Why are all of Pittsburgh's beer distributors so rude and dirty? (Millvale: tax, live in)
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Back to the original topic - which looking back seven pages is "Why beer distributor's stores are dirty and have rude employees", to paraphrase.
This distributor's group uses their extremely strong lobby in Harrisburg to maintain the status quo in PA. They restrict choices for consumers so they can keep their legal monopoly. Your choice is to pay high prices to buy beer in less than a case quantity at a bar or buy the case at their business.
When you have a monopoly (since distributor licenses are limited in each area) you do not need to improve your store or spend money to train your clerks on customer service. They do, to some degree, compete with each other,but if your competitor doesn't have to spend any money to improve, why should you?
I spent 14 years making sales calls on these type of stores and have seen 35 year old male clerks refusing to carry a case of beer out for a 80 year old woman. In one instance the clerk made the comment "the sign says self service, don't you see it" when she asked for assistance.
We miss living in PA but do not miss the liquor control laws for spirits and wine as well as beer. PA legislature needs to act to meet the consumer's needs and not the lobbyist needs.
Indeed, check out this silliness from the distributor's lobby website: Beer and Gas Don't Mix
The Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania works closely with the Tavern Owners Association to keep six-packs regulated to taverns and bottle shops. The taxes on alcohol are high in PA but it's this monopoly that really creates the price and level of service difference compared to neighboring states.
Back to the original topic - which looking back seven pages is "Why beer distributor's stores are dirty and have rude employees", to paraphrase.
This distributor's group uses their extremely strong lobby in Harrisburg to maintain the status quo in PA. They restrict choices for consumers so they can keep their legal monopoly. Your choice is to pay high prices to buy beer in less than a case quantity at a bar or buy the case at their business.
When you have a monopoly (since distributor licenses are limited in each area) you do not need to improve your store or spend money to train your clerks on customer service. They do, to some degree, compete with each other,but if your competitor doesn't have to spend any money to improve, why should you?
I spent 14 years making sales calls on these type of stores and have seen 35 year old male clerks refusing to carry a case of beer out for a 80 year old woman. In one instance the clerk made the comment "the sign says self service, don't you see it" when she asked for assistance.
We miss living in PA but do not miss the liquor control laws for spirits and wine as well as beer. PA legislature needs to act to meet the consumer's needs and not the lobbyist needs.
While that may be true, the odd setup here in PA also seems to give us a better selection that most of the places in Ohio (for example). Yeah, you can get beer in a grocery there, but until very recently you could basically just your typical Milller/Coors/Bud most of the time. Choice Brands of Ohio really messed up the beer scene for a long time. I lived in Ohio but purchased here in the totally-unfair PA because you could actually get things without driving to Youngstown. Maybe the stores don't have to compete, but in OH the distributors don't have to compete. So what's the difference really?
Last edited by SammyKhalifa; 01-16-2012 at 12:21 PM..
Jesus, those pictures are blatant and ridiculous propaganda to push their backwards money making agenda.
hahahaha I am just blown away...especially by the beer and gas one... so because you fill your car with fuel at a gas station, you will be more prone to crack open a beer that you buy at the gas station and drive home than you would be cracking open a beer that you buy at a distributor and driving home? PA is honestly a joke when it comes to their archaic liquor laws.
hahahaha I am just blown away...especially by the beer and gas one... so because you fill your car with fuel at a gas station, you will be more prone to crack open a beer that you buy at the gas station and drive home than you would be cracking open a beer that you buy at a distributor and driving home? PA is honestly a joke when it comes to their archaic liquor laws.
I'm surprised the state trusts us all to not eat all of our groceries in the checkout lane, if that's their logic.
I'm surprised the state trusts us all to not eat all of our groceries in the checkout lane, if that's their logic.
They shouldn't sell small food items at gas stations. Every time I try to buy milk at the gas station, I chug the whole gallon before I reach the checkout line. This doesn't happen to me in grocery stores, however, where milk is SUPPOSED to be sold. I can contain myself then.
Indeed, check out this silliness from the distributor's lobby website: Beer and Gas Don't Mix
The Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania works closely with the Tavern Owners Association to keep six-packs regulated to taverns and bottle shops. The taxes on alcohol are high in PA but it's this monopoly that really creates the price and level of service difference compared to neighboring states.
Good god. As someone who grew up in a license state its embarassing that PA is so antiquated when it comes to alcohol sales.
Those little cartoons are laughable to the point where I'm not even sure the elderly people they are targeting will even agree with them.
While that may be true, the odd setup here in PA also seems to give us a better selection that most of the places in Ohio (for example). Yeah, you can get beer in a grocery there, but until very recently you could basically just your typical Milller/Coors/Bud most of the time. Choice Brands of Ohio really messed up the beer scene for a long time. I lived in Ohio but purchased here in the totally-unfair PA because you could actually get things without driving to Youngstown. Maybe the stores don't have to compete, but in OH the distributors don't have to compete. So what's the difference really?
Trust me, it isn't the beer distributors that prevents that very same thing from happening here. You can find bars or distributors with a crappy selection quite easily in PA. Its all about what people want. Where I grew up in WV for the longest time it was lagers or pilsners, mainstream brands and nothing else. The selection has improved greatly in recent years, but its been a long time coming. PA doesn't have this problem for one simple reason: the state has enough local breweries to keep interest up.
This is not really about beer distributors, but sort of related to topic. I went home to Pittsburgh for Christmas and while out shopping, we needed to pick up a bottle of Lemon Liquour (Lemoncella, or something). We went to the State Store in Plum on 286, but they were out. So the lady there looked up where the next closest store was that had a bottle. It was the other Plum location, way over on the other side of the borough. So we drove over there, got lost and spent I don't know how long. The point being I just laughed at PA's system vs. here in Tamap. If a store was out of soemthing here in Tampa, you just go about a block or so to the next store. No big road trip needed to state sanctioned outlet.
And as for beer, you just pick it up at Publix along with crazy things like, milk, bread, eggs... so bizarre!
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