I know the Rite Aid @MerchCzar discussed this week very well. It used to be at least serviceable. But since COVID they decided to just staff it with one person + a security guard + 3 self-checkouts (of which MAYBE 1 is ever working) and lock up like 50% of the merchandise. They barely even stock other stuff now. It provides one of the most passively hostile consumer experiences I’ve ever had.
It is an especially bizarre situation because the physical location is excellent! It is right above the subway stop in a nice neighborhood, next to a park! Tons of foot traffic here. I would get it if there was a ton of crime around but there isn’t! No other store in the area does this. There is a CVS about 500 yards away that doesn’t lock up 5% of the amount of stuff the Rite Aid does.
Something is going on. I tell my wife that it is basically a museum for deodorant at this point. More than once I’ve walked in, pressed the button a few times and just walked out after 5 mins of nobody coming over.
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Main company is going bankrupt. Shut down tons of stores, including all of Ohio and Michigan. Maybe someone is running a pirate rite aid, like the South Side Burger King in Pittsburgh
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@MerchCzar, if you’re looking for more detail on the HBC, I’d recommend Peter C. Newman’s 3 part series.
Company of Adventurers
Caesars of the Wilderness
Merchant Princes
Caesars of the Wilderness in particular has a ton of great stories from the early exploration the HBC did through their battle for control with the North-West Company, domination of the west, and finally loss of monopoly.
Also highly recommend reading up on John Rae since you’ve mentioned an interest in polar explorers. He mapped a huge amount of the Arctic coast on foot in his work for the HBC and discovered the fate of the doomed Franklin expedition.
Rae doesn’t get nearly the credit he deserves for all his incredible work because Lady Jane Franklin had him banished from polite society for uncovering evidence of cannibalism among the expedition crew.
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@MerchCzar did you get the car that you reserved for?
I had reserved a Large Luxury SUV from Hertz for NIT. They didn’t have any on the day, and I ended up with a Maserati Grecale for the time that I was in Phoenix. Did not enjoy the car.
Also, The Hudson’s Bay Company has just started liquidation.
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Heard some news and had to go see for myself
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You just described every drug store I’ve been to the for the last 3-4 years.
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I went to Walgreen’s to get a propane refill weeks ago. Waited for about 15 minutes before I got to speak to a human, and was told they no longer offer propane because people would just break in and still the tanks.
God Bless America. 
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A couple years ago, my father in law set me straight on propane.
Don’t go to grocery stores, drug stores, or even Home Depot to swap out those tanks.
Just go to Ace Hardware, most U-Haul places, or a propane dealer and get your tank refilled. It’s cheaper and they’ll give you more propane than they sell in those tanks.
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This is the way. Was trying to explain this exact thing to some co-workers about a month ago. 20 lb cylnder for your grill will cost in our area about $14 to fill, pretty much full, but regardless you are only paying by the LB / Gallon they put into the tank ( call it $3 a gallon) . If you go a store and do the swap around here its closer to $25 and they only fill the tanks to 70%. May not sound like much, but it certainly adds up.
Some next level propane savings, if you own your own propane tank for your house, i know guys who have an attachment on the tank where they can fill their own cylinders, same as you would at the hardware, so now your looking at closer to $1.50 or so a gallon or maybe 7 or 8 bucks per 20 pound cylinder compared to $25 to swap tanks out and only get 70% filled!
Thanks for coming to my propane tank TED talk
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Hank Hill would be proud.
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