What’s Up With The Editor
By Calvin Hastings
An interesting thing happened this past week. As many of you know we do several parking lot parties for our local hometown businesses. This includes playing music, giving away prizes and free food, normally a hotdog, a bag of chips and soft drink. One of our of food venders is City Lunch on the courtsquare in downtown Lincolnton. I can’t count the endless things that the fine folks at City Lunch have done for our community. When there is a need, City Lunch is there to help. Now back to the story.
My son Kevin went to pick up hotdogs last week at City Lunch for one of our parking lot parties. As usual, the street parking spaces were full so he pulled into the neighboring Bank of America parking lot. Immediately someone approached him and informed him that if he parked there his vehicle would be towed away. The parking lot was for Bank of America employees and customers period! After finding another place to park and entering City Lunch he was met by several people rushing out of the restaurant to move their cars before the BIG BAD BANK had them towed away. Some we learned were even Bank of America customers who had done business at the bank and then went to eat at City Lunch. It’s true that City Lunch can’t make their customers NOT park at Bank of America. It’s the customer’s choice on where they should park.
The question that I can’t understand is that these BIG BANKS are built by us. Customers and local business owners. If local businesses do well then banks do well. If employees of local businesses do well, they must have a bank to trust their money in. According to my son, there were plenty of empty parking spaces in the BIG BANK’s parking lot. It was not like it was full of cars that didn’t belong there. Why would someone like Bank of America not be more than happy to let local shoppers park in their spacious lot. Local shoppers are spending money with local hometown, home owned businesses. Its one big cycle. The customer is happy, the local business is happy and the bank is happy because they receive more deposits from local customers and businesses.
So in this case, the BIG BANK decision makers decided to tow away cars that were not doing business at their bank. What a public relations move! But they probably will get a BIG BANK BONUS for that decision. Just like the millions in bonuses they received for NOT DOING their jobs. I guess the $45 billion wasn’t quite enough. I have a family member that was laid off her job at Bank of America while high executives received millions of dollars in bonus money. If you’re doing business with the BIG BANK, you may want to address this issue with one of their representatives. You may even want to think about moving your bank account. I know I am. I think there should be an apology to local shoppers and local businesses. But don’t hold your breath, they’re still counting their bailout money!
