The Great Ballyhoo
Local vs. Global
December, 2005
The Great Debate of Breaking the Chain
"Support Your Local Outfitter"
Deep in the heart of the nineth fastest growing city in the United States (per capita), we have the showdowns of the long standing local shops beginning to have to compete with the large chains moving in as the population explodes. Bend, Oregon has seen all the pains of growing and tried to address them socially, but, ultimately, money rules us all and more often than not, the cash wins out in the decisions. We have developers who get to do what they want, real estate agents bringing in record profits, all of us home owners drooling over our equity, arsonists in next-door communities setting fires to the new McDonald's, protests against the second Wal-Mart trying to get installed in our beloved town and, finally, REI has stepped into the ball game.
I have always been one of those annoying people who don't necessarily see all that much good with capitolism. By making this comment, please do not throw me into the socialist category, it's not like that. What I am saying is that capitolism brings necessary evils because of it's pure ideology. For example, I rarely hear anything but compassionate speech about their fellow man, but even more rare do I hear the call for equal medical care for all. Wouldn't you think that someone who considers themselves compassionate would want every person to have access to current medical technology, whether they can afford it or not? According to the CDC, 20.2 million people in the US put off medical care because they couldn't afford it. Stats are so inhuman, but think about that number and try to put it into perspective and put faces to that number. You can't. It is impossible to fathom 20.2 million actual people. But we don't have universal health care because of our capitolistic ideology. We don't have any type of base level coverage that each person could have because it would be government run, tax funded and that would interfere with the beauty of the capitolistic image and interfere with the marketplace. I am not arguing either side but trying to present the philosophical dilemma we present ourselves with when we wed the dollar.
There are many more arguements to be made both positive and negative that could be debated from here until the cows are purchased, traded, hormone saturated, speculated, butchered, taxed and brought to a home near you.
I had done all of my outdoor activity purchasing with local shops here in Bend. Both of the main outfitters in town were horrid failures in service with prices that weren't considered cheaper. I had gone to REI's quite a bit in Colorado and always found their prices steep but a service that is unmatched. The people are always friendly and you can even bring back hiking boots after two weeks. You get a dividend check every year based upon a percentage of money you purchased all of last year. And for us outdoor granolas, we loves the fact that we are "investing" and getting a return it's like the lure of a siren. Put this on top of always fun shit and the coolest stuff that makes you really look like you do all this crap. But ultimately, I ended up loving the place and dreaded the day they came out with in-store credit.
After moving to Bend I quickly reconnoitered the two established outdoor shops in the local area. I moved from one to the other, experiencing a lack of service and no lack of price. I had always tried to support the local companies as I see the hegemony of large retail stores wreak havoc on the little guy. I always seem to root for the underdog because I like nothing better to see than a home grown business holding its own against a chain.
The deal with chains is that the food is moderately good. The atmosphere is peppy and tailored to turn that frown upside down. The selection is wild with large, blaring letters and smiles. The inside is themed and very comfortable with the sound muted by dark carpet. Everything about screams the fact that your going to have a happy ending and all problems will be resolved within the next 30 minutes. The portions are pleasing to all sizes of people with the option for the bottomless fries and drinks. It's not that these places suck, they are just...common. It's that they feel so...fake. So insincere. They scream illusion and cheat while they make a ton of money taking away from the local businesses by franchising quality and individuality but accomplishing exactly the opposite. It's a great bang for the buck. A guaranteed bang.
That extra money you pay for that cheeseburger isn't because their cheeseburger is that much better than the average cheeseburger, it's because you are paying for an expectation. An expectation of a fun experience, cheerful and bubbly staff, no hassles special orders, gettign what you want and if there is a mistake in the ritual of getting your food and scarfing it down, well, you should get a free coupon for not getting that experience. The most is a free meal. That is what that extra money is for. They bank on the fact they won't have to pay. Most people will let that crappy experience go and not want to raise a fuss. This is the good bet. The bad bet are the ones who get those freebies because they will speak up. This is the same model that large electronic chains use when they sell VCR's and DVD players at a slim to no profit only to sucker you into the extra warranty.
So REI shows up in Bend, I am now stuck with this attitude, the ideology that I feel stuck with because I like sticking to convictions even when it's not convenient.
