Complaints.com

From: Message Author
Date: Sunday, 15-Jan-06 04:42:46 CST

Business Info

This is a letter that i will try to have published in the local paper in Paris, TN.

People of Paris, Wake Up!

I am a fellow Parisian and have noticed more than a few problems within this town. Perhaps maybe by sharing my thoughts it will help people see how they are being taken advantage of. Hopefully, this will make them mad enough to want to do something about it.

First of all, I am an outsider looking in. I was not born here, but moved here about six years ago. The fact that I am writing this is actually pretty bad considering that I am from a smaller town than Paris that has more businesses and more recreational activities. To make things easier, I have categorized these points and complaints. Therefore, you may omit the subjects that do not apply to you. Unless you are a city official or a monopoly, in which case all of them do.

Jobs/Businesses

Can someone please tell me where I can find a job in this town? I have an associates degree, but its really just a useless credential. I could not even get hired on at a Factory when they had signs posted saying that they were hiring! Makes me wonder why I spent money on college in the first place. If someone would have told me that I would be better off working at Wal-Mart when I grew up, I could have saved myself thousands of dollars and many lost nights of studying. I am not saying anything bad about Wal-Mart. It is the best job in town by far, with its 401K, benefits, and job stability. Those seem to be constant missing variables with jobs in Paris.

Can anyone tell me why there are so few chain stores or businesses in Paris? Could it be because there are too many well-known local names in this town that own most of the companies here and are probably on the city counsel or connected to it somehow? If big businesses come into Paris, the existing businesses would be forced to raise their pay for their employees, and lower the prices on their products and services to compete with the new ones. Wait, isn’t that a good thing? So instead of doing that, they just simply try to stop them from coming in. Now how can they stop let them you ask? Simple, the city just raises their property tax and rent on the new business. What business would want to stay if their rent and tax nearly exceeds their profit?

How about restaurants? Sure we have great Mexican and Chinese food here, but where are the real restaurants? What happened to Bonanza, Reno’s, or even Papa Johns? We have an Olive Pit, but why not Olive Garden? Why have a Dairy Delight, but not a Dairy Queen. We had Dixie Donuts but not a Duncan Donuts or Krispy Kreme Donuts. Why are businesses closing here?! What happened to Burger King???? It is a national chain! Maybe the owner of the franchise wasn’t making enough with that well-known “Burger King” name, and is going to open a “Burger Queen“? Then the people of Paris will think its something new and spend a dollar or two more for nearly the same food but not as good. They could also knock a few dollars off their employees salary and make a little more profit. That is exactly what is happening. Why spend $20 for a cd at a local mom and pop cd store when you could spend nearly half that for the same cd at a Best Buy or Circuit City? If big business comes to Paris, yes it might eventually shut down local businesses, but why should you care? They do not seem to care about you, with their overpriced items and services. Even the mighty Wal-Mart would have to finally compete with competitor’s pricing! I have spent just about everyday typing, e-mailing, calling businesses and begging them to come to Paris. All of them well-known names like: Chick-fil-a, Rallys, O’Charleys, Papa Johns, Best-buy, Sam-Goody, and Gamestop to name a few. Any and all types of businesses in hopes that it will have some kind of effect. All of these would bring new work and more money into Paris. Oh, but we still have the factories right? Wrong!

Take Mohon for example: With the recent events surrounding Mohon and the tornado damage, it is barely hanging onto production. The likelihood of that business closing is now significantly greater. That means, there would be 300 or more people looking for jobs, which could be my job and/or your job. What about Dana? They are training people in Mexico right now to do your job! Dana will close, and there will be more people out of work. How can Paris afford to not let companies/businesses come here? HELLO CITY OFFICIALS!!……MORE BUSINESS=MORE JOBS AND MORE MONEY!!!! You would think they would want that, but maybe they see something we don’t. Sure, Paris is getting a few new businesses, i.e. Tractor Supply, Super Freds, and new Super D location. But do we really need more Pharmacies? If you are saying to yourself that Paris isn’t large enough for these businesses, think again. The population of Paris and Henry Co. is more than 30,000 people. That doesn’t include all of the people that would come to Paris from the neighboring towns and cities.

Drugs/Recreation

Why in the world would I put these two together you ask? Well, in my opinion one is the result of the other. Its kind of like the “Idle hands saying”. What does a young person do for fun in this town? Well if they are not already strung out on drugs, they probably go see a movie or walk around Wal-Mart for a few hours. That’s about it. Right about now you are probably understanding the “Idle hands saying” a little better. Unless you think your children should just go hang out at one of the local bars or strip clubs. Where are the fun family activities? How about miniature golf or go-kart racing? What about an arcade or a skating rink? No wonder there are so many teenagers and adults on drugs in this town. THERE’S NOTHING FOR THEM TO DO!!!!!! Aren’t there enough youth in this town to merit such a business? I can only assume that there is, since Paris/Henry Co. has an abundance of schools here for some reason. So why not do drugs (I believe Meth is the drug of choice these days), smoke cigarettes, drink and get pregnant? Apparently that’s what this town wants their kids to do. I don’t see them providing any other alternatives.

Why is it the Police can’t catch people selling or doing drugs? Is it really that hard. I have had neighbors that sold drugs. I know this because of the traffic and types of people that came in and out all day long. Just long enough run in and grab there fix. Well its not bothering me is it? Yes, actually it is. It brings unwanted traffic and everything else that is associated with drugs to where I live. It makes me susceptible to getting in trouble with the police, and it just makes my neighborhood look bad! The police need to crack down more on drug users and sellers. Not just catch and release like they are basically doing now. Adults, if you have teenage children, the chances of them doing drugs or being affiliated with someone that does them are very high. I do not think most of you realize how close to home this problem really is. You can lower this chance by helping get more activities, resources, and opportunities in this town for your children.

Closing Statement

I do not expect you to agree with everything written, I’m simply asking you to look at the problems in this town through an outside opinion. I’m sure every town has its problems, but this one happens to be the one that I live in. Sure, I could leave and move to some big city that already has all of these things, but why not try to make this town better. Paris does have many good qualities. The crime rate is low, the cost of living is low (with the exception of sales tax of course, but I wont blame the town for that one), and the price of property is cheap. There are ways to make Paris more appealing to a variety of other demographics, not just retirees.

Attending city council meetings to voice your opinions, calling businesses directly for information on initiating a Franchise chain, and starting petitions to bring growth to this town are just a few ways to help Paris prosper.

_____

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