Pink Dollar Mafia 2

What kind of businesses can be found in the gay ghetto..?

1.  Small Retailers:

• hair stylists
• travel agents
• clothing shops (if they're bringing in European body conscious styles for gay men, watch out - their prices can be higher than downtown and online)
• cafes and restaurants
• organic food shops 
• bodybuilding accessories, protein shakes, supplements and vitamins
• gay "lifestyle" shops selling accessories like picture frames, stationery, cards
• gay porn shops
• bars and clubs

They may describe themselves as "boutique businesses" that cater to their "community".  Unfortunately, that may be a euphemism for saying that their cash flow hangs by a thread.

2.  Larger Retail Brands:

• Fast food outlets
• Starbucks
• Gym franchise
• Cinema chain
• Car dealerships

3.  Professional Services:

• Interior Designers
• Computer Tech and Web Designers
• Small Accounting Firms
• Small Law Firms
• Small Medical practices and dental offices 
• Gay Realtors
• STD clinic

Gay accountants and gay law firms deep in the ghetto, have their hearts in the right places.  But they're never going to get anywhere - and perhaps they don't wish to. Their client base is not the greatest and frankly, neither is their expertise.  We've used them.  We know. 

The gay law firms concentrate on modified family matters, wills, immigration, landlord and tenant (remember the renters in Fagland that we mentioned in Part 1..?) FuelMix has not personally experienced being ripped off by them since lawyers and accountants are member of professional organizations and that’s fine. If anything, FuelMix acknowledges them for the work they do and they are often flexible on their fees. They have to be – just to survive in the ghetto.

What we found unconscionable were the antics of the ghetto-based interior designers, decorators, electrical contractors, computer techs and web designers.  Like some of the Small Retailers listed above, these guys were blatant in the imposition of a "gay tax" for doing business with their "fellow man".  

How did we find that out..?  Simple. By doing a comparison test. FuelMix didn't live in the ghetto, but on several occasions, called them up without revealing that he'd seen this guy's ad in a gay rag. We then asked our ghetto-based buddy to call the same guy requesting identical work - and saying he'd seen the ad in the gay rag.  He was quoted a price between 25%-30% more.

Originally published 26 May 2006

Amended and Republished 12 April 2014 | 29 April 2017

Copyright © 2006 - 2017 FuelMix All Rights Reserved 
ON A MOBILE DEVICE, VIEW THE WEB VERSION OF THE BLOG