Supportive vs Competetive (and not in a good way) Coffee Culture

I've been to cities that have a great coffee culture, and all of the baristi and owners and even customers and vendors will support a community event. Be it a jam, a tasting, a cupping, or just a get together, the whole coffee community will pull together and all have a great time.

On the other hand, I've been to places where there are nice and competent folk at various quality roasters and coffee shops around an area, and each will bad mouth the other in an effort to elevate themselves. How do you get the former to be more like the latter?
It's like watching a bucket of blue crab. no need for a lid, if ever any one crab starts to get up on the rim and look like he's going over the side to escape, sure enough, the only thing that they'll band together to do is to pull him back down.

Your local coffee culture is a pond. Anything that you do to make the water better for you makes the water better for the whole pond. Anything that other coffee shops do to improve the water near their shop makes the water better for the whole pond.
Anyone who pisses in someone else' water will be swimming in their own urine, too, though.
How do you teach shop owners to be supportive while being competitive?

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Marek,

Thanks much for your regards.

I think we're talking about the same company here. Small Chicago Coffee Chain has a (undeserved in my opinion) reputation for trash talk, and I admit they often verge on hubris. But, honestly, I can't think of one coffee enterprise in Chicago that has been anything short of lovely about our opening.

Hey, we all have reasons for being in coffee, and building community has always been one of mine. Supportive and competitive? I think Chicago's community is great for that. We're all pushing each other to be better. I like to think I do my part.

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