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Do you REALLY think that the boycotters are a minority?
Yes. The majority of MB shoppers aren't going because they are being told / have seen empty shelves in the markets and employees who have walked out on the job. Why would you choose to shop at a store that doesn't have anything to sell to you?
In fact, to the opposite, I have started hearing more and more people clamoring that they are sick of this standoff and some distaste is turning against the employees from these folks.
"I think you're doing to others what you're claiming they're doing to you. Boycotters are a likely minority of MB shoppers, perhaps a small - loud - minority. I suspect most MB shoppers were never part of the boycott, and have been forced to find another place to shop due actions taken by the workers who walked off the job and the boycotters."
That's going to be hard to tell frankly. It's like telling if advertising really works or if they'd buy it anyway.
"Shopping at Market Basket is a reflection of choosing to be frugal."
Not exactly. In some areas all there is market basket.Not everyone in these areas can afford a car to drive to other supermarkets and transit might not always be near there. Yes there is peapod to a point but not everyone can afford the extra amount of it.
"They have already done so to the people who actually deserve explanations. If you don't like society the way it is, then change society. Stop making up expectations with no rational basis and thinking of them as fundamental rules. Stop taking the easy way out."
This is not an "easy way out". This means nothing with society. The ATD side is winning the hearts and minds here pure and simple. What is so hard to answer a question and make a statement in front of a camera. If this had been government you would have negotiators by now. This would be considered easily a level four or even five on a grievance level. Could the new management fire everyone at the drop of a hat? Sure but they don't because that would make things MUCH worse.
"Compared to all the other supermarkets in our town, they were doing a great job before mob mentality lent footing for the walk-out. That's been the problem all along - people abusing the inadequate institutions of our society, like the media, to suck energy out of the justifiable indignation at the imbalances in society to try to move their own personal, individual situation from "just like everyone else" to "better than others"."
It's hardly a mob mentality when it is stakeholder management. Remember what Milton Friedman said about corporations. The primary purpose is to maximize shareholder wealth in a sustainable manner.
Read some game theory here. Ultimately there has to be a deal for ATD to buy the company. As the value of the company continues to drop they have no other real solutions. If customers and employees will not work and shop as long as ATD does not come back then selling the place is not a good solution. Game Theory Expert Analyzes Market Basket Conflict | WBUR
Know anyone that is into Apple products? Look up Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Pro X. Pro is a fantastic piece of software. High end video production software often associated with people that invest thousands in equipment and endless man hours. It can rival TV production quality. What happened? Well Apple in their traditional wisdom decided to dumb it down for the X version. So they removed features and prevented it from being backwards compatible and you could NOT revert it back to the old version. So as you have a automatic upgrade *poof* Apple learned the hard way that the cheap way out is not the best way. Customers left in droves to products like Premier and Avid, heck there's now a open sourced product called lightworks.
Market basket targets more urban areas and has customers with lower incomes. There is nothing wrong with this. But to consider the displacement to cause customers to stay calm frankly is not going to happen.
There's going to be a deal. ATD will come back. It is simply negotiating the terms of the interest which frankly given that bank rates are so low is not a bad thing at this time. Since interest rates are going up next year this pretty much has to happen as it is the only way out.
Yes. The majority of MB shoppers aren't going because they are being told / have seen empty shelves in the markets and employees who have walked out on the job. Why would you choose to shop at a store that doesn't have anything to sell to you?
In fact, to the opposite, I have started hearing more and more people clamoring that they are sick of this standoff and some distaste is turning against the employees from these folks.
I would agree. I know all of 5 people that shop at MB. None of them have stopped shopping there and the only adjustment they've made is that they have to include Shaws or Stop & Shop into their weekly shopping trip because MB cannot offer all that they need.
It will be very interesting to see how this thing plays out for the workers and customers who are boycotting the store should this drag on for another 3, 4, 5 or more weeks.
There is also a smaller movement to limit shopping at Hannaford's (owned by Belgian-based Delhaiz Group, an international food retailer with more than 3,400 stores in eleven countries on three continents). They are one of the bidders who is interested in acquiring Market Basket. Although we are all part of a global economy, many in New England chose to spend their $$ at the local level, as much as possible. Mom & pop restaurants instead of the national franchise. Independent coffee roasters instead of the longtime favorite, Dunkin Donuts. Local small-batch breweries rather than Anheiser-Busch. When I've visited with friends and family in other areas of the country, I realize just how good we have it here with our 'shop local' frame of mind. And when they come home for a visit, they ALWAYS ask to visit some of the family-owned shops and restaurants that we've learned to depend on for quality and value. Hopefully the same can be said for Market Basket...
I hope all of these workers and customers who have boycotted MB and are boycotting Hannaford's (which is even more baffling) never step foot inside a Walmart, Target, Best Buy or shop online at places like Amazon.com. All of those companies have and continue to decimate local businesses.
This whole boycott and "movement" is going to continue to lose momentum as this thing drags on.
I hope all of these workers and customers who have boycotted MB and are boycotting Hannaford's (which is even more baffling) never step foot inside a Walmart, Target, Best Buy or shop online at places like Amazon.com. All of those companies have and continue to decimate local businesses.
This whole boycott and "movement" is going to continue to lose momentum as this thing drags on.
Well, just where are we supposed to shop then? Decimating local businesses is only part of the problem anyway. Most of the issue is about how well the employees were treated, the excellent service for the customers, and the fact that the stores catered to the local community, carrying what the locals wanted instead of all stores being identical and screw the individual needs and choice.
I'm forced to shop at Hannaford's up in Hampton NH since the only other store around here is Shaw's, which I don't like. You don't have to worry about me going to Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc. Although for my hubby's cereal, I was going to defect and order from Amazon. But yesterday I went "slumming" to a warehouse in NH called Mr.G's. A grocery store employee told me about this place and I am not so snobbish that I won't lower myself to check it out. We found TEN boxes of hubby's cereal there! Finally. And a multitude of New England Coffee Roasters coffee. All half price in case anyone is frugal. I may make a trip to this warehouse again sometime to stock up as I find it kind of fun to be frugal and go on a shopping adventure.
I would agree. I know all of 5 people that shop at MB. None of them have stopped shopping there and the only adjustment they've made is that they have to include Shaws or Stop & Shop into their weekly shopping trip because MB cannot offer all that they need.
It will be very interesting to see how this thing plays out for the workers and customers who are boycotting the store should this drag on for another 3, 4, 5 or more weeks.
I for one am tired of going store to store and can't find what I want.
And if I do, I have to pay 30 to 50% more.
Who is this boycott helping? Not the other small stores nearby, or the
Shoppers.
Isn't even helping the workers IMO.
Do you REALLY think that the boycotters are a minority? That doesn't explain the FULL shelves of all sorts of non-perishable foods that are still on shelves at many Market Basket stores. There is no meat & no produce, plenty of frozen and convenience foods though. In my town, I have 3 grocery stores: MB, Shaw's and Hannaford's. I haven't gone into Market Basket to purchase ONE item since Friday, July 18, 2014.
In some areas, there may not be a choice in which store to shop at. Haverhill, for example, has a high number of elderly & low income shoppers, and with 3 MB stores in town, there is no other grocer. I feel bad for those who depend on public transportation to get to the stores-all of them are within a short driving distance to elderly complexes. But even those shoppers are fiercely loyal to their store of choice-Market Basket- and support the employees cause. Today, I am most likely going to be taking a shopping list or two from some of the residents that live in my mom's elder neighborhood, and picking up what they need for the next few days from Shaw's. I am happy to do this for them, and they are VERY happy to continue NOT shopping at Market Basket.
The galvanizing moment for many of the long-time and multi-generational shoppers was learning that 8 long time employees were fired, via courier, on a Sunday afternoon/evening. The continued communication from the current co-CEOs that replaced Authur T. have been a mix of threatening and condescending, attempting to sour the boycotting shoppers against the employees cause. Being referred to as 'hostages' did not go over well at all. The publicized stories in the media only tell a small portion of the story--the real story is that in coffee shops, restaurants, and social media, this is THE STORY and the vast majority of SHOPPERS will not return to Market Basket until things are resolved.
There is also a smaller movement to limit shopping at Hannaford's (owned by Belgian-based Delhaiz Group, an international food retailer with more than 3,400 stores in eleven countries on three continents). They are one of the bidders who is interested in acquiring Market Basket. Although we are all part of a global economy, many in New England chose to spend their $$ at the local level, as much as possible. Mom & pop restaurants instead of the national franchise. Independent coffee roasters instead of the longtime favorite, Dunkin Donuts. Local small-batch breweries rather than Anheiser-Busch. When I've visited with friends and family in other areas of the country, I realize just how good we have it here with our 'shop local' frame of mind. And when they come home for a visit, they ALWAYS ask to visit some of the family-owned shops and restaurants that we've learned to depend on for quality and value. Hopefully the same can be said for Market Basket...
Congrats on your 4000th post!
And so very well said!
I stepped into the Gloucester, MA MB on 7-19-14 after I signed the petition initially just went in to look inside a MB store and eventually only did purchase 2 cans of Pastene (a very good brand) Anchovies after the additional discount @ 1.62/can (quite cheap) as I never seen this brand anchovies in any store ever - that's it. To others, yes I love anchovies from time to time in my salads.
There is no meat & no produce, plenty of frozen and convenience foods though.
You do realize that workers who would stock the meat and produce counters walked off the job - right? The boycott didn't empty the shelves - the job action by employees did.
I think you're tilting at windmills going after MB and Hannafords instead of Shaw's and Stop & Shop.
"Shopping at Market Basket is a reflection of choosing to be frugal."
Not exactly. In some areas all there is market basket.Not everyone in these areas can afford a car to drive to other supermarkets and transit might not always be near there.
Another bit of harm to blame on those who led the walk out, I suppose. Again, MB was good the way it was; not as good as folks may have preferred, but it was better than the alternatives, and people crapped on that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell
"They have already done so to the people who actually deserve explanations. If you don't like society the way it is, then change society. Stop making up expectations with no rational basis and thinking of them as fundamental rules. Stop taking the easy way out."
This is not an "easy way out". This means nothing with society.
Ridiculous. Of course it is a reflection of the way society is. If you're just going to deny the reality no wonder you aren't going to be satisfied with the reasonable responses I've provided.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell
The ATD side is winning the hearts and minds here pure and simple.
Yup. Mob mentality works. That's why it is so dangerous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell
What is so hard to answer a question and make a statement in front of a camera.
Why is it so hard to accept a written answer? Why is reading so troubling to you?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell
This would be considered easily a level four or even five on a grievance level.
That's so far from reality that calling it nonsense simply doesn't do it justice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell
It's hardly a mob mentality when it is stakeholder management.
Yes it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell
Remember what Milton Friedman said about corporations. The primary purpose is to maximize shareholder wealth in a sustainable manner.
Stop & Shop is sustaining just fine. And if you want corporations to act a different way, you are going to have to start admitting to yourself that this is a society-related matter and you're going to have to start admitting to yourself that a change in the way corporations are viewed in society is necessary to have things go in the direction you want.
I'm really surprised that so many intelligent people don't seem to get it... this boycott (NOT the walkoff, but the customer boycott) is absolutely unprecedented and completely unexpected by the controlling interests of the chain. This boycott is showing that people that have EVERYTHING to lose--starting with top management employees with decades with the company, warehouse workers and truck drivers who likely need every dollar that they can earn, are willing to risk it all-perhaps they know that if things go the way the current board of Directors want it to, they will be out of a job anyway... because IF a competing company buys the controlling interest in the chain, it's most likely that one physical location of a store will be closed-leaving you with less choice than ever.
I find it surprising that more people don't seem to know a bit of the history of the two co-CEOs that were brought in to replace the (fired) Artie T. They were brought in to get the chain ready for sale to the highest bidder, and this little boycott has really messed with the plan.
The other, James Gooch, wasCFO for RadioShack from 2006 to 2012, and left the chain in a very quick manner, with very little explaination given on this 2012 webite: RadioShack said Wednesday that its chief executive, James F. Gooch, was stepping down immediately under an agreement with the company’s board, in the latest turmoil at the struggling electronics retailer. The company did not give a reason for the departure of Mr. Gooch, who is also leaving its board. <snip> But RadioShack has also had problems of its own. In its latest quarter, the company reported an unexpected $21 million loss, as its shift toward selling smartphones and their accessories was not enough to offset a decline in demand in other consumer electronics.
(details here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/bu...own.html?_r=1&)
So these are the two that were hired to oversee the company with the firing of Arthur T. as CEO, and his removal from the Board of Directors (as a result of shifting family loyalties). The store has been successful at expanding into previously untapped areas (the cape, and southern Maine) and has gained loyal customers who appreciate the low prices, the clean stores and the polite employees. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but I can tell you that in many areas, customers are committed to joining rallies, bringing food and refreshments to picket holders and taping up their receipts from other stores, and will continue this boycott until Arthur T. Demoulas is returned to the BOD, and reinstated as CEO.
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Finally. And a multitude of New England Coffee Roasters coffee. All half price in case anyone is frugal. I may make a trip to this warehouse again sometime to stock up as I find it kind of fun to be frugal and go on a shopping adventure.
