Supermarkets are evil!

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by shambles, Jul 17, 2007.

  1. shambles

    shambles Guest

    Tesco, Asda, Walmart, all of them.

    They squeeze suppliers so that they can't make a half-decent living profit.

    They destroy communities by eliminating the competition - usually smaller independent stores.

    They limit the purchasing options of the customer.

    But

    They are dead cheap.

    They provide employment.

    They are convenient.

    Supermarkets - love 'em or hate 'em?
     
  2. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    No opinion - and my father worked for one (Kroger) for almost 40 years.

    EDIT: You thrive off debate and conflict, don't you? :D If none exists, you certainly try to dig it up from anywhere! heh!!!
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  3. AJ

    AJ 01000001 01100100 01101101 01101001 01101110 Administrator

    6,897
    182
    221
    Me neither, worked in one for a number of years during my time at college.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCSA (messaging), ITIL Foundation v3
    WIP: Breathing in and out, but not out and in, that's just wrong
  4. JonnyMX

    JonnyMX Petabyte Poster

    5,257
    220
    236
    Well, that would depend.

    Do I like the convenience of being able to buy everything in one shop, select from ranges that wouldn't appear in a corner shop, park outside the door for free, take advantages of special offers and savings... Well, yes, I guess so.

    Do I approve of muscling out competition, destroying local business, driving down prices paid to suppliers and generally acting like they owned the place? No, not really.

    So I'm not sure if you can generalize and say they are good or evil. Bear in mind that a lot of supermarkets get their own way by offering to pay for a new playground or set of traffic lights so you could argue they are putting money into the community.

    They also generate employment and some are quite good at promoting things like local produce and healthy eating.

    Tricky one.

    What next? McDonalds?
    :biggrin
     
    Certifications: MCT, MCTS, i-Net+, CIW CI, Prince2, MSP, MCSD
  5. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329
    dude unfortunatley monopolies are how the world works.

    Any dont say that if you had a business and it was taking over other business' and you were making shite loads of money at the expense of Mr Jones' corner shop you would say oh I will stop because Mr Jones isnt making much money anymore.

    Its life get over it.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  6. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

    13,493
    180
    287
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  7. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329
    cool, thats what i mean.

    2 dudes start a business it growes they eliminate the competition by buying them out or putting them out.

    thats business, thats life.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  8. Mr.Cheeks

    Mr.Cheeks 1st ever Gold Member! Gold Member

    5,373
    89
    190
    Freddy and Microsoft springs to mind!
     
  9. Veteran's son

    Veteran's son Megabyte Poster

    915
    2
    55
    I work at a grocery store so I think they are cool!:biggrin
     
    Certifications: A+
    WIP: N+
  10. shambles

    shambles Guest

    That's kind of true... but there is a purpose to it. Debate is about trying to understand people and get a feel for where they are coming from. It's about building a relationship of some sort. It would be too easy to just talk computers here, but it wouldn't help me to understand who you people out there are (or who I am, or at least who I might appear to be). Does that make any kind of sense? Conflict sometimes happens... I suppose I'm just looking for reassurance that 'geeks' are interested in more than computers (which I know is naive, but there you go).

    Regarding supermarkets, I guess I'm comparing my views with everyone else just to check that I'm not barking mad. There was a program on in the UK last night that seemed to suggest that there is a potential problem with the way we see pricing. The suggestion was that the era of 'cheap' everything might be drawing to a close. So, in the IT world for example, the idea of cheap consumer electronics and computers coming from places like China might be worth looking at anew. The Chinese apparently are aware that selling high volumes of electronics very cheaply is not going to develop their economy to the point where they can begin to seriously deal with poverty. Potentially, they could stop doing it.

    Maybe the problem isn't supermarkets, maybe it is 'The Market'?

    By the by, Winco look like a good company. It makes a pleasant change!
     
  11. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

    4,196
    172
    211
    Theres a fundamental problem with small stores as compared to supermarkets. They dont have online shopping and delivery!

    Theres a world outside computers?
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  12. shambles

    shambles Guest

    Now that's an interesting point. Dilemma: If I shop online, its cheap and fast. But the local IT shop will not last, because it can't compete on price, so we get another charity shop instead. So I go to the local IT shop, negotiate a price I can live with and they can make a profit at, and end up waiting months for something I could have got in a few days on-line... I don't know what to do!
     
  13. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329
    In the not too distant future I see most shops just becoming warehouses and consumers just buying on-line its a natural progression untill the day we get replicators :D
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?
  14. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    Does it matter if you're barking mad if you're happy? :biggrin

    "The Market" most definitely has some large measure of control. If people didn't buy things from those stores, they'd close. But we want what we want at the price we want it at regardless of any possible consequence, right? Most people don't consider any consequences. Not saying that supermarkets and discount stores are evil... I'm just saying that we don't consider whether they are evil or not when we're buying our cheap insert-whatever-you-want-here.
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  15. shambles

    shambles Guest

    That's exactly it, I suppose. Maybe we should ask that question.
     
  16. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

    13,493
    180
    287
    Getting a bit off topic (but not really), I appreciate the response you've just given. In our "text-only" environment, it's almost impossible to determine intent and very easy to misunderstand the other person. I agree with you that debate can be healthy as long as differences and conflict isn't personalized.

    That said, our primary purpose for existing on the net is to discuss technical certifications, careers, and computer stuff in general, so the occasional techie post would also be appropriate. :wink:
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  17. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    But that's the problem... if we questioned ourselves for every product we purchase, down to a $.98 ballpoint pen, we'd never purchase anything due to analysis paralysis... "What company makes this product? :ohmy Where are they located? :ohmy What investments has that company made? :ohmy What damage are they doing to the environment? :ohmy Do they treat their employees fairly? :ohmy And what about the store I'm buying this product from? :ohmy How do they behave in relation to these questions? :ohmy Did they decide to sell this pen because it was the highest quality or was it because it was the cheapest? :ohmy Or because they got a kickback?" At some point, it becomes counterproductive to constantly question ourselves.
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  18. shambles

    shambles Guest

    Yes - but there has to be a happy medium, where you might be able to feel that you have fulfilled some sort of duty of care, without putting yourself in a position where it is impossible to decide on anything.

    Interestingly, this is easier to do when purchasing financial products and energy - you can choose specifically 'ethical' and 'green' products. In supermarkets you might be able to go 'fairtrade' or 'organic'. I'd love to be able to get reliable information about how companies view and behave around (for example) Union labour, the arms and tobacco industries and the environment. I'd be delighted to have the opportunity to make a genuine choice that goes wider than the usual - especially if I am choosing to pay more than I need to...
     
  19. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    ...if you can trust whomever is in charge of labelling products as "ethical", "Green", "fairtrade", or "organic". It's like seeing "Reduced Fat" on a container of food... only to find out that they reduced the fat by a whopping 1%, or they reduced the fat only to increase something else to make it equally as unhealthy. Who watches the watchmen?
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  20. greenbrucelee
    Highly Decorated Member Award

    greenbrucelee Zettabyte Poster

    14,292
    265
    329
    Yeah thats right, I bet in a few years there will be a huge investigation about some company who has been promoting their fair trade or organic food only for someone to find that it isn't and they've been ripping us off.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCDST, Security+, 70-270
    WIP: 70-620 or 70-680?

Share This Page

Loading...
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.