Security National’s tough guy Randy Gans displays his woeful ignorance about Home Depot in today’s Times-Standard:
”We selected Home Depot to anchor the [Marina Center] project based on the company’s stellar reputation as a socially and environmentally responsible company,” Gans said.
Let’s look at HD’s “stellar” record.
Environment:
- HD is bad for wetlands
- paid millions in fines for improper handling of hazardous waste in California
- knowingly sold harmful products that hospitalized customers and spawned 200 lawsuits
Customer service:
- Unhappy customers
- more unhappy customers
- record numbers of unhappy customers
- some really pissed-off customers
- wastes customer time
- ripping off customers is dishonest
- HD lies to customers to sell them expensive, unnecessary things
- Layoffs
- pull-outs
- more pull-outs
- employee discrimination based on race, gender
- strikes by timber and steelworkers
- kills jobs in competing (local) stores
Yessiree, that sure is a “stellar” record, alright.
December 2, 2008 at 10:27 am
You’d make a more compelling argument if you linked directly to external sources for your examples rather than link back to your own propaganda. A spin war is not won by adding more spin to the mix.
December 2, 2008 at 10:29 am
Such links are contained in every post linked to.
December 2, 2008 at 10:32 am
So, if they drop Home Depot you’re cool with the project?
You don’t object to office/business/restaurant space, surely.
December 2, 2008 at 10:35 am
No, not in this post. You link to your own propaganda mostly, which then links onward. So we can go down a tree of pages before we get to your alleged claims. It’s more about getting people to believe your spin than the information contained on external websites.
December 2, 2008 at 10:39 am
The original research is already done. You can follow the links if you like, or you can complain that it wasn’t done for you twice. No doubt you’ll choose the latter.
December 2, 2008 at 10:55 am
Randy Gans is also an expert at breaking up physical acts of violence, and providing false witness information
December 2, 2008 at 10:58 am
Sure Heraldo, I want to be shown your analysis first instead of the original source. Yep. Uh huh.
December 2, 2008 at 11:00 am
There are lies, damn lies, and Heraldo.
December 2, 2008 at 11:01 am
As the Humboldt Herald’s biggest fan, you’ve surely seen every one of those posts before, and followed the links to the source material, which is often quoted in the post for those other, lazy readers, who, unlike yourself, go right to the comments rather than follow the links.
December 2, 2008 at 11:07 am
Follow links back to your spin? No, I’d prefer to read a source that attempts to be impartial. You state opinion as fact, so rather than click to your spin and then click to the source, I’d prefer to click directly to the source. Silly me. If you actually did what I said, you’d have a small degree of credibility outside your circle of bloggers and activists.
December 2, 2008 at 11:11 am
No to the project!! It is a business killer and designed to make him richer yet. He could give a shit what happens to the rest of us.
December 2, 2008 at 11:17 am
I don’t attempt to be impartial on Home Depot, and neither do tens of thousands of other people who’ve been hospitalized, ripped off, ignored, had their time wasted, their communities poisoned, and so on.
December 2, 2008 at 11:19 am
Tens of thousands? Source please.
December 2, 2008 at 11:20 am
Oh, and by source, I don’t mean a link to own of your own articles. An impartial source please that documents these tens of thousands of people who have been hospitalized, etc.
December 2, 2008 at 11:21 am
Follow the links.
December 2, 2008 at 11:24 am
Monitor, what’s your explanation for his spending gobs of money fixing a community landmark and bringing live performances to Eureka, what is very likely a considerable loss to him? The world isn’t cut and dry good and evil, although you do appear to have an evil streak of absolutism in your viewpoint.
December 2, 2008 at 11:26 am
Communicate clearly.
December 2, 2008 at 11:34 am
I used to live in Los Angeles, a city with a Home Depot within spitting distance from anywhere else in the city.
The stores always involved too much traffic, noise and litter. There was no concern about the surrounding neighborhoods.
Once I rented a pickup. They charged for every 30 minutes. I went out to my truck and could not move it because it was blocked by an unattended Home Depot delivery truck. After waiting a bit, I went back in and told the customer service desk that the truck was stuck in the lot.
I was told that the clock was ticking, whether I could move the truck or not! I even complained to the store manager to no avail—while the clock was ticking!
I later contested the charges with my credit card company and got my money back. Home Depot attempted to charge me for 40 minutes of sitting in their lot!
December 2, 2008 at 11:40 am
I once lived near a Home Depot in Redding. The entire area was and is a simply delightful place to live. Too hot, but activists haven’t found a way to blame Home Depot for global warming yet.
Wait for it…
December 2, 2008 at 11:47 am
We must clean up the Balloon Track first, then talk about development, if any.
The Union Pacific and Rob Arkley must be forced to clean up this mess.
First things first.
December 2, 2008 at 11:51 am
Government prefers to let things stew until the next schmo comes along and wants to build or renovate something. That’s when the cattle prods come out.
Keep dreaming “first things first.” That’s what it is, a fantasy.
December 2, 2008 at 11:51 am
I stopped by HD Santa Rosa to price replacement batteries for my cordless tools and they took fifteen minutes to tell me they didn’t know if they were compatible. When I got home, the guys at Myrtle Lumber knew what I needed and the cost was the same. I was out the door in under ten minutes.
December 2, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Good for you Ed. I guess that means Humboldt County doesn’t need a Home Depot. Case closed. Let’s all go home.
December 2, 2008 at 12:23 pm
You forgot to add that they operate at a loss for up to a year, sometimes longer with ridiculously low prices to force the others out of business. And Anonymous did you really say Redding is a simply delightful place to live? Huh? Also, I didn’t have a problem following the links. Seem to work for me.
December 2, 2008 at 12:23 pm
The totality of the Marina Center project relies on solid anchor tenants such as Home Depot. They, like all big biz, have their faults, but they are not as invidious as Heraldo/a makes them out to be.
The mixed use, recycled brownfield and restored wetland of this project far outweigh the crocodile tears shed by those who hide their hatred of the Arkleys behind a pretense of opposing Home Depot.
December 2, 2008 at 12:32 pm
No one need make up the insidiousness of Home Depot. The evidence is everywhere.
If people are upset that the Arkley’s said “read my lips, no big box,” and then turned around and said they couldn’t have their project without one, that’s their fault.
December 2, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I am surprised by those supporters of Home Depot that pretend to be informed about HD’s solid reputation. If you had done a little tiny bit of research ( I will not do it for you), for instance reading the WSJ for the past year, you would notice that HD is in trouble with the capitalist class. It is not doing well in the market, it is not a good stock buy. As an anchor store it would be like asking Mervyn’s to anchor your new mall….
December 2, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I’ll take Home Depot over Pierson’s any day.
December 2, 2008 at 12:46 pm
This reminds me of a recent survey done of CEO’s that found that the general public ( that votes for bonds because they think it is free money) is actually MORE informed about the actual operation of the economic system than the leaders of American business! Oh yea…who is running the capitalist economy into the ground? Ah yes the capitalist!
December 2, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Or lets just add this to the mix: if the socialist will destroy our freemarket system why is it that the capitalist can only get a 2% growth rate out of our advanced economy but the socialist in China get a 6-9% growth rate out of their economy…makes you think that capitalist need socialist to run the economy
December 2, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Hey – I say build it! It’ll save me and everyone I know a bunch of bucks because we don’t have to drive to ukiah or crescent city!
If you don’t like it buy the land and do something different with it.
I say good riddance and get rid of the blight.
December 2, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I’ll take Pierson’s over Home Depot every single day. I’ll take Hensel’s over Home Depot everyday. But if Home Depot forces them under, then I’m left with one unfortunate choice.
December 2, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Isn’t Crescent City a hell of alot closer to Humboldt than Ukiah? Even if you’re in Fortuna or maybe even Redway… Why would you go all the way south?
December 2, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Don’t worry 1:22, Home Depot isn’t putting any hardware store out of business.
Pierson’s sells a different product in a different way. Hensel’s is in Arcata, and Pierson’s didn’t put Hensel’s out of business. Heck, the Ace Hardware in Sunny Brae didn’t put Hensel’s out of business. The two hardware stores in McKinleyville didn’t put Hensel’s out of business. The hardware store in Valley West didn’t put Hensel’s out of business.
Stop fear mongering.
December 2, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Who is in this capitalist class? What is this caste system you speak of?
December 2, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Actually, Ukiah is about an hour from Garberville.
Sorry, but I really think you folks are deluding yourself about Pierson and Pierson’s. I can tell you I used to shop a lot at the big hammer. That was until I really started comparing prices. I can’t afford to support Mr. Pierson and his own personal spending habits any longer. I simply don’t have the money and do not grow dope but actually work. The mark ups are too high there. I save 30 – 70% from shopping elsewhere like Home Depot or on line. Now I am all for helping small business, but the owner of the big hammer is a multi-millionaire and I don’t see why I or anyone I know ought to pay for his lavish lifestyle by spending thousands more of my hard-earned money on things that I can get for thousands less elsewhere. You folks who don’t mind wasting thousands to support his lifestyle either must grow dope or are trust fund babies. My family simply can’t afford to support Pierson’s lavish lifestyle.
December 2, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Heraldo, you left out of your links a story on Home Depot’s practice of coming into towns, hiring up the talent of its competitors at relatively good wages and benefits, milking the good PR, and then quietly letting them go in trickles over the next few years, to be replaced with temps at $9-10/hr., no benefits.
It’s what Randy doesn’t want you to know.
December 2, 2008 at 2:16 pm
The ratio of giant big-box mall parking lot footprint to the overall project seems really high looking at the site plan.
Home Despot is a dog. In all the comments siting the willingness of some people to drive to Crescent City or Redding so they can go to HD, has it never occurred to anyone that those people must be making a huge purchase to justify the expense of the long drive. As well, these legendary expeditions to Home Depot never detail what it is that is being purchased and what exactly was the vast price difference that made it worthwhile.
Honestly, I personally find anyone willing to drive so far to go shopping is not the credible, common-sense kind of person that would persuade me to their position because that is just plain nutty behavior!
Overall, reading the arguments for big box put forward by the HD cheerleaders is like reading a recitation of the Corporate Handbook for Brainwashing Mass Media Zombie Consumers.
This volume is available only from Borders or Amazon of course.
December 2, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Average Eurekan, a source would be nice to go with your tasty lie.
December 2, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Wonder which one’s of these posts is coming from Gans himself?
December 2, 2008 at 3:04 pm
You can probably count on one hand the number of people who are willing to drive two plus hours to shop at a Home Depot in Redding, Ukiah or Crescent City.
December 2, 2008 at 3:10 pm
In your fantasy world, bub.
December 2, 2008 at 3:16 pm
More like, someone is driving to Ukiah, or past Ukiah, for some other purpose and deliberately makes a point of stopping at Home Depot and other big boxes to snag deals while they are there. A *lot* of people do that, whether it’s Ukiah or Redding or Sacramento or …
December 2, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I wonder how many of these posts are coming from Heraldo herself while logged out?
December 2, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Bigfoot – what a creep you sound like!
Frankly, I am not trying to convince you of squat. That would be impossible and a waste of time. Reminds me of something my grandmother used to say when I was a kid, “never try to teach a pig how to sing, it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
And that you don’t find me or others credible because we will drive an hour to save hundreds of dollars if not thousands, well man, you aren’t credible. As I said before, if you have that much money to throw away, you are a doper or a trust fund baby.
Ps – it ain’t no 2 hours bub. In Garberville HD is an hour away. In Mck, HD is an hour away. Drive it all the time!
December 2, 2008 at 3:41 pm
There’s a Home Depot in Crescent City? Need I ask where? Google Maps places it east of Prairie Creek. Any other big boxes besides HD and Wal-Mart up there?
December 2, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Home Depot: Millstead 2 In. x 4 In. x 8 Ft. Pressure Treated Lumber: $4.49
Peirson’s: $4.72
Home Depot: Milwaukee Variable Speed 10 Amp Sawzall: $119.00 ($99.00 online (which means you don’t need the an HD in your little town.))
Peirson’s:$119.99
Sources: HD:http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Navigation?Ntk=AllProps&N=10000003+90029+502106&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&langId=-1
Peirson’s: 707-441-2700
I would have gotten you more examples but I didn’t want to waist Kelly O’Connor (26 year employee) time anymore just to tell any anonymous troll thta he/she is full of it. And if you are going to try to build a house, you will get deep cuts at Peirson’s. Really. Try it.
What’s more, I can tell you from much experience that if you buy more than about $100 worth of merchandise at Peirson’s they will give you a break. Try that at Home Depot. And try to get someone at HD to tell you what gauge of wire you need to run three 1,00 watt ballasts safely. (just kidding)
Point is, the argument that we are getting choked out by Peirson’s and that HD is going to somehow save you a bundle is complete nonsense.
Oh yeah, and how many 26 year employees do you think there are at HD, or will be in 26 years?
How many 26 year employees do you think there will be at Peirson’s after HD chokes them out?
December 2, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Point is, the argument that we will get choked out by Home Depot and that smaller hardware stores will somehow crumble is nonsense.
December 2, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Do your homework, and get some sleep.
December 2, 2008 at 4:22 pm
And I thought the point was that you have to drive your sorry butt all the way to Crescent City every time you have to buy something. At those savings it is an obvious lie. Sorry. You are just running you keyboard either because you really hate Haraldo or because you have something to gain (other than a 23 cent savings on a 2×4) by the Arkley plan for the Marina center. Since your particular and identifiable style of abuse seems to arise when H hits Arkely, I am assuming.
Yes I know, now u and ming are asses. sorry.
December 2, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I made no such argument. I said people already visiting a city or driving past it will make a point of stopping at big boxes to snag deals. Do your homework.
December 2, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Regardless, I still bet that the amount of people who actually make a point to drive all the way from Eureka to Crescent City to go exclusively to Home Depot could fit in an SUV.
December 2, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Correct. I believe people who make the I-drive-up-there-just-for-gas or just-for-Home Depot or just-for-X are propagandists making a cheap attempt to discredit the opposing viewpoint, casting their opponents as loonies. It’s sort of like when a conservative cries out, “They want no growth!” Wait a minute, who made that claim? Some anonymous person? Uh huh.
There may be a handful of financially irresponsible people who make dedicated drives for such things, but it’s just that, a handful. And I say handful just because, well, never say never. I do think it’s never though.
December 2, 2008 at 4:39 pm
“Rose Says:
December 2, 2008 at 10:32 am
So, if they drop Home Depot you’re cool with the project?
You don’t object to office/business/restaurant space, surely.”
Remove the “big box” and there will be no opposition to speak of.
December 2, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I will still oppose it – there needs to be a full and complete clean up of the site.
December 2, 2008 at 5:19 pm
There we go: No matter what is done, certain elements of society will always oppose this.
December 2, 2008 at 5:19 pm
And 5:00 should have the final say. Because.
Professor of Pessimism, Doctor of Negativity. No big truck, no big boats, no no no. Where do you buy your socks and underwear? Or should we buy those local?
December 2, 2008 at 5:29 pm
It seems to me that if the price differential between local hardwares/home suppliers and Home Depot in Crescent City or Ukiah were as large as stated by the Marina Center promoters here then local contractors would band together in a buying cooperative, buying in quantity and having it shipped here in truckloads. Is that happening?
have a peaceful day,
Bill
December 2, 2008 at 5:29 pm
3:18,
your suggested scenario sounds very plausible.
3:28,
sorry i pushed your button. i recommend ice to reduce the swelling.
i don’t really get the whole pig thing, but it sounds very poetic and folksy.
December 2, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Peace, love and understanding among competitors? Do you by any chance live in a commune?
December 2, 2008 at 5:33 pm
What happens to the Home Depot building after they go bankrupt from opening a store in a samll community that can’t support it? Big empty box becomes a Wal-mart?
December 2, 2008 at 5:58 pm
yes, they grew to their current size by providing terrible service, high prices, and closing up stores soon after they open them.
December 2, 2008 at 6:15 pm
What happens when Home Depot thrives and all of the activists’ Chicken Little nightmares don’t come to pass?
December 2, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Anybody who can get to Ukiah from Redway or to Crescent City from Eureka in only an hour is driving waaaay too damn fast. I’ve made those drives many dozens if not hundreds of times, and such travel times are just not realistic. Even if feasible, they’re certainly not legal or safe.
Thus is the credibility of the commenter tainted…
December 2, 2008 at 6:48 pm
You’d be amazed how fast a jacked up Dodge truck can drive through the Redwoods
December 2, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Your credibility as a reader of the English language is tainted. The commenter said Garberville to Ukiah and McKinleyville to Crescent City. You’re putting words in his mouth to come up with a Eureka-to-Crescent City example.
Google reports McK to CC as a 1 hour 15 minute trip. That 15 minutes is easily mitigated by Google not having a clue because it is indeed a 1 hour drive from… Arcata! And I drive the speed limit or under. And if you live near a freeway offramp, you can shave 5 minutes off that time, too.
December 2, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Is “shill” a pejorative term?
December 2, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Emerald Hexagon ought to check the price of pond liner, fencing, and ceramic pots, and french doors, cabinets and lighting, not nails by the pound. Nice try, though.
It’s true you don’t go for one item. People I know either take trucks or rent a U-haul.
December 2, 2008 at 9:48 pm
The race to the bottom
December 2, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Yes. A shill is like the audience member that the televangelist cures of blindness.
December 2, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Essentially calling him a shill is calling him a liar.
December 2, 2008 at 10:06 pm
bingo
December 2, 2008 at 10:28 pm
ita 90 miles from g’vill to ukiah, some of that twisting mountain road/ i suppose you could get there in an hour driving 100mph most of the way…
December 2, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I’ll concede either Home Depot or Lowes usually has the lowest possible price on whatever type of thin pond liner or generic flower pot.
French Doors are only about 30% cheaper at Home Depot.
There are cheaper ways to get wood kitchen cabinets than Home Depot. Home Depot does have the low price on particle board cabinets.
I get all my lighting at 1000bulbs.com as both big box and mom and pop stores are still stuck on 20th century technology.
Nails, nuts, bolts, studs, washers, rivets, pins… this is important stuff. Who has the best deal? Some of these stores run out of bolts which is a pain.
But Emerald Hexagon didn’t say nails, they said:
I don’t see the big advantage of having a Home Depot around considering nobody can even sell the houses they fixed up last year.
December 2, 2008 at 10:35 pm
A + B = C?
A = People fixed up their houses last year.
B = Nobody has sold houses they fixed up last year.
C = Home Depot is no big advantage.
Great critical thinking skills you’ve displayed there. I’m pretty sure you’re lying about B, too.
December 2, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Heh. That’s if you figure Home Depot caters to builders.
I think it caters more to the remodeler, the fixer-upper, as does Pierson’s, people who are staying in their homes, fixing them up for themselves – cocooning as it were. A baby-boomer trend that has lasted longer than anyone thought it would.
It’s funny how each store has its own clientele. So do restaurants. No matter how many restaurants you have, each will have its regulars.
The same will happen here. I’d bet Home Depot will pull a whole different base of shoppers. there will be some overlap, but Pierson’s customers will still shop there. They may cheat on occasion, but as long as he keeps his inventory up, and his service up, he won’t lose. He may have to work harder, make less margin. But people will still go there, shop there… Home Depot will have a middle of the road basic, stuff that’s guaranteed to sell. Pierson could go high end, with unique tiles, and lights, etc… who knows?
I do agree that the current economic climate would tend to discourage opening any new stores anywhere, which means really this whole discussion could be moot. But don’t discount that vast underground economy we supposedly have here. That’s the real draw.
December 2, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Last I checked, with friends who bought it – top quality pond liner was 1/3 the price up in Crescent City.
And last time I walked through Home Depot in Santa Rosa area, french doors were significantly lower – not comparing brands and qualities, just that the low end pieces were very affordable. Then you have to decide is you want the upgrade, and that may mean, even now, shopping for doors somewhere BESIDES Pierson’s. Without even a Home Depot in the area.
Plenty of cabinet shops to choose from, too. Pierson’s hasn’t put them out of business – and vice versa.
December 2, 2008 at 11:45 pm
I wonder, was doing fluff pieces for the Marina Center project part of the “agreement” between the Eureka Reporter and the Times Standard?
December 3, 2008 at 7:23 am
Redding is a great place? When I moved here (Redding) in ‘03 I told my friends it wasn’t all that bad, lots of great people and possibilities. Well, that was all talk. One thing great about it is the proximity of the outdoors, i.e., Castle Crags, Lassen area, hiking opportunities and photo ops. Redding is also a great Blues town, supporting a Blues Society and weekly jams.
But I so miss the Coast. As much as the Earth First contingent served as an irritant to my delicate sensibilities, I find the other side of the coin, redneck ignorance, Home Depots and Wal Marts for days – every bit as choking, every bit as odious. I miss the people of the Coast, open-minded discussion always a possibility at every encounter. You don’t really get that random discovery over here. “You don’t know what you got, till it’s gone..”
December 3, 2008 at 9:07 am
bag of level-quik at Piersons=$42
bag of level-quik at HD=$26
December 3, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Good Rockin’ Derral, I agree. I lived there from 2000 to 2004, from SoHum. At first I was excited by all the shopping possibilities, all the bargains, all the restaurants.
But that wore off fast and then I was alarmed how things happen, clearcuts, overdevelopment, mines that pollute, gravel plants built next to homes, etc. with NO protest of any kind.
Where the big boxes are is big and generic and that’s it. The pretty little indoor mall in the center of town is a crumbling space, while the big boxes flourish. People remember riding horses in pasture land that is now covered in Home Depot and Walmart.
I’m not dissing Redding in general, only the big boxes. Redding has an amazing school system I’ve ever encountered, and incredible firefighters too. But the development is out of control.
There is a huge amount of poverty crawling all through it. When the big boxes went up, motels in other parts of the city fell to ruin, now charge weekly rates and function as expensive temporary homes. There are children trying to have childhoods in those sad motels.
December 4, 2008 at 9:08 am
It’s fun to see these prices that ‘prove’ Home Depot is cheap.
THe CEO of Home Depot explained his pricing strategy to shareholders several years ago, before he was deposed. He said they do extensive research to learn which prices customers already know for items before they enter the store. Those prices they beat. The vast majority of what HD sells is one-time widgets most of us don’t have any idea the common cost of. Those prices can be safely gouged. He summed up his pricing strategy like this:
“Islands of loss in oceans of profit.” Just keep comparing that sheetrock.
December 4, 2008 at 9:36 am
Not lying about B. I’ve noticed an increasing number of people moving into the houses they tried to flip. This evidence may be anecdotal but it certainly reflects a broader reality.
Home Depot is not doing so well. This is not something I made up. Even with the windfall profits due to Hurricane Gustav, Home Depot is losing money. A healthy portion of Home Depot’s profit was due to the housing bubble.
I suppose this fellow is lying too:
“I would expect that the dynamics are going to be different. When you look at California, Florida, Nevada, you had just a lot of speculative homebuilding. You had strong employment, strong underlying GDP growth, but a housing bubble that had a direct impact on us as that bubble collapsed.
I suspect we’re going to be seeing a different dynamic play out going forward where it’s less a housing bubble unwinding than it is a region dealing with basic difficulties on economic growth and employment.” Frank Blake, CEO
My point was having a Home Depot might have made sense when the housing market was creating a legion of house flippers. When home values were artificially increasing, there was a real demand for discount curb appeal products. All the housing market is doing now is sucking people who didn’t work for the money they spent into bankruptcy. It’s going to be difficult enough for local hardware stores to survive the current recession even without Home Depot.
I’m pretty sure you were just trolling.
December 4, 2008 at 8:48 pm
How in the world have we lasted so long without a Home Depot? I just marvel at how we do with such primitive old fashioned lumber yards and appliance stores. My eyes are welling up right now with tears of want. I feel like we have not even entered the twentieth century yet and that train has already left the station. I feel very deprived and I want my shiny new cheap stuff right now. All bow to the chief stuff savior, Mr. A.
December 4, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Yes, because Humboldt has been going gangbusters so far with its embracing the redwood curtain, blocking for as long as possible the outside world’s crazy way of doing things. Yep, our economy is thriving and has been for decades thanks to our counter-culture approach to everything. You got that right. We don’t need no stinking anything from anybody south of Garberville. We’re poor and uneducated and sick and we like it that way!
December 4, 2008 at 9:34 pm
So what happens if Arkley gets his Marina Center and Home Depot doesn’t want space? A different big box? Is there different zoning for Home Depot and Walmart?
December 4, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Mr. Nice. I’d say the ones having trouble selling their houses are the ones who have gone for maximum density, little tiny lots, the kind that makes the Planning dept happy, but isn’t conducive to the quality of life we want up here.
And back to pricing “Islands of loss in oceans of profit.” Just keep comparing that sheetrock.… what you’re talking about are the loss leaders, the advertised items that bring in traffic, and generate sales of OTHER more profitable items. That’s a common practice, Pierson’s, Coast to Coast, Ace, True Value, all of them do it, Long’s Walgreens, RiteAid, Safeway, Ray’s… you notice they give away turkeys, but they sell you the REST of the stuff you need for Thanksgiving Dinner?
Geez. You guys need to go back to school. This is comical.
Funny thing though – that loss leader thing is what cost Coast to Coast their business in McKinleyville. In PIERSON’S shopping center. rent is based on gross – and loss leader sales (on which you LOSE money) counts as gross. So they were paying rent on sales where they lost money.
I realize it’s not PC to criticize Pierson here, but that’s the fact.
December 8, 2008 at 9:32 am
Do you realize how many Pierson family members there are? Do you realize more than one owns a business? Do you know who you’re talking about? If so, try using his or her first name. If not, stop talking.
December 11, 2008 at 9:56 am
Not to pick on home depot, but I just called cc home depot to ask a question about electrical, and they don’t even have staff in electrical until 10.00am, customer service?