Shopping Locally

Here’s a quick story with a happy ending.  I needed to buy new eyeglasses.  Now normally, where do we go?  We go to LensCrafter or Walmart or Costco because they’re cheap, right? No exactly…[ad#techblog]

In many markets, the small “mom and pop” outlet has been decimated by large/discount/big box alternatives.  Booksellers, eye glass boutiques, and hardware are just some of the markets that have drastically changed in the past 20 years.  What I realized is that the younger generation instinctively ignores the mom and pop and hit the LensCrafter in the mall.  We’re so programed to shop big box that I might have skipped the optician two blocks away from me.  But not this time.  Now that I’m becoming an evangelist for small business, I decided to give my local optician a try.  What did I discover?

First, I immediately felt I could trust Donald, my local optician.  He wasn’t a “retail associate” that comes in goes.  He’s been on Market Street for 16 years.  Second, I pleasantly found prices comparable to the big corporate shops.  Fourth, his selection, while smaller than Walmart’s had enough for me to choose from.  I don’t need 3,000 pairs of eyeglasses to choose from.  I just need a decent selection.  Donald at Allwood Optical had an updated selected, even for a local shop.  Third, even if he was more expensive, I would feel good about patronizing a local establishment because in the future, he may patronize mine.