Should I always support Mom-and-Pop stores?

Question

Here's just a small example. The local deli has nice people working there, and I get a small coffee and buttered roll there every morning for $2.70. Today I was running late and stopped at Mobil Mart instead. The same coffee and roll were $2.10. In instances like this, should I go against my conscience and not support the Mom-and-Pop store and instead the mega-corporation?

Answer 1

If ya can afford it, by all means support them, but there is no law that says you always have to do one or the other....in fact, if you are on a first name basis w/ the mom and pop store, ya might even  by way of opening a discussion apologize that ya can't always make it in, and that sometimes, ya have to go w/ the less expensive way, they might even let ya go on the difference....maybe even suggesting a frequent buyer card, ya buy so many cups/rolls there, and ya get a free one.  The important part the mom and pop stores offer is a sense of belonging to a community...ya visit, ya chat, ya get to know them,...they become more 'real' once you involve yourself into their lives...not to mention they have a vested interest in their customers, prolly more so the the huge conglomerates who are not so personal.

The service that a Mom&Pop store offer is more to my likeing anyway.

But this is just MHO.

Answer 2

How about a Mom-and-Pop store in the inner city that charges $2 for a 12-ounce can of coke, do you support them over an Exxon station that sells the same can of coke for $1?  If you like to pay more, I say go for it, but there are people who don't.

Answer 3

I have thought about this quite a bit.

The way I see it is to support the place that employs the most people. I would love to say I support local moms and pops stores but when they provide only 3 to 6 jobs and I have a Home Depot in town which employs 200+ I feel it is better to provide that great employment opportunity to provide continued need to employ and for future hires.

Also, I have noticed that most moms and pops store only hire family. The money stays in their family and it is impossible for anyone not of their blood to get a job.

Answer 4

It depends...

do you get anything OTHER than coffee and a roll at the deli? like..do you get satisfaction of helping a local marketplace? do you like the atmosphere? the friendliness?

if you get all these additional things... is that WORTH 60 cents to you?

if it IS worth 60 cents, then you should be happy about shopping there.

if it's NOT worth 60 cents to you, then you should have no guilt about buying from the mobil mart.

Answer 5

I do.  It's the right choice on many levels!

Answer 6

I priced tires at Walmart and while we were there ,I asked my husband if we could go to a mom and pop shop I heard about , We saved big time, and from then on I learned my lesson. You will not necessarily pay more.

Answer 7

I would much rather support the "mom-n-pop" stores.  The powers that be (or rather the master class) = special interest groups, politicians, government officials, the rich, big business, etc....  I choose not to line their pockets if I can help it.

Answer 8

Please!   The Walmarts and Home Depots are taking over our world!   And taking all of Mom & Pop's jobs.   Support them and pay a little more.  It's worth it!

Answer 9

Remember that rule for taking True/False quizzes back in school? If the question contains words like always or never, then it's usually false. But I'd say you should generally try to patronize local family owned businesses unless the products and services are quite inferior or the prices are hugely inflated.

I find it worth paying a bit more to go to a smaller shop where all the employers are known to me and are better able to assist me because I am known to them -- not just one of thousands of customers. I know that my local coffee shop isn't going to "pull" it's location and pinkslip the whole staff if "projected profits" fall below a certain arbitrary level set by some corporate goons on another planet. And I know that the profits generated by my patronage will mostly be spent right here in my own community, not on Planet Goon, and certainly not socked away in some Cayman Island Bank to avoid paying taxes into the US treasury. I'm sorry I don't have the link handy, but some govt agency reported that small businesses play a much larger role in creating jobs and prosperity than do large corporations.

Mobil Mart might be Shell or BP next month, but Best Bakery has been doing business in the same location and owned by the same family for 30+ years. They see me coming up the sidewalk at 7 and by the time I walk in the door, any my "usual" is waiting for me at my favorite table. The 14 year old who poured my coffee 20 years ago will probably be manager in 20 years. Hope I'm alive to see it!

Answer 10

Support the local Mom and Pop stores.  The large mega million corpoations are taking over America and not leaving room for the small busineses to exist.

I always support my local businesses and try not to shop at the corporate stores whenever possible.

Bless the Mom and Pop stores.

Answer 11

Only if you want them to stay in business.  Loyalty to me is worth more than money.

Answer 12

I think you've answered your own question. Why would you even consider going against your own conscience just to save sixty cents??

I have never stepped foot inside a WalMart, Home Depot, Lowe's, or any other big 'chain' store. If I can't buy it from my locally-owned, locally-operated, independent store, I'll go without it. I even drive 13 miles to shop at a small local grocery store rather than patronize the nearby Kroger, Meijer's and Scott's stores who are all part of national chain-stores.

WalMart comes to town, hoodwinks local politicians into believing they'll create jobs. Instead, they destroy locally-owned businesses, provide minimum-wage jobs, bully town councils for tax abatements and other breaks - and most of the profits from the store goes back to Bentonville, Arkansas so that Sam Walton's descendants can remain on the Forbes Fortune 400 list among the richest people in the world. WalMart rarely involves itself in the community by joining the local Chambers of Commerce. WalMart seldom supports local charity benefits, school events or community service projects. It imports goods from China made by child-slave labor, and creates this allure that it has "low prices - everyday" when, in fact WalMart prices are often the same - or higher than local merchants (with the exception of those loss leaders that lure shoppers to the store).

Mom-and-Pop stores will struggle through lean times and remain in the community for generations. Mark my words: when the next economic depression hits this country, WalMart will abandon stores in markets across the nation. One more thing: when times get tough, and you need a few extra days to pay your bill, "Mom and Pop" might accommodate your needs because they know you and they're part of your community. With WalMart, it's "pay us now or get out of this store".

Go with your conscience!!!     -RKO-    11/20/07

Answer 13

Support the mom and pop.  Mobil gets more than enough money from the exhorbiant gas prices!!!!!