does anyone else shop from a local mom & pops store just to keep them in business?

[zerocool1]

Strictly to keep them in business, no. If they can't compete on price, they'll have to compete on service or atmosphere.

this

 

[KC5AV]

I have no problem spending a few extra dollars to support a local small business if the alternative is to give money to Wal-Mart. That said, a few dollars is just that.

 

[CountZero]

I was about to say yes but then reading through this thread and thinking about it and the answer is really no.

I shop at locally owned stores (I hate the term mom & pop stores) because they carry stuff I want and are a place I want to shop at. That makes total sense because the locally owned stores I support are things like CD stores, video stores, book stores, game stores, etc. The kind of stores that invite browsing and obviously you want to browse at a store that carries what you like.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i shop at mom-and-pop's whenever practical

 

[BurnItDwn]

No, not to "keep them in business."
As others have said though, convenience, service, selection, quality, as well as atmosphere sometimes help to sway me towards smaller independently owned stores.

Mostly, I HATE stores that are crowded and have lines. So, whatever store usually has the shortest lines and less crowding tends to be my destination of choice. As long as prices are "reasonable."

 

[kalrith]

I try to, especially restaurants.

I should append that by saying, only if I think it's worth it.

I'm not looking to waste money but find that a lot of local restaurants are often better tasting/quality for less money.

This is what I do. Chain restaurants are just so boring and dull. Local restaurants typically provide better service, food, and atmosphere for the same or lower price.

With stores, however, I shop at the large ones that charge less and have a better selection. I certainly won't pay double for 30yo tools like the OP

 

[DrPizza]

The local "small" hardware store has a much wider selection than Home Depot, especially in hardware. They're friendlier - MUCH friendlier, and they're helpful. They will always look for customers needing help. At the local HD, it seems the policy is "divert your eyes, don't make eye contact with the customers, pretend you don't hear them if you can sneak away quickly enough so they can't chase you down."

And best of all, at the local hardware store, they know what the hell they're doing. They seem to be able to solve any problem in 10 seconds, while the "experts" at HD mumble and say "I'm not sure."

 

[feralkid]

welp, i use the local store (national chain, but owned locally) for certain things like furnace filter, RAID spray, odds & ends etc. if it's the weekend and i don't feel like driving into the city.

if i'm just picking something up on the way home from work it is most likely from a big box store like Home Depot or Rona.

Exactly, in fact Most chains won't sell you just a welp; they make you buy the whole sprocket.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Not really. I go to whatever store is best for what I want and/or can somehow make me want to go there. A lot of times that means I go to a small locally owned store and other times that means going to a big store.

I run what most people would consider a mom & pop store and I don't want your charity. I do want your business, and I think that I can win it with service, expertise, and availability of uncommon items. People buy things from me because I go out of my way to satisfy them, often doing things that bigger stores would never do to get their business. That's the way I want it. If I'm only staying afloat because a number of people pity me and salve their sense of nostalgia by buying from me I need to go out of business and do something else.

 

[Deeko]

I buy almost everything on Amazon. Cheaper, more convenient. I couldn't care less about the mom & pop stores - lets see more price wars between Amazon and Walmart!!

 

[dennilfloss]

While I choose the hardware and buy some of it online, most computer parts have been bought from and the system assembled by the same mom & pop shop the last 10 years. I also by stuff like tools at the local Home Hardware store. Clothing I mostly buy at a nearby discount retail store called Giant Tiger. Recently bought my digital camera at a local camera shop instead of Amazon or Futureshop.

 

[aircooled]

I like to go to the local mom and pop pizza shops, but not just because they are local shops, but they make better pizza.

 

[oogabooga]

I like to go to the local mom and pop pizza shops, but not just because they are local shops, but they make better pizza.

Mom and pop stores are harder to justify since they're almost always more expensive. Restaurants however, it's not hard at all. Often they taste better, have a better staff, and are competitive in price.

 

[Malak]

Most mom and pop shops can't compete because they don't even try. Just like your guy, sitting on his lump watching TV. He couldn't care less if he makes a sale.

 

[BudAshes]

I do shop based on a businesses practices, but I won't go to mom and pop over a chain just for the sake of it. i would never shop at walmart or it's ilk, because they pay the people shit to work their. It's a miserable experience, and it's bad for your community to have poverty level wage workers.

 

[Malak]

I do shop based on a businesses practices, but I won't go to mom and pop over a chain just for the sake of it. i would never shop at walmart or it's ilk, because they pay the people shit to work their. It's a miserable experience, and it's bad for your community to have poverty level wage workers.

I don't know of any other place that pays their employees better... A minimum wage job is a minimum wage job.