The collective behind Rainbow Grocery voted 100 to 70 to kill their 20-percent-off midweek coupon program, despite the fact that it was good for business and wildly popular with the non-carnivore set. A worker-owner on the store’s public relations committee tells Mission Local, “There was a non-monetary price to the way it worked,” by which she means that a number of loyal customers and longtime staffers were complaining about how ridiculously crowded the store was. Because this is San Francisco, you see, such non-monetary concerns are taken very seriously.
The Weekly investigates the controversy further, interviewing one anonymous worker-owner who feels that killing the coupons was a mistake, and fears that they might be upsetting just as many customers as were upset by the midweek crowds. Also, because this is San Francisco and no one wants anyone to be upset, there could still be some backtracking and a re-vote. “I think there’s gonna be enough resistance that we might have to bring it back,” says the staffer.
In any event, since the coupons are still good for the rest of the month, Mission Local recommends “avoiding Rainbow like the plague on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays because it looks like the evacuation of Saigon in there.” Yes, prepare for the Rainbow faithful to stock up on lentils and tinctures to last them well into 2011, and for the shelves to need major restocking on Fridays.
Farewell, Coupon Day… [Mission Local]
Rainbow Grocery Will Cease 20 Percent Discount Days in October [SF Weekly]
