Strange thing about smaller cities

Okay, here's some of that Random Rambling that I haven't done enough of lately. :)

Has anyone else noticed this?

In smaller cities, the big chain stores are nice. In bigger cities, the big chain stores aren't.

Now, I live in Canada, so when I say "bigger cities", I mean one, like mine, that has around 400,000 people. When I say smaller cities, I mean one that has around 20,000 people.

I've been to Z------- in a few smaller cities and they have been clean, tidy, well-stocked and friendly. Ours is, well, not dirty, but I just don't go there very often because I can't find what I'm looking for. What I want is either not stocked or all gone already. There are lots of items out of place or on the floor. Not what I would call a good impression.

In our larger centers, we have S----S----, in the smaller centers it's E----F----. Basically the same chain, with the same stock and sales, etc. All the E----F---- I have been to have been nice. Again, clean, tidy, well-stocked and friendly. The S----S----- are chaos.

Even W--M--- shows this disparity.

It is frustrating to go into the 'same' store in another smaller city and find all those things that I've been looking for locally and just can't find. I've said for a few years that "I have to go to small towns to go shopping. They just have better stores and better stuff."

Is it our population demographic? Do all the slobs live here?
Is it an image issue? In larger centers a job at the big chain is looked down at, whereas in the smaller centers, it is considered a good job.
Is it a trickle-down management attitude? Profit, profit, profit vs customer care.
Is it not enough staff to match the number of customers in the bigger centers?
Is it that I have a small-city mentality and I like the stuff stocked in the smaller centers that they never seem to have in the bigger ones?
Or is it that everyone else likes them too and they sell them all before I get there?
Is it just my city? Or, more accurately, the stores' locations in this city. We live in a nice, established neighbourhood that is adjacent to a less nice area. Can the store staff just not keep up?

I will have to make the effort to drive to the farther stores here to see how they are...maybe I'll find a gem or two.