Independent America: Anti-chain store documentary

[DaveL]

Guys,

I was really inspired watching this documentary which screened prime-time in Australia. It was about towns in the US fighting chainstores (The Fast Foodies, Walmart etc) dominating their streetscapes, with an emphasis on Mom+Pop businesses.

http://www.independentamerica.net/
http://www.independentamerica.typepad.com/

With fuel prices on the rise there is hope that homegrown businesses will thrive, as chain stores source their produce from places outside the local area.

Walmart, which we don't have here yet - ummm, well those guys just look plain scary, lovely use of spin in their commercials - uggh!

It's nice to the little guy fighting these big corporate chains dominating the landscape.

We've had a few successes in Sydney preventing McDonalds from opening. Although, to be perfectly honest, driving from one place to another is starting to look the same here too.

[Aggie]

We've had a few successes in Sydney preventing McDonalds from opening. Although, to be perfectly honest, driving from one place to another is starting to look the same here too.

Not downtown, I presume.... I remember standing in front of McDick's there with two more sets of the Golden Arches visible in either direction.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I blame it all on "global economy" 

I was in business for many years with my Dad & Mom-- we had a mom & pop & son "small business".

So I relate to the idea of keeping them alive, if at all possible.

What many of the "we want wal-mart" crowd do not realize, is that those mega-corps, with their just-in-time supply from far, far away can have the effect of draining a small town economy of any sort of differentiation.

Some say that wal-mart provides jobs, and they'd be right:  McJobs galore.  Often with mostly part-timer positions and zero benefits ... or else 60-90 hour salaried positions in management.

Nothing like the businesses that were lost ...

[DaveL]

...or seeing the same stores no matter where in the world you travel.

Kind of makes the idea of getting away from it all pointless.

These guys got a bit of airtime during the documentary

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/

[Bluenose]

Within a five minute drive of my home at this time of year I can buy farm fresh local strawberries, cherries, raspberries, stone fruit, all manner of yummy things.  The other day I was at my local supermarket (unfortunately toolate to get to the strawberry farm) and was dismayed to see that they had plenty of strawberries for sale, all from Western Australia.  Like I need to get my fruit shipped all the way across the continent when there are plenty of local suppliers in my area?  I have nothing against WA strawbs, no doubt they were lovely when they were packed, what a couple of days ago?  All that travel and handling had done them no good at all.  So we went without strawberries that night and I bought an extra tray of the biggest, juiciest, tastiest strawberries the next day from my local farm.  I think its marvelous that I can buy these fruit in the middle of winter (usually from Queensland) but they are never the same as local.

I find myself becoming more and more p*ssed off with the big supermarkets.  They keep taking the things I want to buy off the shelves and filling those shelves up with low quality and unreliable "house brands" that I do not want.

When I can I like to buy food from my local farmers' markets.  This is so much better.  Regretably this is not always possible and then I am forced into the clutches of those ravaging baskets - a thing I suffer with ill grace.  Oh well, I'll pull my head in now and sit here quietly.

Grumbles to self in corner about the iniquity of it all.

Sibling Bluenose

[Aggie]

Like I need to get my fruit shipped all the way across the continent when there are plenty of local suppliers in my area?  I have nothing against WA strawbs, no doubt they were lovely when they were packed, what a couple of days ago?  All that travel and handling had done them no good at all. 

I find myself becoming more and more p*ssed off with the big supermarkets.  They keep taking the things I want to buy off the shelves and filling those shelves up with low quality and unreliable "house brands" that I do not want.

I hear you on produce... it's ALL American in the big supermarkets here, even when it's in season up here. 

OTOH, some of the house brands are getting very good....  Superstore's 'President's Choice' brand is often better than the original brand-name products, and they have around 300 certified organic products now that are only marginally more expensive than non-organic stuff (i.e. one can justify the price of eating organic foods).

[DaveL]

Just been checking out anti-Starbuck's websites. Yes we now have them in Australia too.

So far I'm underwhelmed by them. Their coffee is a tad expensive and nothing to write home about. I feel sorry for the young girls they employ.

My manager is a jerk. And, he's never fired because the reason he's a jerk is because he basically rips off the employees, therefore saving the company a lot of money. - The culture it has created. We have these customers who come in every damn day, and they're all these pretentious terds who treat me and my co-workers like 2nd class citizens, and we have to put up with it because of the "always say yes" policy. So in a way we're forced to encourage this disgusting behavior. - the fact that the company is trying to make itself look like this total philanthropic assosiation, when they are just as bad as every other corporation. It's extremely hypocritical. - If an employee is sick, they can't just call in sick. They have to call every single employee from the store who isn't working that day, and many times partners in different locations to find somebody to cover the shift for them. If nobody is found, the sick employee will have to show up, or just get a load of $h!t from the manager. and last, but not least -their coffee sucks.

http://www.ihatestarbucks.com/bbs.php?i=3400

We have some really high quality cafes and coffee here, so I'm anticipating the image conscious youngsters will dig SB's, because of its global appeal.

[Aggie]

Oh, bugger... I just found out this weekend that there is a S(o)B's opening across the street from my apartment.

'sagood thing that I don't have a spud gun anymore.

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

:Sigh: I like Starbuck, myself. The coffee's ok, and actually, I've found they have really great benefits. I've been trying to get job there for a while.
They help fund employees' college, though paying for your books and things.
Goodbenefits for a service job.
Fair trade coffee, which I like.

I'd work for the Starbuck's, but patronize the little places, myself.

Walmart and those like that, are atrocious! I REFUSE to patronize a place that was the driving force behind outsourcing.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secrets/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/transform/

[Sibling Chatty]

Starbuck's pays VERY well for the work, provides benefits and generally is a decent employer.

The fact that a part time barrista at Starbucks can earn more than a floral designer with 7 years experience in many places is quite disheartening. One would assume that a specific skilled trade would command better pay, but...I know a number of good designers that have quit because they are able to earn more and actually have benefits working at Starbucks.

They need to go 100% Fair Trade, seriously. It would make a difference in perception. (And they need to quit controlling fair trade standards.)

[DaveL]

We have a Starbucks located at the base of our work building. It sits straight across the road from Voodoo, a place I head every morning. Small, simple, exquisite coffee, but nothing much more. Fab service -worth crossing 4 lanes of traffic for.

Voodoo is going absolutely gangbusters, while poor ole Starbucks is 4/5ths empty. I've only been in twice - once when it was pouring rain. I didn't speak the lingo, and the girl gave me a surly look for not speaking 'Starbuckese'.

Voodoo does a Friday sausage sizzle, that pulls in half the street.I've noticed that Starbucks is the only shop open on the weekend though.

Quality coffee has won hands down. Hey,let the consumer decide. 

[Aggie]

I didn't speak the lingo, and the girl gave me a surly look for not speaking 'Starbuckese'.

When Starbucks is the only option, and caffeine is a NEED not a want, I absolutely refuse to order anything other than "A large coffee please".  OK, well sometimes an espresso, but that's not a Starbucks thing.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Anyone ever see the Southpark episode about Starbucks?

Worth a watch, I think.  As usual, SP is full of cheap potty-humor, but underneath that tarnished exterior, is often a serious point to be made.

In the case of Starbucks, one of the points is/was that the local coffee shop was not that good at serving good coffee.

The new Starbucks did serve pretty good coffee, and the service was pretty good, too.

These two, combined to make a pretty good store - one that many folk would return to.

There are always examples of better coffee, and better service against Starbucks.  But, many times, the Starbucks went in where there was not quality competition nearby.

And, the convenience coupled with "good enough" was just the ticket to make the store a success.

And a boat-load of store-successes has made a company-wide success.

Something to consider. 

[Aggie]

There are always examples of better coffee, and better service against Starbucks.  But, many times, the Starbucks went in where there was not quality competition nearby.

And, the convenience coupled with "good enough" was just the ticket to make the store a success.

And a boat-load of store-successes has made a company-wide success.

Something to consider. 

That sounds like Tim Hortons up here... when you're on the road a lot, you find out quick that gas station coffee is loathsome.  Timmie's isn't the best, but it's consistant, it's fast, and it's reasonably cheap.  Any Timmie's around here has 20-car lineups in the drivethrough in the mornings.

It's the price of coffee that burns me at Starbucks...  especially with some of the fancy drinks.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

Actually, I think this is one area that franchises (or at least the well-run ones) are good at: consistency.  If I'm driving through an unknown town, I know that the Tim Horton's will have a decent cup of coffee and a reasonably clean washroom; Joe's Cafe or the Coffee Time (another francise, but with more... variable standards) can be hit-or-miss on both of these.  If all three are within sight of each other, I'll probably go for the Timmie's.

Also, not having actually seen the documentary yet, I'm not sure what their problem is with Best Western.  To me, I don't see much of a distinction between a locally-owned hotel in a franchise chain and an independent one.  I think for the most part, the difference is that the Best Western has the chain's name recognition and their reservation systems (e.g. 1-800 numbers and the online booking sites) to help them get business, which isn't really bad for anybody by itself - where's the downside?

It's the price of coffee that burns me at Starbucks...  especially with some of the fancy drinks.

This recent article talks about one response to that.