quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I've been wondering what the hell they were thinking, there is one going up here in a spot that I wouldn't think would support a one aisle quickie-mart.

I've seen the same where I go up north. "Middle of nowhere", Dollar General and Family Dollar about 200 yards from each other.


(they're both "fake" dollar stores, I stay out of both)

You can walk out with a cart plum full for under $100.00 and that don't happen in many stores

In our local area they are as prolific as Waffle House. Cheap stuff at cheap prices. Very sketchy customers. Seemed to be a favorite for stop and rob. Typically in the areas of town with liquor stores featuring fortified wine. Convenient to the housing projects and major thoroughfares.

For awhile one of them was cash or debit card only. Lots of candy, cleaning supplies. I buy my toothbrushes for gun cleaning there. It is helpful to be on alert while shopping.

... expanding like gang busters around here. I go from time to time with nothing in particular in mind. Good Pepsi sales often, if you like that stuff.

They are geniuses when it comes to store placement. I have seen more than one of their stores pop up in the country, near a small community. They offer the residents fair priced products and a decent grocery selection. The stores I have visited were clean and busy with shoppers.

We have several near me and one of the biggest drawbacks I see is they always have stuff sitting around in the aisles and the aisles are just barely big enough for two carts to pass and not even wide enough you can turn around and go the other way. As someone else has already mentioned they never have more than one register open and then the register operator is most of the time not even behind their register until someone is waiting to be checked out.

They seem to run short staffed all the time.

There is one near me that opened about two years ago. Usually, there are only three cars in the parking lot. I wondered why they built this store next to a neighborhood with $600,000.00 houses but I am sure they did their research. My daughter likes me to ride with her there on our bicycles so she can buy candy. There is usually only one register open with someone in front of you buying a cart load of stuff and asking about the price on every other item. It drives me nuts!

Don't even try NOT eating both sleeves at one sitting. These are always sold out at DG. BTW, I never buy anything like bread, tortillas, etc at DG; They absorb the ambient, overpoweringly concentrated scents from the store. Nothing like rain fresh breeze flavored bread, for your ham snadwich (upchuck).

You don't have to dress as nice to shop there as you normally would at a Walmart

Growing in this area, particularly the under served rural areas. I don't visit often, but in some areas they're the only choice, and generally seem to have what I'm looking for. More than I can say about Lowes

once a month I visit, In 7 years , I've never , ever seen anyone smile or offer assistance

A friend of mine(who has since passed , sold the Son of the guy that started DG a Porsche 918 at ONE MILLION SIX DOLLARS!! Yes one million and six! Business is good!

You want smiles and assistance, you gotta pay more for your merchandise. It's in the waiver.

I have a DIL that just gave notice and left one. What insight I have from her. Yes they sell stuff cheap and a lot of it is cheap stuff to begin with. Ask yourself how they turn that into a viable business. The only way is not only buy cheap but cut corners everywhere. Her store (she was an assistant manager), had an air conditioner go out last September. They patched it up and fortunately cool weather came along. They made the winter, but the first few days of above 60 degree weather proved the fix didn't survive the winter. She quit a month later and it still wasn't fixed. The employees they had to work with were less than customer friendly. Generally lazy, showed up for work as they felt like it. Of course when even the managers are only getting 28 hours a week, you can imagine what the regular guys were getting. Per her experience, the area and divisional managers were really no help in revolving issues. I have no idea what their corporate culture is like, but down at the grass roots level, it's a job with no real potential and wasn't very satisfying for her. Of course YMMV.

I've noticed that sometimes even name brand stuff they have is a bit substandard. Several times I 've bought canned vegetables that had less veggies and more water than you'd expect from a name brand. And a couple cans of vienny sausages were short by one sausage. Dissappointed my dogs. I buy stuff like laundry detergent, bar soap and shampoo there. Much cheaper and so far no problems.

I'm glad we have their little store here.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
they are a client of mine and have worked on more than 800 projects for them over the last 10 years

the people I work with - the real estate and construction side - are all stand-up people

^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

I have dealt with their construction group on 1rst and 2nd party inspections. On one project their superintendent was giving local houses around the site problems, as well as not following conditions put on the building permit about fencing, lighting, etc. One call to the contractor main office, the general superintendent came by the next day, checked out the site, a new superintendent was there an hour later, and all problems were taken care of immediately! One question they had on one local site, was where to place the hitching rail for the Amish customers? The local Bishop came by and gave his opinion, and lots of Amish customers there every day I drive by.
Target started off the same way, but after several years they became too corporate in their ways!. Walmart was not and still not that way. They have their store structure model,but conform to local wants very well. I have seen a Walmart project held up by a local do-gooder lawyer for several years, but in the end the store was built, nothing predicted by the do-gooder lawyer occurred, and the store is a very busy place, even with a SuperWalmart about 10 miles away! As already stated DollarGeneral has their niche market covered very well, and seems squared away, hope they continue!

I appreciate the feedback, anecdotes, and links. This afternoon I will be doing interview prep and will weave many of your examples into questions for the interviewer.

Some things they got cost more than a dollar.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I've noticed that sometimes even name brand stuff they have is a bit substandard. Several times I 've bought canned vegetables that had less veggies and more water than you'd expect from a name brand. And a couple cans of vienny sausages were short by one sausage. Dissappointed my dogs. I buy stuff like laundry detergent, bar soap and shampoo there. Much cheaper and so far no problems.

I'm glad we have their little store here.

Manufacturers use x-ray machines to verify contents/fill levels of cans as they fly by on the production line. Cans that are not up to spec are kicked. Those cans have to go somewhere, it would not surprise me to find out that dollar general/family dollar/etc buy these "seconds" for pennies on the dollar. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.

OP - I haven't been in any of the "dollar store" type establishments in quite a number of years. I'm honestly not sure if there's one in my town. Then town I lived in back in NY, there was one down the block. I was always in there buying all manner of stuff. Clean store, polite employees. Crowded, small aisles, like 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound sack.

Place was always full of people though. And yes, lower-middle class people, but not exactly like you'd think. At least the ones I was in, it always seemed to be working class people just looking to stretch their budget a bit farther. They weren't like Walmart in terms of customer base.

No experience or knowledge about the inside of the company. Good luck with your decision!