FreshDirect Be Damned!

pitu · December 2007

Jamzer wrote: don't be a hypocrite

I'll take the opposing view on this.

Please feel free to make yourself a better person by taking small steps, when and where you can take them.
(/snap)

Happy New Year, everyone!

livetotravel · December 2007

well-said pitu. It's never hypocritical to try to make a small impact on your environment.

rainbowpromises · December 2007

No one's disputing the validity of small impacts, but you have to think about the larger repercussions/decisions as well.

pitu · December 2007

rainbowpromises wrote: No one's disputing the validity of small impacts, but you have to think about the larger repercussions/decisions as well.

of course, but someone was disputing small impacts
the comment was in response to a different point (see above)
about making sure EVERY action you take adheres to the same standard
or else you are a hypocrite. I think that idea gets in the way of doing anything to make positive change
because it will never be enough on it's own, an impossible standard.

livetotravel · December 2007

pitu - your wisdom here is sorely needed as we end this disappointing year.

Setting standards beyond your reach is often times the object of the exercise. Having to reach to attain those goals makes them more worthwhile. I harbor no pretense that my actions will, on their own, make a big impact, but small actions carried out collectively will. And, as to boycotting just one company, i.e. FD, hey, it's not the only one I apply my personal values to before I buy, it's just the most recent.

And as to a posters comments about restaurants - if you don't ask before you eat who's problem is that? I'm pretty comfortable about the origins of the food and working conditions of the employees at places I choose to spend my money.

Here are two of my favorite quotes I try to apply...

“The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.” John Mason Brown

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

jamzer · December 2007

Livetotravel wrote: well-said pitu. It's never hypocritical to try to make a small impact on your environment.

Small indeed.

Happy New Years!

quiddity · December 2007

Guvna wrote: [quote=eatshoplocal]Value system?

my local business sucks. So, my hundreds of neighbors and I would all be driving to Fairway or pathmark, causing much more pollution than Fresh Direct.

Ack! It's true. I would love to support local businesses. My corner store is great but Key Foods sucks. For instance, I was at Key Foods yesterday when the cashier wandered away for no apparent reason. She was literally in the middle of taking care of the person in front of us the POOF!

I asked the customer in front of us 'Wow, where did she just go?'

Customer: to talk to her friends.

I didn't believe it at first -- but she was right! The cashier left her register to get in on a conversation an aisle away and then came back as if nothing happened. Unbelievable.

I'm not for or against FD for any immigration issues or environmental ones. I'm for them just in the name of competition -- if they take enough market share from Key Foods maybe KF will get "incentivized" [MBAspeak used tongue-in-cheek] to take better care of their customers.

veets · December 2007

I have ordered from Fresh Direct ..from time to time.. I did order during this Holiday season and that is it!! One box contained a quart of Half and half and bananas.. guess they are in the same seciton of the warehouse. I just can't justify the boxes!! I am not saying never agian... I know the hype about eliminating the link between the warehouse and the consumer (the supermarket) but as I was breaking down those boxes I had an epiphany... just can't do it.. or at least not often.

raw · January 2008

quiddity wrote: [quote=Guvna][quote=eatshoplocal]Value system?

my local business sucks. So, my hundreds of neighbors and I would all be driving to Fairway or pathmark, causing much more pollution than Fresh Direct.

Ack! It's true. I would love to support local businesses. My corner store is great but Key Foods sucks. For instance, I was at Key Foods yesterday when the cashier wandered away for no apparent reason. She was literally in the middle of taking care of the person in front of us the POOF!

I asked the customer in front of us 'Wow, where did she just go?'

Customer: to talk to her friends.

I didn't believe it at first -- but she was right!You're at Key Food in Brooklyn. What do you expect? Must I remind you that here in Park Slope we pay top dollar for rotten produce and no customer service at Key Food?

quiddity · January 2008

You're at Key Food in Brooklyn. What do you expect? Must I remind you that here in Park Slope we pay top dollar for rotten produce and no customer service at Key Food?

Yes. Apparently I do need to be reminded every once in awhile. I just picked through one of those packages of "fresh" green beans. I threw away a lot more than if I had had my pick of green beans instead of buying their package. sigh.

wirenut · January 2008

RE: the "terrible working conditions"

Are the working conditions and pay at FD any different than McDonalds?

At McDonalds pay is just above minimum; work in the kitchen is probbably a bit hot as opposed to cold. I'm sure they sometimes work long hours.

A job is a job. As long as it is "safe" by OSHA standards it still a free country where people pick and choose their own jobs. Look at the TV show DIRTY JOBS. Those jobs suck too. Why are those jobs acceptable? because they may get paid more. So in the end it's all about how much do you make, not the work.

If the government says this is minimum wage and you don't think it's enough, then you have to take matters into your own hands and make yourself more valuable.

That's capitalism.

As for the Unions, they only come running when they smell the blood of profits. They don't bother McDonalds because they are all separately owned. The local restaurant that uses low wage workers (legal or otherwise) don't attract union involment because there is not enough profit involved. They go after the big fish.

And for the other issue of CAN a union represent an illegal worker? I think eventually that will get decided in the courts.

carmen · January 2008

quiddity wrote:
You're at Key Food in Brooklyn. What do you expect? Must I remind you that here in Park Slope we pay top dollar for rotten produce and no customer service at Key Food?
Yes. Apparently I do need to be reminded every once in awhile. I just picked through one of those packages of "fresh" green beans. I threw away a lot more than if I had had my pick of green beans instead of buying their package. sigh.

Not to be snotty butttt...
the whole "you're in park slope" thing is kind of hilarious in reference to a lack of amenities or good service- I live in bedstuy and I don't even have a SINGLE real grocery store within a 25 minute walk. My "grocery store" doesn't sell apples or chicken breasts, and never EVER has any spices other than sugar, salt and pepper (and any produce that you buy will surely be rotten and overpriced.) And service? I asked if my local grocer had pita bread and I was told that "cracker bitches like [me] should move back to the city" if we want stuff like that. I commute into PS to shop at key food and c-town. So lets put this into perspective.

And I agree with the above poster about the conditions not being much worse than most legal crappy work- I worked in fast food places for 4 years in HS and remember working 10 hour shifts with one 45 minute break in a kitchen where the AC was broken half the time (and this was in the south- the thermostat regularly read 90+ degrees.) We made 5.75 an hour. Sure, I was 17, but this is a reality for a lot of people for their entire lives in LEGAL working conditions. Everyone's up in arms about deplorable working conditions for illegal immigrants but what about working conditions that are totally legit and legal? Having 16 year old kids work 15 hour shifts 3 days a week with one, non-mandatory 45 minute lunch break for a take-home pay of less than $4 an hour is disgusting (and lets not even think about how cheap the labor really is when almost none of these kids get ANY sort of benefits short of free meals.)

guvna · January 2008

wirenut wrote: RE: the "terrible working conditions"
And for the other issue of CAN a union represent an illegal worker? I think eventually that will get decided in the courts.

It is rather controversial, but "wrongly" terminated illegals (can you see why it's controversial? lol) can be awarded backpay, but not reinstatement. The theory being that employers should not be allowed to abuse illegal workers without penalty, but reinstatement would violate immigration laws. Thus, the backpay sees to it that the employer doesnt get away with abusing illegal workers, and the denial of reinstatement complies with the federal law that prohibits employing illegal workers.

kosherdave · January 2008

Carmen wrote:
"cracker bitches like [me] should move back to the city"

WOW, really?! Friendly folks over there in bedsty!

Oh and on a related note, I worked for a little while in an organic grocery store toward the end of my college carreer and before going to grad school. When I worked in the back area, it was at least that cold. We wore coats and hats. :roll: I never thought it sucked, especially in the summer when it was hot as balls out.
And I made around 6 bucks an hour.

guvna · January 2008

an update, in case anyone cares . . .

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003692320

FreshDirect to Run NYC's Largest Private Biodiesel Truck Fleet

JANUARY 07, 2008 -- LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. -- Internet grocer FreshDirect here last week began filling delivery trucks with biodiesel blended fuel, the first step in converting its entire fleet to biodiesel over the next two months.

The fuel, from Tri-State Biodiesel, is made mainly from waste cooking oil from local restaurants. Tri-State said the switch to biodiesel will allow FreshDirect to reduce its carbon dioxide footprint annually by an estimated 7.5 million pounds, and also of lead to lower levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur, unburned hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. By the time
Biodiesel estimates that FreshDirect's. The retailer’s truck fleet will be the largest private trucking fleet in the city to convert to the fuel, Tri-State said.

"FreshDirect first partnered with Tri-State this summer for the collection of FreshDirect's used cooking oils to be converted into a source of biodiesel fuel," said FreshDirect s.v.p. of transportation Adrian Williams. "Today, we are closing the loop and powering our vehicles with the very same clean and efficient fuel that we have contributed to producing. This partnership underlines FreshDirect's strong commitment to being a responsible member of the New York City community."

According to the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratories, biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil produces 5.5 times the amount of energy used to create it.

Meanwhile, the company said it will likely have a temporary deficit of workers to man those trucks. The company late last month informed regular customers in a letter signed by c.e.o. Steve Michaelson that it was "going to have a harder time meeting your food needs" than usual, due to such factors as rapid growth and a pending federal audit of its records that has prompted some employees with "inadequate" documentation to leave. The company promised, however, that by promoting from within, training, and hiring externally, it would "be back at full capacity by the end of January."

FreshDirect serves most of Manhattan and locations in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, as well as parts of New Jersey, Westchester, and Nassau County.

FreshDirect Be Damned!

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