Hats off to Dillons for deciding to rebuild its grocery store in Greensburg. The Hutchinson-based chain easily could have pulled out after the May 4 tornado destroyed its store and nearly all of the town. Or it could have waited longer to rebuild until more of the population returned. Both would have made financial sense. But by rebuilding, the company is showing that it cares about citizens and a community, not just about its bottom line.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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37 Comments
I’d really appreciate it if Dillons would kill their loyalty card program there. I actually would go shop there if they did.
Congratulations to Dave Dillon, Kroger CEO, Hutchinson native and K.U. graduate for stepping up and agreeing to replace that much needed Dillon’s Grocery Store in Greensburg. According to the EAGLE, Dillons will build a first time cooperative facility between Dillons and their independent subsidiary, Quik Shops (not Quik Trip) in Greensburg. This will rebuild and replace both facilities lost in the tornado.
This rebuilding experience is being watched nationwide and might even bring in new residents to replace those who decide to move on. Hopefully, there will be other good news to come from Greensburg as rebuilding takes place.
Believe me- this mammoth corporation is not doing anything charitible here. They have apparently done studies that show a rebuilt store will be profitable to them or at the very least keep a competitior at bay. They would not be rebuilding otherwise. So when you say they “care about more than the bottom line”, I say ALL they care about is the bottom line. Not that it makes them evil- my wife loves Kroger and shops there often- but they are a corporation and not a charity.
I actually use the plus card all the time. It is one of the main reasons I shop there.
It’s going to be pretty small. Even smaller then the one that used to be there.
They are converting the Kwick Shop into a Convenient store/Grocery Store. Basically they are going to put a few groceries in there.
Which is really cool. Anything to help out Greensburg. I travel all the time throughout Kansas and there are towns I do not shop in, like Pratt and there are towns I do, like Greensburg. I always went to that Kwik Shop in Greenburg all the time.
P-mom! Because of the Plus-Card, you don’t shop at Dillions? You don’t have to use one or have one to shop there.
Let me guess! You think it’s some Corporate conspiracy theory to control the shopping habits of people.
Well! When you wish for your leftist socialism society of yours. Not only will you be using a card like the Dillions Plus Card to go get your groceries, you will be assign to only one store to shop at and that card will just get you bread, rice, little meat, milk, butter, sugar and flour. It’s called rationing. They do this in Cuba.
Good luck!
It’s all about the publicity. Which the Eagle is more than happy to provide since they think this was not a ‘greed-based’ decision.
“… and there are towns that I do not shop in, like Pratt …”
I’M SURE PRATT COUNTY SHERIFF CHINN AND PRATT SHOP KEEPERS APPRECIATE THAT!
Pratt is a classic American small town community. Hopefully it will continue that way for many years.
I make my choices based on my safety and that of my property.
The last time I stopped at a convenient store in Pratt I caught a meth addict trying to steal stuff out of my vehicle.
Until Pratt makes itself into a Meth Watch town, like many others in Kansas, then at this point, I have no choice but to not stop for gas or shop there.
They don’t call Pratt the Meth Capital of Kansas for nothing. I was proof of an attempted larceny from a meth addict there.
As pointed out above, Dillons is not being totally altruistic here. IIRC, the announcement was that the Dillons store would be a part of a combined Kwik Shop/Dillons, with the Dillons part significantly smaller than the one destroyed in the storm. Lower overhead, combined with the convenience store that was being rebuilt anyway, equals a profit.
Ah a Kwik Shop, higher prices. Then that’s not such a good deal for Greensburg.
Now if they build a regular Dillons, I’ll be impressed.
Joe! – and I got my car broken into in the “Car Break-in Capital of Kansas”. Does that mean we should boycott businesses there?
Why would anyone want to swipe a card in order to get cheaper prices? It’s SO much easier to get the cheap prices without having to fish through your purse to find the stupid card in the first place. Just give the discounted price to begin with…my goodness that was hard, wasn’t it?
And they DO know what you buy on that card, that’s what they’re for.
It has advantages PMom. My house keys became detached from my car keys. Fortunately for me I had the miniature Dillon’s card on my key chain. The Store manager swiped the card and gave me a call to come pick up my keys. (yes I do keep a spare house key in my wallet.)
They also send you coupons by mail on what you usually purchase which is also quite nice.
I go to Aldi’s to buy really good cheap stuff. :D They have a lot of bargains, mostly better than Dillon’s.
Joe, you’re seriously going to pull the communist comment out because I WON”T OWN A DILLON’S CARD?
p-mom – that is a typical MO for him. Like saying that Pratt is the “Meth capital” or that people who differ with him are CAVE people and Wichita-haters.
That said, however, I don’t understand your aversion to the Dillons card. I use both that and a Homeland Foods card.
If anyone is worried about the privacy aspects of using a loyalty card, I don’t there there is anything that stops you from getting one under false pretenses.
That is, use a made-up name and address.
I hope that Dillons expects to earn a profit in its Greensburg store. By earning a profit, it knows it is providing products and services that people value. If not, I expect the store would close, just as Dillons has closed unprofitable stores.
My only comment is it has been two months and finally, finally, the suits at Krogers got around to making a decision.A bad PR blunder. If the corp had come out even within a week and said, sure, hey, we’re going to rebuild, then I would have given them credit.But then neither Kroger nor Dillions has been particularly effective in the PR department over the years, so I’m not surprised.Kudos where they are deserved, but they aren’t doing GBerg that much of a favor. I suspec the WalMart superstore in nearby Pratt is going to continue to get a lot of business from the GBergers. Krogers isn’t offering much and it is way late.
Not to mention the discount on gasoline purchases at Kwik Shop (2 cents/gallon) and Dillons which have fuel centers (2 cents/gallon [unleaded regular])OR 10 cents/gallon for each $100 in qualifying purchases made in a month) that are available with the Dillons loyalty card. Works in other states with Kroger’s as well (used it in Ohio, both to buy some groceries and some gas a while back). Hey, it all helps.
P_Mom, the reason for not giving everyone the discounted price is, to me, obvious. They (Dillons, whomever) are wanting to build customer loyalty, thus the use of the card. Not a perfect analogy, but think coupons; the distributor of the product is picking up the “cents off” for the retailer, but the retailer can still charge the full shelf price and get the profit from those who don’t use the coupon.
Speaking of Dillons…the newly-remodeled one at Central and Rock has a _fabulous_ deli.
Tom you are so right. We might have ran into each other there. It’s one of my favorites.
Interestingly, that’s our store, too. I think the Ohio Kroger’s mentioned above was, had I been thinking, a precursor of what the Central and Rock “Marketplace” is becoming once the remodel is done. If so, it’s going to be even more impressive than what it’s already, given there’s about 10 days to go before the “completion date”.
Pretty soon we won’t have to go to anyother store. Everything we need will be right there.
And, ksgrm, that’s the point, no?
BTW, I’m aware of the privacy concerns that have caused several of my acquaintance to refuse to obtain the loyalty card. All I can say is, to date, there is no indication any of my information has been sold to anyone. We take advantage of the tailored coupons, which is an apparent benefit of the loyalty card. Given the gasoline discount to which I referred supra, I am willing to allow someone without the card, should they desire, to use mine (depending, of course, on what is being purchased, as there are some things for which I prefer to not receive coupons).
Central/Rock is the one I go to when I want a good lamb roast for a holiday. They seem to have a MUCH better selection than ‘my’ Dillons at Maize Rd.
“But by rebuilding, the company is showing that it cares about citizens and a community, not just about its bottom line.”
Baloney. They’ve made a calculation that rebuilding, in the manner they have chosen, will be profitable.
That’s not criticism, BTW. It’s just reality. It is what a business MUST pay attention to first and foremost; it’s not called the bottom line for nothing.
Agreed GMC. It’s called business. I would do the same.
Dillons at Central and Rock. My ex-wife works there. Say hi to her for me the next time you’re in the store.
P-Mom,I don’t much like my shopping habits tracked and targeted for ads, so when Dillons started the Plus-Card thing, I went to the manager and requested one without any identifying info logged into their database, and he gave me one. I still get the sale prices and don’t have to wade through the weekly rainforest they grind up and stuff in peoples’ mailboxes.
That Dillions at Central and Rock is pretty sweet.
Is the Dillon’s at Harry and Edgemore expanding? A whole section of old duplexes to the immediate west of the store has been torn down. Anyone know?
Granny,”Pretty soon we won’t have to go to anyother store. Everything we need will be right there.”
Just what we need- a whole row of Wal-Mart knockoffs! Does anybody remember when you could go hunting through all the small stores, and find exactly what you needed, instead of having to settle for whatever Sam decides to stock?
I would venture to say they were insured, and the rebuilding will be covered. Of course they will rebuild!
As far as the pesky card you have to swipe, I can’t stand it, I have one under a false name. It is an invasion of privacy, I acquired one from another store where I made up a name, but used the same phone and address, and began receiving marketing through the mail as well as telemarketing calls for the made up person.
I shop Wal – Mart because they do not have those stupid cards.
FF: Do you agree that probably 90% of Wal-Mart shoppers have a Wal-Mart credit card? I suspect it gives much more information than that pesky Dillon’s card. Plus your photo is taken from those ceiling cameras many times as you wonder around Wal-Mart. What about your privacy?
Back on one of the first threads concerning Greensburg, I said that getting Dillons to rebuild would be the key to any successful recovery.I don’t know what I would do if I owned land in that town.However, I think I would be encouraged by Dillons latest move.
By the way:I used to work at the Dillons and Central and Oliver, while in High School.It is not much bigger than a large quick trip.The sales per square foot are still rather high, however.The college hill and other surrounding neighbors have begged Dillons to stay, at that location, successfully, after Dillons brought up the idea of closing that store.It must be one of the smallest Dillons stores, or Kroger stores, in the Country, but it is always busy.
Until Dillons made the decision to return through Kwik Shop, I was the manager at Kwik Shop. I sat outside in a tent for 10 hrs a day 7 days a week without employees to help me climbing in and out of the refer truck we were using to keep the sandwiches and sodas cold. After 5 weeks of that, we were finally able to move inside the building. 6 weeks later we’re almost complete with the rebuilding efforts only to be informed that we will be knocking down one of our new walls to create a “walk-through” to the new Dillons. There will be two sides to the new expanded building, all the groceries will be in the grocery store and the convenience side will have a smaller version of what we have now; soda fountain, hot dogs, nachos and of course fuel. Until the new building is complete however, we will expand what we offer inside Kwik Shop to include more groceries like meat and fresh produce as well as expanding the current groceries we already offer like baking goods and pet supplies. The prices will not be higher, they will be comparable to other Dillons store prices.
After this decision was made, I was informed that they would be bringing in a new manager to cover the grocery side of the store and we would be co-managers but the grocery store mgr would have final decision. After running this store for 2 yrs I felt like I was being demoted and was understandably ticked off, I turned in my resignation. I agreed to stay until I had finished training the new mgr. As you can see, I am not happy with this decision, I feel that it is definitely more about the bottom line than what is best for Greensburg Residents. Yes we needed a grocery store but why combine the two stores? It was strictly a publicity maneuver.