It's that time of year when we think about how to make ourselves better in the coming year. I'm thinking about how to make this blog better.
Write more Reasons. I haven't written a Reason in months. I will do that.
Get the Winevolk involved. We've barely touched what is possibly the second-worst aspect of the State Store System (after what they've done with bourbon): the wine selection. Plenty of room to rip 'em a hole: signage, storage, selection, selling...just to name a few.
Beat up The Almighty Liquor Code. Pennsylvania could be made a lot more pleasant place to enjoy a drink -- not get all liquored up, but enjoy a drink -- if certain ridiculous things were added to and subtracted from The Almighty Liquor Code. Make more suggestions on that.
Get the mainstream media more involved. Letters to the editor, e-mails to reporters, call-ins to radio shows. Get everyone up to speed on just how dopey this system is.
Get some video going on. You know what I mean: video of those wine kiosks in operation, right here on the blog. I'm gonna be a vidstar!
Bring the beer. Though I continue to complain about the State Store System, we all know that this state's kinda messed up on beer, too (and it ain't just the case law). Beer gets more attention.
That should do. Happy New Year, Pennsylvania!
you people are living in a make believe world. get rid of somthing thats making money. you all have no idea ,how about we take your job, what nothing to say. if it goes private.its the end of wine programs great customer service. go to ohio count the stores, they have nothing.and someday you might not have anything.
ReplyDeleteIt's something that's making us about $100 million in profits -- essentially a rounding error in PA's state budget -- and collecting $400 million in taxes that will be collected by a privatized industry. Meanwhile, with a private system, we won't be losing the huge sales on border bleed we are now -- I see PA plates in the lots at Delaware and NJ stores all the time -- and we won't have the pension liabilities we have with the State System.
ReplyDeleteMore to the point: my local liquor store will decide what's on the shelves, not a committee in Harrisburg. And...the "wine programs great customer service"? Don't make me laugh. I've never yet encountered great customer service with wine at the PA State Stores, except twice, when I then found out I was actually talking to wholesaler's reps. My local State Store staff has no idea what they have, and they don't care; they're own CEO says they're "not incentivized to sell." Man, they sure aren't.
As for taking my job...you'd have a hard time doing that: I'm self-employed, a freelancer. Rep. Turzai's bill would give a lot of opportunities to State Store employees to get jobs in the new private stores; they could even open their own. As for Ohio...go to New Jersey, or Delaware, and count the stores; there's an amazing number just over the border.