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In Remembrance of Bito

I was saddened to hear of Bito’s passing (thank you Haruko), and wish to express my condolences. Peace, love, and hugs to all of you. May God Bless him, and accept his loving heart.

» Posted By snoskier On January 31, 2013 @ 8:57 pm

The Crime of the Century

Thanks you Pepe, for this post,this is a very interesting debate, and one that I hope will spread.

First, I never smoked (tobacco), tried it a few times and it wasn’t for me. I have had girl friends, very close friends, acquaintances, et.al. that were smokers.

It appears to me that the rights of smokers have been debated below,and it troubles me that their rights are being infringed upon. The problem with that, is that the rest of us pay for the consequences of smoking. Directly through higher health care costs, directly through second hand smoke, and indirectly through the social trauma that results from shortened lives.

I have stories that mirror many of the experiences below, but I so want to add my heavy smoking friend who had a stroke at 54 and is still not the same. It breaks my heart because I know it was from his heavy habit.

I resent the fact that my state used tobacco funds for general funding, rather than working to eradicate smoking. Currently we are down to 18%, but it should be a lot lower.

As has been discussed below, lower income groups smoke at a disproportionally high rate, which is tragic. They are able to go out to the Indian reservations up here, and avoid paying state taxes, which defeats our efforts to price it out of their hands.

I hope more people are able to break the habit, and I am happy I don’t have to endure second hand smoke in restaurants, bars, public areas, planes, etc. anymore.

» Posted By snoskier On March 29, 2011 @ 9:36 pm

Memo to Members: How We Choose Front Page Posts and Other Editorial Policies

I would love to comment or contribute to a business space. I think those of us in the business community have a lot of things that could help folks understand what challenges we face. Speaking for myself, I can help discuss the food business, and how items get on the supermarket shelf. It is very dynamic, and the recent conferences I attended show how challenging it is to stay ahead of the trends.

» Posted By snoskier On February 23, 2011 @ 12:11 pm

The Daily Planet, Vol.3

Indeed. In the food business, many of the products are not only equivalent, but better than the national brands. The food items of our private label are generally made by smaller manufacturers (not always) on a regional basis. That, in turn, helps support or regional ag economy.

» Posted By snoskier On February 22, 2011 @ 4:41 pm

Great article, thanks. I read last fall that these corporations are moving to the interior of China in search of EVEN CHEAPER labor!! Unbelievable. The exploitation continues.

» Posted By snoskier On February 22, 2011 @ 3:57 pm

Independent grocery stores like mine, do appreciate your business!! I am not currently an IGA, but belong to similar marketing group.

We have worked hard to improve our meat, and our produce department is fresher and cheaper than our competition. Our community involvement also helps create loyal customers.

» Posted By snoskier On February 22, 2011 @ 3:49 pm

Their results have been so disappointing that they have replaced much of their executive staff, including the guy that ran Walmart in Mexico. The reduction of SKU’s (items) has hurt them, and they have been playing around with their pricing to get margins up. I look for more of this in the future.

I think their suppliers are re-thinking their relationship with them as well. They drive production offshore because they dictate the price they will pay for items. Suppliers are looking for alternative channels such as dollar stores to sell products.

» Posted By snoskier On February 22, 2011 @ 3:40 pm

Important in this note is “seventh straight sales decline.” That is 7 Quarters of same store sales decline. I just went to the annual meeting of my wholesaler (which is a co-op). This is really a big deal. Higher quality products (even food products) can ultimately be cheaper than the cheap stuff. If you buy a pair of cheap shoes for $30,, for example, they might last 6 months. Paying $45 dollars, they might last a year. These scenarios are being weighed by consumers all the time.

My store has hired 2 people from Walmart, and they are happy to be here. I pay more, the benefits are better, and we are not so autocratic.

» Posted By snoskier On February 22, 2011 @ 3:28 pm

Doing Business – The Right Way (Part 8)

KB. I too, am a businessman, with 40 years experience in management. Anytime you want to ask questions of me as well, please don’t hesitate to do so.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 9:58 pm

Wisconsin, what does it really mean?

Perhaps not, my fellow Washingtonian. Nearly all the levies passed here in NCW, so I see a lot of people willing to pay up. People do want good schools, and the way our state supports it is simply awful.

Important as well is the lack of support for secondary education. I wish our state would be more fiscally prudent in the good times, and save more money for the bad. We need to get out of these roller coaster rides.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 3:28 pm

Hi David. How do you think wage rates / benefits compare?

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 3:13 pm

Thanks for this post. I have friends who work for our state (my brother for a mid-sized city). For anyone to say they do not work hard is simply not true. Yes, they have a lot of benefits, but our state has been handing out furlough days. Basically, they will work less and therefore take a pay cut. The work load, however, has not changed. Since hiring has been frozen, it is actually increasing in these troubled times.

Sorry to hear about your brother. I hope our economic malaise improves soon, for all of us.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 2:51 pm

Grocery retailing is kinda like that as well. We do a lot of volume, but last year netted 1.32% of gross sales. That was down from the year before, but I spent a lot of money remodeling. That, in turn, has helped our sales, and should help us in the long run.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 2:43 pm

One of the ways stores like mine can, and do, compete is to have better customer service. Are we perfect? Of course not. But treating employees fairly makes them much more satisfied with their work, and creates loyalty to our organization. To me, this is simply good business. Since we are in a small bedroom community, customers love to see familiar faces.

I currently have the best crew I have ever had in the grocery business, and I think doing what I can for them pays off. Besides, we are a big family. So many large company managers forget that loyalty goes both ways.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 11:58 am

Good morning. True, they carry a huge selection. The nearest Wal-Mart to me (11 miles) is expanding their food selection. We will compete by offering higher quality produce at a lower retail, and our meat is much better at a competitive cost. Hard for us to compete in center store, but we will stay as close as we can.

Our customers are pretty loyal, and that is where all our community involvement pays dividends…..besides, our involvement is the right thing to do.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 10:55 am

Thoughtful post. In my area, the school board cut many of the administrative jobs FIRST! Their goal was to keep as many teachers in the classroom as possible, and keep class sizes reasonable. The superintendent voluntarily took a pay cut. He felt that it sent the wrong message for him to accept a nice raise, when the district was struggling.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 10:43 am

Very thoughtful post, well done. My experiences over the years with unions are a mixed bag as well. My company is non-union, but union wages and benefits are the benchmark we use. I generally pay more than union scale, and give raises based on merit (hard work, great customer service, etc.). My benefit package is a bit better, and I offer several additional things like health club membership.

The big problem for my industry is Wal-Mart. The way they treat their folks is a competitive cost disadvantage for us. I truly wish they would unionize to level the playing field; however, I don’t ever see that happening.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 10:40 am

Indeed. The moderation over there is out of control at times. Not only does it stifle discussion, but so many thoughtful posts get deleted for no justifiable reason. Yesterday I posted that I recently saw an article with several hundred posts, but over 3,000 pending moderation.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 10:11 am

Sarah Palin Watch: The Death of Death Panels

Hello! Thank you, I am glad to be here among friends. Some great posts here; I am looking forward to reading more of them in the coming days. I should have my av loaded later this afternoon.

» Posted By snoskier On February 19, 2011 @ 2:12 pm

Thank you for sharing your story. I was fortunate during the deaths of both my parents that we had had discussions about end of life issues. We lost my mom’s father after a stroke and 9 days of misery. The Friday after the funeral, my dad had a heart attack (we think). Unfortunately for all of us, the emergency room continued resuscitation. He ended up brain dead, but his heart and lungs restarted. 11 days he lingered.

Our family had discussed what measures to allow, and which ones to avoid. My father had been very specific just weeks before his death: “Don’t you dare let anyone ever keep me alive with machines!”

When my mom got cancer, I (we) honored her end of life requests. Hospice was great, even though the last day was horrible for me.

All families need to have the unpleasant discussions about end of life plans. Ultimately, we all have a right to die with dignity.

» Posted By snoskier On February 19, 2011 @ 1:20 pm

Tenderfoot No More

Great story, my friend.

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 10:03 pm

Wolf. Good to see you, my multi-dimensional friend!

» Posted By snoskier On February 20, 2011 @ 10:02 pm

Time Out for O/T – Vol. 15

What we do with our food bank program with our customers is mix it up. For example, we will have hygiene items in a bag for sale (and donation).

We also did sweatshirts, hats, gloves, and jackets in bags for $25. That was a big hit with their clients, since it is still cold up here.

Relaunching our food drive program this week.

» Posted By snoskier On March 15, 2011 @ 4:55 pm

What irritates me about these exemptions from sales tax it this: low to mid income folks pay more for necessities like soap, health and beauty care items, diapers, etc. Therefore, they subsidize those who can pay for non-essential services, but just don’t want to.

» Posted By snoskier On March 15, 2011 @ 4:26 pm

Congratulations!

» Posted By snoskier On February 28, 2011 @ 12:36 am

I would never have made it without someone giving me direct help. This particular TA was so good, we actually understood most of it by the end of the semester. Went from a D to a C+ so I was happy about that.

One thing Stat and Market Research taught me is to look at surveys with a skeptical eye. The questions asked make a big difference in the results.

» Posted By snoskier On February 27, 2011 @ 7:34 pm

I certainly did. We had a prof that mumbled in the class. We couldn’t hear him, even when all 60 of us bunched up front. We nicknamed him “whisperin Harry.” I got through it because we had a great TA graduate student that was able to explain it during “lab.” I managed to get a C, but was sure glad to put it behind me.

Market Analysis was another one that was very, very difficult. I spent weeks studying for the mid-term. It covered 800+ pages!!

Good luck!|

» Posted By snoskier On February 27, 2011 @ 5:02 pm

Oh my.

» Posted By snoskier On February 25, 2011 @ 12:17 am

Glad to see you over here. We are currently on the same thread at HP, and I hope to see you in the discussions over here as well.

» Posted By snoskier On February 25, 2011 @ 12:16 am

Thanks…..

» Posted By snoskier On February 23, 2011 @ 10:41 am

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