How may I help (serve) you?

AP photo, Rick Bowmer, Portland, Oregon.

From Morning News Beat:

Voice Of San Diego reports this morning that as the city’s council prepares to debate whether to ban supercenters and regulate other big box retailers, Wal-Mart is offering some senior citizens “a free lunch for coming to speak out against the ban at the meeting, and free transportation to get there. The company also acknowledges that it has promised to validate parking for at least some of its supporters who show up.”

Wal-Mart spokesman Kevin McCall acknowledges the company’s organizing efforts. "We've certainly been speaking with our customers: We've done different outreach through the media, we've talked to different community groups, different organizations to just highlight that we believe that the council is making decisions to limit consumer choice," McCall said. "Our feeling is that the consumer is the best one to decide how to spend their shopping dollars."
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This is a tried and true business organizing strategy the world over, including DC.

Index Keywords: Growth-Machine