Where is the Little Guy in Greeley Politics?

After a morning trip to Safeway to purchase fresh white fish for my brother's father's day dinner, I was amused to find a posting from Greeley's Tribune's Gnarly Trombone on the self-service checkout lanes around town. I like this Gnarly Dude. Gnarly has more media spunk than some.

I had never seen one of these self-checkout lanes until I came to Greeley. Although I have read about them in retail industry papers. There are some other technology revolutions in store for shoppers too. But I don't think we will see these all at once. For one labor union's can't be too pleased about swapping out people for techno-chips and hand held inventory devices. Secondly, as every good marketeer knows, you have to soften up the public for innovative changes that effect their routine habits or be lynched on the town plaza.

I have a good friend from Canada who mentioned that his local store has the self-service lanes as well as specialized lanes that the disabled workers can staff. He also noted that shopping carts can't be had without a coin deposit that releases each one from its mechanical prison. I thought the second concept very progressive and interesting. I thought the third a great idea except for the increasing rise in the homeless who use them for luggage storage. But I won't digress into macro-economics here.

We, my friend (an attorney) and I, had a long debate on the employer's obligation to hire disabled workers and the public patience with these specialized lanes. While I thought I would be more likely to shop at a store with these lanes (thus offsetting the cost to the business for specialized lanes) he said that a lot of consumers are too impatient (sometimes it seems it can take a longer time to move through the modified checkstand line).

I see the modified checkstand as a reasonable accommodation for a worker's special need. Therefore I can be a little more reasonable and modify my own needs to be accommodating to a fellow human- being with less employment options through no fault of their own. Whereas I refuse to try the self-checkout lanes merely because I see them as a method for hastening getting rid of real people jobs rather than merely annoyingly time-consuming to educate myself on how to use them correctly. The way jobs are disappearing from our economy, and considering the trend has been to make policies (and Supreme Court judgments) against labor, I figure it is in my own self-interest to slow this process down. Regardless how insignificant my individual contribution may be. At least until some decent job creation policies exist to transfer people being cut in one industry to new service based jobs in other industries hits the employment scene.

Eventually though, I am well aware, the overall consumer demand for the lowest prices will win out.

The working-class public screams at outsourcing and corporate labor practices yet they still drool over having a Wal-mart in town. In my view it comes down to that dichotomy we all face--do I act as an individual or do I act for the benefit of others. The hypocrisy between lower prices or living wage employment practices though is not just in the corporate offices and inside our own homes. It exists in local governmental practices as well.

I am still trying to figure out why Greeley doesn't have a strong Mom and Pop sector in competition with these big guns. Basically, if I am correct, Safeway and Soopers (Kroger) have been battling out for the main local marketshare in retail grocery. For a while I thought Kroger a subsidiary of Safeway but I checked the corporate website and decided that is not true. There are rumors on the Internet back in 2003 that Wal-mart owns both but that also is not true (nor would it be healthy for anyone but Wal-mart, Safeway, and Kroger investors). Of course Wal-mart is in town along with Sam's club (Wal-mart). That creates a whole different pressure to drive down labor costs locally.

I'd love to see Smart and Final pop up here for the wholesale competition to Sam's club. But they aren't big enough to take on Sam and smart enough not to try. I haven't found any other option for the restaurant wholesale industry locally and this may be why the local restaurants are sadly lacking (my personal opinion) tasty and better fare.

I am told there were some other options until recently and I know Avanza is still here in town (but that has more a niche speciality line of goods and is not directly in Safeway's target market segments--so they get to escape--for now). My own biggest pet-peeve is I can't find a decent local farmer's market without driving out of town. Where are all the small farmer's?

I'll also admit I have a special pet peeve with Safeway's Club member program. Kroger's Soopers has a similar but less devious tracking program. I didn't have to give up any of my personal information to get a Sooper card. Therefore I shop at Soopers the most.

I've been in marketing. I know how these programs work. I've also gone through union organization from the management perspective in this industry (another story for another time--I left this industry a while ago). Many middle-management jobs are eliminated by this program through the increased efficiency in collecting consumer marketing data. I understand and agree in the efficiency part--it is a necessary part of staying competitive. It can lead to a better product mix selection for consumers. On the flip side I don't see these operational savings being passed on to the consumer although the consumers are the ones giving up their information in the name of "savings". But instead I believe the cost savings of this system translated into higher executive pay and ROI for the company. It used to be companies had to pay and work a whole lot harder to get consumer's to give up that kind of data. There was a value exchange taking place and the consumer often received real incentives for giving up their personal shopping data. Now it is no longer clear that happens.

It is clear that if you don't use Safeway's member card system you'll be forced to pay higher prices. It is not clear that the card is tied uniformly to lowered sale prices. They use the term "money-saving promotions" rather than sale prices for a reason. It is clear it is "exclusive" to those giving u their information to get a card. And most consumers don't understand the internal systems or technology well enough to "beef" about any of this. ( Which is why I am special. I always have to analyse any system. Bad genetics I guess. I didn't get the sheep's costume at birth.) It irks me though that many consumers appear to not even understand how valuable all that personal information is to the company and don't give a second thought to giving it up freely. I don't even need to mention that there is little restriction on its use and, likely, a pretty profit made from reselling this data. Ever wonder how some of those junk mailers get your address? If the savings were being passed on to consumers then Safeway would have long ago won the competitive wars locally by having substantially lower prices and better business practices Instead I think Safeway's competitive edge comes from acquisitions and the use of economy of scale to push out competitors.

But least I forget my focus on the blog for the last few postings... my primary interest remains why local government seems to still be pushing for more mega-corporate entities rather than seriously building up the Mom and Pop sector or refurbishing declining sections of town containing Mom and Pops. I'm still looking for more information on what is going on behind the scenes. I'd still like to see some direct representation for local farmers and quality fresh produce for local consumers. Also I don't understand why the public doesn't seem to be too troubled by the decay of the local sector. Interesting town.

I am having fun exploring these ideas.

Gnarly Trombone: Self-service: Swim through Jell-O | Greeley Tribune

This is supposed to be the newest labor-saving wonderful thing, and we should use it, because it saves energy or trees or something good like that.

However.

I hate self-service lanes.

A lot of our stores have them set up now, so you can “conveniently” check yourself out, pay through a slot, and be on your way. Lickety-split.

But it never works that way.

NEVER.

Where Have All the Mom and Pop's Gone?

One of the best northern Colorado assets I have noticed, to date, is the friendly personable people of this city. They are wonderful in one on one encounters. Open, sharing, full of great ideas, and just pleasing to interact with. Each city I've lived in always has its own flavor and I enjoy the challenge of exploring Greeley. Of course, as my mind tends to do, I like to deconstruct the systems and processes that make the Greeley Rolex tick, so to speak, and that way I can better understand the city which is my new home.

Cities are fascinating organisms to me. They live, they are dynamic, they change with the times and the generations in mostly predictable ways. What really sparks my curiosity though is how organized, or not-so-organized planning, impacts the future of the organic dynamic. If you go too slow the blood supply is cut off and the organism cannot flourish and change. Hence, eventually, it begins to decay and die. Move too quickly and growing pains spring up and conflicts sprout when the population can't emotionally keep pace or comprehend the changes going on. There is a balance in everything--the challenge is finding the point of balance (as my Grandmother used to say).

So just where is Greeley's balancing point? I thought I'd start from the "Geeks" point of view and look at the economic development zones. What I found was an interesting puzzle of pieces. The first piece belongs to northern Colorado at large--the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation. Since I've been interested in sourcing out locally owned businesses and community assets, and worked a long time ago for an economic development agency in another state, I specifically began my quest by looking for this resource and to understand the role their leadership or leverage of wealth plays around town.

Browsing through town again yesterday I noticed a rather large piece of real estate behind Kohl's and across from Safeway just off of 35th street. (I'd love to say I got the street right but I am still working on sorting out the difference between streets, avenues, and courts in this town). A perky but quivering sign gave the last name of Kohl as the Realtor. A coinky-dink? Now, as an aside, readers should know, one of my own personally worst assets is that my brain turns endlessly analyzing systems and strategies. One of my best assets (and sometimes my worst social asset) is that my brain turns endlessly analyzing possibilities. I am truly boring at parties. Enough said. I can hear the snoring already. But back to the point, I thought what a great place this little piece of commercial heaven would be for a development based on locally owned small businesses and start-ups. A real boost for those unemployed by the downturn in the economy. Of course it is a pricey piece of commercial land too. That wouldn't be the only hurdle to overcome. I am not that naive.

In particular I have seen economic development resources devoted to incubating small businesses do a great service, over time, to nurture a thriving local community-based business sector. What a great marketing ploy for Kohl's as well. Diving in and helping to develop small Mom and Pops would certainly make me choose to shop at Kohl's every time over Home Depot (which is the closer store). Food and beverage businesses, small niche fashion shops, a woodworker or two, a tailor, and so on. Maybe a small business marketing center and education development classes for entrepreneurs nestled in between the Mom and Pops.

Now the trick, of course, is to create a mix of businesses that create the traffic within the area needed. Although being located next to the big chains there is already abundant and diverse traffic to be found. Another issue that can arise is the diminishing of other retail areas within the city. Although it already looks like Greeley has chosen to abandon some areas to the advantage of the big box stores as my posting on the Greeley Barrio suggests. So this problem may be moot politically is a majority of concerned citizens have not raised it before.

A third problem is job creation.

There are two sides to the coin that needed to be included in this discussion though. One is that a town needs both high paying jobs with health benefits and it also needs lower wage jobs for the local youth to step into and hold while attending high school and college. This keeps your next generation around long enough and interested enough to sprout roots and then stay in the community, once educated, so that the community can take advantage of new blood entering their economy as the tired blood puts their feet up for rest and recreation. This creates a flow of labor and potential for developing businesses and future tax base (lessening the need, during hard times, to bring in factory corporations which other communities frequently reject on quality of life issues). It also helps diminish the possibility of small shoddy service towns cropping up outside the city limits of Greeley with a regular flow of minimum wage labor living in town with roots and investment in the town's care. When internal property values rise too high for service labor (clerks, gardeners, daycare workers) to afford the working class move out taking, in general, precollege youth with them. The investment is to keep the youth around and interested in the future of the community. Ever drive by Aspen or Vail lately? A perfect example of the previous situation. A two class standard. Spouses also often hold these services jobs secondary to the main household bread winner to add a little income during tight times but still be conscious enough when they come home to be able to take care of other household needs.

A fourth, and divisive, issue to look at is the cry of "foul" by established businesses. Often middle-sized businesses lead this verbal charge but it is usually championed behind the scenes by the large corporate entities. In my view there are two ways to deal with competition. You can spend your energy and money always improving your business so you are the better option. Or you can play social and economic politics and squash it flat before it sprouts. In the long run playing dirty never pays off in my view. So I always recommend concentrating on the first option. It is a better use of capital resources over the long haul. My other comment is that a small business development incubator is a big positive, in the short run and the long run, to the consumers (you and I). We just don't have enough political clout to get our needs met unless it is an election year and our voices are collective.

However, after going through some of the information on the NCEDC site, I see that they have endorsed another strategy--if I am reading the five year plan correctly

"Priority #1:
Retaining Talented Workers and Jobs

Knowledge workers are our most critical competitive asset, and they are mobile.
If we don’t put them to work, we risk losing them to other regions. At the same time, our existing businesses are our best hope for new job creation, and our best ambassadors to the global marketplace. Their continued success must be a top priority.

Target: Business retention that really works.

We will strengthen our business environment so that companies can create more and better jobs for the people who live here. This means:

• Building better partnerships between government, education and business
  
  
• More sophisticated business tracking software and data gathering
  
  
• Regular visits to the headquarters of Larimer county employers
  
  
• Consistent, responsive development review and permitting processes
  
  
• Prudent incentive policies that help to create high-wage job opportunity

Target: Entrepreneurial Success

CSU and our high-tech employers spin off entrepreneurs with surprising regularity. We will work with our virtual incubator, SBDCs and other entrepreneurial support organizations to enhance entrepreneurial success rates, by:

• Creating a "growth company alliance" to identify young, growing companies and match them to appropriate resources
  
  
• Assist local efforts to bring Economic Gardening to Northern Colorado

Target: Higher Education Funding Success

CSU and our other higher education assets are a key part of Northern Colorado’s competitive infrastructure. We will advocate aggressively for a solution to the Tabor/Gallagher/Amendment 23 "perfect storm" that is placing higher education funding at risk in Colorado."

They, the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation, are about due for a new plan. It must already be developing. But it appears they have been targeting existing job expansion. There are some facts and pretty numbers posted that represent success so far. Without a context for comparison in the previous years or with a solid understanding of the portion of the population served (if you create 10 jobs in a population base of 100 that is pretty decent. If you create 10 jobs in a population base of 10 million--well that isn't such a plus). So I hold my opinion on the result of this strategy because I am still not familiar enough with the area.

However, if one looks at the Board of Directors who are guiding these policies, going by the information presented, it looks like they all have a strategic interest (except maybe the brewery gent) in seeing the targeting policies focused on existing businesses rather than new business development. Growth without actively attracting the competition. Where are the Mom and Pop representatives on this board?

I am told that Fort Collins has a greater wealth of economic diversity than Greeley. That is good news. I am going to have to hop on over and explore Fort Collins next. I noted also that is where a number of the directors from the economic development corporation have chosen to live.

So what happened to Greeley? It would be nice to have support in moving the middle classes into self-sustaining ownership positions. This is what developing and incubating small business sectors can help to make happen.

I'll look for that answer next.