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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | ronald and karen sanchez <eldeluxe@mcn.net> |
| Subject | Re: Wal-mart and others |
| Date | Wed, 03 Dec 2003 17:14:12 -0800 |
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This sort of blanding of American, and the rest of the world by default is what
really gets me. I always plead ignorance of all this stuff. A few years ago, I
was down in Arizona for my grandmother-inlaws 90th. Some of the family was
really excited that they had got us a hotel at the mall, and there was an Olive
Garden right next door. I finally had to explain to a cousin that I had the
worst meal I ever paid for in my life there. He was pretty offended! My
father-inlaw finally said "well if you are so picky, you find us a place to
eat". I did and he loved it. Meanwhile we found some very Vietnamese food
which made us the envy of the very same cousin. He asked "how did you find that
restaurant". It wasn't that hard to take a look in the local rag and suss out
where to go in town. Most people won't try anything they don't know (see below)
or haven't been forced to go to.
My wife travels around the state and country for work. There are people she
meets at conferences who always follow her when she looks for dinner, and some
that will have nothing to do with her tastes. I know I drive a few friends
crazy because I will not stop at anything resembling a chain eatery. A few
years ago I was forced to eat at BK in Rocksprings,WY but that was only the
second time in over 20 years that I ate that sort of stuff...I can't call it
food, cause it isn't.
Deniz Tek likes to tell the story of touring Italy and France with two kids
from Billings in his band. He said they were being served the best food and
wine at the gigs, but the drummer finally had to go find a McD to "get some
real food".
When we hit a new town, we always ask at the record shop or where ever we are
at. I always watch peoples faces when you ask "where to eat?, no I mean
something good". If they light up, you know you are going to get a good tip. A
healthy diet makes for a health mind.
My theory is that diet pop has lowered the IQ of at least two generations
now....
RS
Mark Eichelberger wrote:
> I used to travel for business a few years back and a lot of our clients were
> in small towns or small cities. It always used to amaze and sadden me that
> when I asked a client for advice on shopping and restaurants in the area,
> 90% of the time the response would be Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Applebee's, Olive
> Garden, Red Lobster, etc., etc. You can travel all over the country and
> get the same monotonous product.
>
> Mark E.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "josh chasin" <jchasin@nyc.rr.com>
> To: <audities@smoe.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 3:25 PM
> Subject: Re: Wal-mart
>
> > This anecdote is a precise microcosm of the "Wal-Martization of America,"
> > also known as the death of downtown. Often Wal-Mart will open up outside
> of
> > town on a highway or intersection between two towns-- to draw retail
> traffic
> > from each-- and destroy the downtowns of both in the process.
> >
> > Wal-Mart really is the quintessential corporate bully. They use their
> sheer
> > size to intimidate manufacturers into giving them volume deals that no one
> > else can get. Then they turn around and routinely use these discounts to
> > price inventory such that any downtown store would go out of business if
> > they matched the prices. Wal-Mart often retails goods at a lower price
> than
> > he local guy can acquire them wholesale. As I heard one executive say in
> a
> > speech about 8 years ago, "If you have a store in one of the 37
> categories
> > Wal-Mart operates in, and they open in your area, you have a problem."
-- Ronald Sanchez
Director Of A&R
Career Records
www.CareerRecords.com
The Donovan's Brain Web Site
www.Donovans-Brain.com
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