Dollar stores squeezing out grocery stores and leading to creation of food deserts, study finds. In March, advocacy group the Institute for Local Self-Reliance published a study that found that dollar stores are pulling sales away from local grocery stores in predominantly rural, low-income Black and Latino neighborhoods, leading some areas to become food deserts. Now communities across the country are fighting back. Why customer service ratings are getting worse. Long hold times and the inability to get a real person on the other end of the phone are becoming more prevalent when it comes to customer service. Community comes together to clean up Isla Vista following Deltopia aftermath