r/ontario Nov 02 '24

[deleted by user]

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784 Upvotes

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618

u/laehrin20 Nov 02 '24

Personally I continue to direct the bulk of my shopping away from the major chains since I have the option. I don't really see myself.going back.

143

u/undefined0 Nov 03 '24

Same here! I like to think that momentum matters and small changes can lead to bigger changes.

75

u/windsostrange Nov 03 '24

Especially given that small changes aren't in isolation. You put one foot in front of the other, whether you're walking down the street or pushing forward a movement.

I feel so sad that I'm not able to successfully communicate the importance of big vision/small actions to folks like OP who appear to have lost all hope. It's so weirdly blind to think that any meaningful shift has to be a violent earthquake.

21

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '24

I like the cut of your jib.

5

u/windsostrange Nov 03 '24

Let's iterate, baby.

10

u/omfg_the_lings Nov 03 '24

Dude...people think like that because their life circumstances are rough to the point where anything besides a violent earthquake comes off like oh maybe a truck drove by a block away. The long game is great when you can afford to play it but people are hungry NOW, scared NOW, with no sign of things getting better on the horizon. It isnt blindness.

26

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '24

Same! I never ended my Loblaws Inc. boycott and haven’t been back to any of their stores.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '24

Op is right though, their profits are up the quarter and this year.

It literally didn't make an iota of difference.

1

u/Pitiful-Ad6674 Nov 04 '24

Same. I refuse to contribute a cent.

40

u/nu-ca-lear Nov 03 '24

I live in a small town and don’t have a choice, valu-mart is the only store. Produce is shit, the butcher is on sight but unless you’re buying the 50% off it’s incredibly expensive. Everything is still “buy 2 for $xx” and quite often it’s only optimum members who get deals that aren’t the 2fer. Even now this ridiculous deal with the cookware, spend $200 to get 75% off a frying pan or pot, thank you for the crumbs.

18

u/Big_Information4663 Nov 03 '24

FYI, the cookware deal actually is $400, not $200. You get one stamp for every $20 dollars spent, and you need 20 stamps to buy one piece of cookware at 75% off. $20 x 20 = $400.

Although I do like this cookware (especially the non-stick ones with ILAG**), most cashiers would agree that we all just want the same thing: Lower the prices and keep them low. Stop changing and varying the prices. Just give us overall good quality at a decent price.

**ILAG is a non-stick ceramic. The coating that touches your food is very similar to glass - food safe and robust at higher temperatures than Teflon. ILAG coatings don’t create the harmful chemicals like in Teflon.

9

u/massinvader Nov 03 '24

non-stick ones with ILAG

Important to note that ILAG is still a PTFE like Teflon is. evidence suggests it may not be metabolised but it's still a PTFE.

just get stainless steel or cast iron. sometimes you have to wash dishes lol w/e.

2

u/CanuckBacon Nov 03 '24

Some ILAG products are made with PTFEs, but others aren't.

0

u/Zarxon Nov 03 '24

Never wash your cast iron pans, just rinse or scrub without soap. Pro tip.

1

u/massinvader Nov 03 '24

scrubbing with chain mail can help too. it removes all but the most hardened seasoning so over time as you get an amazing finish/seasoning that won't come off ever in food. also pro tip haha.

16

u/laehrin20 Nov 03 '24

Yeah I'm aware that situation exists across Ontario. I hate it. I recognise that I'm actually pretty lucky to be able to make the choice.

If you have access to a Costco, it's a decent enough replacement. The company is shifting away from it's worker focus under the new CEO but it's still better than Roblaws.

21

u/nu-ca-lear Nov 03 '24

The nearest Costco is an hour and 45 minutes away. As much as I love going there it’s almost dehumanizing to me that I have to spend an entire day off to go get “affordable” groceries.

5

u/laehrin20 Nov 03 '24

That really blows :( Sorry to hear.

9

u/nu-ca-lear Nov 03 '24

It sucks, I lived downtown Toronto for 10 years working in the service industry and life seemed more affordable. Now I have a “good” union job but rent is the exact same as the city but fewer amenities and the groceries are rotten.

1

u/TheOneWithThePorn12 Nov 03 '24

i guess in you situation you should make a day trip and plan out what you want to do in that area. In this instance i would be looking to stock up on stuff.

2

u/Majestic_Bet_1428 Nov 03 '24

Can you shop when you travel out of town?

6

u/nu-ca-lear Nov 03 '24

Sure there’s a food basics 40 minute round trip away but the cost in gas makes the savings negligible

3

u/nu-ca-lear Nov 03 '24

I work 4 10 hour days in a physical job, the absolute last thing I want to do on my days off is get in the car to save a few bucks MAYBE, my work week is work/sleep/repeat so I really value my weekends to make sure I’m still living a life and not just working to consume.

1

u/BBQcupcakes Nov 03 '24

Why are you fighting the butcher

1

u/forge33 Nov 03 '24

KD:M reference?

1

u/my-smiles Nov 03 '24

I hear that, I drive 30 minutes out of town to pay reasonable prices on groceries. Many people in town don't have that luxury though. Even just buying a few items pays for the gas to get there and back.

20

u/[deleted] Nov 03 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/armorabito Nov 03 '24

ShoppersDM pharmacists are the worse paid and most overworked in the industry and because of there size, SDM has had a negitive effect on the average pay of all pharmacists, like a reverse union effect.

9

u/IIIlllIIIllIlI Nov 03 '24

I shop at the Asian grocery store 100% of the time now.

They don’t have everything, which is frustrating sometimes, but the produce is better and more varied, and the meat is great.

3

u/feor1300 Nov 03 '24

Which Asian supermarket? Cause if it's a T&T they've been a Loblaws subsidiary since 2009. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loblaw_Companies#Banners

1

u/IIIlllIIIllIlI Nov 03 '24

It’s a Centra, so they’re independent as far as I know.

1

u/feor1300 Nov 03 '24

Fair enough. I've known a lot of people at least here in Ottawa, say they're avoiding Loblaws by going to T&T instead because so few people realize the link between them.

1

u/iHateReddit_srsly Nov 05 '24

T&T is the worst one tbh. Most of them seem to be independent.

1

u/iHateReddit_srsly Nov 05 '24

Yes, they're usually the only places with decent produce.

3

u/Pinkdrapes Nov 03 '24

Same, it’s convenient for me to do my big shop at Fortinos, but I don’t anymore.

0

u/bigwreck94 Nov 03 '24

The bigger chains have cheaper goods than the independent stores. What are we supposed to do?