Have you guys heard about the SuperMarket fued up here?

Many of my family and friends know and care about who owns stores and who we give our money to. Yet even in that case we don't know most or any of the people that work at the businesses, just the business practices and their possible community involvement and in some case political lean/contributions.

The best example for me is how I only made one major purchase (for a bass I've long since sold) from Guitar Center. While I have purchased from regional chains, the majority of my guitar and amp purchases have been from mom and pop shops. Come to think of it, it's where I buy strings and picks as well. I'd rather support the local small business when I can. In the case of several of these shops I became friendly with the employees and even owners. And that's just one example of many that I could provide without potentially veering into the realm of politics that I prefer to avoid in general, but especially to respect the forum rules.

Sometimes one can inform themselves. Any notion of brainwashing can go both ways. According to the kong's and tilt's post we seem to be looking at a community business, so it's likely we aren't looking at faceless owners or nameless employees. It seems more like family, friends, and neighbors instead of a national chain and workers commuting in from other counties.

As to kong's latest post, it is in fact fascinating and it will be interesting to see how it is resolved.
 
Real life imitating...

Comfort and Joy is a 1984 Scottish comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring Bill Paterson as a radio disc jockey whose life undergoes a bizarre upheaval after his girlfriend leaves him. After he witnesses the attack on an icecream van by angry competitors, he is led into the struggle between two Italian families over the ice cream market of Glasgow.
 
In my head the evil Arthur looks like this

13-boss-hogg-hazzard.jpg
 
Dogsinotpalc said:
Many of my family and friends know and care about who owns stores and who we give our money to.
Click to expand...


Really, that seems to hit the nail on the head.

I can't speak for everyone, but it does tend to speak to the general attitude of where you live and the sense of community that exists there. Small Town vs Big City kind of thing.

That spirit of "We like to shop where it's cheapest, but we'll spend a little more to go with the hometown business" is very much alive up here.

Heck, there are a bunch of locally owned hardware stores still in existence up here. You don't find that in many places any more.

There's a Home Depot and Lowe's about 15 miles from me, but if I can, I support the local place.

They don't carry everything, and most stuff is a buck or so higher, but it supports the local community, rather than some corporation based out of a faraway state that really couldn't give a shit one way or another about our community.

I do find if fascinating (and amusing to a certain extent), but it is very much for real.

And I agree, it is going to be wild to see how this plays out.

The Board of Directors (Evil! :LOL: ) has issued a statement saying that an agreement will be reached one way or the other and announced in the next 24-48 hours, and they think the employees will be pleased.

What that means is anyone's guess, but this could set a precedent that I have not heard of (at least in my lifetime).

If you read through the article I posted (or Googled what's going on), people are taking this very seriously.

I read that customers were taping receipts of purchases made at different/competitor's stores to the front door of their local Market Basket to show their displeasure.
Where in the world does that happen? Who cares enough to actually do something like that?

Small town mentality. Passion. Direct involvement. Giving a shit.

I like it!
 
I don't know if anyone remembers this thread, but they did indeed make a movie.

My wife and I watched it on Amazon (or was it Netflix?) the other night.....



It was pretty awesome, but it was a little cheesey in some spots. Got a little "Godfather"-like, but still, certain parts you just had to love. Brought a tear to my eye a couple of times.

Pretty cool.

That shit happened right here where I live. I honked when I drove by and saw the people protesting out front. :)

That really happened.

I remember when it finally re-opened and was re-stocked, my wife shopped there and said it was mobbed. She said some old guy who was like 80 years old who obviously had worked there forever was singing over the PA system and the associates who worked there were handing out flowers and balloons and stuff and people were like 30 deep at the registers, but everyone was smiling, chatting and having a good old time.

We still shop there when we do "big runs" (lots of groceries). :)

They carry a lot of generic "Market Basket" branded stuff, and we always say....."See those tomatoes? Arthur T grew those tomatoes!" (or whatever it is......)

Pretty neat story.


 
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I live in the area too, and I know about half a dozen people who work for the company. I remember when the stores started re- opening. One of the store managers had quit over all this. It was reported that he was going to retire, as he had been in the business for so long. You shoulda seen the reception he got when he walked back into his store. He has been back working ever since.
 
Wal mart shoulda moved in with even cheaper than normal prices and just put them both outa business :cop:
 
I'll have to check out that movie. I go to Market Basket at least once a week and was there for all the shenanigans ~2 years ago. I've always had a love/hate relationship with that chain of super markets.
 
They just replaced one in Westford, MA with a Whole Foods. Very excited about going but I'm waaaaaaaay too hungry right now. I'd have to take out a second mortgage.
 
I think Whole Foods is super pricey compared with MB. At least on some items . They each cater to a different part of the populace. I think the main diff is that WF carries more organic/specialized diet/ top shelf or specialty items. I could be wrong. I shop at MB, but there are certain things that I will not buy there. Likewise, some of their store brand stuff is as good or better than national brands. And some items you will find only in just a couple stores. These are usually things like locally produced specialty items or say.... fresh seafood right off the boat. I was vacationing out at Hampton Beach NH a couple years ago and saw a bunch of guys unloading fresh fish out of a truck into MB. The lettering on the truck was from the seafood co-op company in Seabrook NH, mebbe 5 miles down the road.
I will have to take trot out that way to check out WF though. The closest one to me now is about 40 min off the highway.
 
WF is super pricey but your best bet for top notch produce, meat, fish, and super tasty stuff. Our MB is great for regular groceries.
 
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