Posted by
Louie Majunk on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 11:03:51 PM
It was 6:15 a.m. My cold was getting nasty on the way to work, and the coughing was really irritating. At least a little relief was needed. I pulled into the nearest convenience store just a few blocks away. As I opened the door, I did not want to pay a dollar and 30 cents for a small stick of cough drops, I thought. The price on the shelf indicated they went for two bucks. You gotta be kidding me! I looked at items surrounding them to be sure it was no mistake. It wasn't. There were various brands and flavors of cough drops in the same area on the shelf, and all were priced at two dollars.
I walked out empty handed and thought about going to a supermarket on the way. Why not? I'll even pay a dollar and 30 cents for the things. What I found equally shocking was that the supermarket was selling the same brand, same size for just 89 cents.
About a month ago, I did a blog on convenience stores and asserted they had become inconvenience stores. This recent experience made me wonder if I should ever patronize such stores again. Why should I? To pay more than double the price on some items? To stand in line in what seems like an eternity for someone to buy a money order to pay rent on their low rent apartment?
Decades ago, these little stores definitely were convenient. Now it seems as if it is just another place that caters to what some call the "poverty industry." Think about it. Why did these stores start selling (and still continue to sell) money orders, hot dogs, lottery tickets, and more recently, phone cards? It's simple. People need money orders to pay bills in today's society, and they just can't figure out how to balance a checkbook. They need hot dogs because they don't have the mind set of making themselves a healthy lunch at home. And why save money? Just spend it on the silly dreams of winning the lottery, or spend about 100 dollars on various football pools. If lucky, you will win one and make your money back.
Now these stores have the audacity to charge more than double the price on certain items. Mind you, I am not talking about Mom and Pop places of the old days. These family grocery stores had to charge higher prices because they were unable to buy their stock in hugh quantities and store them in their own warehouse. These modern day inconvenience stores are national chains and to the best of my knowledge, can do business much like a supermarket.
How do these inconvenience stores get away with this, especially in metropolitan area like Denver where two large supermarket chains are open 24-seven? I suspect that since they are still referred to as "convenience stores," most still think they are convenient. That won't last forever. One of these days most will realize that supermarkets have become much more convenient than the inconvenience stores.
So the next time you want a candy bar and a bottle of pop, go to the supermarket. Pick them off the shelf. Fly through the automated, self service express line and be done with it. Even low income people can benefit from using the supermarkets for business other than groceries. They can buy money orders and stamps from customer service and sandwiches from the deli.
I would just as soon let the inconvenience stores in the cities die a peaceful death. But in those small, isolated towns in the midwest and Rocky Mountain states, that's an entirely different blog. Look for it some time in the near future.