What the hell is going on with third rate discount pharmacies sprouting like malignant melanomas every block or two in our fair sleazeopolis ? It appears that Rite-Aid has sewn up the monopoly board real estate game of cramming a monster size emporium of useless, for the most part, junk along with patent medicines, dry goods and cosmetics. Today, alone, I counted FIVE storefronts covered with announcements of impending Rite-Aid openings, and I hear from people frequently that plans have been filed in just about every micro neighborhood in the City.
What really raised my eyebrows about this intrusive multiplication was popping into a Walgreens last week to buy a 'chapstick.' I buy it all the time, and usually from Walgreen's for some cloudy misconception I have that it's cheaper and more 'shelf alive' than your typical 'Mom and Pop' corner store.
The chapstick was $2.49 and I saw red.
I believe I have for several years been paying around $1.19, and never twice have I thought about it. This time, however, I refused to pay the $2.49 thinking it was a simple individual store error, and later stopped by another Walgreens nearby. Same deal, so I asked to speak to the manager, who informed me that 'headquarters' decreed that chapstick merited a substantial price hike because it was shoplifted more than just about any other item Walgreen's sells.
I just could not let myself buy my chapstick at this branch either, and even later that same day spotted a Rite-Aid on Geary. Here, I popped in and found the object, and to my intense displeasure the store was selling it for $1.19. I bought four and let it go until later that evening when a few pals and I were relaxing at a coffee joint named Quetzal on Polk Street. There, when I applied some cherry flavored wax to my lips, one of the guys mentioned that he was amazed at the price hike he's seen for lip salve at his local Walgreens.
The next morning I did a quick search on Yahoo and found the sites for both Walgreens and Rite-Aid, and after a long search for email addresses to 'faces,' I fired off a question to the public affairs staff of each company. Walgreens responded reluctantly that market forces drive pricing strategies and can not be affected by public affairs personnel. Rite-Aid still hasn't responded; perhaps I wrote to a mirro address with nothing more than an auto responder, but we'll see. I'll slowly climb up each of their rope ladders of responsibility, eventually making contact with a jittery member of the board, and rock the boat of each of these godamned 'octopuses.'
Two things strike me about this inconsequential moment in my daily existence: How many glorified pharmacies can co-exist, and how is corporate pricing and shelf placing actually done in these megastores? I've recently had similar confusing encounters with major retailers, and have been achieving surprising results by questioning their policies and strategies, like free clothing, cigarettes, booze and gourmet foods.
Let's share some information about this general topic, and see where it takes us.
Stu Smith
comments and suggestions to Stusmith97@aol.com
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