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7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

nytimes.com

21–30 of 72 posts

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#21

Aren't there a crazy number of convenience stores everywhere in Japan, and where not, there are vending machines? Also, I find something incredibly cozy about my city going to sleep at night. Almost nothing is open, not even most convenience stores, and I just find that so cozy.

things are very different in japan, most shops even big ones are usually open till around 9-10pm, kombinis and many Donkis (Don Quixote for those that dont know is a giant discount store which sells almost anything imaginable) are open 24/7/365

as for the number there are indeed a staggering amount, at one point i was stood somewhere in Asakusa at around 3am, not a soul on the streets other than me but a cursory glance around and i could see 4 different kombinis that were open

vending machines too are everywhere but they generally just sell drinks, ive never actually seen the supposed underwear vendors of myth, around sinsekai in osaka i saw many vendors selling beers/sake/whiskey however unlike the cigarette vendors they need no age verification, they just politely ask that those under 21 dont use them. the strangest things ive seen were a vending machine for Tenga masturbators in sapporo, a dashi (fish stock in plastic bottles with a large fish crammed in there) vendor in denden town and in sinsekai i saw a gatcha machine covered in pictures of arnie in his prime which had vibrators in

Arnie gatcha: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tat22AUq7UaEK8ueA Dashi Vending machine: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cGJ2Uko1fGMz9zUs8 Beer & sake vendors: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TMHPn2Z7326L8Rxo9

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#22
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people don’t work for fun.

I imagine you understood what I meant by "not fun", but ok. I suppose my view is, if you can't plan ahead for your trivial purchases, I don't really care. I'd rather just shut the store down and let you bemoan the fact that you can't buy snacks and Tylenol at 3am.

Reach outside of your bubble and realise there are likely tens of thousands of people in your city who live a different schedule to you, for work and other needs like care and support.

There is room for a night time economy based around the people and services that run while you sleep in your standard schedule. Big cities wouldn't be possible without the efforts of people on AM heavy schedules.

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#23
post #19

Aren't there a crazy number of convenience stores everywhere in Japan, and where not, there are vending machines? Also, I find something incredibly cozy about my city going to sleep at night. Almost nothing is open, not even most convenience stores, and I just find that so cozy.

Convenience stores are prolific in Japan. I found travelling in Japan was like travelling on easy mode, because you could do almost everything last minute, including travel and accommodation. There were many days there where I woke up with no plan, half way through the day decided "Ah, this city looks nice", booked my train ticket 10 minutes before it departed and booked my hotel while in transit. Restaurants shut on…

That bit about Australia sounds like a movie waiting to happen

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#24
post #20
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine you understood what I meant by "not fun", but ok. I suppose my view is, if you can't plan ahead for your trivial purchases, I don't really care. I'd rather just shut the store down and let you bemoan the fact that you can't buy snacks and Tylenol at 3am.

I personally find this a particularly cruel take. It implies that nobody is poor, nobody has accidents ever, like a spilled bottle of pills, and that there should be no capitalism at all. It's very confusing - if people are willing or want to start a business that is open at night, with a goal of supplying medicine, food, and other necessities during hours that other stores do not offer such services at all, it seems…

We're almost there. In "perfect" capitalism, there would be a very hot market for employees willing to work the graveyard shift, and since there was clearly a need for those workers, they would be paid quite a lot.

In reality, those who work those shifts are often people who don't have much of a choice where to work, much less which hours they're assigned. Sometimes managers will be nice and keep you on a regular shift so you develop a sane sleep schedule -- not usually.

Just like working on holidays, I don't bemoan anyone who wants to eat fast food, or the workers who want to make a little more money. But let's not ignore that these workers' economic situations are different than ours and usually much more dire, so talking about what they "want" can't really be divorced from the systems that keep them in relative (and actual) poverty.

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#25
post #23
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Convenience stores are prolific in Japan. I found travelling in Japan was like travelling on easy mode, because you could do almost everything last minute, including travel and accommodation. There were many days there where I woke up with no plan, half way through the day decided "Ah, this city looks nice", booked my train ticket 10 minutes before it departed and booked my hotel while in transit. Restaurants shut on…

That bit about Australia sounds like a movie waiting to happen

That's how you get Mad Max.

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#26
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

MLM has a specific definition which this doesn't meet. MLMs are businesses where the majority of your earnings come from the recruitment of new members into your downline rather than sale of a product. 7-Eleven doesn't offer referral bonuses for bringing a new member that are based on a percentage of that person's sales.

Yes, I know that, I'm not claiming 7-Eleven is an MLM. I said it's like an MLM in this one way : many of them require that you buy a huge chunk of inventory up front whether or not you sell it, which is one of many abusive tactics of current American MLMs. (So is the actual multi-level bit.) See e.g. question 7 about "inventory loading" at https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/bus... Mostly, this g…

It's a franchise. It's a very common model and while you may not like it, it is not a scam.

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#27
post #3

> He said that 7-Eleven had offered to pay for his remaining inventory — owners are responsible for buying their own products from the company at wholesale prices This feels like an American MLM scam, just tuned to be actually profitable for the "owner" under normal conditions and therefore sustainable. (Is this normal for legitimate American etc. franchises too, or is this specific to Japan's setup?)

Like McDonald's franchises?

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#28

Prior to World War II, Japan had massive syndicalist groups and labor unions that caused enough disruption to win universal male enfranchisement. Now, they have “black companies” working people to death with near impunity, while online mobs of right-wingers celebrate their behavior. Quite a horrifying trajectory. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoshi

How do you define "universal male enfranchisement“ and how do you prove that claim?

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#29
post #4
post #3

> He said that 7-Eleven had offered to pay for his remaining inventory — owners are responsible for buying their own products from the company at wholesale prices This feels like an American MLM scam, just tuned to be actually profitable for the "owner" under normal conditions and therefore sustainable. (Is this normal for legitimate American etc. franchises too, or is this specific to Japan's setup?)

I don’t know about convenience store franchises but this is the model for every major fast food franchise in the US.

I saw the movie "The Founder" (Michael Keaton is Ray Croc of McDonalds fame).

They had trouble with francisees offering their own menus, having dirty restaurants and more...

Their trick was to become a real estate company who owned the land, and then lease to the franchisee. If there was any problem, they had complete control over the franchise.

That said, as a customer the whole POINT of 7-11 is to be always open. (although I wonder what stores are still open 7am-11pm instead of 24 x 7)

Re: 7-Eleven Struck Back Against an Owner Who Took a Day Off

#30
This would be fine if he was running a store without the 7-11 name/brand.

As a business owner, I do empathize with him. He wants to be his own boss and make his own hours, but he still needs to keep his commitment or he needs to dissolve it the right way.

As a customer - this would be piss me off so much. There is a 24 hour fitness that I used to go to that closed at 10 pm. HOW IS THAT OKAY?? (this was years ago and still gets me worked up) This is just like that - he wants all the advantages of the franchise but isn't willing to uphold their brand. What's next? He doesn't like the coffee they source because he thinks it is too strong so he waters it down??

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