Maybe I don’t really understand what a real debit card is. I have something that I call a debit card in that I can use it at stores after entering in a PIN, and it is my ATM card too, and it does debit directly from my checking account, but it says “MasterCard” on it – I pay nothing for the transaction – does the store?
WinCo is privately-held. You might be conflating WinCo with Woodman’s, which is employee-owned, midwestern (mostly Wisconsin, a few in Illinois), and usually very low-priced. The stores are immense (three to five times the size of the average supermarket and have an exceptionally wide and deep product range. (No, I’m not an employe – just a fan.)
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I’ve been happily shopping at WinCo here in Oregon for years and years, and have always considered them a Northwest company.
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Yeah, yeah… It’s not a midwestern chain but let’s cut our lovable Canadian Born, currently living in England Cory some slack.
After all, how many of you know where the East Midlands are in England? (Stop typing! You know I meant without consulting a map/internet.)
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I am always very excited to hear about companies that are successful, and yet recognize that a major metric of that success is the well-being of their workers. It has become so rare (at least in terms of these larger-scale companies), and the f*ck-'em philosophy so common, that I think we all get a bit brainwashed; in other words, whether we want to or not, we start believing that modern economic/scale realities demand that workers take the shaft in order to reap (even reasonable) profits.
There are probably downsides to working at WinCo, Costco, etc, just as in any job. Day-to-day dirty laundry and silly workplace crap that is glossed over in articles such as this one. But simply seeing a different model is, frankly, refreshing and inspiring. Kind of like finally seeing dry land, after an eternity at sea.
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Without looking at a map I am going with “to the east of the Mid-Midlands.”
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Boo Hoo that you don’t like to carry cash. Sometimes it is cheaper (for both you AND the seller), to use it). It may be that way for a while. Get over yourself.
Price has little to do with what store people choose. If Walmart is the cheapest except for WinCo, how do other stores exist? “Best Price” is not a viable business strategy.
Why do people go to Walmart? Because there is great odds that anything you want to buy will be there and the price will be about as low as it is anywhere. I go to HyVee instead of Walmart when I want to get in and out faster but I often go to Walmart when I’m just not sure if HyVee carries a certain product. Also, HyVee is often just out of the things I know they carry. Walmart (and this is actually a special thing they do) is almost never out of anything. They always have product to buy.
People go to Walmart because in October they will have 25 varieties of apples for sale. WinCo will do well, but only wealthy people shop at places because they support the company’s ideals. Poor people won’t want to waste a bus fare going to a store that might not have the product they need. They might not want to waste a fare or a trip going to a grocery store AND a pharmacy AND a hardware store.
I’ve managed our business’ merchant processing account and am currently researching options for one for a different business. The rates tend to run 2-3.5% of the transaction total plus $0.25/transaction.
In case you’re wondering, here are the things that make your card go from 2.3% to 3+%:
Card Not Present transactions (mostly phone purchases, but also any kind of order where the merchant has your card on file, or when your card cannot be read and the number has to be manually keyed in. The last one does depend on the issuer’s contract terms, mind)
e-commerce transactions
Using a reward points card. You didn’t think the card issuers were cutting into their own profit margins for that, did you?
Just so we’re all on the same page as far as what “massive” means.
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Yeah, I think Cory’s been away a while, living in that Welsh city of London.
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Fairsley vs Gibbons scenario?
i know i’m a bit fatalistic…
Machiavellian, too. I wouldn’t think it’s as straightforward to squash competition as Microsoft did with software upstarts., different model of business.
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TJ’s is absolutely not for produce. Frozen stuff, convenience stuff (Tasty Bites, prepackaged salads, snacks,) dairy, pantry stuff, alcohol. And butt paper.
I do!
Caveat: East Midlands born and bred.
Waco…I remember there’s an HEB next to the WalMart, and that’s about it. I think that the HEB was the store where the checkout guy thought I was a chef because I bought ginger there. He had no idea what it was.
I think if Cricket’s hadn’t existed I’d have gone insane when I was working down there.
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No, that’s pretty much how every TJ’s I’ve ever been in is set up - they’re more about prepared foods than basic groceries. It’s impossible to get all your shopping done there unless you don’t actually want to cook.
Trader Joe’s is odd, and probably successful, because they’re not really trying that hard to be an all-purpose grocery store. Absolutely everything is a house brand, and they have what they have. Ten different types of olive oil, but they don’t have a head of lettuce to sell you.
But the stuff they have – particularly the refrigerated and frozen prepared foods – tend to be much, much better than the equivalent products you would get at a place like Whole Foods, if they even carried it (and they often don’t; TJ’s is the king of the oddball European import, like Balsamic Vinegar Glaze or Danish Pancakes). TJ’s actually reminds me of the upscale English grocery chains like Waitrose and Sainsbury’s in terms of their selection of prepared meals. For someone like me, who has neither the time nor the inclination to make scratch meals for myself during the week, it’s a godsend.
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I live down the street from a WinCo in Hillsboro, OR. The don’t ever have insane blow.out promotions like Safeway or Fred Meyer (Kroger) but for the most part their Packaged goods are very well priced and their produce prices are VERY low.
WinCo is defiantly downscale in selection, though. It doesn,'t cater to foodies or health conscience packaged-food buyers.
My favorite bit is shown in the photo: A fantastic bulk food section . Just amazing, in price and variety.
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But unlike WinCO, Aldi IS owned by a family of rapacious plutocrats; the Albrechts are the single richest family in Germany at ~ 50 billion USD combined - it’s not cooperatively owned, in fact, the workers are not treated well, with low pay, cases of illegal video surveillance, etc. - one former manager called it “inhuman” - they are Germany’s Walmart in that regard.
I think this has a morale, too: designing thinks to be lean and neat does not automagically solve people’s problems (gasp!) if you ignore the social issues.
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MasterCard and Visa are just the brand name of the debit card that your bank uses in processing transactions. Retailers usually pay a flat transaction fee usually under a dime, not a percentage like with credit cards. In Canada most debit cards are transacted through Interac.
I own a small business in Canada, so I know the fee structure here. Keep in mind that card processing is a competitive business, so the rates I mention may not be what others pay. First, I pay 9 cents per debit card transaction regardless of the amount. My basic rate for Visa & Mastercard is 1.9% and the processor gets .6%. The basic rate is for the no frills cards. If someone produces a card that has a reward the credit card company get anywhere from 1 to 2.5% more. Unqualified cards, not sure what those are, also ding the business for another point. Finally on top of all that I rent the terminal and pay an additional flat fee to the processor.
I used to accept American Express, but they have rules up the wazoo, charge 3% and do their own processing, which means that my processor hands off the charge (after taking their cut) and then a few days later the deposit is made.
My biggest complaint is that I don’t know what a credit card is going to ding me before I accept it. What I’d like to see is a warning that the card being used is high percentage and then I can determine if I want to accept the card. Parliament is supposed to be taking up the issue. Won’t be surprised if the banks aren’t already lobbying MPs.
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I just read The Spirit Level which is about the pernicious effects of inequality. They had some good things to say about employee owned businesses, both from the business and societal perspective. They’re more productive. And they’re better run because the owners are so involved in operations. And communities where employee owned businesses are more common tend to have less crime and poor health because there is less inequality in the organizations and therefore the community. I really hope WinCo proves 'em right.
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