In Lodi, the community has virtually rolled out the red carpet in anticipation of the Costco that could soon be built in the Reynolds Ranch center.

Meanwhile, attempts to construct a Super Walmart on Lower Sacramento Road and Kettleman Lane have been met with bitter resistance for the better part of a decade.

What is the difference?

However, one professor understands that this is a situation where perception and reality are the same thing.

Scott Testa, a marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, said the public’s beliefs about the two companies are shaped by how they treat both employees and customers.

“Costco has an image portrayed as not anti-union because it pays its workers better and their health benefits are better,” he said.

He said he isn’t attacking Walmart or hyping Costco, but merely stating the public perception.

“It is what it is,” he said.

http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2010/01/30/news/2_costco-walmart_100130.txt

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