Grand Rapids and Meijer Inc. Coporate

[suydam]

Originally Posted by cardwellave

That's what I said. Basically nothing was open on Sunday because, other than the Olga's and Jimmy John's, nearly everything was closed...meaning all the independent stores.

Sorry, I didn't realize you were talking about Sundays.
My bad.

[cardwellave]

Not a problem. We did find a lot of fun things to do that day, even though so much was closed. Really neat city.

[mimberly]

I have two kids who work at Meijers in the Grand Papids area. One is a team leader. Of course they don't have the job that your husband will have they both like working for Meijers. They rent but they live in Wyoming and I thought that Grandville was very nice. Although I welcome you to Michigan please know that the ecomomy isn't great here. We are leaving the state as many others have had to just to get work. I know some people have secure jobs but I don't think there is such a thing anymore and in this state there are many people like us in their 40's or older wondering what they are going to do now without a job or many without a home.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by cardwellave

Meijer is located in Walker which is a northwestern suburb of GR. I couldn't tell you what the upscale burbs are, but the suburbs generally are Walker, Comstock Park, Plainfield Township, Rockford (small town) to the north, Kentwood and Wyoming to the south as well as Grandville, and Cascade.

East Grand Rapids is a very conservative, lily white suburb, with lots of nice older, well cared for homes. Might work well for you. One of the oldest suburbs around.

I couldn't tell you about the Catholic institutions there, (I could help you out with those in Detroit, I survived Catholic school somehow!), but I can tell you GR is pretty conservative overall. The whole town seems to shut down on Sundays, and the mindset is pretty conservative (my main gripe with GR.)

Just a note in case it matters to you, Meijer has gotten lambasted more than once in areas of equality. For the past three years they have received a zero rating on the Human Rights Campaign corporate equality index, which measures how Meijer treats gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender employees, and has repeatedly provided no benefits or workplace protection for them. It is one of only three companies out of 500 to receive a zero rating, and it contrasts starkly with that of Target which received an 80%, Sears/Kmart 100%, and Walmart 40%.

I really do like Meijer stores and am continually impressed with their selection and good prices. Meijer, along with DeVos are two named you'll hear a lotttt of in GR.

Welcome!

Every town and every "local" neighborhood business district in this country shuts down on Sundays, except the suburban big boxes which are open 24/7/365 just like anywhere else. Try finding a bite to eat in the Loop in Chicago on a Sunday. Locally owned business people have to take at least one day off.

As suydam mentioned, East Grand Rapids, Cascade, Ada and Grand Rapids Township (Forest Hills Schools), some parts of Rockford, Heritage Hill in the City of GR, and some parts of Byron Center are the upscale/white collar areas of GR.

Ever since Meijer hired Rockwell design to "re-brand" their image and revamp their stores, I'd put Meijer up against any Wal-Mart, Tesco or other mega-mart. I'll rephrase that: Wal-Mart in particular doesn't even come close to Meijer for overrall value and shopping experience.

[JimmyInGreatLakes]

Originally Posted by cardwellave

Just a note in case it matters to you, Meijer has gotten lambasted more than once in areas of equality. For the past three years they have received a zero rating on the Human Rights Campaign corporate equality index, which measures how Meijer treats gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgender employees, and has repeatedly provided no benefits or workplace protection for them. It is one of only three companies out of 500 to receive a zero rating, and it contrasts starkly with that of Target which received an 80%, Sears/Kmart 100%, and Walmart 40%.

I really do like Meijer stores and am continually impressed with their selection and good prices. Meijer, along with DeVos are two named you'll hear a lotttt of in GR.

Welcome!

It would matter to me, in fact, I'd be MORE likely to work there if I knew they didn't pander to every special interest group that raises a grievance every time their perception of an issue didn't match exactly to what they deem to be ideal. This is America and it is great that there are conservative organizations/corporations and there are liberal ones as well. If you can match up your ideals to the company you work for, all the more power to you.

"Human rights" can be defined along a broad continuum and the Human Rights Campaign is not the sole arbiter of what they should be. There's a broad range of thought about GLBT's and what corporate/organization benefits should be extended to partners (see this week's ruling by the Michigan Supreme court regarding this). I'm not disputing their rights to argue for such, I just think it's sad that some corp's get pilloried for taking a stand on what they believe within their legal rights.

[suydam]

Meijer also has the benefit of being privately held I think. They can spend a little more time doing what they think is right...rather than what Wall St. thinks is right.

[nycjefftrain]

This may be a myth but I heard Meijer set the precedent for grocery stores in the midwest(great lakes region) to be open 24 hours. This is NOT common everywhere...even out here on the east coast. Grocery stores near me are only open till 11 or maybe midnight. In Michigan, Meijer, Kroger, and a number of others are all open 24hours. I do miss buying cereal and hair gel at 3am

[cardwellave]

I remember from not that long ago that Kroger (and in those days Farmer Jack) were not open 24 hours, and it seems pretty recent that that happened. It's a welcome thing in my opinion, though I think the latest I've been at a grocery store is about 9pm.