We all know that gas is going up, up, and away, but have you ever thought about how many times you are affected by this each time you go shopping? First of all, each step of the production process of every item we purchase requires fuel of some type, usually a form of oil. Farmers need fuel to run their machinery when they plant, as do miners when they dig for raw materials. The price of that fuel is passed on (1). Then the various products need to get to a processing plant. The price of that fuel is passed on (2). Then the finished product is shipped to a warehouse or distribution point. The price of that fuel is passed on (3). Then the product is shipped to a retail location. The price of that fuel is passed on (4). So the price increase in gasoline or diesel is multiplied by four times before you even get in your car and spend more money on gas by driving to some shopping center to buy the product. What can we do? Shop Blue Island! Save your gas money.
A woman was in the store and said to her friend, “I could probably buy this at Michael’s for a few dollars cheaper.” “Yes, but you’ll spend $5.00 more in gas and don’t forget the time involved, and they may not even have it.” her friend replied. This woman knows what she’s talking about. Why spend an extra gallon of gas and your time to save a few dollars? Shop local, you’ll save money and time.
The increased price of gas may just do what none of us have been able to do; convince local citizens to patronize Blue Island businesses and reinvigorate the Uptown area. It will also open up a lot of business opportunities for Blue Island that have not existed in the recent past. At one point there was a Blue Island taxi company. I don’t know exactly when they closed up, but I’m sure that people in general had learned to rely on their own car to get them places. With gas prices the way they are, it may not be worth it for many of us, including myself, to own a car anymore; but there will be times when we need transport around the city and a taxi would work.
Another business that might do well is a bike shop. As more and more people start biking instead of driving on those short trips they will need a convenient place to buy, repair, and pick up parts for their bikes. We were recently in Madison, Wisconsin, and people were biking everywhere. There’s a bike shop anywhere you look. These people have already figured out how to save gas.
Last idea: a regular shoe store. With all these people walking instead of driving, we’re going to be wearing out a lot more shoes.
Okay, so now we’re all saving money on gas by shopping in Blue Island, and you may wonder where to spend all that hard saved gas money. How about having dinner at Richie’s Too, 12454 Western, 708-385-8900? I haven’t been there yet, but will be visiting soon. I’ll see you there!
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Friday, June 27, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Take a Breath
Now that the St. Francis Hospital emotional rollercoaster ride is coming to an end, I think it’s safe to say that we all were affected. Not knowing what would happen put a lot of stress on the community. Who would end up unemployed? What would happen to the building? Just as people held their breath waiting to see what would happen, they also held their wallets, and many of the small businesses suffered. Curiously, we all have this illusion that things will remain the same, especially when we are not paying attention or keeping in touch, but things change whether we pay attention or not. And even though the closing was not related to the turmoil surrounding St. Francis Hospital, I have to report that we have lost another business on Western Avenue.
We can all breathe a little easier now. Things will return to normal. Hopefully, we will appreciate and pay attention to all the businesses that remain in Blue Island more than ever. Let me ask you this; What is your favorite store? Where do you go out to eat all the time? Who has that thing you want? Why not splurge this week? Go ahead, spend $10.00 in Blue Island.
On a lighter note, I have to tell you how great Stefanelli’s is. My husband and I are cheese lovers, and we have developed a fondness for English Stilton. We were buying it at Trader Joe’s since good Stilton was not available in Blue Island. We promised Stefanelli’s that if they brought in Stilton we would buy it, not the whole wheel at once, but eventually we would take it all. I’m happy to say that for six weeks we have been buying and enjoying our private stash of Stilton, and now I hear reports that someone else is starting to buy it too. All I have to say is; HANDS OFF OUR STILTON! Luckily, Joe Stefanelli has assured me that he will keep the supply coming.
Last but not least, if you missed the Cinco de Mayo festival in the park at York & Western, you missed some great music and equally great food. On behalf of the merchants and restaurants that set up, I would like to thank Ruth Sheahan and the Chamber of Commerce for their help, the City of Blue Island for their support, and the FORUM newspaper for the ad.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
We can all breathe a little easier now. Things will return to normal. Hopefully, we will appreciate and pay attention to all the businesses that remain in Blue Island more than ever. Let me ask you this; What is your favorite store? Where do you go out to eat all the time? Who has that thing you want? Why not splurge this week? Go ahead, spend $10.00 in Blue Island.
On a lighter note, I have to tell you how great Stefanelli’s is. My husband and I are cheese lovers, and we have developed a fondness for English Stilton. We were buying it at Trader Joe’s since good Stilton was not available in Blue Island. We promised Stefanelli’s that if they brought in Stilton we would buy it, not the whole wheel at once, but eventually we would take it all. I’m happy to say that for six weeks we have been buying and enjoying our private stash of Stilton, and now I hear reports that someone else is starting to buy it too. All I have to say is; HANDS OFF OUR STILTON! Luckily, Joe Stefanelli has assured me that he will keep the supply coming.
Last but not least, if you missed the Cinco de Mayo festival in the park at York & Western, you missed some great music and equally great food. On behalf of the merchants and restaurants that set up, I would like to thank Ruth Sheahan and the Chamber of Commerce for their help, the City of Blue Island for their support, and the FORUM newspaper for the ad.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Thursday, May 1, 2008
St.Francis Hospital
I have lived in Blue Island, IL for most of my adult life. Blue Island is a beautiful city reminiscent of small town communities across the country. It was built on a very human scale, meaning that most residents can walk to the business district and indeed to almost any part of the city within twenty minutes. Groceries, medical services, restaurants, and other everyday needs are always just a few blocks away.
Twenty eight years ago, when we first moved here, the city was a thriving community with an active business district. Over the years we have witnessed the fall and rebirth and faltering again of the uptown business district, the increasing decay of our infrastructure, and the slow degeneration of our industrial base.
The announced closing of St. Francis Hospital has come as a huge blow to the residents of Blue Island. Some argue that it will make no difference to the city since St. Francis Hospital is a not-for-profit organization and does not pay real estate tax. Some say that the impact of losing over 1400 jobs will be minimal because there is a great demand for medical professionals of all kinds, and these people will easily find other employment. There are other hospitals in the area, although it’s clear that none are as convenient not only to our residents, but also to many of the surrounding cities and towns. However, the psychological impact of the closing and the effect on other local business is immeasurable. In a struggling city, the closing of yet another major employer is disheartening, and the uptown restaurants and stores will be losing a profitable source of business. As a business owner I realize that none of the above is a sound financial reason to keep an unprofitable hospital open.
Residents are concerned that many doctors who have offices in our city will close these offices in order to move closer to another hospital. The closing of the hospital will no doubt result in an increased strain on other nearby hospitals, and a general decrease in the quality of healthcare in the south suburban area. The increased travel time and expense to the next closest hospital will no doubt result in an increased loss of life. The ultimate cost of the closing of the hospital will be much greater than the $20 million a year that the hospital is said to be losing.
The long term solution will be difficult. However, if a long term solution is not found, St. Francis Hospital will be another casualty in the ongoing national health care crisis, as will the people who have depended on St. Francis to provide quality medical care.
The fact that everyone, from the janitors at St. Francis, to the doctors, to myself, to my neighbors and neighboring businesses, to the mayor of Blue Island, and the local Representatives and Congressmen, was blind sided by this announcement is a testament to our lack of community. How was it that no one knew what was about to happen?
People have mocked me when I mourned the closing of some mom and pop business on Western Avenue, but it’s not funny anymore. It’s no longer just one family needing to find another source of income. For the 1400 employees facing the possible loss of their jobs, and for the city of Blue Island as a whole, the closing of the hospital borders on catastrophe.
I will not suggest that we each donate $5.00 to St. Francis. That would be ridiculous. I ask that we each do what we are able to do. Call, write, and e-mail your local officials, your Representatives and Congressmen, St. Francis Hospital, the Sisters of Saint Mary, and the Archdiocese of Chicago. We must all fight not only for the hospital, but for our city as well.
Let me ask you this: What are you prepared to do?
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Twenty eight years ago, when we first moved here, the city was a thriving community with an active business district. Over the years we have witnessed the fall and rebirth and faltering again of the uptown business district, the increasing decay of our infrastructure, and the slow degeneration of our industrial base.
The announced closing of St. Francis Hospital has come as a huge blow to the residents of Blue Island. Some argue that it will make no difference to the city since St. Francis Hospital is a not-for-profit organization and does not pay real estate tax. Some say that the impact of losing over 1400 jobs will be minimal because there is a great demand for medical professionals of all kinds, and these people will easily find other employment. There are other hospitals in the area, although it’s clear that none are as convenient not only to our residents, but also to many of the surrounding cities and towns. However, the psychological impact of the closing and the effect on other local business is immeasurable. In a struggling city, the closing of yet another major employer is disheartening, and the uptown restaurants and stores will be losing a profitable source of business. As a business owner I realize that none of the above is a sound financial reason to keep an unprofitable hospital open.
Residents are concerned that many doctors who have offices in our city will close these offices in order to move closer to another hospital. The closing of the hospital will no doubt result in an increased strain on other nearby hospitals, and a general decrease in the quality of healthcare in the south suburban area. The increased travel time and expense to the next closest hospital will no doubt result in an increased loss of life. The ultimate cost of the closing of the hospital will be much greater than the $20 million a year that the hospital is said to be losing.
The long term solution will be difficult. However, if a long term solution is not found, St. Francis Hospital will be another casualty in the ongoing national health care crisis, as will the people who have depended on St. Francis to provide quality medical care.
The fact that everyone, from the janitors at St. Francis, to the doctors, to myself, to my neighbors and neighboring businesses, to the mayor of Blue Island, and the local Representatives and Congressmen, was blind sided by this announcement is a testament to our lack of community. How was it that no one knew what was about to happen?
People have mocked me when I mourned the closing of some mom and pop business on Western Avenue, but it’s not funny anymore. It’s no longer just one family needing to find another source of income. For the 1400 employees facing the possible loss of their jobs, and for the city of Blue Island as a whole, the closing of the hospital borders on catastrophe.
I will not suggest that we each donate $5.00 to St. Francis. That would be ridiculous. I ask that we each do what we are able to do. Call, write, and e-mail your local officials, your Representatives and Congressmen, St. Francis Hospital, the Sisters of Saint Mary, and the Archdiocese of Chicago. We must all fight not only for the hospital, but for our city as well.
Let me ask you this: What are you prepared to do?
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
What comes first?
Whenever I am met by a thought or opinion that differs from my own, I immediately suffer from brain freeze. As you might imagine, this has not served me well. Once, in kindergarten, a schoolmate said “Your brother is a moron” and my snappy rejoinder was “So?” which, if nothing else, made me look like I supported that position, which I did not. A few years later, when another child hurled an insult at me, my potentially fatal reply was “You wanna make something of it?”, not realizing that I was about to be pummeled in the school parking lot. I learned to keep my knee-jerk reactions to myself after that episode, but this technique also has limited success. My silence is often misinterpreted as apathy, anger, agreement, disinterest, defiance or any number of other responses, depending on what reaction the other person is expecting from me.
I was grateful then, after reading the last issue of the FORUM, that I had a few days think about some of the things that had been written. Two letters were published, with two very different tones. One was measured and thoughtful; the other was angry and accusatory. I read and re-read the letters, waited for the impact of what was being said, and tried to view them objectively.
What I finally realized is that Tom Hawley, Gus Fuller, and I are all asking for the same thing, just from different points of view. What we all want is a better city, more involvement by the community, and a better business district. We are looking at the same problem through the filters of our own personal experiences.
I have been asking residents to spend their money locally. $5.00 is an arbitrary amount, picked by me because it is a non-threatening sum. My initial challenge was this: “Take $5.00 and visit a business that you think has nothing you want. Introduce yourself and buy something you can use....” It is my hope that if people do this, they will become more aware of what’s available here in Blue Island. It would be a manageable step toward being more involved in our community.
Tom Hawley is asking businesses to be more aware of the time constraints that working residents have. I have to agree that the business hours kept by most of the businesses in town are difficult to explain. It is equally difficult for the businesses to determine what would be a good time to be open. We can sit with the doors open, lights and heat on, during peak shopping hours, and not a soul wanders in. Conversely, if we stop by the shop at some odd hour of the night or day, invariably someone sees us and comes rushing over to shop.
Gus Fuller is asking that residents demand more from our elected officials. He would like to see a more aggressive stance toward recruiting and maintaining better businesses for our business district. Perhaps he is unaware of the efforts that have been made over the years. Even the ubiquitous Starbucks Coffee is not interested.
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Do customers willing to spend money in Blue Island bring in better businesses and compel them to be open longer? Do businesses with better hours bring in better customers who spend more money? Does a city government with a strong business recruiting mindset bring in more customers and better businesses?
In my opinion, all of these are necessary; none will succeed without the others. It’s like a great symphony, where the piece only sounds right if all the instruments are played well. I will continue to play my part, and improve where I am able. We can only ask that everyone else do the same.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
I was grateful then, after reading the last issue of the FORUM, that I had a few days think about some of the things that had been written. Two letters were published, with two very different tones. One was measured and thoughtful; the other was angry and accusatory. I read and re-read the letters, waited for the impact of what was being said, and tried to view them objectively.
What I finally realized is that Tom Hawley, Gus Fuller, and I are all asking for the same thing, just from different points of view. What we all want is a better city, more involvement by the community, and a better business district. We are looking at the same problem through the filters of our own personal experiences.
I have been asking residents to spend their money locally. $5.00 is an arbitrary amount, picked by me because it is a non-threatening sum. My initial challenge was this: “Take $5.00 and visit a business that you think has nothing you want. Introduce yourself and buy something you can use....” It is my hope that if people do this, they will become more aware of what’s available here in Blue Island. It would be a manageable step toward being more involved in our community.
Tom Hawley is asking businesses to be more aware of the time constraints that working residents have. I have to agree that the business hours kept by most of the businesses in town are difficult to explain. It is equally difficult for the businesses to determine what would be a good time to be open. We can sit with the doors open, lights and heat on, during peak shopping hours, and not a soul wanders in. Conversely, if we stop by the shop at some odd hour of the night or day, invariably someone sees us and comes rushing over to shop.
Gus Fuller is asking that residents demand more from our elected officials. He would like to see a more aggressive stance toward recruiting and maintaining better businesses for our business district. Perhaps he is unaware of the efforts that have been made over the years. Even the ubiquitous Starbucks Coffee is not interested.
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Do customers willing to spend money in Blue Island bring in better businesses and compel them to be open longer? Do businesses with better hours bring in better customers who spend more money? Does a city government with a strong business recruiting mindset bring in more customers and better businesses?
In my opinion, all of these are necessary; none will succeed without the others. It’s like a great symphony, where the piece only sounds right if all the instruments are played well. I will continue to play my part, and improve where I am able. We can only ask that everyone else do the same.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Real Businesses
I thought that I had the article for this issue written, and then a man I had never met before came into the store. He started by telling me that his mother was coming into town from Canada. He was looking for places to take her; shopping, restaurants, the sort of thing you do with guests from out of town. He moved here last summer, and really liked living in Blue Island. We talked a while, and then he made an interesting comment. He said, “Some of the businesses on Western seem to be playing at being a business.” He mentioned the odd hours some places have and the non-opening during regular posted business hours. It seemed to him that many places in town are not real businesses. It’s almost as if we are just hobby businesses.
It reminded me of a conversation that I had with a fellow business owner just a few days before. He told me that for years he felt that he had only been playing at being a business, but finally, and with a few changes, things had picked up and now he felt that he had a real business. He has left his other job, the one that had truly been supporting his business, and is now counting on his Blue Island business to support him.
I had been turning this conversation over in my head for a few days already when the aforementioned man came in. I know that many business owners on Western have other jobs. In our case, either my husband or I at one time or another are working at some other job to keep our cash flow moving. The fact that so many businessmen in this city need to work other jobs puts our uptown business district at a disadvantage. If you hire help to cover your business while you are working, you can never be sure that they are taking care of your customers the way that you would. If you close your business while you are working elsewhere then people inevitably come when you are closed. Either way you lose customers. Of course, like many things in life, it comes down to money. But it also comes down to awareness.
The businessman I talked with had become aware that he was not attracting the number of customers he needed for his business to thrive. He told me that if he just had maybe 10 more customers that would frequent his place that he could make it. He made some changes that worked, and now he has those customers and then some. I know that all business owners are constantly becoming aware of problems and are fine tuning their business every chance they get.
The other side of the coin is the residents of our community. We all need to fine tune our awareness of what’s available in Blue Island. I still get complaints (another one this past week) that there’s no place to buy a greeting card, and when I mentioned a few other stores that carry them, the response was, “I never thought of them.”
A woman complained that the Jewel is too expensive, and when I brought up the suggestion that she shop at the Hispanic grocery stores she replied, “I don’t like Mexican food.” For anyone who has never ventured into one of our city’s Hispanic grocers, let me tell you that there is a lot more in there than refried beans and chilies. Milk, bread, butter, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a butcher are all waiting right inside, and many times for less money than the chain stores are charging. Don’t be afraid to go in.
As a community we need to become more aware of the businesses that surround us, and what they offer. If we continue in our efforts to support the existing businesses on an ongoing basis, then money becomes less of a problem, and more of our businesses will be able to operate in true business fashion.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
It reminded me of a conversation that I had with a fellow business owner just a few days before. He told me that for years he felt that he had only been playing at being a business, but finally, and with a few changes, things had picked up and now he felt that he had a real business. He has left his other job, the one that had truly been supporting his business, and is now counting on his Blue Island business to support him.
I had been turning this conversation over in my head for a few days already when the aforementioned man came in. I know that many business owners on Western have other jobs. In our case, either my husband or I at one time or another are working at some other job to keep our cash flow moving. The fact that so many businessmen in this city need to work other jobs puts our uptown business district at a disadvantage. If you hire help to cover your business while you are working, you can never be sure that they are taking care of your customers the way that you would. If you close your business while you are working elsewhere then people inevitably come when you are closed. Either way you lose customers. Of course, like many things in life, it comes down to money. But it also comes down to awareness.
The businessman I talked with had become aware that he was not attracting the number of customers he needed for his business to thrive. He told me that if he just had maybe 10 more customers that would frequent his place that he could make it. He made some changes that worked, and now he has those customers and then some. I know that all business owners are constantly becoming aware of problems and are fine tuning their business every chance they get.
The other side of the coin is the residents of our community. We all need to fine tune our awareness of what’s available in Blue Island. I still get complaints (another one this past week) that there’s no place to buy a greeting card, and when I mentioned a few other stores that carry them, the response was, “I never thought of them.”
A woman complained that the Jewel is too expensive, and when I brought up the suggestion that she shop at the Hispanic grocery stores she replied, “I don’t like Mexican food.” For anyone who has never ventured into one of our city’s Hispanic grocers, let me tell you that there is a lot more in there than refried beans and chilies. Milk, bread, butter, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a butcher are all waiting right inside, and many times for less money than the chain stores are charging. Don’t be afraid to go in.
As a community we need to become more aware of the businesses that surround us, and what they offer. If we continue in our efforts to support the existing businesses on an ongoing basis, then money becomes less of a problem, and more of our businesses will be able to operate in true business fashion.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Share the Love
There is a familiar saying “Everyone brings happiness here...some by entering, some by leaving”. Patty Wanninger, the Director of the Blue Island Public Library has left us. Patty was a wonderful director and a Blue Island booster and from the very beginning brought me happiness. I was sorry to see her go, but family called her back home to her former state of Wisconsin.
I attended her farewell luncheon and while I was there I ran into a fellow business owner. After we had eaten, he stood up and made a short speech about the wonderful things Patty had done, which are many. One thing he mentioned has stuck with me and I’ve been thinking about it. He said that often, when Patty was on her lunch break, she would stop in just to say hello. His business is not the type that you can stop in and spend $5.00 every now and then. In fact, the average resident may only visit this business once or twice in a lifetime. Many of his customers are able to do business by phone. He was touched that Patty made the effort to spend just a few minutes chatting every now and then.
As a business owner, I have days when I might see very few people, or even none at all what with the winter snow the way it has been. On a day like that it would be wonderful to have someone stop in just to talk for a few minutes. It brightens your day to think that someone cared enough to visit, even if they weren’t going to buy something.
Patty had a way of sharing her love of Blue Island with everyone around her. We all could take a page from her book. Some of us say “I love Blue Island” and then fail to demonstrate it. So even if you’re not prepared to spend $5.00 you might think about stopping in a few places just to say hello.
By the way, my friend Richard Wiseman wrote a letter to the editor asking businesses to please shovel a foot path through the snow banks to provide easy access for older pedestrians. I have to add to this by asking drivers to take care not to park across the foot paths that are shoveled out. Stop and consider for a moment that it may be your grandmother who has to climb the snow bank.
One last thing. The Forum Newspaper is the only newspaper that we have in Blue Island. It is the only independent source from which we can get our local news. Their funding is from advertisers and donations. So I’m making a personal appeal to you to share the love and send the Forum a note of thanks, and it wouldn’t hurt if you included a donation. A mere $5.00 from each adult would end up being a donation of $50,000.00, and I know that it would be greatly appreciated.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
I attended her farewell luncheon and while I was there I ran into a fellow business owner. After we had eaten, he stood up and made a short speech about the wonderful things Patty had done, which are many. One thing he mentioned has stuck with me and I’ve been thinking about it. He said that often, when Patty was on her lunch break, she would stop in just to say hello. His business is not the type that you can stop in and spend $5.00 every now and then. In fact, the average resident may only visit this business once or twice in a lifetime. Many of his customers are able to do business by phone. He was touched that Patty made the effort to spend just a few minutes chatting every now and then.
As a business owner, I have days when I might see very few people, or even none at all what with the winter snow the way it has been. On a day like that it would be wonderful to have someone stop in just to talk for a few minutes. It brightens your day to think that someone cared enough to visit, even if they weren’t going to buy something.
Patty had a way of sharing her love of Blue Island with everyone around her. We all could take a page from her book. Some of us say “I love Blue Island” and then fail to demonstrate it. So even if you’re not prepared to spend $5.00 you might think about stopping in a few places just to say hello.
By the way, my friend Richard Wiseman wrote a letter to the editor asking businesses to please shovel a foot path through the snow banks to provide easy access for older pedestrians. I have to add to this by asking drivers to take care not to park across the foot paths that are shoveled out. Stop and consider for a moment that it may be your grandmother who has to climb the snow bank.
One last thing. The Forum Newspaper is the only newspaper that we have in Blue Island. It is the only independent source from which we can get our local news. Their funding is from advertisers and donations. So I’m making a personal appeal to you to share the love and send the Forum a note of thanks, and it wouldn’t hurt if you included a donation. A mere $5.00 from each adult would end up being a donation of $50,000.00, and I know that it would be greatly appreciated.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Big Money
You might not have noticed. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t. Not at first anyway. Another Blue Island business has closed on Western Avenue. I had only been in there once or twice and it wasn’t a regular stop for me. There are roughly 100 businesses on Western between 127th Street and Grove, so if one closes here or there it’s easy not to notice. But you can’t help but notice the cumulative result. There are a lot of vacant buildings in the Uptown area, and the number is increasing.
Any business, big or small, good, bad or indifferent cannot stay open if they are not making money. And new businesses are reluctant to move into a community where other businesses are closing due to lack of support by the local citizens.
The question is “What can we do?” Let me start by telling you about a woman who visited me. I’ll call her Katherine. Katherine stopped in the other day to discuss my writings to the Forum newspaper. She wanted to know why there are no good grocery stores in Blue Island. She doesn’t like Jewel and apparently feels that she has been mistreated at the independent grocery stores that are here. She told me that she couldn’t find a reasonably priced hairdresser that she was happy with. She told me that there’s no place to buy a greeting card. “How can I spend money here when there is no place to spend it? When are they going to open some good stores?”
I was talking to another business owner who told me that “There is nothing us little guys can do. We need some big money business to move into Blue Island before things will get better. Until they do that the little guy is just marking time.”
The thing is that there is no magical THEY. There is only us. So, what can we do? A successful business district is really a partnership between the business owners and the citizenry. We have to be willing to work with each other or nothing improves.
So let’s start with Katherine. I don’t know where she is buying her groceries now, but she should go back to the stores she’s been in and try again. One grocery store she’s only visited once, and didn’t like the way she was treated. Maybe it was a really bad day for the business owner or the clerk who waited on her. I don’t say that as an excuse, but it does happen. Try again, and if things haven’t improved, then a complaint is in order. The same is true of the hairdresser; if you don’t like the haircut, speak up. Picking a greeting card is a highly personal thing, but there are several places in Blue Island that carry them.
On the part of the business owners, there are things we can do. Number one is treating our customers well, and listening to complaints with an open mind. We can improve. It is easier to keep an old customer than to find a new one, and that is where our attention should be focused. The owner of the grocery where that woman visited probably doesn’t realize that a customer was lost through a careless word, or act of neglect. All customers are created equal and should be treated that way.
As far as big money is concerned, make no mistake, there is already big money in Blue Island. With an average per capita income of $16,000 and 23,000 people we have an income of $368,000,000 a year.* We just don’t spend it here. We’re spending it in Crestwood, or in Chicago, or who knows where. If we want to see a better uptown business district then there are things we need to do. Talk to the business owners, and tell them what you want. Visit a business you have not been into before. The business owners can try new products and see how they are received. Explore new vendors, be open to customers suggestions. Last, but not least, spend your $5.00 in Blue Island today.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
*These figures are rounded. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Island,_Illinois
Any business, big or small, good, bad or indifferent cannot stay open if they are not making money. And new businesses are reluctant to move into a community where other businesses are closing due to lack of support by the local citizens.
The question is “What can we do?” Let me start by telling you about a woman who visited me. I’ll call her Katherine. Katherine stopped in the other day to discuss my writings to the Forum newspaper. She wanted to know why there are no good grocery stores in Blue Island. She doesn’t like Jewel and apparently feels that she has been mistreated at the independent grocery stores that are here. She told me that she couldn’t find a reasonably priced hairdresser that she was happy with. She told me that there’s no place to buy a greeting card. “How can I spend money here when there is no place to spend it? When are they going to open some good stores?”
I was talking to another business owner who told me that “There is nothing us little guys can do. We need some big money business to move into Blue Island before things will get better. Until they do that the little guy is just marking time.”
The thing is that there is no magical THEY. There is only us. So, what can we do? A successful business district is really a partnership between the business owners and the citizenry. We have to be willing to work with each other or nothing improves.
So let’s start with Katherine. I don’t know where she is buying her groceries now, but she should go back to the stores she’s been in and try again. One grocery store she’s only visited once, and didn’t like the way she was treated. Maybe it was a really bad day for the business owner or the clerk who waited on her. I don’t say that as an excuse, but it does happen. Try again, and if things haven’t improved, then a complaint is in order. The same is true of the hairdresser; if you don’t like the haircut, speak up. Picking a greeting card is a highly personal thing, but there are several places in Blue Island that carry them.
On the part of the business owners, there are things we can do. Number one is treating our customers well, and listening to complaints with an open mind. We can improve. It is easier to keep an old customer than to find a new one, and that is where our attention should be focused. The owner of the grocery where that woman visited probably doesn’t realize that a customer was lost through a careless word, or act of neglect. All customers are created equal and should be treated that way.
As far as big money is concerned, make no mistake, there is already big money in Blue Island. With an average per capita income of $16,000 and 23,000 people we have an income of $368,000,000 a year.* We just don’t spend it here. We’re spending it in Crestwood, or in Chicago, or who knows where. If we want to see a better uptown business district then there are things we need to do. Talk to the business owners, and tell them what you want. Visit a business you have not been into before. The business owners can try new products and see how they are received. Explore new vendors, be open to customers suggestions. Last, but not least, spend your $5.00 in Blue Island today.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
*These figures are rounded. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Island,_Illinois
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