Convenience stores are going too far

2013年03月21日：便利商店未免太貪心
by Chen Qixun

最近看到一個新聞說便利商店業者除了賣便當，今年還要開始推消費者在店內吃比如點麵配小菜之類，之前賣便當的時候曾經拍過一個廣告說外面的便當店沒有熱量標示，便利商店未免也太貪心不足了。

According to a recent news story, later this year convenience stores will start serving fresh-cooked noodle soup, vegetable sides, etc., right in the store. In the past they've run ads pointing out that independent food stalls and small restaurants do not publish the caloric content of the boxed meals they sell [boxed meals sold at convenience stores do]. The convenience stores are so greedy, it's just too much.

我覺得便利商店就像文明的燈塔，在荒郊野外看見二十四小時便利商店的燈光便感到安心，至少被殺人魔追殺時可以逃進店內（而且被殺人魔追殺發生機率也太低了 吧。），我記得有個女的遭家暴她就一路逃逃到便利商店讓監視器錄下丈夫對她施暴，用那個當證據訴請離婚獲准，臨時少了什麼都找它。便利商店越來越多，提供 服務也越來越多。

To me, convenience stores are like beacons of civilization. Seeing the bright lights of a convenience store shining in the desolate suburban wilderness makes you feel safe. When being chased by a homicidal maniac, you can always duck into a convenience store (though admittedly this doesn't happen very often). I remember once a woman who was a victim of domestic abuse fled to a convenience store so the security camera would film the evidence of her husband's violence, and then she used this evidence to secure a divorce. And if you find you're out of something at the last minute, you can always find it at the convenience store. Convenience stores are becoming ever more numerous, with an ever wider range of services.

現在幾乎已經看不到影印店了，傳統的小雜貨店更是被消滅殆盡，現在便利商店又虎視眈眈的瞄準外食市場，挾帶集團的資本，進貨的競爭優勢，和無數的店面，實在讓人覺得便利商店到底要怎樣擴張它才滿意？所幸，便利商店賣的微波食物無法跟真正的食物相比， 吃起來是距離不遠，不過就不是它自己宣稱自己是的那個東西就對了。

These days it's rare to see a print shop, old-fasioned general stores are also nearly extinct, and now the convenience stores are closing in on the take-out market. With their flexible corporate capital, their competitive advantage in stocking products, and their innumerable stores, it makes you wonder: How much will they have to expand before they're satisfied? Fortunately, the microwaved food they sell can't compare to real food, it tastes completely different, but then again they don't claim otherwise [?].

最大的連鎖便利商店裡有許多品牌是買不到的，因為他們不上架，不上架沒有被消費者看到的機會，就等於不存在，而他們不進那貨的原因是跟他們集團的產品重複衝突甚至更有競爭力。我總覺得有一天選總統可能投票也會是在便利商店投（投票還會送飲料或衛生紙買一送一折價券之類。）

There are many brands you can't buy at the largest convenience store chain [7-11] because they're not on the shelf; and if they're not on the shelf, the consumer doesn't see them, which basically means they don't exist. The reason they aren't stocked is that the corporation produces another similar product and they don't want any competition; quite possibly, the competing brand is actually more competitive. I wonder if some day we'll be casting our votes for president at the convenience stores (maybe they'll even throw in a free snack or a buy-one-get-one-free deal on toilet paper).