Watermelon Patch
- Thread starter chuckster
- Start date
dustin
UAIOE
What's the watermelon patch?
I hear ya about these wanna be microsoft stores. I will go to the little guy first even though it may cost a little more when I check out. It's a good warm fuzzy knowing you're actually helping out that guy stocking the shelves to help put food on the table instead of funding for "this show has been brought to you by insert name here "
I take it you are talking about the 'Watermelon Station' on 235 in Lexington Park. I went there once and it seemed an okay place but it wasn't someplace that wowed me.
I think the unending road construction project is killing a lot of the businesses in that area. It's very difficult to get in and out of the parking lots.
I think the unending road construction project is killing a lot of the businesses in that area. It's very difficult to get in and out of the parking lots.
We went to Lone Star (mistake number one) last week and almost got rear-ended in the process trying to turn into the entrance.
Thank goodness there's a light there to get out, but even then half the people are going to run the red light anyway. People beep their horn at me as soon as the light changes, but I'm not pulling out until I see the lead cars are actually stopping.
I miss all the little independent stores we used to have in the area. As a consumer, I enjoy the fact that I can get stuff cheaper from the big boxes, but as a county person, I lament the loss of the personal touch from the little guys like Harvest Market, The Elephant's Trunk, and countless others who are gone now.
They'd been talking about getting out of it for several years - especially Mike. :shrug:
But they are a great example of small business owners who act all snippy (Mike, not Linda), then can't figure out why no one wants to shop in their store. As much as I loved ol' Yaz, she wasn't the most well-behaved dog in the world, and that turned people off too.
I never had a problem with any of them, except Linda liked to stand too close to people and invade their personal space, which I found uncomfortable. She also could use a breath mint now and then.
Yaz was always well-behaved, at least when I was there. I thought she added character to the store, but I'm a sucker for dogs anyway.
I bought tons of stuff from them. I like the quirkiness and variety of it all.
I thought she was a cutie - we used her in their TV commercial.
But she was a "smeller" and someone would come in who maybe had pets at home or something and she wouldn't leave them alone.
Originally posted by vraiblonde
I thought she was a cutie - we used her in their TV commercial.
I don't mind this. She'd sniff me and follow me around the store, getting her scent on me. I'd go home and get the same sniff treatment from my mutts, the "how DARE you pet another dog, you hussy" once over.
I agree 110%!!! Its enough to pizz you off!!!!
SmallTown
Football season!
Living here in NoVa, we have more than our fair share of big box stores. But we also have plenty of smaller mom and pop stores. One of the reasons they suffer a bit in somd when the big stores come in is because they don't have something people want. For so long they were able to just put up a store and have people come in regardless of the service or prices offered because there wasn't any competition. The ones that fold when the big box stores come in are the ones who simply don't offer something better than the other stores (be it the service, prices, etc) or are not will to adapt to give the people what they want. Sure, there isn't much a "mom and pop" gas station can offer to compete with WaWa, but the retail stores sure can... They can offer unique items not found in the other stores, they can offer service that can't be found in the other stores. Or they can simply keep business as usual and hope people will continue to come.
But as I said before, there is nothing the smaller gas stations can offer to make their business any better than say a WaWa... I will gladly pay less for gas at WaWa and not think twice about it.
But you can have both, the big box stores and the small stores. Many people get into the funk thinking it is one or the other, but it isn't the case at all. The smaller stores don't go out of business just because a big store moves in. They go out because the simply don't offer what people want/need any longer. But once the "growing pains" in somd are over, I think you'll see a nice mixture of the big box stores and the small local stores. But it may take time to strike a good balance.
But as I said before, there is nothing the smaller gas stations can offer to make their business any better than say a WaWa... I will gladly pay less for gas at WaWa and not think twice about it.
But you can have both, the big box stores and the small stores. Many people get into the funk thinking it is one or the other, but it isn't the case at all. The smaller stores don't go out of business just because a big store moves in. They go out because the simply don't offer what people want/need any longer. But once the "growing pains" in somd are over, I think you'll see a nice mixture of the big box stores and the small local stores. But it may take time to strike a good balance.