Two stops is just a killer

Every store can be a "One-Stop" if the product line is narrow enough


Okay...time for another rant, I see. I'll get the soapbox.


Commercials suck.

Every once in a while, the advertising paradigm shifts and somebody comes up with the new slogan or catch phrase that's going to be overused in commercials for the next couple years. One of the latest ones that torques me is the phrase "One-Stop." So many commercials advertise their business as your "One-Stop Shop" for all of you fill-in-the-blank needs.

Here's the problem...that blank can be whatever they want it to be. Joe's is your one-stop shop for all of your organic, energy-efficient pest control needs. One place around here actually bills themselves as a one-stop shop for all of your non-traditional body piercing jewellery needs. If you actually have a series of places you go for that sort of thing depending on your needs, I feel bad for you. "Oh, I go go Store A for my 3/4-inch earrings, but I only go to Store N for tongue bars. I wish one place would carry both." Seriously? Nobody does that.

This whole concept starts out as part of my series of Sametime Statuses about The Wussification Of America, where we strive to make everything easier at the cost of just about everything else. In this case, we want one store that sells us everything we need so that we don't have to drive all the way to the other side of the strip mall for something else. This type of shopping lends itself to the formation of large automatonic stores that carry a limited supply of a remarkably wide array of crap. Yes, I'm looking at you, Walmart. "Motor oil, clothing, TV's, pesticide, tropical fish, and bananas all under one roof! It's the one-stop shopping I've been looking for!"