March 9, 2010 Letters

What business plan?

by Ben Jackson

Seeing what Le Frigo Vert considers a “business plan” was perhaps one of the saddest moments of my postgraduate life. Simply put, the organization is a complete failure, is designed to be so, and I am glad that the Concordia Student Union recognized that fact.
What do I mean by this? Let me explain: I run a small business and we are still struggling to make enough money to survive. However, our business plan is functional: we only need to sell more of our services to become sustainable.

Le Frigo Vert is the opposite. The more you shop there, the more indebted they become. Abstaining from shopping there would help slow the rate at which they lose money. They need to raise prices, fire employees and lower wages for those they keep, until they reach a point at which they earn money from customers shopping there (perhaps ending the member discount?). Ideally this process would continue until they no longer need help from their “parents” (the CSU).

It is understandable that a university store could require assistance from the school, after all everyone there is still learning how this is done (and it’s extremely difficult). But there should at least be a chance of self-sustainability. As it is, they are total failures and bailing them out will actually only reverse their education.

Thankfully, I am no longer a student and am no longer paying for their folly.

—Ben Jackson,
Études françaises alumnus