December 06, 2005
Communism in practice
Simon's Brain writes about the food co-op in Brooklyn:
The good things: quality food at low prices (20% above wholesale).The bad things: the work, the busybodies, the queues, the chaos, the untrained staff, the weird smell, the claustrophobic atmosphere, the pettiness, the stock shortages, the conversations, signing in, trying to push the shopping cart, the queues again (you queue a second time to pay), being unable to find things, the cretinous messages over the loudspeakers, being overcharged and the queues once more (you queue a third time to get your receipt stamped before you’re allowed to leave).....
If you are one of those naïve people (younger than 25) who think communism is a good idea in principle, you need to spend 30 minutes in the food Coop. See how petty, bitter and mean people become when they are working for the collective. Everyone is paranoid that everyone else is shirking on their responsibilities, not working hard enough or disobeying a rule they themselves obey. I’ve been told off more times than I can count for such minor offences as leaving the queue for a moment to grab something I forgot, having 16 items in my basket instead of 15 when on line in the xpress queue, reaching over somebody’s head, not having my membership card out and ready the second it was requested and on and on… By the time you are done in there you want to shatter glass with a hysterical screaming fit.
Yes, but are the chicks still hot?
Via Englishman in NY.
Posted by Karol at December 6, 2005 10:09 AM | TrackBackTechnorati Tags: Park+Slope+Food+Coop Communism+in+Practice
Two words: Fresh Direct
Posted by: Dave at December 6, 2005 11:47 AMYeah, seriously. You got to work for your groceries? Craaazy. If I could pay someone to pick out what I want and need, I would.
Posted by: Not Dawn Summers at December 6, 2005 12:24 PMI'll do it. How much are you paying me?
Posted by: Karol at December 6, 2005 12:30 PMI wouldn't know about the women - I haven't been back since the "management committee" or whatever kicked me off my shift. Everyone was always freshly arrived from yoga classes or whatever so I assume it's the same. Bleargh.
Posted by: Yaron at December 6, 2005 01:31 PMWell, now that Union Market opened halfway down the block, quitting is a no-brainer.
But as leftists (which, obviously, most PSFC folks are), shouldn't they be concerned that this co-op stuff eliminates unskilled jobs and hurts the most vulnerable in the labor market?
A classic co-op piece here.
Posted by: someone at December 6, 2005 02:08 PMI never understood how coops could compete with supermarkets on price. Supermarkets on the average only make 3% net profit on their sales.
The large supermarket I go to must think coops are a threat. They have a large cooler with organic produce and they have a section were they sell food in bulk. You measure it out and bag it just as you do at a coop.
Of course, I avoid organic produce because I care about the starving people in Africa.
Jake: they eliminate labor costs. Or, rather, put them on the customers in non-monetary form.
Really, if you calculate the amount of savings most people actually get from the co-op, they're valuing their time at a pretty hilariously low rate.
Posted by: someone at December 6, 2005 02:12 PMI love my Mountain Equipment Co-op
http://www.mec.ca/index.html
Best gear, best prices, best staff.
They set the standard for outdoor gear.
FreshDirect is indeed very good (we got our delivery yesterday... we do it about once a week -- baby food, toilet paper, wine, meat... we buy it all there.)
Also, you can go to WholeFoods, and just buy less food. Also, it's cheaper to eat rice & beans if you care about food costs. Considering the price of my time (~$50/hour), a food co-op is definitely not cheaper for me. I guess if you're making less money in your dayjob because you have no skills, a co-op might not be a bad idea.
Posted by: meep at December 7, 2005 05:59 AM
