Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Revenge of the Nerds

The Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development's position paper of March 2005 ranked Radio Shack as one of the local businesses that would see a "High Impact" from Wal-Mart's entry into the Pullman market.

In December of last year, PARDner Cynthia Hosick wrote "We are customers of..Radio Shack...We support Pullman businesses."

And who can forget PARD's "Buy Local" campaign to support Pullman businesses?

Of course, the eggheaded sociology and English professors of PARD know as much about running a business as they do about fornicating. They never actually bothered consulting with the owner of Radio Shack to see if he felt his store was at risk. In a letter to the editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News published Friday, Dale Hammerly, the owner of the Pullman Radio Shack said he welcomed Wal-Mart. In fact, Hammerly recently purchased the Radio Shack in La Grande, OR and moved it on to the La Grande Wal-Mart parking lot.

Now that Hammerly has stepped out of line and publicly supported the Great Satan, the "defenders of Pullman business" are rising up like the crazed jihadis they are with stones in their hands and curses on their lips.

Hammerly asked why the "silent majority will not stand up and shout that the protestors should pack up and ship out." If Dale has an online subscription to the Daily News and reads the comments posted there about his letter, he'll have the answer to that question.

The hissing PARD cockroaches have scurried out from their dung piles to engage in cowardly character assassination, libeling and defaming Hammerly's business and reputation, as well as spewing their usual tripe about Target, Republicans, and their worthless petition.

For example:
And radioshack?!! Such good service from the snot nose highschool kids who think they know tech (but don't) that are too busy to give real help to a customer because they're busy playing with the toys in the shop. Do people really still shop at RS?

It seems like Hammerly is one of the "flies" that is begging to get stuck to the "flypaper" that Wal-Mart is, small businesses and franchise owners who first think that Wal-Mart will miraculously improve their business but turn out to be a big sucking sound in the community, taking small businesses and decent jobs elsewhere away.

So, Hammerly, would you kindly mind paying my portion of the insurance costs for all the Walmart employees who are being screwed out of it by their employer -- one of the richest corporations in the world? I don't think ordinary citizens who hate what Walmart has done to our country should have to foot the bill.

I noticed Hammerly mentions "foot traffic" in his letter. I wonder if he thinks people will be walking across the great horizon of asphalt from Walmart to his store. No. They will be driving (mostly PAST his store, not TO it).

Hey Hammerly, is Radio Shack still selling the TRS-80? That's about the last time I was in one of your shops.

I am intrigued by the contradictions inherent in Mr. Hammerly's letter to the editor. On the one hand, he seems to endorse "free enterprise." On the other, he endorses Wal-Mart, a corporation that better than almost any has availed itself of the government welfare system by subsidizing the health benefits of its employees through state-based health programs for the working poor.

I guess Hammerly has never tried to get an untrained Wal-Mart employee making minimum wage help trying to figure out a product in their store. Such "service" is hardly "beyond reproach."

I am rather concerned that this businessman would take such an impertinent attititude toward the residents of Pullman, demanding that those who disagree with his attitude toward Walmart should "pack up and get out." Dale: why don't you take a page from your own book?

I can't believe the angry tone of Dale Hammerly. I guess he wasn't around when all the protests against Wally World occurred. Get with it, man.
So, this is how you "clearly win the PR battle?" Is this the "civil discourse" the Pullman League of Women Voters want to impose on new businesses desiring to move into Pullman?

The "silent majority" remain silent because they do not wish to be subjected to such public scorn and ridicule. It is the heckler's veto that the leftist scumbags at WSU love to use to suppress thoughtcrimes.

The majority of business owners in Pullman who privately support Wal-Mart cannot do so publicly. In a small college town, they can ill afford boycotts of their stores.

That is why I admire Dale Hammerly. He had the cojones to lay it all on the line for what he believes is right. Meanwhile, the PARDners continue to turn off even more Pullman residents with their ad hominem attacks on a hard-working local entrepreneur.

From Friday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:
Waiting for Wal-Mart

I have been watching the nondevelopment of the Wal-Mart in Pullman for the past few years. And for the life of me, I fail to understand why the silent majority will not stand up and shout that the protestors should pack up and ship out.

As a business owner in Pullman I would very much like to see this store come in ASAP. Why you ask? If we had a store such as this imagine the amount of revenue it would generate in sales tax dollars for our government needs, the jobs it would create for the students, and help by retaining our local residents with their shopping needs. And overall, I, too, would benefit from the foot traffic that this store would create.

Ask me and every other retailer where would be the best place to put a store, and I would say next to Wal-Mart. Look at most major shopping areas - when a Wal-Mart comes in who follows right behind?

I recently purchased the RadioShack in La Grande, Ore., Where did I move it? Right on the Wal-Mart parking lot. And let me say it was the best move I could have ever done.

As for those who go out of business when a Wal-Mart comes in. I would say maybe those businesses might still be there if they would be willing to step up and give their customers the service that goes beyond reproach. This is how you compete in our free-enterprise system.

So, Wal-Mart, come on in. I'm waiting and will endorse you.

Dale Hammerly, CEO DLH Electronics, Pullman RadioShack Dealer
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1 comment:

April E. Coggins said...

Dale is a successful businessman who owns a string of Radio Shack's. I shake my head at the people who think they know best which of Dale's Radio Shacks sell the most product. These people have never seen any sales reports, and yet they presume to tell him that his Radio Shacks near Wal-Mart will sell less, because of their location to Wal-Mart. Dale (who does see the sales reports)vehemently disagrees. He feels, as do many merchants in Pullman, that PARD's frivilous appeals are retarding sales in Pullman.

The other commenters are snobs who don't shop his store (and probably no others stores in Pullman) anyway. Like PARD member Gregg Hooks and Alex McDonald proudly proclaimed, they buy on the Internet anyway.