Wall Mart Love 'em or hate 'em - your thoughts?

[Empty Quiver]

I derive a significant part of my income from Wal Mart. I spend a pretty fair part of my income there. I find them neither good nor evil.

Wal Mart offers a service at a price point to every community they are located in. I spend about 12 hrs a week in the stores, and not one time have I seen anyone forced to enter or purchase anything. Think about that, you are in control of the car that takes you there. Like it or not they are doing something right.

Wally is brutally efficient. How many of you realize they do not throw away any produce? It is taken to a recycle center and put into dog food, or simply composted. They don't throw away much of anything they get people to pay them for their "trash". They pay X wages period, it's what the job is worth to them. If you are able to get by on those wages so be it, but you don't "deserve" a steady raise. If you are consistantly proving yourself more valuable to them you will be compensated when you are promoted.

I try to buy locally from small business, I'm not afraid to spend more for what I percieve as better quality. I am not however not going to spend more for the same item though. Winchester white box ammo is a great example, sorry Gander I'm not going to pay a premium for your lousey service. Local guy gets the SD ammo sale, W*M doesn't carry it so I pay what I have to.

Powderman, You are absolutely correct in your dealings with W*M. They are not the only game in town, take your business and labor elsewear. Let them know why or don't they will get the message just like K-Mart did. They are not too big to fail.

[powderman]

EMPTY QUIVER. My former store trashed all the produce, deli, bakery, right into the dumpster. I don't know of any walmart recycling that stuff. The only good they do is give the damaged bags of dog and cat food to the local pound. When  I first started there the bakery goods were given to the employees, the break room had pies, cakes, cookies, etc daily, even broken bags of candy were put out for employees.  A year later mgt changed and it all stopped. Big change the last 6 years. POWDERMAN. 

[Hooker]

I never was a big Walmart fan but I have no use for them Stupid centers all.
I haven't set foot in a Walmart in 6 years now. We use to have good little family owned discount department store here in town. They had the best sporting goods dept anywhere I bought all my archery equipment, reloading supplies, fishing equipment, optics and camo there.
Heck I bought most of my clothing there also. Their prices if not the cheapest were always fair, but they couldn't compete with old Sam Walton's brats so they folded. And ever since Walmart's sporting goods dept has gotten smaller and smaller and has less and less of anything that is worth my time to hike across that sea of asphalt then fight my way through that throng of soccer moms being ordered around by their brood of delinquents , teenager with strange hair and metal protruding out various body parts, Grossly obese folks riding motorized carts loaded down with Little Debbie snack cakes and soda pop. To say nothing of the fact that you don't see them made in the USA sign anywhere in the store anymore and that dang little yellow falling price face ain't smillin at us that greedy little son of a so and so is laughing as us. I really shouldn't be that hard on Walmart their just doing what big business does. It's our fault their doing what their doing anyways. we want cheap at any cost and where there's a demand there soon will be a supplier to fill that demand.

Pat

  

[Empty Quiver]

The produce thing is about four weeks old I think, I have seen it from Springfield, Mo. to Dickinson, N.D. I'll agree with your six yr time frame as well. The Co I work for was sold by W*M about that time.

Like I said they pretty much keep the lights burning around my house, and I'm not about to bite the hand feeding me. I learned long ago that W*M was like a big blue whale all gentle and pretty and all till it rolls on top of you.

I'll go as far as saying that the root of W*M changing is the super center. Grocery side of the store has ruined the old corporate identity. With several exceptions the grocery side is new help that never was taught to smile and look them in the eye. I can see a feed lot mentality in the grocery side, fill the bunkers and keep the cattle moving.

[Savage .250]

 Wal-Mart:  If I like what I see and the price is right.....I buy it.   I see Wal-Mart as just another store. 

[alsaqr]

Yep, the same folks who rail on and on about Obama, the Democrats and socialism have no problem buying cheap stuff from the Chinese communists.   US consumers will never wake up and realize that they are paying for their own destruction at the hands of the communist Chinese army.  While the Chinese army is kicking our butts the folks who defend Wal-Mart will be demonstrating because they can't get their cheap junk.

[powderman]

My friend Cecil is 76 years old, bad heart and a pacemaker. He too has all the necessary paperwork, and full time. About a year ago he collapsed at work, they were making him unload trucks, went to the hospitol by ambulance from work. This happened once before too. About 2 weeks before I quit they were making him pull pallets from the truck to the floor, most weighing 1500-2000 lbs. He had a bad stroke and was hospitolized again. I hope he doesn't try to go back. His speech is now not the same and has lost part of his memory, forgets folks names he's known for years. All full timers must go, even if they have to kill them. I've seen them put really small women, 100 lbs and under, unloading trucks and pulling pallets, these of course have quit, which was their goal. A mgr told me that our ratio of full time was 70% full, 30% part time. She said that withinn a year they would completely reverse that and hopefully be lower yet. Any time you see where wm has donated anything you can know that employees hours have been cut to pay for it. More later. POWDERMAN. 

[Old Grizz]

I don't like or dislike Walmart but all I can add to all of your comments are if you haven't seen the special on CNBC entitled "The New Age Of Walmart" you need to watch this then make up your minds. Sad, very sad.

[GH1]

I do 99% of my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.  Once in awhile I'll get auto suppies there, but not often. 
GH1

[powderman]

We too buy quite a lot of groceries at wm, on most items they are cheaper. THey have run out 2 grocery stores close to them leaving 2, and theres only one sporting goods store left with 30 miles of them. After they ran them off they raised the prices. My favorite sptg goog store closed after 52 years, family owned and operated. John said that wm was selling some guns for less than he paid for them, he said he just couldn't compete. I believe they were a major factor in closing all of the Winn Dixie food stores. Heading for church. POWDERMAN. 

[gypsyman]

I do shop at wm, for mainly name brand stuff like oil,socks, stuff like that. Their grocery dept. sucks. I'm with eye shot as far as grocery items. The Kroger store about 1/2 mile away has much better veggies and fruit. And, as far as meat is concerned, I have 2 local butcher shops I get my meat from.
I have noticed that the appliance and electronics departments have gotten alot bigger. I presume that with 99% of this stuff coming in from China, there is a much bigger profit margin.
Walmart is being run by college educated idiots. Bean counters. It will catch up to them. gypsyman

[powderman]

HEH. Got a statement from wm today stating my insurance was cancelled Feb 11th, they took out more insurance payments on Feb 12th. YEP, first class business folks. POWDERMAN. 

[wareagleguy]

Wal-Mart is nothing new.  Why you guys think unions started?  Mistreatment of employees is why unions started.  Better get used to it because this is where all companies are headed.

[1marty]

this is a far cry from the Sam Walton days. The company today mistreats its employees and could care less if they ruin a community. I try to avoid the place.

[powderman]

The only walmart that ever went union was in Canada. They completely, permanently closed the store. When I worked for them I was unsure about a union there, now, I hope it becomes union. Every once in a while union reps would come in to  talk to employees, they were promptly escorted out and told not to come back. Last summer they hired 9 new mgrs for jobs they created. They cut the hours of everybody in the store. That made 26 mgrs for the one store, + dept mgrs. All new mgt were former dept mgrs. Some they replaced, some they didn't. Several dept mgrs went from being responsible for 1 dept to 2 or 3 depts without any more help or pay. What did the 9 new ones do??? HEH, mostly walked around griping and hollering at employees to increase the stress level, it worked wonders in getting full timers to quit. The 9 new ones got an additional $2 per hr, and several were the laziest non producing people in the store. Go figger. When corporate reaches its goal, they too will be forced out. POWDERMAN. 

[Peaon]

Quit going to Target years ago when they stopped selling hunting items, Wally World around here has downsized their hunting, ammo and gun stuff so much its not worth looking.    Used to be I could find some good items, deals and even occasionally negotiate a price w/ the mgr but thats gone.  For my hunting and fishing gear, I usually find that the small local stores give better service, are more friendly and most of the time have about the same prices. 

I suspect they treat their employees about the same as Dicks or Bass Pro or other major retailers.  Keep hours low and most employees part time and you can keep wages and benefits down.
 
I have noticed that there is not as much help as there once was and prices are not that good. 
In short I am not impressed, they're just another store and just too many of them.

[powderman]

PAEON. There are almost no small businesses left, wm has put most of them out of business. A pepsi vendor, and a coke vendor told me that the only reason they do business with wm is volume. They said wm stays at least 3 1/2 - 4 months BEHIND on paying their bills. They used to use the local hospitol for emergencies, drug tests, etc, they were 5 minutes away. They quit wm cause they weren't paying their bills. They now us one 30 + miles away. POWDERMAN.