Post #4844 by woofmutt on Thu, Aug 1, 2002 12:27 AM

Curse Walgreens to Hell! They displaced a local small hardware store in my neighborhood, Chubby and Tubby's (there are 3 in Seattle), which moved some 20 miles away so a Walgreens could be built right across the street from a local chain drugstore (Bartell's). Chubby and Tubby's is the sort of place that has that odd hardware item you know exists but can't find at Despot or Lowes. They also have always had the best selection of Converse canvas (getting in all the new colors and patterns every summer) with the best prices. Their motto is "We're small, but we're scrappy!"

But now some comments against the grain...I grew up in a small town (630) which was near a somewhat larger town where all the shopping, schooling, and church going was done. I hated most of the downtown businesses. They were all ran by mean sons of bitches who were never helpful and generally rude. Especially the small hardware stores. They were extra good at making you feel like a moron for not knowing what sort of screw you needed for a particular project. This has been my experience at most small town hardware stores. Even the wonderful Chubby and Tubby's has never been high on customer service. There is another small hardware store near me and I have to grit my teeth every time I go in because the staff is so nasty. The folks at Despot and Lowes may be clueless but at least they leave you alone.

I'm none too romantic about the independent book sellers either. I know there are supposedly lovely little book stores out there with pleasant staff, but I've been to very few. My favorite used bookstore with the best selection and prices is a chain, Half Price Books. I don't even go into other used book stores anymore because I know the prices will be high and the staff utterly indifferent.

I'm not enthralled by chain stores but I don't consider them the evil empire either (with the exception of Walmart). I prefer to spend my monies at the independents or at least locally (fortunately for me amazon.com is a local business) but it's not my mission in life. If I can save $20 at Home Despot, that's where I'm going. When I'm well off I can be more philanthropic with my retail dollar.

As far as wages go most chain retailers in small towns are going to pay pretty much what an independent would have paid. Jobs are usually scarce in small towns and when this is the case wages are low. The Walmart that is near the town where I grew up has more people working the floor on a weekday afternoon than all the small businesses that were around when I was young (most of these went under for various reasons before the arrival of Walmart).

The chains have largely taken over the small town near where I grew up but my parents have a better shopping relationship with these mega retailers than they ever did with the small independents. My mom is always going on (and on and on) about the great deal she found because Joe at Shopko remebered she was looking for some socks with toes in them and set a few aside when they went on clearance.

It's easy to hate the mega chains, but they're obvioulsy loved by the masses or they wouldn't succeed. It's our taste for variety and new things and bargains that keep the chains afloat (see my post on the Sea Paradise Hello Kitty at Target!). theandrewsisters pointed out that had these chains been available to our grandparents they would have shopped there as well. Thes sorts of chains WERE available to our grandaparents...Woolworths, Sprouse Ritz, JC Penny's, Sears and Robucks, Montgomery Wards, and K-Mart were all once the big city bastards who came to town and ruined everything. Now many of them are gone or going and we're nostalgic for their lunch counters and aloha shirts.

[ Edited by: woofmutt on 2002-08-01 00:39 ]