilty.  Does this make me a bad person?  Someone who is out to destroy our neighborhoods and take the bread out of the mouths of the local crying babes?  I think not.  There are enough examples of businesses that continue to compete with the chain stores to make me believe that it can be done with the right business know-how and luck. Those of you who are financially or intellectually superior enough to label the thousands of shoppers (voters) that patronize Walmart 'short-sighted and non-community oriented' please look at the way many of us 'unclean' struggle from day to day to make ends meet.  That extra 10 cents here and there this week may just help pay the doctor next week.