South of Sunnyside

Okay, I try not shop at Wal-Mart, but that’s for another post.

I enjoy conversations about why I should support local businesses over chains, and vice versa. The current topic around Fresno seems to be Starbucks and the death of several local coffee shops (and other locally-owned businesses) in Fresno.

Put simply, I’ll support any business that meets my needs, which are usually defined by value (which is a varying perception of price and quality), and experience/customer service. I can forego attentive service if the value is good, and I don’t mind paying more if the service justifies the difference. But I won’t pay more—or even the same in many cases—just because a business is locally owned.

When it comes to food, I argue that many of the national chains offer superior service, as they have developed processes for meeting customer needs. Local eateries often have great food, served with a sense of entitlement or arrogance.

Of course, this isn’t a food blog (though I have one…hint, hint). A more relevant example might include bike shops.

A couple of weeks ago, an experience on my bike led me to thoughts of a photo contest, which I’d eventually like to host here—part fun, part community awareness. To encourage participation, I took initiative to contact six or seven bike shops and sporting goods stores via letter, asking each to consider sponsoring the contest with a gift certificate for bike parts or repair.

In a couple of cases, I sent more than one letter to different people at the business. Only one (REI) was a chain; this also happened to be the only business to respond to my request. Granted, it was a letter declining the sponsorship, but it was cordial, and addressed from the top rank. And again, it was sent.

If I keep riding regularly, I’ll eventually look to upgrade from my Wal-Mart special, and I’ll think back to my experience; I wouldn’t have looked to REI previously, but I just might in the future.

All that said, I might follow up the other letters with a phone call, in hopes that a more direct line of communication will draw in local support.

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