Convenience store owners are evil

Bytowner · Post by **Bytowner** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:32 am

So says The BS

Honest to god...

atomeyes · Post by **atomeyes** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:32 am

as i tweeted last night, it seems pretty clear to me that TBS knows something we don't know. they're grasping at straws and desperately (and poorly) trying to paint corner stores as evil.
with the upcoming election coming and the Conservatives currently having a lead in the polls, issues like the LCBO and Beer Store (whether rightly or wrongly so) will be key election issues and will be used to capture on-the-fence voters.

so...
i'm guessing that The Beer Store's caught wind of the Conservative's pre-election platform and it won't look good for TBS at all. I'm also guessing that the Liberals, who have stated that they refuse to have corner stores sell alcohol, are prepared to toss a few more bones away from TBS. not sure what those bones are, but regardless, it's a sign that TBS knows it is losing its grip on its half of the duopoly.

the social media push, Jordan's recent articles and the subsequent articles by all of Toronto's major newspapers are really bringing The Beer Store's sketchiness to Ontario voters' attention. the key is Ontarians not knowing that TBS is NOT locally owned. the more that message gets out, the less support TBS has and the more aggressive the political parties will be as we approach election day.

BlackRedGold · Post by **BlackRedGold** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 5:36 pm

By The Beer Store's logic we should no longer sell tobacco at corner stores and it should only be sold at government or tobacco cartel owned stores.

Nor should we allow privately owned restaurants and bars to sell beer either. Might be a middle aged guy behind the bar willing to sell without bothering to check IDs.

saints_gambit · Post by **saints_gambit** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:04 pm

atomeyes wrote:as i tweeted last night, it seems pretty clear to me that TBS knows something we don't know. they're grasping at straws and desperately (and poorly) trying to paint corner stores as evil.
with the upcoming election coming and the Conservatives currently having a lead in the polls, issues like the LCBO and Beer Store (whether rightly or wrongly so) will be key election issues and will be used to capture on-the-fence voters.

so...
i'm guessing that The Beer Store's caught wind of the Conservative's pre-election platform and it won't look good for TBS at all. I'm also guessing that the Liberals, who have stated that they refuse to have corner stores sell alcohol, are prepared to toss a few more bones away from TBS. not sure what those bones are, but regardless, it's a sign that TBS knows it is losing its grip on its half of the duopoly.

the social media push, Jordan's recent articles and the subsequent articles by all of Toronto's major newspapers are really bringing The Beer Store's sketchiness to Ontario voters' attention. the key is Ontarians not knowing that TBS is NOT locally owned. the more that message gets out, the less support TBS has and the more aggressive the political parties will be as we approach election day.

Man, I hope it happens. I'd never have to work for credibility again.

biegaman · Post by **biegaman** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:24 pm

The whole concept of 'alcohol is a moral/ethical issue' always bothers me for a few reasons, most of which should be obvious to the people on this board.

...but especially when there's no consideration at a similar level given to the food sold at grocery stores. Are the way we raise and farm animals for meat and milk moral? Is it ethical to buy produce grown with chemicals that destroy the environment and picked by migrant workers with no rights or fair compensation? Is it right to buy plastic bottled water when we have perfectly safe sources available to us?

Nevermind these questions, let's focus on the harm done to individual, community and humanity alike by an 18 year old having a beer.

groulxsome · Post by **groulxsome** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:50 pm

What even do convenience stores in Ontario sell? Soda? Cigarettes? I've only been in one or two since I moved here - like four years ago - so seeing them around on corners has always confused me. I seriously don't understand how they have existed without selling beer. Who buys things there? Why do they exist? How do they say in business?

I never used to buy anything other than beer at corner stores, generally because they were close to a party or whatnot, so I always assumed they were mostly for, um, selling beer. The one thing Ontario has taught me is that somehow they scrabble together an existence without that. It's pitiful.

My ID rate was higher in corner stores in Newfoundland than in the LCBO, and sure as heck that wasn't a post-apolitical hell scape*.

* What defines post-apolitical hell scape may vary. If you find examples of a post-apolitical hell scape in your constituency, please consult your local provincial representative. Convenience store beer sales might help symptoms of a post-apolitical hell scape, but if symptoms persist, please consider getting the government out of regulating a luxury consumable product sector.

Kel Varnsen · Post by **Kel Varnsen** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:45 am

groulxsome wrote:What even do convenience stores in Ontario sell? Soda? Cigarettes? I've only been in one or two since I moved here - like four years ago - so seeing them around on corners has always confused me. I seriously don't understand how they have existed without selling beer. Who buys things there? Why do they exist? How do they say in business?

What I have never understood is how corner stores have managed to stay in business once grocery stores have started to shift to staying open past 9pm, or even going to 24 hours. I mean unless I am really desperate for something, why am I going to pay corner store mark-up when a grocery store is pretty much just as far away and will probably be cheaper. The only ones that make sense to me I guess are the ones tied to gas stations, just for the convenience factor.

biegaman · Post by **biegaman** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:37 pm

groulxsome wrote:What even do convenience stores in Ontario sell? Soda? Cigarettes?

That brings up a good point. So long as we're demonizing corner store owners under the guise of "social responsibility" why do we only consider alcohol? Overlooking the obvious case of cigarettes, if the Beer Store really cared about true social responsibility - as opposed to the survival of their ludicrous, unfair and anachronistic monopoly - shouldn't this discussion include, since the issue is peoples' well-being, scrutiny over selling lottery tickets to those with obvious gambling addictions, or soda, salty snacks and sugary chocolate bars to young school kids or those with apparent health issues?

No. I think most of us feel that it's not the government's place to put restrictions on these things, nor is it ours to judge, make blanket assumptions, and decide what's good for other people. If we trust corner stores to exercise proper judgement in these cases, why does it not follow they would do the same with alcohol? Not to mention, a small business owner has a lot more to lose by breaking the law selling to minors than a union employee who faces little-to-no repercussion.

Believe me, I speak from experience: five years working at the Beer Store and the most action I ever saw them take was issue a "warning". They wouldn't even always reveal which CSR made the sale. One person, an employee of 15 years or so, got his third "strike" and the union threatened to step in if corporate did anything about it. Needless to say nothing came of it. On the other hand, talk to someone running a corner store about the significance of a major fine - or being shut down for an extended period. It's the same outcome bars and other venues face with their liquor license, and some of those have been run out of business because of having their license suspended.

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:11 pm

groulxsome wrote:What even do convenience stores in Ontario sell? Soda? Cigarettes?

Porn to the computer illiterate, snacks and "decorative" glass pipes to teens and other long haired types, greeting cards to desperate husbands, lottery tickets to degenerate gamblers, assortment of local ethnic goods, and my local seems disturbingly well stocked with shovels, garbage bags and ropes

sprague11 · Post by **sprague11** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:15 pm

Candies, making our nation diabetic and obese one child at a time.

groulxsome · Post by **groulxsome** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:16 pm

biegaman wrote:Overlooking the obvious case of cigarettes

Total war has been declared!

What about lotto tickets? Spoiled eggs? Someone shut these "convenience stores" down! Replace them with a safe mega-corporation! Convenience? For who? Serial killers, drunken children, gruel mongers, and other unsavoury or low characters! Our society to ruin! For naught!

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:48 pm

I love how obviously misleading those stats are. 1.2% of beer drunk by underage people came from the beer store? Man, the LCBO must have awful controls then. That or a LOT of kids have taken up homebrewing...

saints_gambit · Post by **saints_gambit** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:55 pm

squeaky wrote:I love how obviously misleading those stats are. 1.2% of beer drunk by underage people came from the beer store? Man, the LCBO must have awful controls then. That or a LOT of kids have taken up homebrewing...

I think I'd be sort of ok with a 17 year old taking up homebrewing. The lessons in chemistry, cleanliness and patience would sort of offset the problems.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:06 pm

saints_gambit wrote:
squeaky wrote:I love how obviously misleading those stats are. 1.2% of beer drunk by underage people came from the beer store? Man, the LCBO must have awful controls then. That or a LOT of kids have taken up homebrewing...
I think I'd be sort of ok with a 17 year old taking up homebrewing. The lessons in chemistry, cleanliness and patience would sort of offset the problems.

Plus making a bland American Light Lager is actually pretty difficult for a home brewer. They'd be forced to appreciate other styles.

toweringpine · Post by **toweringpine** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:48 pm

saints_gambit wrote:
squeaky wrote:I love how obviously misleading those stats are. 1.2% of beer drunk by underage people came from the beer store? Man, the LCBO must have awful controls then. That or a LOT of kids have taken up homebrewing...
I think I'd be sort of ok with a 17 year old taking up homebrewing. The lessons in chemistry, cleanliness and patience would sort of offset the problems.

That's how I started. I made beer, wine and mead and took samples of each to my high school chemisty teacher for evaluation. When I turned 18 my parents got me bottle labels and other brewing related stuff.

I have made several batches of mead since but I have never been able to recreate the first batch that was made in a crockpot. All since then have been much clearer and finer and many other adjectives but the first was just plain tasty and so raw that it just felt like an authentic brew that someone may have drank a thousand years ago.