Quote:
Originally Posted by Rochard
Last year the here in my little hometown the Rainbow Market - which had been here for generations - closed down, and was replaced by a Wal Mart "Neighborhood Grocery". We all learned some valuable lessons about the evils of Wal Mart.
The Rainbow Market had been here for thirty or forty years, was old and poorly lit, and always looked run down inside. The employees were old and grumpy, and never enough of them. It was located in the old part of town and the elderly shopped there, spending a lot more than they would at the big box grocery stores on the other side of town.
WalMart moved in, and our crappy dumpy store was replaced by a brand new store with a lot more selection and a lot better prices. They employee twice as many people as the old market, and while they don't be health benefits the old Rainbow Market didn't give it's employees health care either.
The best part was the old Rainbow Market, which was in our community for decades, never donated anything to any local programs including the schools and all of the kid's youth sport leagues, including my daughters.
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Our small town has a similiar example - a local family-owned grocery store that pays its employees barely subsistent wages with no benefits. The owners are verbally abusive to their staff because they know the high unemployment rate in town guarantees they can easily replace someone. Their grocery prices are very high in comparison to other stores and their brand selection is poor.
My daughter worked there for a short while - and often came home with stories of abusive bosses. And she's not prone to exaggeration...a very level-headed, reasonable kid.
I've always tried to buy local and not deal with big box stores like Wal-Mart. But this particular grocery store has had a monopoly in town for generations...they've never felt the pressure to improve their treatment of employees.