And their prices are 15-30% higher than any place else. And their customer service sucks. And the only employees are high school kids because they only pay minimum wage. And their hours are 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Mon-Fri, so you have to take time off work just to go there.
At least that’s how it is for me where I live. It’s a wonder any of them are still in business. The saddest part is, most of them say shit like, “Well at least we don’t have Bidenomics to worry about anymore. Things were way worse then.”
I expect higher prices when I’m trying to shop local. I know they can’t compete on price. I’m willing to pay the premium specifically to support small business.
Sure, restricted hours kind of suck, but like…I’m not going to hold wanting to find work/life balance against them.
Customer service is hit or miss anywhere. Really, I think the idea of customer service has mostly gone out the window everywhere. It sucks because HS kids (and anyone else working these jobs) aren’t being taught these skills. With a small business, at least I can have a nice little conversation with the owner even if they’re socially awkward. People skills are hard. Obviously there is a line in there somewhere that goes into shitty service or bad attitude.
I do plenty of shopping at chains, but it’s important to me to throw money at small businesses. I’ve watched my city grow a lot in the last 30 years and the only thing keeping it interesting are the local businesses.
And their prices are 15-30% higher than any place else. And their customer service sucks. And the only employees are high school kids because they only pay minimum wage. And their hours are 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Mon-Fri, so you have to take time off work just to go there.
At least that’s how it is for me where I live. It’s a wonder any of them are still in business. The saddest part is, most of them say shit like, “Well at least we don’t have Bidenomics to worry about anymore. Things were way worse then.”
I expect higher prices when I’m trying to shop local. I know they can’t compete on price. I’m willing to pay the premium specifically to support small business.
Sure, restricted hours kind of suck, but like…I’m not going to hold wanting to find work/life balance against them.
Customer service is hit or miss anywhere. Really, I think the idea of customer service has mostly gone out the window everywhere. It sucks because HS kids (and anyone else working these jobs) aren’t being taught these skills. With a small business, at least I can have a nice little conversation with the owner even if they’re socially awkward. People skills are hard. Obviously there is a line in there somewhere that goes into shitty service or bad attitude.
I do plenty of shopping at chains, but it’s important to me to throw money at small businesses. I’ve watched my city grow a lot in the last 30 years and the only thing keeping it interesting are the local businesses.
I mean, I still shop those places when I can. But it’s usually extra effort for a worse experience.