There is not a single Calgary store on this forum. I think there are some great points made but in all honesty, the stores are not asking for this feedback, so why would it matter what a small reefing population on CR has to say about how their stores are operated? There are other reefers in the City that are not on CR, maybe unaware it exists, don't care for the chit chat, whatever. Stores invest their own time and money to run a business. If it wasn't working, they wouldn't be in business, these stores are around and very rarely are there no customers in the stores (I guess depending on time of day). Pricing, cleanliness, ease of access to livestock/product. Great points that all could improve upon. The 2 big box stores could have better trained staff, cleaner systems, but the pricing is there, shelves and floors are generally clean. These 2 stores get bashed all the time for various issues.
Real estate is not cheap. I bet the 3 smaller stores don't care to expand, use the size of stores as best laid out and off they go. Is more real estate going to bring in more money, not likely. Would it make it more appealing to the customer, of course. Are they putting more money in their pockets, obviously. Take the location of the stores and it says alot, they are not located in overly desirable locations, the 2 on 16th ave are not bad, the one on 17th...hmm, but I know rents are alot cheaper than if they were located at South Trail Crossing or Crowfoot or Beacon Hill (sorry for those in the south, not overly familier with shopping centres your way). We all have dumped considerable money in this hobby, if I want an expanded store offering more space, ultimately, I will pay for this as the store needs to recoup this cost somehow - increased pricing on everything. I'm not good at battering on prices, never have been, never will be, so I guess I miss the "buddy pricing".
Regardless - its their business, their risk, their cash and their perogative how and when they operate. We do have a great selection here, take what you like and leave the rest.
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