Minor things that bother you

[Scott5114]

Walmart is open 17 hours a day.  I get that it's convenient that it's open overnight when a shift ends at midnight, 2am, or 4am.  But without any competitors open 24 hours either, most likely they're just adjusting their shopping habits.  If the customers are going elsewhere it's to an online store.  And one of the most popular options after Amazon: Walmart dot com.

Online stores don't sell groceries or serve hamburgers. This is just a lame excuse.

Walmart doesn't serve hamburgers, and their prepared food stuff was closed overnight.  Also: https://www.amazon.com/fmc/learn-more?ref_=nav_cs_groceries

Yeah, I'm not just talking about Walmart; they're not the only ones that started closing overnight. A lot of fast food restaurants did too.

Nobody in Las Vegas accepts these answers as legitimate reasons to be closed, so I don't know why you're trying so hard to see what corporate bootleather tastes like on your tongue.

[thenetwork]

Black Friday has been around for a very long time.  Been a big shopping day since I've been alive.

Of course, my grandfather owned a store and the increased sales on that Friday used to just be the day retail businesses would go "into the black" for the year (i.e., thinking of how much money they needed to make to make a profit looking at the year in totality), hence its name.

One reason why I think Black Friday has been watered down in recent years is because of the slow extinction of the newspaper. 

Up until about 7-10 years ago, most people still got a Thanksgiving Thursday local
newspaper, which was the largest edition of the whole year.  Every big box store had their own Black Friday circular included with the paper, and the smaller stores would place so many ads in the paper, there were extra "sections" which interspersed these one or 2-page ads with fluff stories just to keep it looking like a NEWSpaper.

With the waning interest in hard copy newspapers and the increase of smart device apps and store websites, the amount of circulars seen in remaining Thanksgiving papers is almost non existent as the sales dollars can be better spent elsewhere.

[1995hoo]

Black Friday has been around for a very long time.  Been a big shopping day since I've been alive.

Of course, my grandfather owned a store and the increased sales on that Friday used to just be the day retail businesses would go "into the black" for the year (i.e., thinking of how much money they needed to make to make a profit looking at the year in totality), hence its name.

At what point did it become "Black Friday?" Through at least the mid-80s, they were only referred to as "after-Thanksgiving sales," not "Black Friday sales."

Retailers informally used the term for years. I only remember it becoming a more widely known term within the past 20 years, if that.

[Rothman]

Black Friday has been around for a very long time.  Been a big shopping day since I've been alive.

Of course, my grandfather owned a store and the increased sales on that Friday used to just be the day retail businesses would go "into the black" for the year (i.e., thinking of how much money they needed to make to make a profit looking at the year in totality), hence its name.

At what point did it become "Black Friday?" Through at least the mid-80s, they were only referred to as "after-Thanksgiving sales," not "Black Friday sales."

Retailers informally used the term for years. I only remember it becoming a more widely known term within the past 20 years, if that.

Maybe it depends on the region of the country one lived in over the years.  I've heard the term "Black Friday" used to refer to the day after Thanksgiving for decades.  Not sure if the term was used in advertising, but certainly the term has been in common use for my lifetime.

[kkt]

I think what's driving this is just not having enough workers to keep them open.

The unemployment rate in Las Vegas is higher than in most other cities its size. This is just a lame excuse.

Because who wants to work overnights for $13 an hour?

Las Vegas makes most of its money as a city on swing shift, so people here are used to working swing and grave shifts (that's why not having 24-hour stores is making everyone so angry). This is just a lame excuse.

Walmart is open 17 hours a day.  I get that it's convenient that it's open overnight when a shift ends at midnight, 2am, or 4am.  But without any competitors open 24 hours either, most likely they're just adjusting their shopping habits.  If the customers are going elsewhere it's to an online store.  And one of the most popular options after Amazon: Walmart dot com.

Online stores don't sell groceries or serve hamburgers. This is just a lame excuse.

I don't know about other places, but here there are several supermarkets that are open 20+ hours a day.  Being closed for a while gives them a chance to kick out anyone living in the aisles and close the books on the day at a consistent time.

[Scott5114]

I don't know about other places, but here there are several supermarkets that are open 20+ hours a day.  Being closed for a while gives them a chance to kick out anyone living in the aisles and close the books on the day at a consistent time.

I don't think anyone would begrudge them for being closed from like 7am-11am for that. (I went to the grocery store at 10am once and I think there was like one other customer there.)

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

[1995hoo]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

I'll bite because I've never lived on the West Coast. What term do people out there normally use? (For what it's worth, I don't normally use that word either; I say "grocery store.")

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

I'll bite because I've never lived on the West Coast. What term do people out there normally use? (For what it's worth, I don't normally use that word either; I say "grocery store.")

Grocery store or just the name of the store itself.

[1995hoo]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

I'll bite because I've never lived on the West Coast. What term do people out there normally use? (For what it's worth, I don't normally use that word either; I say "grocery store.")

Grocery store or just the name of the store itself.

In the context of the post to which you were referring, the generic term seems more appropriate because I don't think kkt was necessarily referring to a particular store or chain of stores—I think the point was the hours that certain businesses of that ilk maintain. So using the name of the actual store doesn't seem like it would work in that context and I wouldn't be surprised to see a generic descriptor used. I suppose I have no reaction to "supermarket" versus "grocery store" because I hear people use both, but that's hardly a surprise for someone who lives where I do because we get people from all over the country who sometimes retain some of their regionalisms.

But I suppose that's another thread entirely unless the use of particular regionalisms can be considered a minor thing that bothers someone!

[Max Rockatansky]

That's the thing, I cannot recall a single instance of someone actually using "supermarket" since I moved back west from Florida in 2016.  It is similar to how "pop" was just a Midwest term when I was a kid or someone saying like "The 5" here.

[SEWIGuy]

I think what's driving this is just not having enough workers to keep them open.

The unemployment rate in Las Vegas is higher than in most other cities its size. This is just a lame excuse.

The unemployment rate in Las Vegas is 6.2%. That's low. And remember that much of unemployment is simply structural - jobs and people that haven't yet matched up.

And I don't know what you mean by "lame excuse." Don't you think that if it were profitable to stay open 24 hours, that they would do so?

[ZLoth]

Why use the generic "supermarket" when I can use the specific market I'm going to?

[mgk920]

Speaking of Portland, how early everything closes.

Uhhh.. are we talking about Oregon or Maine? Or are we talking about New South Wales, Victoria, Ontario, New Zealand, or others around the world?

I'm pretty sure Portland, OR isn't on Atlantic Time, as also referenced in that post.

Neither is Portland, ME.


This is just like "I'm going to Columbus!".  'Columbus' in what state?

Mike

[JayhawkCO]

Speaking of Portland, how early everything closes.

Uhhh.. are we talking about Oregon or Maine? Or are we talking about New South Wales, Victoria, Ontario, New Zealand, or others around the world?

I'm pretty sure Portland, OR isn't on Atlantic Time, as also referenced in that post.

Neither is Portland, ME.


This is just like "I'm going to Columbus!".  'Columbus' in what state?

Mike

Which one would make more sense to joke about being in Atlantic Time? Oregon, or Maine? Context clues.

[webny99]

I don't know about other places, but here there are several supermarkets that are open 20+ hours a day.  Being closed for a while gives them a chance to kick out anyone living in the aisles and close the books on the day at a consistent time.

I don't think anyone would begrudge them for being closed from like 7am-11am for that. (I went to the grocery store at 10am once and I think there was like one other customer there.)

Maybe during the work week, but 10AM on a weekend is probably among their busiest hours.

[JayhawkCO]

I don't know about other places, but here there are several supermarkets that are open 20+ hours a day.  Being closed for a while gives them a chance to kick out anyone living in the aisles and close the books on the day at a consistent time.

I don't think anyone would begrudge them for being closed from like 7am-11am for that. (I went to the grocery store at 10am once and I think there was like one other customer there.)

Maybe during the work week, but 10AM on a weekend is probably among their busiest hours.

My grocery store is open from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM. I think that's plenty. And it's normally relatively busy all day, obviously the most busy between 4:00-6:30 or so on weekdays.

[hbelkins]

Black Friday has been around for a very long time.  Been a big shopping day since I've been alive.

Of course, my grandfather owned a store and the increased sales on that Friday used to just be the day retail businesses would go "into the black" for the year (i.e., thinking of how much money they needed to make to make a profit looking at the year in totality), hence its name.

One reason why I think Black Friday has been watered down in recent years is because of the slow extinction of the newspaper. 

Up until about 7-10 years ago, most people still got a Thanksgiving Thursday local
newspaper, which was the largest edition of the whole year.  Every big box store had their own Black Friday circular included with the paper, and the smaller stores would place so many ads in the paper, there were extra "sections" which interspersed these one or 2-page ads with fluff stories just to keep it looking like a NEWSpaper.

With the waning interest in hard copy newspapers and the increase of smart device apps and store websites, the amount of circulars seen in remaining Thanksgiving papers is almost non existent as the sales dollars can be better spent elsewhere.

Like a lot of other problems with newspapers, part of that is self-inflicted.

For years, the Thanksgiving edition of the Lexington Herald-Leader cost the same as every other weekday issue. That newspaper no longer circulates here for machine or counter sales, but the last year it was available here (pre-2020) the Thanksgiving issue cost more than the Sunday paper did. I think at that time, the Sunday edition was $3 and the Thanksgiving issue cost $5. Paying extra for the privilege of receiving paid advertising? I don't think so. The actual paper itself was smaller than most regular weekday editions; the bulk of the paper was advertising inserts. So you sure weren't paying extra for content like you do with the Sunday paper.

[SSOWorld]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

I'll bite because I've never lived on the West Coast. What term do people out there normally use? (For what it's worth, I don't normally use that word either; I say "grocery store.")

Grocery store or just the name of the store itself.

And they have "Grocery departments" in the Grocery Store!

[vdeane]

Speaking of Portland, how early everything closes.

Uhhh.. are we talking about Oregon or Maine? Or are we talking about New South Wales, Victoria, Ontario, New Zealand, or others around the world?

I'm pretty sure Portland, OR isn't on Atlantic Time, as also referenced in that post.

Neither is Portland, ME.


This is just like "I'm going to Columbus!".  'Columbus' in what state?

Mike

Sure, Portland, ME might not be officially on Atlantic Time, but you wouldn't know that from how early everything closes.

I would think it wouldn't be too hard to figure out which Portland I was talking about... there are only two that most people have heard of, only one of which is close enough to the Atlantic time zone for that quip to make sense.  Similarly, if I hear "Columbus" without context, I'm assuming Ohio.  While I'm sure there are others in the country/world, I can't think of any off the top of my head.

[Rothman]

Speaking of Portland, how early everything closes.

Uhhh.. are we talking about Oregon or Maine? Or are we talking about New South Wales, Victoria, Ontario, New Zealand, or others around the world?

I'm pretty sure Portland, OR isn't on Atlantic Time, as also referenced in that post.

Neither is Portland, ME.


This is just like "I'm going to Columbus!".  'Columbus' in what state?

Mike

Sure, Portland, ME might not be officially on Atlantic Time, but you wouldn't know that from how early everything closes.

I would think it wouldn't be too hard to figure out which Portland I was talking about... there are only two that most people have heard of, only one of which is close enough to the Atlantic time zone for that quip to make sense.  Similarly, if I hear "Columbus" without context, I'm assuming Ohio.  While I'm sure there are others in the country/world, I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Oof.  Don't say that last couple of sentences out loud 'round these parts. ;D

Surely, you've been to Columbus, NY.

[kkt]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

Really?  Born and raised in the San Francisco area and living in Seattle for many years now.  I could use the term "grocery store" but that might be a tiny corner market or a junk food store attached to a gas station, rather than a big store with several departments.

When I was young a jingle on a TV ad went "It's Joe Albertson's supermarket, but the produce department is mine!"  Or other departments, it was a series of ads.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

Really?  Born and raised in the San Francisco area and living in Seattle for many years now.  I could use the term "grocery store" but that might be a tiny corner market or a junk food store attached to a gas station, rather than a big store with several departments.

When I was young a jingle on a TV ad went "It's Joe Albertson's supermarket, but the produce department is mine!"  Or other departments, it was a series of ads.

Seems as though use of the word has dwindled over time.  Strangely "super mercado" is a term that is somehow become something I've seen regularly thanks to the road community getting overzealous about gas station fandom.

[Scott5114]

The unemployment rate in Las Vegas is 6.2%. That's low.

Where did you get the idea that 6.2% unemployment is low?! The US national average is 4.1% right now. If you take 6.2% of the population of the valley that's 136,000 people. (Granted, the entire population of the valley is not in the work force, but you are still talking a hell of a lot of people looking for a job.)

Don't you think that if it were profitable to stay open 24 hours, that they would do so?

No, I don't. Because I think they are more interested in making blanket nationwide policies, because that is easy, than making more money by expending a little mental effort to look back at the 2019 per-market numbers and say "oh, hey, we'd probably make money if we stayed open later in Las Vegas, so let's try that."

After all, making blanket policies with no nuance whatsoever is what every manager I've ever met does...

And the locally-owned places are still 24 hours... I don't see Roberto's Taco Shop having any of the supposed problems that have been brought up. And they have a location every mile or so, every last one of them open 24 hours. I enjoyed a lovely meal at Giuseppe's Italian restaurant on Durango (so not even in the Strip area) at 1:30am last night (Tuesday night going into Wednesday morning). The service was excellent and the food was perfect (although at that time of night they do close off everything but the bar area so that the bartender can also serve as the waiter, but this works well enough I assume that it's not because they're shortstaffed). This is the standard of service Las Vegas expects from its businesses, and the national chains are falling short.

There is a huge opening in the Las Vegas market for a locally-owned 24-hour grocery store. If you just copy and pasted Crest from the Oklahoma City market you'd make a killing. A 24-hour Braum's clone would do gangbusters too. It's a shame I don't have the capital needed to start these things, but if anyone here does...

Maybe during the work week, but 10AM on a weekend is probably among their busiest hours.

You do realize that most people in Las Vegas don't have weekends off, right? Weekends are when people drive up from Southern California and spend money. The weekend is also when most of the concerts and other events are. So you need more staff during the weekend than any other time. If someone has weekends off, it usually means they have something like 10 to 20 years of seniority.

My wife works what is considered a completely normal schedule here: 2pm to 10pm, off Wednesday and Thursday. I was briefly friends with someone who works at a non-casino attraction in the Strip area, and they got off at 1:30am and were off Tuesday and...well, I don't think they ever told me what the other day was, now that I think about it. I hope they get more than one.

My grocery store is open from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM. I think that's plenty. And it's normally relatively busy all day, obviously the most busy between 4:00-6:30 or so on weekdays.

Right, and that probably makes sense for Colorado, and probably most places in the US. And that 4:00-6:30 (I assume you're meaning PM) rush is due to people's natural desire to save a trip by stopping for groceries on the way home from work.

However, if you close at 11:00pm in Las Vegas, you are closing before a decent amount of the population gets off work. (Although my wife's property and department does shift change at 10pm, shifts ending at midnight or 1am are not unheard of, since most properties try to stagger shift change so that it doesn't occur in all departments at the same time.) 2nd (swing) shift generally has by far the most people on the clock, followed by 3rd (grave), and then 1st (day) has the least.

National chains doing this "every store nationwide must close at 11pm" thing is making people in Las Vegas angry because a good chunk of them can't do their shopping after work and have to burn part of a day off on it. (I'm very lucky to live near a 24-hour WinCo, but even WinCo seems to be on some kind of national schedule that causes them to start night stocking at 11pm when it's still busy.)

I could use the term "grocery store" but that might be a tiny corner market or a junk food store attached to a gas station, rather than a big store with several departments.

That is a really weird Western thing I am getting used to. There's a chain here called "Green Valley Grocery". I assumed when I saw it on the map before I moved that it was a chain of small IGA-type  supermarkets. Nope, it's a convenience store that is normally attached to a Shell station.

[Bruce]

I'm honestly just surprised to see anyone from the west coast use the term "supermarket."

The term "supermarket" is plenty widespread in the Northwest. Probably just another Californiaism that gets applied to the whole coast (another annoying part about living outside the media bubble).

Speaking of, I have the worst luck with long checkout lines at various stores no matter what hour I choose. Peak times when the self checkout machines are unlocked? Totally slammed. Off-peak and dead hours? No cashiers and no self checkout.