re: Wal-Mart update thread.

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I hate walmart because their stores suck and their employees suck.

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This.

I <3 Publix

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You probably ate at a large chain restaurant in the last 30 days. No online shopping ever, that hurts all the local vendors? You wear Nike brand anything? What about Under Armour? Still supporting the "man" by purchasing those.

So, you wear Jesus sandles made by your local cobbler, wear clothes daily made by your local seamstress, eat only at the local dinner, get fuel from the local gas station $0.30 higher that's on the corner, use only a local pharmacy for medication.....yes, I'll call bullshite

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Move goalposts much????

Walmart fricking sucks and I've been there once in the past 2 years to buy cheapo 9mm ammo. Me and two others had to wait about 25 minutes for an employee to finally show up. Cheapest of the cheap comes at a cost of service and quality. All you see in there are the fattest, nastiest skanks around. Walking into a redneck walmart is the worst of the worst.

This doesn't mean I shop all local. I shop at Publix(90%) and the farmers market(10%) once a week. I shop at Amazon because the only alternative seems to be local big-box stores which honestly isn't much better.

When it comes down to it, I just really fricking hate Walmart and avoid it at all costs.....but believe it or not, a lot of people do manage to sink the overwhelming majority of their expenditures into local business around metro areas. I never eat at any of the chains you mentioned. I'd say upwards of 95% of my dining out budget goes to locally owned restaurants.

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This. I'll go to wal-mart for whatever.

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I kind of hate these kinds of threads because I feel at odds with either side. Most people will say "frick Walmart" while simultaneously owning an iPod or any Apple Product which uses what could be comparable to slave labor in other countries.

Purchasing "Guilt Free" is literally impossible. Sure, Walmart has a monopoly, but not shopping there isn't going to stop the other 200 million (domestically) and whatever massive number worldwide.

Cheap prices bring customers, bottom line.

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bless your heart- i'm glad you made it out alive.

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Ohh come on don't try to act like that's acceptable customer service just try to support your position. My point was that cheap prices come with shitty service. Period. This was actually the second time this happened. Time before was 15 minutes to get an employee to the counter and when he did show up he looked as though doing his job was an inconvenience.

To some people the low prices are worth it. To me.....not so much. Honestly its gotten so bad I wonder if it won't eventually affect their business negatively, but IMO they are catering to the lowest common denominator....kind of like shitty cable TV. It seems like they used to be a lot better than they are now. Or maybe the particular Walmarts ive been in have just been really bad outliers. I doubt it though, something tells me there's a reason this site exists:


People of Walmart

And for all the Kroger fellators, I had a terrible experience there earlier today. There was only one register open and it was backed up, meanwhile a half dozen employees are playing grabass instead of opening another register. Just standing around talking.

I went to self checkout, and when I tried to zap my beer it said "wait for attendant." No attendant ever came, I had to yell out "Heloooooo" and waved my ID around. Still, no one came. Finally the self checkout thing just said "ID requirement overwrite," and no one ever checked my ID.

Great store! Also, it was full of fat rednecks and welfare moms.

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And for all the Kroger fellators

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I worked there as a lad, that place definitely blew.

The thing about anti-Wal-Mart hysteria is it's mostly anti-consumer oriented anyway. Wal-Mart is an easy target because they're a big evil corporation with their sleek desks and their fancy office buildings and they...make money.

But the fact is, Wal-Mart has never shut a business down. Consumers do that. If people want to shop at Wal-Mart, then they're the ones shutting businesses down. Consumers are not helpless innocent bystanders lured by hypnosis into the evil waiting arms of their Wal-Mart overlords. They have made a conscious decision that fits their needs, their budget, whatever.

It's sad when mom-and-pop stores shut down, but it's not really Wal-Mart's fault. Not to mention that in many communities, including the West Knoxville area where I grew up, Wal-Mart attracts new businesses and creates a more flourishing shopping district than existed before, providing more jobs, more economic growth, and more choices for consumers who ought to be free to make their own choices.

Wal-Mart is hardly for "common rabble" only, but their wide array of goods at low prices have doubtlessly helped people improve their lifestyles. If towns don't want Wal-Mart, they can keep such businesses out, but it will be at the cost of their own townspeople and such an attitude will drastically inflate prices on homes and goods, widening the gap between rich and poor and causing migration out of the city (see Boulder, CO). If that's a cost people are willing to bear, then that's their business, but there are consequences, and most often the people most directly affected are the lower-income individuals these anti-Wal-Mart types seem to care so much about.

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Yeah, I'm pretty sure the slavery, monopoly and bribery are the problems with Walmart.

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Don't forget that they feed on the souls of poor children.

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Wal-Mart is hardly for "common rabble" only, but their wide array of goods at low prices have doubtlessly helped people improve their lifestyles. If towns don't want Wal-Mart, they can keep such businesses out, but it will be at the cost of their own townspeople and such an attitude will drastically inflate prices on homes and goods, widening the gap between rich and poor and causing migration out of the city (see Boulder, CO). If that's a cost people are willing to bear, then that's their business, but there are consequences, and most often the people most directly affected are the lower-income individuals these anti-Wal-Mart types seem to care so much about.

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Kind of a double edged sword isn't it? Your assessment doesn't take into account the peoples whose jobs were lost due to price pressures resulting in the vast majority of Walmarts goods being imported from outside the US when those things used to be made IN the US. Perhaps those "low-income" types being forced to move because there's no Walmart might not have been "low-income" types to begin with. I could also argue that cheap disposable goods has only improved quality of life if you view sitting on your fat arse watching Oprah on your $150 36" TV is an improvement on quality of life. Or disposable consumerism has harmed quality of life in a lot of ways...........but in general I do agree with this notion.

Anyway, I don't hate Walmart for the standard "they're killing small business" reasons, but your portrayal doesn't really show the whole picture. I dont really view Walmart as bad or good, it just is. Consumers are going to go where their pocketbooks lead them for the most part. The question to me is really did they have to commit any questionable practices to get prices down so low.

Yeah, we dont rely on production, but it could be argued that shift has very much come at the expense of the middle class. At any rate, back on Walmart I was just pointing out that in "increased standard of living" has another, not so nice side to it. Dont want to dive off into a long economics discussion.