When you make a purchase do you consider going to a "big box store" or a local owned store?
When you are traveling..do you rent from perhaps a car rental company that is based in Tulsa?
When you are buying groceries..do you go to Walmart...or a local store like Reasors...
When dining out..do you prefer to go to a chain..or when you can make an effort to eat at somewhere local...
"Loyal" would not be the word I use, but I prefer Tulsa/Oklahoma based companies. Just as I prefer American made cars (but drive a Pathfinder made in Nagasaki). I shop for groceries at Reasor's 85% of the time. I grab milk and bread from Braum's pretty frequently. I enjoy Perry's and Harvard Meats. Midtown hardware is prefered to Lowe's. When I rent a car, I try to rent from Dollar/Thrifty. I prefer local restaurants to chains and insist upon it with company (don't travel 800 miles and go to Applebee's!).
BUT, if they don't have what I want or can not compete on price (or otherwise compensate with service or quality) - then I'll go elsewhere. They basically get the right of first refusal I guess.
I like to buy and eat local as much as I can but I won't do so if it costs substantially more and/or is of lower quality.
Yeah, what they said...
+1
Especially when it comes to restaurants. I much prefer local or a chain based out of our area. I'm also a little neighborhood-centric. I would guess about 50% to 75% of my total discretionary expenditures are spent within a three mile radius of my house. Probably 1/2 that amount is spent within a mile radius.
I hate to admit it, but I shop for my groceries usually at either Wallyworld, or at Warehouse Market (I guess the latter is local). Reasors is just too damned expensive for me. They're almost as bad as Albertson's used to be. Warehouse Market is getting more comparable in price to Wal Mart, but the big boxes can leverage prices. When I'm paying $4 a gallon in gas and food prices are shooting through the roof, every little bit helps.
I do tend to go to locally owned restaurants though over chains (Rons, La Mansion and some others).
I would also agree that I prefer local to chain in all choices. I always look for the local business man, try to make a reasonable choice, then decide. Similarly, I am trying to the the same 'Green' wise. I try to get the bio degradable/recycled organic choices first, even if they are more expensive, but if it just isn't an option, I will get a name brand.
I don't intentionally "buy Oklahoma," but having lived in Tulsa for 50+ years, some habits are ingrained.
I do 90% of my grocery shopping at Reasor's, the other 10% at Warehouse Market when they have a particularly good special. I never patronize WalMart or Neighborhood Market, out of my distaste for the Walton organization.
There are certain Oklahoma products I will always buy. Griffin jams, jellies, and syrups. I have never bought any pancake/waffle syrup but Griffins. Grew up with it and continue the tradition to this day. Griffin Stawberry Preserves are another 50+ year staple in my household.
I am also partial to Oklahoma Bar-S hot dogs and lunch meat products. Cheaper than national brands and much better, IMO. I love Bar-S frozen corn dogs (a really guilty pleasure for me.) I always have a box in my freezer.
Head Country BBQ sauce.....
quote:
Originally posted by Breadburner
Head Country BBQ sauce.....
+ 1
And Choc beer. Soon to add Marshall beer to the mix. It's to be able to go to Harvard Meats and get some Oklahoma Buffalo, some Oklahoma BBQ sauce, and some OK beer. All in the spirit of things. [:P]
I like to buy local whenever possible as well.
But there are good things that don't come from around here.
Coconuts, bottle rockets, and lobster are just a few.
quote:
Originally posted by RecycleMichael
I like to buy local whenever possible as well.
But there are good things that don't come from around here.
Coconuts, bottle rockets, and lobster are just a few.
WHERE are you finding Bottle Rockets??
All the fireworks stands on I 44 in Missouri sold them.
They were amazingly cheap. 25 gross (3600) were $35. Less than a penny a piece.
I definitely try to "go local" and stay small when possible. At a minimum, I'll shop at the local places first, and if they don't have what I want, I'll look somewhere else. But I try to buy from the locals before I move on to the generic chains / big boxes. This rule strongly applies to restaurants (food is always better anyway), hardware stores, bookstores, and grocery stores.
Toothpaste and deodorant? Target.
I like Braums quite a bit...You can also get local honey at Akins....
quote:
Originally posted by RecycleMichael
All the fireworks stands on I 44 in Missouri sold them.
They were amazingly cheap. 25 gross (3600) were $35. Less than a penny a piece.
Do they still have Crazy Debbies near Joplin? I always got a kick out of the name of that company..
I like to try local places, but if I go once and it's not to my standards or if the employees that work there don't act as they should, I like to offer my services to those companies by holding them publicly accountable.
I've found that getting on the internet after a bad experience at a restaurant and telling as many people as possible about it helps to make Tulsa a better place.
I typically hit the Tulsa World website, tulsa.tv, and tulsanow.org.
I blast them mercilessly, refusing to take into account the reality that local restaurants (especially those that are in their relative youth) may have growing pains.
I like to assume that my one bad experience was the norm rather than the exception and then I try to warn as many others as possible so as to keep the general public from experiencing the same horrific experience that I had. Despite this pattern, I like to think of myself as a guy who supports local business.
Later, when the restaurant has clearly racked up a number of good reviews and has grown rapidly, I assume that the growth and good reviews were not a result of good food and service, but that they are flukes. I will defend my criticism until the end of the day and I will never, ever give them another chance.
That is my philosophy regarding local business...only the exact opposite.
Local is almost always better. It almost always deserves our support. I may be a bit biased, right? There are just too many good local options. There's really no excuse for pouring our money into the economy of another city by patronizing chains that are based elsewhere. Just like many people here, I can name dozens of local businesses that I'd rather do business with...and when they have an off day, as smaller restaurants tend to do, I feel okay about giving them another chance...and I definitely don't blather it all over the place when my expectations aren't met. Supporting local businesses means more than just shopping or eating in them, it means not tearing them apart when they mess up and it means promoting them within our circle of influence...
quote:
Originally posted by JoeMommaBlake
I like to try local places, but if I go once and it's not to my standards or if the employees that work there don't act as they should, I like to offer my services to those companies by holding them publicly accountable.
I've found that getting on the internet after a bad experience at a restaurant and telling as many people as possible about it helps to make Tulsa a better place.
I typically hit the Tulsa World website, tulsa.tv, and tulsanow.org.
I blast them mercilessly, refusing to take into account the reality that local restaurants (especially those that are in their relative youth) may have growing pains.
I like to assume that my one bad experience was the norm rather than the exception and then I try to warn as many others as possible so as to keep the general public from experiencing the same horrific experience that I had. Despite this pattern, I like to think of myself as a guy who supports local business.
Later, when the restaurant has clearly racked up a number of good reviews and has grown rapidly, I assume that the growth and good reviews were not a result of good food and service, but that they are flukes. I will defend my criticism until the end of the day and I will never, ever give them another chance.
That is my philosophy regarding local business...only the exact opposite.
Local is almost always better. It almost always deserves our support. I may be a bit biased, right? There are just too many good local options. There's really no excuse for pouring our money into the economy of another city by patronizing chains that are based elsewhere. Just like many people here, I can name dozens of local businesses that I'd rather do business with...and when they have an off day, as smaller restaurants tend to do, I feel okay about giving them another chance...and I definitely don't blather it all over the place when my expectations aren't met. Supporting local businesses means more than just shopping or eating in them, it means not tearing them apart when they mess up and it means promoting them within our circle of influence...
This has to be the most self serving post on this entire forum....and only about 1% of it was on topic....try to stay on topic and not flame...but I do agree with the first 3 lines...that's exactly what people SHOULD DO....
i specifically do not go to places that tout their "localness". If the product is good then I will go there. But wearing that badge is almost as bas as some people wearing their religion.
Case in point, Coney Beach. They are locally owned but they shovel ****. FAIL.
Local is only quaint if it is in a small town of a few hundred people and everyone knows everyone.
whenever i'm in tulsa, i make it a point to only support local businesses (weber's, claude's, daylight donuts, braum's, ect.). and i never go south of 51st street (except for india palace).