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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j093bnr wrote

Reply to comment by set-271 in Afghan refugee who resettled in Providence opens own store by Geek-Haven888

I don't think there's going to be any armed robbery attempts at a vacant building in an area hurt by the death of manufacturing, white flight, poverty, etc, but I don't think it's realistic to pretend the discount store is more likely to be the target of or location for crime than any other business with cash filling the same lot.

That seems more like the discount stores are willing to go into places with problems than other stores, more than being the cause of those problems. Like I said before, they're a symptom, not the disease.

Citing the searchable gun violence archive of 200+ incidents across 2 store chains for 3.5 years is damning......until you go on that site and search for McDonalds, Walmart, etc. It's an imperfect incomplete search but for 26,000 locations that tends to set up shop in high crime areas? It's less chaotic than you'd expect.

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set-271 t1_j095hw7 wrote

I disagree...I worked for two commercial landlords who built out stores to be rented to Dollar Store chains throughout the Northeast and MidWest. Typically they acquired dirt cheap, stand alone, distressed properties that were eye sores in the community, paid off city counselors under the table so they could obtain all approvals, and then the Dollar Store reps would come in all doe eyed proclaiming they were tasked with helping under served communities and were just trying to help.

Then, when they did open, they hired at most 15 people to run the store (a full time manager and mostly part time employees) and the landlord did the absolute bare minimum maintaining the property. Only if the community was strong enough to demand protections, did the Dollar Store hire off duty cops for securty. And most of the products they were selling were near or past expiration date, full of toxic substitutes/fillers, and considered after life shelf products repackaged as new.

It's a predatory business, targeting under served communities, designed to squeeze out their last dollar. The other retail chain my commercial landlords built stores for? Rent-A-Center...which was basically a predatory loan company designed as a simple furniture/electronics for rent store. Rent-A-Center knew what they were doing, and would often hit us up on locations. It's an egregious business model.

But man, the calls we would receive from Dollar Stores getting robbed, shot up, and people getting murdered were extremely high. And my bosses didn't give a fuck, unless the complaints got so bad. But their attorneys had a list of pre-built, template responses to counter any liability.

I know what I know because I saw it myself and I worked in the trenches. It's a shit show of greed, keeping one community sick and poor, while an Elite few got rich living comfortably in the suburbs.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j0d36f8 wrote

I'm not trying to defend these chains or anything but your initial point was implying they are like the Walmart effect where they close down other thriving businesses and then make an area worse and everything you said is more "They go into rundown areas and do the bare minimum to fleece what little money there is to be made"

Like I said, they're a symptom. Not the disease.

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set-271 t1_j0d7eep wrote

Thats like saying Heroin dealers are a symptom, not the disease. Yeah, ok! 👍

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j0ejcaz wrote

Uh yes, that too. They absolutely are. The current opioid crisis is 1000000% from legal pharmaceuticals originally and is now fed by a shit ton of Chinese fentanyl being cut into everything.

Heroin dealers, like shitty discount stores, are just a product of a broken society with way too much endemic poverty.

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set-271 t1_j0ejhgz wrote

Hug a Heroin Dealer...they are so misunderstood! Hug a rapist too!

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