Cashless society

[Value Collector]

That maybe so but the independants i mentioned here are owned by local famiies and are not comgolerates.

A local business might be owned by one family, but that conglomerate is owned by basically the whole community.

Also, family owned businesses tend to higher less people, and are more likely to higher based on nepotism.

I am not saying family businesses are bad, just that they the large national chains aren’t terrible, supporting the large national chains held out communities in basically the same way as supporting local businesses.

 

[JohnDe]

That maybe so but the independants i mentioned here are owned by local famiies and are not comgolerates.

I live close to five shops in various directions and distances:

1. Coles,
2. Independant fruit & veg with a full Deli section, and they rent space to a proper Butcher and Bakery
3. Woolworths
4. IGA
5. Costco

The independent is my first port of call. They support local school events, sporting clubs and community functions. The food is of the highest quality, they employ a lot of staff which are easy to find and always helpful, the checkout is staffed by people not machines and a nice conversation is always had. They are always busy.

Coles is where my wife gets our hard groceries from, cans, cereals, and so on. I sometimes pull in when I'm in a hurry and the independent groceries car park is full, but the vegetables at Coles are not a scratch on the quality of my local, minimal Deli section, and the trying to find a staff member is a chore. Paying is worse, I'm lucky if there are 2 checkouts open on the days I go.

Woolworths is a bit better than Coles, in regard to fresh food quality, but they insist on doing away with jobs by having automated check outs.

The IGA is a family-owned business, I actually went to school with one of the sons, and they own a few stores across the state. The fruit and veg is fresh, the Deli section is very good, plenty of staff on the checkouts.

We also go to Costco every 6 to 8 weeks for bulk goods, they have more staff on hand than Coles and Woolworths.

Our independent grocer is the only one that supports the community in full, employ a large number of staff and give them a good working environment, you can tell by the smiles on their faces and willingness to have a conversation, the IGA is a close second. This does not happen at Coles and Woolworths.

Some people like the sterile feel of the big shops, and enjoy the loneliness of people free checkouts, I don't. I like to see people working in a happy environment, I don't mind paying a bit more to keep them in a job as long as I get good service.

 

[JohnDe]

A local business might be owned by one family, but that conglomerate is owned by basically the whole community.

Also, family owned businesses tend to higher less people, and are more likely to higher based on nepotism.

I am not saying family businesses are bad, just that they the large national chains aren’t terrible, supporting the large national chains held out communities in basically the same way as supporting local businesses.

Your first line is completely wrong.

A local business gives back to the community, they are the ones more willing to donate and sponsor local schools, clubs and community events, their staff come from local schools, customers talk to the owners and build a relationship. That is what most call a community business.

Small business: backbone of the economy or a burden?​

The first issue is employment. Small businesses employ almost 4.7 million people, and it is often said they are the largest employer in the economy.​

​

​

Australian small business and family enterprise report for 2022​

Though a setback during 2017/18, SMEs have taken back their place as the nation’s top employer. And they still control about 41% of the nation’s business workforce.​

 

[Craton]

I've had the opposite problem in the past.

No longer the case but previous job I had a credit card drawing on company funds for official use.

Suffice to say while it wasn't totally impossible to buy something with cash and be reimbursed, it was certainly making life hard and if at all possible I'd go somewhere else that accepted card payment.

Plenty of big businesses and government use that approach for minor over the counter purchases. Pay with card or go somewhere else as cash is just too much hassle.

Any one-off transaction under $5k credit card was the preferred means of payment simply because it's the quickest and easiest. Pay on card, all the details are captured there and then. Done. For anything routine set up an account if the supplier will agree (very rarely did anyone decline).

Yep, understood and my fault, was relating from a purely personal consumer perspective.

As you say, for commercial, enterprise, govt. and the like, credit/debit and fuel cards etc are the norm however, in our micro business if staff purchase by cash, they are reimbursed as soon as they produce the receipt and associated work/order request numbers.

 

[Value Collector]

Your first line is completely wrong.

A local business gives back to the community, they are the ones more willing to donate and sponsor local schools, clubs and community events, their staff come from local schools, customers talk to the owners and build a relationship. That is what most call a community business.

Small business: backbone of the economy or a burden?​

The first issue is employment. Small businesses employ almost 4.7 million people, and it is often said they are the largest employer in the economy.​

​

​

Australian small business and family enterprise report for 2022​

Though a setback during 2017/18, SMEs have taken back their place as the nation’s top employer. And they still control about 41% of the nation’s business workforce.​

Walk into your local Woolies or coles and you will find most of their staff are locals too, coming from local schools etc and often more diverse than the average family business who often operate based on nepotism and keeping it “in the family”

Pick any community in australia and you will probably find lots of locals who are shareholders in Woolies and coles either directly or via super.

I can’t remember where I read it, but I once read a study that broke down all the pros and cons of having a major supermarket enter a community.

It showed that while the local business owner faced some struggle once completion arrived, the major supermarket higher more staff, sold at lower prices on average, and had better opening hours. And as I said the profits are spread around the community more via wider ownership structures

 

[JohnDe]

Walk into your local Woolies or coles and you will find most of their staff are locals too, coming from local schools etc and often more diverse than the average family business who often operate based on nepotism and keeping it “in the family”

Pick any community in australia and you will probably find lots of locals who are shareholders in Woolies and coles either directly or via super.

I can’t remember where I read it, but I once read a study that broke down all the pros and cons of having a major supermarket enter a community.

It showed that while the local business owner faced some struggle once completion arrived, the major supermarket higher more staff, sold at lower prices on average, and had better opening hours. And as I said the profits are spread around the community more via wider ownership structures

Of course they are locals, who would want to drive 50km to work at a Woollies?

Nepotism, i see you love that word. Had some issues in the business that you worked for? Facts please, not just your own experience and what you think happens.

Shareholders in a Woollies, and your point is that makes Woolies a community?

Start digging, I'd like to read and would like a gander at your study. Here, I'll share some that I found -

• Australian small business and family enterprise report for 2022
• Small business sector contribution to the Australian economy
• Small business: backbone of the economy or a burden?
• ASBFEO Small Business Counts

I have been a volunteer and a board member for my local junior & senior soccer club, volunteered for events for both my children's schools, and on the board of the local footy club, I saw and see which businesses help out and donate, which ones come out to events and get involved in events and functions. Don't throw your mud on the small to medium business owners and their management.

 

[Jeda]

 

[JohnDe]

Woolworths, a community business that keeps giving -

Woolworths reveals fresh wage theft, with $276 million yet to be repaid as legal reckoning looms​

​

The scale of wage theft at Woolworths Group has blown out yet again, with the retailer on Wednesday revealing $70 million in additional staff underpayments, this time within its logistics business Primary Connect.​

​

Woolworths, which has already revealed more than $600 million in underpayments over recent years, said it uncovered its latest wage theft after finishing a broad payroll review of the entire company in late 2022.​

Woolworths reveals fresh wage theft, with $276 million still unpaid

The scale of wage theft at Woolworths Group has blown out yet again, with the retailer Wednesday revealing $70 million in underpayments.

thenewdaily.com.au

 

[Value Collector]

Of course they are locals, who would want to drive 50km to work at a Woollies?

Nepotism, i see you love that word. Had some issues in the business that you worked for? Facts please, not just your own experience and what you think happens.

Shareholders in a Woollies, and your point is that makes Woolies a community?

Start digging, I'd like to read and would like a gander at your study. Here, I'll share some that I found -

• Australian small business and family enterprise report for 2022
• Small business sector contribution to the Australian economy
• Small business: backbone of the economy or a burden?
• ASBFEO Small Business Counts

I have been a volunteer and a board member for my local junior & senior soccer club, volunteered for events for both my children's schools, and on the board of the local footy club, I saw and see which businesses help out and donate, which ones come out to events and get involved in events and functions. Don't throw your mud on the small to medium business owners and their management.

My point is simple, regardless of whether you shop at a local family business or at a national chain you are still providing employment to locals, and providing profits to locals in the form of dividends back to people that live I that community.

I personally owned a “local business”, that competed with a major national chain, people would often come in and say things like “I prefer shopping with you, because I like to support the local businesses.

While I was happy that they spent their money with me, I couldn’t understand the concept, the national chain I competed with hired at least 6 times the number of people I did and while all the profits of my business went into my pocket, this national chains ownership was spread widely across our community.

Workers local workers at the national chain store had a decent chance of career progression, but an employee in my stores career was limited, they would never out rank me or family members.

When I was growing up in sports clubs, it was the local McDonald’s that sponsored a bunch of teams, I have also seen KFC, Hungry jacks sponser local teams too, but whether it’s local or national, that’s just advertising, nothing special.

 

[JohnDe]

My point is simple, regardless of whether you shop at a local family business or at a national chain you are still providing employment to locals, and providing profits to locals in the form of dividends back to people that live I that community.

I personally owned a “local business”, that competed with a major national chain, people would often come in and say things like “I prefer shopping with you, because I like to support the local businesses.

While I was happy that they spent their money with me, I couldn’t understand the concept, the national chain I competed with hired at least 6 times the number of people I did and while all the profits of my business went into my pocket, this national chains ownership was spread widely across our community.

Workers local workers at the national chain store had a decent chance of career progression, but an employee in my stores career was limited, they would never out rank me or family members.

When I was growing up in sports clubs, it was the local McDonald’s that sponsored a bunch of teams, I have also seen KFC, Hungry jacks sponser local teams too, but whether it’s local or national, that’s just advertising, nothing special.

I suppose that's why you're no longer in business.

 

[Value Collector]

I suppose that's why you're no longer in business.

Nope, Sold it and retired at 36. I diverted the businesses profits over the years into other investments. I could have kept running the business but my investment portfolio had dwarfed my business in size and income, and I want to do other things, glad I did though because 18 months later the pandemic hit, and owning the business through that would have the last thing I would have wanted to do.

 

[JohnDe]

My point is simple, regardless of whether you shop at a local family business or at a national chain you are still providing employment to locals, and providing profits to locals in the form of dividends back to people that live I that community.

I personally owned a “local business”, that competed with a major national chain, people would often come in and say things like “I prefer shopping with you, because I like to support the local businesses.

While I was happy that they spent their money with me, I couldn’t understand the concept, the national chain I competed with hired at least 6 times the number of people I did and while all the profits of my business went into my pocket, this national chains ownership was spread widely across our community.

Workers local workers at the national chain store had a decent chance of career progression, but an employee in my stores career was limited, they would never out rank me or family members.

When I was growing up in sports clubs, it was the local McDonald’s that sponsored a bunch of teams, I have also seen KFC, Hungry jacks sponser local teams too, but whether it’s local or national, that’s just advertising, nothing special.

Over the years, our clubs (involved with more than one at various stages) also had the big junk food sponsors; they worked out a deal with the league administrator, and we received a small quantity of training gear, stickers and vouchers to their restaurants. The administrators also received some cash which the used to 'improve' the league.

Big companies don't deal with individual sports clubs, the managers may offer discounts and bread, but anything meaningful has to be discussed by the sporting body administration and the lawyers.

Whereas the local IGA, Fruit & Veg shop, mechanical workshop, small to medium businesses will talk to clubs on a one-on-one basis. Thy will also help out with a kid that needs a job while they train and study, some even come down to the club and help out.

A small to medium business may employee only 6 people, but the percentage is higher than a Woolworths that looks for every opportunity to reduce staff numbers. They have less back up staff, they put in check-out machines so they can employ less people, they put less people on check out, they have less staff walking the floor.

And don't forget -

Woolworths reveals fresh wage theft, with $276 million still unpaid

The scale of wage theft at Woolworths Group has blown out yet again, with the retailer Wednesday revealing $70 million in underpayments.

thenewdaily.com.au

 

[JohnDe]

Nope, Sold it and retired at 36. I diverted the businesses profits over the years into other investments. I could have kept running the business but my investment portfolio had dwarfed my business in size and income, and I want to do other things, glad I did though because 18 months later the pandemic hit, and owning the business through that would have the last thing I would have wanted to do.

Exactly, no point staying in a business if you can't grow the profits.

 

[Value Collector]

Big companies don't deal with individual sports clubs, the managers may offer discounts and bread, but anything meaningful has to be discussed by the sporting body administration and the lawyers.

Whereas the local IGA, Fruit & Veg shop, mechanical workshop, small to medium businesses will talk to clubs on a one-on-one basis. Thy will also help out with a kid that needs a job while they train and study, some even come down to the club and help out.

Thats not true, every weekend there is a different local club or charity at Bunnings doing a sausage sizzle to raise funds, Bunnings supports them by providing at the gear for free.

Who hires more kids that need jobs while they train or study? the local fruit shop or the local McDonald's?

 

[Jeda]

Thats not true, every weekend there is a different local club or charity at Bunnings doing a sausage sizzle to raise funds, Bunnings supports them by providing at the gear for free.

Who hires more kids that need jobs while they train or study? the local fruit shop or the local McDonald's?

Now your are pulling my leg

We've done that, and it was handy to support one of our team that was traveling interstate for a tournament. We did all the work and supplied the ingridients. It was very helpful but not in the same category as a small to medium business that donates and helps out every year for years on end. My kids got a discount trip, and the kids that could not pay got a free trip.

it is an intersting subject, on how they can pay less per hour than the local fruit shop. My son got paid a pitance for working at KFC

By the way, we lost every game

 

[Value Collector]

Exactly, no point staying in a business if you can't grow the profits.

I did grow the profits of my business, but after running it 6 days a week for 10 years I was sick of the grind, and had an investment portfolio that earned $1.3 Million in 2019 vs a little over $200,000 for my business.

You can live your life the way you like, but for me locking myself into a business I didn't enjoy running any more, just for money when I already had more than I would ever need seems like a silly use of my middle years.

 

[Value Collector]

We've done that, and it was handy to support one of our teams that was traveling interstate for a tournament. We did all the work and supplied the ingridients. It was very helpful but not in the same category as a small to medium business that donates and helps out every year for years on end.
.

remember Bunnings does it every weekend for a different team or group.

Also, when I now support charities using dividends from my share holdings, I don't promote that fact that I am using Fortescue dividends or Woolworths or cba dividends etc etc. So support that comes from the big businesses are not always visible.

But if I did anything when I was a small business owner you can be sure I wanted to have my business name in the News letter, HAHAHA. So what you are picking up on in probably just a disability thing, promotors will always want you to link their company name with anything they do, share holders usually don't.

 

[JohnDe]

Yes, those fast-food places love to pay their staff well -

'This loophole has got to go': KFC and Hungry Jack's face questions over super

Fast food giants KFC and Hungry Jacks are the latest in a string of retail companies facing trouble over superannuation clauses in pay deals with their workers.

Both companies face criticism from the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) and elements in the government over the way their proposed enterprise agreements present the right to choose a super fund.

Sold out: quarter of a million workers underpaid in union deals

Australian workers in retail and fast-food outlets, including Woolworths, Hungry Jack's and KFC, are being underpaid more than $300 million a year, in a national wages scandal centred on deals struck with the shop assistants union.

 

[Value Collector]

Yes, those fast-food places love to pay their staff well -

'This loophole has got to go': KFC and Hungry Jack's face questions over super

Fast food giants KFC and Hungry Jacks are the latest in a string of retail companies facing trouble over superannuation clauses in pay deals with their workers.

Both companies face criticism from the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) and elements in the government over the way their proposed enterprise agreements present the right to choose a super fund.

Sold out: quarter of a million workers underpaid in union deals

Australian workers in retail and fast-food outlets, including Woolworths, Hungry Jack's and KFC, are being underpaid more than $300 million a year, in a national wages scandal centred on deals struck with the shop assistants union.

Do you not think small businesses get into trouble over under payment too?

Large fines for underpayment in small business​

Two businesses, a café and a retail shop owned by the same person, have been handed a $134,000 fine by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, for the underpayment of three workers. This is a high price to pay for a small business.

The Fair Work Commission has said that the two businesses took advantage of the disadvantaged international workers, who were paid significantly below minimum wage.

The amount that the workers were underpaid by was $44,950, a significant amount which is dwarfed by fine of almost triple that amount – a clear demonstration of the seriousness with which the Fair Work Commission treats underpayment, and a clear warning to small businesses of the potentially ruinous costs of underpayment claims.

The Federal Circuit Court did not stop there. It personally fined the owner and sole director of both businesses an additional $10,896 for the failure to keep proper records and issue pay slips.

https://jfmlaw.com.au/employment-law/underpayment-in-small-business/

 

[JohnDe]

My daughter worked at KFC while she was in year 11 & 12, they paid very poorly which had to do with her being on a 'traineeship'. I would have preferred that she worked somewhere else because having done the same thing when I was a kid and experienced their pay deals I knew that their managers had to cheat to get to the top.

At the end of the day it was an experience, and we were well off enough that pay was not an issue. But what about the kids that need every cent they can get? They are the ones that suffer at the hands of the big fast-food companies.

I am not against any of the companies that have been mentioned in the past several posts, I just don't sign up to the theory that they are the best thing since sliced bread. After all, we now know that sliced bread is not as good as the traditional baked loaf.

There is a place for all business, but there must be a balance. It is proven that small to medium business are the most important employers in the country. Take apprenticeships as an example, we went through a shortage of automotive apprenticeships because the big dealerships were not training correctly, they were instead looking at ways to increase their labour input over training. Half the kids left because they were broken, and out of the other half most were poorly trained.

It got so bad that the government had to re-fund TAFE colleges, and industry had to re-think their ways. bringing the large dealerships screaming and kicking to the table.

If it was not for the small to medium business taking on apprentices and allowing them proper training the industry would be completely broken.