Retail Watchers

My local San Francisco Bay Area Walmart changed their mind on closing self checkout. Lines were too long with no self checkout. Now self checkout is back open, but with a cashier at each self checkout ringing up your merchandise for you and apparently no limit on the number of items. Price scanners ...

Walgreens and CVS closed down many of their clinics first. The reason is awful reimbursement rates from low income health plans such as Medicaid and Medi-Cal. An eye doctor normally charges $175 for a exam. Medi-Cal pays $40. This patient uses up an hour and a half of time in the office with paperwo...

Costco definitely should have some kind of PA system added. There was a toxic cloud moving through the store.

I was also watching video of a Costco being evacuated due to a firestorm approaching outside. If there is no PA system someone will miss the warnings to evacuate.

Sonic is switching to crinkle cut fries in mid May. The old fries are skin on natural cut fries. Only a small number of fast food restaurants use crinkle cut fries. I believe Burger King tried it, but switched back. Some people prefer the crinkle cut fries. https://www.brandeating.com/2024/04/sonic-...

A local Costco near me had a chemical spill. Employees noticed a white cloud moving through the store. This led to an evacuation of the entire store. An estimated 1,000 people were in the store at the time. I have been in several stores during emergency evacuations. Some were orderly and some were n...

There are about 8 Advance Auto Parts in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are very spread out.

I don't see them as being very busy.

There are even fewer Carquest locations with about 4 in the San Francisco Bay Area. There used to be one near me, but it recently became O'Reilly.

There are only a small number of Walmart stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. The hate for Walmart is intense. People love Target, but shun Walmart. There used to be many packed apartments with construction workers and day laborers. There were hotels maids, fast food workers, restaurant workers, et...

One San Francisco Bay Area store is closing. Fremont is a very low crime suburb, but shoplifters targeted it because it was so quiet. The Walmart stores in rough areas are locked down with barbed wire and glass cabinets, so the shoplifters target the ones that are not prepared. The store was the sce...

Home Depot will begin its Halfway To Halloween promotional blockbuster on April 25 online.

https://chainstoreage.com/home-depot-ge ... een-online

Home Depot deploys guard dogs in some of its stores.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/11157220/h ... ogs-crime/