What's the deal with WalMart?

[Bent Bolt]

My wife and I refuse to shop Wal-mart. I believe most of their stuff is poor quality and we hate the line-ups. It's always crowded and for us, out of the way. We do and continue to shop elsewhere, even if we don't "save-a-buck".

I'm Canadian, strive to shop Canadian and if that fails, buy American.

 

[jgrnot]

That's $2298.92 extra a year I'd be spending if I bought all my groceries at Safeway all the time.

We do and continue to shop elsewhere, even if we don't "save-a-buck".

Thumper just proved that it's more than just a "BUCK". That's $2,300 of them. To some that's A LOT of money.

There are times Walmart is not busy. Trust me. I HATE (to the point I almost get in fist fights.....literally) waiting in line and dealing with people, which is why I wake my happy ass up at 6 am every Sunday morning and do my Walmart grocery shopping.......when everyone else is sleeping, or getting ready for church, etc. Believe it or not, there's surprisingly not very many people there. Plus, you I don't even have to deal with the retards they hire for cashiers......they have the DIY checkouts.

EDIT: BTW. I also get home in time to make a good breakfast, which I only spent $2 on instead of $10; take the dog for a walk, with a collar and leash costing $5 compared to PetSmart's $20; and then watch football.....on a tv I spent $500 on instead of BestBuy's $800 on (exact tv too).



One other thing.......

Here in Reno, there's a grocery only store named "WinCo Foods", formerly "CubFoods", which actually costs LESS than Walmart. PLUS, their meat and produce department are slightly better than Walmart.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Just for the record, I'm not bashing Walmart. My curiosity has been raised because there are commercials bashing Walmart and talking about how much of their stuff comes from China. Vanessa says I'm getting obsessed with the whole 'Made in ______' issue. I looked at my Levi Jeans. I thought Levis were made in the USA. Actually, Specifically, I thought they were from California. Mine were made in Mexico. My sons were made in Honduras. Some of the tags I'm reading actually surprise me. Some stuff I've taken for granted were made in the US. The Jeans I had on today didn't come from Walmart but were made in China.

 

[Simple_serf]

I generally avoid Wally world, Although In my case, It's because I hate crowds, because they oftentimes don't have what I am after, and because I hate cheap shit. I work for a full service grocery chain based out of Rochester. We barely noticed a bump in sales the week the wally world became a super wally world. Oh...and your local butcher's meat generally isn't pumped full of brine to up the weight...Like wally world's is. My small weekly grocery bill is about the same if I shop where I work or if I goto wally world. We also have a small local grocery chain that is getting crushed by poor service, high prices, wally world and union issues. They just closed their warehouse right here in Jamestown within the last year.

I usually look to see where something is made before I buy it. I used to buy Rolling Rock beer both because I liked it and because Latrobe PA isn't too far from me. I don't usually bother anymore since they sold out. I buy alot of Ellicottville Brewing and Lakewood brewing beer now. I am getting to the point where I shop more from Lehman's in Kidron OH. Lots of good stuff....much of it made here. I also buy a bit of Amish stuff too.

Makg....Around here about all many people can find is the 20K job stocking shelves or checkout. We used to be a furniture manufacturing area. Now all we have is CS jobs and jobs at the Cummins plant...which are $9/hr jobs... that you will probably get laid off from in 6 months.

 

[predator]

i dont shop at walmart, not only can i not stand it but i dont wanna support china, and i dont wanna go out and re-buy all the stuff that i bought at walmart cuz quality aint there....luckily im a successful hunter so i dont need to buy meat...starting a garden this spring so we can mostly grow our own food.....we tend to shop at smaller grocery stores for our other nessecites...

 

[Will]

Jim, would you work for $3 an hour?

Labor isn't the US's strong selling point. It's interesting that with Japanese companese bumping out the Big Three, they have found it expedient to open plants in the US. It started 20+ years ago actually. So we are reaching a point where some things are cheaper with US labor.

BUT...

The Japanese plants open up where US companies haven't had plants before. And they are not union. They hire at wages the local people haven't seen before, but are lower than UAW plants have. This has cause initial disappointment for people that thought they were going to hire onto Toyota with a $26 job but got a $13 instead. However, that same person still votes out the UAW every year.

There are still a lot of countries around to assemble $13 jeans before that ever combes back to the US. This is why I encourage constantly that younger people get real degrees instead of computer tech 2-year ones. The US's strength is still high technology. We're still the cutting edge for many things. Many people still come here for their graduate degree and first job. We need to keep those people, and we need our own people to get up to speed. I'm telling you straight--most engineers in major US companies are not born in the US. This is good because they are coming here. This is bad because we aren't competing with them very well. I know this for a fact because my wife is the boss off Cummins controls. She has a team of 30 PhDs and is responsible for the controls of all Cummins engines. The controller systems they develop are used on everything Cummins makes from road tractors to Dodge Rams to forklifts. She hires the top people in the world. I think she has 1 white male working for her. Her top employee is from Turkey. Most of her people are from China. She has people from Africa, India and Japan that I know of.

It is difficult to have an international person on your payroll. You have to not have an American available. The Americans make it easy though--there are none getting graduate degrees.

WTF? You tell me. This isn't make believe. It's what I talk about with my wife every day.

 

[jgrnot]

My small weekly grocery bill is about the same if I shop where I work or if I goto wally world.

Most people working at larger grocery store chains get some sort of discounted rate for certain products. My Dad's g/f, who has been a cashier at Raley's for 29 years, get's 20% all inedible products. Paper towels, shampoo, etc.

Here's what's pathetic....

EVEN WITH THE DISCOUNT, WALMART IS STILL CHEAPER!!! A 50% discount would be close.

Another point.....Does it matter what phucking store you bought it at? The Charmin TP you use to wipe your a$$, the Colgate toothpaste you use to brush your teeth, or the Castrol GTX oil you put in your truck, whether it's American made or Chinese made. It doesn't matter. Either way, Walmart will ALWAYS be cheaper, and you will be supporting underpaid employees with no benefits. China, Mexico, and Taiwan certainly are not the only countries that get away with poor pay rates. America SHITS all over UNIONS, who actually care about the well-being of people. Isn't that what this country is.....A UNION? American made really doesn't say much anymore.

One example.....Craftsman. Won't even warranty a tape mearsure or tin snips anymore (they don't even make the snips now). Yet, ALL hand tools are QUARANTEED for life. High quality American made SH!T........Good way to stand behind your product. Sears might as well sell out to HARBOR FREIGHT........afterall, the quality is about the same.

 

[Sunk]

"and you'll never need to leave." - Sunk

Just recently, WM kicked a woman out of one of their centers after she had been there for 72 hours. At least, I think that was how much time she was there.
Story link

Needing to leave is much different from being forced to leave. A friend of mine knows a guy who tried to stay in one for 24 hours. They kicked him out after 8.

 

[Donnie strickland]

I looked at my Levi Jeans. I thought Levis were made in the USA. Actually, Specifically, I thought they were from California. Mine were made in Mexico. My sons were made in Honduras. Some of the tags I'm reading actually surprise me. Some stuff I've taken for granted were made in the US. The Jeans I had on today didn't come from Walmart but were made in China.

You're right, Jim; until pretty recently Levi's were still made in the US. They tried to hold on as long as they could. But the price of labor drove the cost of jeans up too high and they had to send their production out of the country.

Levi Strauss & Co. found out what so many other companies had previously realized: people are only willing to go so far in support of US-made goods; when the price gets too high, people buy elsewhere. Even the Levi's name has a limit to its appeal.

As we see in this thread, most people (including me) may not be that crazy about WM, but when it comes to making ends meet you do what you have to do.

 

[shadetree]

I don't buy Levi products because of their refusal to support the Boy Scouts over the homosexual issue.

Walmart, (Chinamart), is big enough that they have the ability to tell the mfgr what they will pay for the product. If the mfgr cannot meet their price, they don't buy, and tell the mfgr to go off shore where they can get their prices in line with what Chinamart is willing to pay.

One American mfgr, Rubbermaid refused to do this, and almost went belly up. I see some of Rubbermaids products in Chinamart now, and wonder if they finally followed the off shore crowd, or found some other means of lowering their prices.

Chinamart caused an entire city to spring up at their Bentonville headquarters. The city consists of offices and employees of companies who do business with Chinamart.

Chinamart's computer system is second only to the pentagon, hell it may be bigger now as this was the status a year or so ago.

When Chinamart moved into this area, they hurt the local businesses. They couldn't compete, especially the small electronics stores, the mom and pop operations, clothing stores, etc. They were forced to close.

Sam's pride was the made in USA label. I wonder what he would say today? shady

 

[AngloSaxon]

I just hate their truck sized shopping carts. It's like pushing a dump truck through the store, and I really think they hide the hand held carts from the people so they would have to buy more.

 

[Evan]

They couldn't compete, especially the small electronics stores, the mom and pop operations, clothing stores, etc. They were forced to close.

Those stores are a thing of the past for the most part. If I want an HDTV, I don't want to go to a small electronics store that has a limited selection, I want to go to a giant store that offers lots of options, the ability to return my product anywhere if it breaks, etc.

In many places it's not just Wal-Mart putting these inefficient mom and pop stores out of business. It's also places like Best Buy, Target, Meijer, Aldi, Dunhams, MC Sports, etc.

 

[Bent Bolt]

Here's what's pathetic....

EVEN WITH THE DISCOUNT, WALMART IS STILL CHEAPER!!! A 50% discount would be close.

Another point.....Does it matter what phucking store you bought it at? The Charmin TP you use to wipe your a$$, the Colgate toothpaste you use to brush your teeth, or the Castrol GTX oil you put in your truck, whether it's American made or Chinese made. It doesn't matter. Either way, Walmart will ALWAYS be cheaper, .

.

YEs it does matter where you shop. I know it's next to impossible to buy ALL Canadian ,American or even North American. But the store where you buy it from has a headquarters from a certain country wheather it be Canada or USA. It may not matter much for those of you in the US and shop at Wally world since W/M is an american company but I refuse to shop there. I'll go to Zellers ( Canadian ), Canadian Tire ( duh !) Princess Auto ( Canadian - like your Harbour Frieght ) long before I'll go to any other store. Even if I have to spend a few $$ more for the same stuff. I am fortune enough that I can do that. If YOU can't, I don't think any less of you. You still have to eat and cloth the kids and otherwise make ends meet.

 

[MAKG]

Those stores are a thing of the past for the most part. If I want an HDTV, I don't want to go to a small electronics store that has a limited selection, I want to go to a giant store that offers lots of options, the ability to return my product anywhere if it breaks, etc.

In many places it's not just Wal-Mart putting these inefficient mom and pop stores out of business. It's also places like Best Buy, Target, Meijer, Aldi, Dunhams, MC Sports, etc.

I live in a region that doesn't have many chain stores, and still has quite a few Mom & Pops. You have it ALL wrong. You go into a store where the owner and employees have all been there for a very long time and actually know the stock. They help you find something, you order it and get it the next day or the day after. You don't end up returning it because you actually had some competent help and made an informed choice the first time. For warranty work, they work the same as big boxes -- 90 days, then mail it to the manufacturer.

There is a WalMart near work -- in Palo Alto of all places (I guess they have to serve the lower-class rich people), and I've been there a few times. It might be cheaper for groceries (no idea -- I won't buy groceries an hour away from home), but it really isn't for a lot of other stuff. Things tend to be cheaper at home -- even with the "isolation tax" -- just because it's a working class neighborhood.

 

[Sunk]

I live in a region that doesn't have many chain stores, and still has quite a few Mom & Pops. You have it ALL wrong. You go into a store where the owner and employees have all been there for a very long time and actually know the stock. They help you find something, you order it and get it the next day or the day after. You don't end up returning it because you actually had some competent help and made an informed choice the first time. For warranty work, they work the same as big boxes -- 90 days, then mail it to the manufacturer.

There is a WalMart near work -- in Palo Alto of all places (I guess they have to serve the lower-class rich people), and I've been there a few times. It might be cheaper for groceries (no idea -- I won't buy groceries an hour away from home), but it really isn't for a lot of other stuff. Things tend to be cheaper at home -- even with the "isolation tax" -- just because it's a working class neighborhood.

That's absolutely true. At a small Mom & Pop store, the employees work their, usually because they want to. Or if not, the store is small enough, so they still know what they carry, not that "its a really big TV." The service and expertise is far better than any box store.... except maybe those that only do electronics, but then that leaves the other 100 departments in the store that any one employee is supposed to cover.