Annotated Bib: Rumble In The Bronx

Annotated Bibliography

Rumble in the Bronx (Small Business Vs. Big Business)

Phelps, Brent. "Rumble in the Bronx (Small Business vs. Big Business)". 13 Jun 2005.
http://www.abouttheimage.com/rumble_in_the_bronx_small_business_vs_big_business/

This source was quite entertaining. It sets a battle between 1800-FLOWERS and a small flower shop in the Bronx called On the Square Flower Shop. The author sets round one as valentine's day. He called in about two weeks in advance and ordered a bouquet of flowers. He was able to get air miles and credit towards a next purchase. On Valentine's day he expects a thank you phone call from his wife, but alas, there was no thank you. He goes home only to find that there is no bouquet. he calls to inquire about his delivery but he was put on hold for three hours before he hung up. Three days later he waits for 35 minutes and gets through. He asks about his flowers and they say that they cannot be delivered via FedEx to his address which he thought made no sense because he has received FedEx packages. Finally he was able to get his money back after an unsuccessful valentine's Day. Round two is set on his wedding anniversary. He makes the mistake of waiting until the day before to get these flowers. He is skeptical to use 1800-FLOWERS so he looks for a local flower shop. He wanted a bouquet arrangement that looked like the one his wife had at their wedding. He called a small shop in the Bronx. He was able to send a picture of the bouquet to the owner and in less than 24 hrs he was able to get the flowers and deliver them for a very reasonable price. This goes to show the reliability that can come from the small hard working and dedicated business.

Research Proposal

During my research, I will be focusing on the effects of Big Business and Small Businesses on their surrounding communities. In our society, there are so many large corporations that aim to monopolize business by being the dominant store of their kind. In all this competition, how can the small business compete with a multi-million dollar company. What does a mom and pop shop do when a McDonalds opens up down the street and they lose a significant amount of business. What do they do or feel when "regulars" in their store are starting to go to the larger businesses for their consumer needs. The argument goes that small businesses are more personal in the community than big businesses. My goal is not just to discover who gets the most businesses. I would like to know how they interact with the people around them. I am well aware of the fact that Westcott has fairs and events where they involve the community around them.
I will focus on Erie Blvd and their contributions, if any, to their surroundings. I know they have funds and organizations on a large scale, but do they provide service and help to the community they are in. It seems Erie is just booming with new shopping centers and main stream businesses all the time. Are they just taking up space or are they giving back to the people that support their business? Are there still mom and pop stores that find the means to thrive despite being surrounded by giants. If possible I would like to talk to employees of some of these businesses. I would like to focus on Barnes and Nobles bookstore. They are one of a massive franchise that seem to be almost everywhere. I would like to contrast them with a local bookstore on Westcott which another group member will be covering. I would also like to talk to some of the people that live in these communities young and old. How do young and old people feel about the big businesses developing and do the elders remember what things "used" to be like and how things have changed. The means by which we will gather these pieces of information will be through video and interview. I;d like for this project to be more than a simple compare and contrast of what is better because it is naive to believe one is extravagantly better than the other. There's no better perspective than the ones involved in the changes.

Woman's encounter with Small Business

I recently came upon the blog of a woman who was very dissatisfied with her local hardware store. She points out that there is a local hardware store cklose by her neighborhood and a Home depot about 20 minutes away. She needed to find a bolt for a cabinet that she was fixing in her kitchen, so she decided to shop at the smalll store thinking it would be more pleasant than going to a HUGE Home Depot where it might be next to impossible to find what she was looking for. When she went to the store she asked an older employee for help in finding what she was looking for. He kept asking her questions about the size and type of bolt she had. A little embarassed, the woman responded by asking him to take a look at it and see if he could decide the size and type. the older man seemed annoyed at her lack of knowledge of bolts. They were rummaging through unorganized drawers and aisles. She noticed that there was a sizing chart for bolts. She looked at the chart, matched the size and type, and found what she was looking for without the old man's help. She paid for her item and as she left, she said thanks, even though you didn't really help me much. The older man said that if she would have stopped arguing all the time, it might have been quicker. She replied, if he pointed her to the chart, she would've been on her way so much faster. She plans on going to Home Depot next time where she believes people know their stuff.
I realize that thjis post from this customer may be biased but it is the experience of a real customer with real needs. Her experience with small business shows how seemingly "unprofessional" they can be in providing quick and reliable service to customers.

Link: http://thisdamnhouse.mosaic-commons.org/2007/09/big_box_vs_local.html

Advantages and Disadvantages of Big Box vs. Mom and Pop

In researching the effects of Big Business vs. Small Business on surrounding communities, I found a blog about the advantages and disadvantages of having a mom and pop and/or bug box store in your neighborhood.
Advantages of mom and pop store:
-Smaller, more personal shopping experience
-You can get help when you need it instead of waiting for someone to notice you standing there looking confused
-Parts can be ordered for you without someone complaining about having to do so
-Owner might know you after a while, making shopping there a conversation as well as a buying spree
-Employees usually offer better customer service in small shops where they feel taken care of by customers and owners alike
-Might already be one in your town

Disadvantages:
-Less of a selection than in big box stores
-Things tend to cost a little more due to the fact that they don’t buy 1,000,000 lightbulbs at once
-They might not be open late or on Sundays, hampering your ability to get what you need when you need it
-Owner might know you after a while, making going in there a chore if you don’t like him or her!
-More driving around town to different stores because no one store carries everything you need

Advantages to Big Business:
-Giant Selection of everything under one roof
-Most things are cheaper, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot
-These stores normally open earlier, close later and are open on holidays
-Can save money on gas by only going to one store instead of several

Disadvantages:
-Too many people, too crowded at all hours
-Difficult to get help when you need it
-Employees normally don’t give 2 cents if you are there
-Sometimes they force out smaller businesses, which in my eyes is not a good thing

As advantageous as both may be, the author believes that small mom and pop businesses are more worthwhile because it provides more personally than bigger stores. I think he does touch on many good points of Big Business that can be overlooked by someone attempting to trash on having large stores around. Yes they can monopolize the business of a neighborhood, but it provides a convenience for the public, especially in such a fast paced society. Also the availability of shopping. these days people work all days of the weeka and sometimes come home from work late at night. At this time most mom and pop stores are closed whereas places like K-Mart are still opened late. Also, things are slightly cheaper because they are bought in bulk in big box stores. This provied reason for the acceptance of big business in neighborhoods.


Link: http://www.mytwodollars.com/2007/01/02/shopping-small-versus-big-mom-and-pop-vs-big-box-stores/

Big VS. Small Business

This video touches on the subject of big business’s effect on small businesses. On her show Full Focus, Gloria Penner discusses the rising popularity of “big box” businesses putting the small business owners out of business. In the beginning of the video, Gloria focuses on a small donut shop, Crispy’s Donuts, in San Diego. It is located in a shopping center along with other big named businesses such as Panda Express. Five months ago, she received a notice from the owner of the shopping center, Pat Donohue. The notice stated that Crispy’s Donuts was not producing enough income to keep up with the other stores in the shopping center. It also stated that each store in the shopping center is required to make, within a year, $400 per square foot. According to the owner, this would translate to them making $400,000 a year which is seemingly impossible for a small, family run, donut shop. The owner is sure that there are other businesses in the center that don’t reach their required amount but they get no pressure because they are stores that make the shopping center look good. Donohue offered to have Crispy’s Donuts relocated to another shopping center but the owner refuses because she feels that they will make her pay the rent for the store at another location and then kick her out when they feel they don’t need her anymore. Guests on her program included Steve Padilla, Mayor of Chula Vista in California, Deanne Buller of the La Mesa Village Merchants Association, and Scott Kessler from the Business Improvement District Council. Each was asked their thoughts about bigger businesses in their towns driving out smaller mom and pop stores. Each feels that the small businesses bring character to their respective communities and that it is a shame that places like Costco or Wal-Mart are putting stores out of business. Places like these offer to their consumers a one-stop-shop where they can get their film developed and get a carton of milk in the same spot. They have tried to have community events to stimulate the public interest back into their small businesses. They all do what they can but the fact of it all is that people will shop where they feel is most appealing to them and their lifestyle.

The following is a link to the video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4589982517363625063&q=big+business+versus+small+business&total=123&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2

Will Ferrell playing George Bush