Spare some compassion

Re: Canadian retailers need to join 21st century, Feb. 6, Jesse Kline

So Jesse Kline has no sympathy for retailers “stuck in the mid-1990s” who charge “exorbitant fees” ($5) to deliver a $17 box of screws. The reason why the retailer (who Jesse will “be less likely to visit” post-pandemic) is charging $5 is that his grand profit on that box of screws is most likely about 89 cents, after factoring in inventory costs, rent, utilities, wages, insurance, etc. Free delivery would mean he was selling at a loss. I am quite sure Jesse could have done curbside pickup, but that would have been inconvenient, and also incurred a cost in transportation charges, as well as an investment in time.

The smug, sanctimonious tone of this op-ed adds insult to injury to the boarded-up retailers and restaurateurs, many of whom will not open up after this dreadful pandemic is over. Spare a little compassion, Jesse, for those whose lives have been devastated during this economic scourge while you are lying in bed, looking for “junk” to buy, but only if it is delivered for free.

Dorothy Hawley, Caledon, Ont.