It means a couple of things. First it means, if you are stupid like me you don't deal with immediate problems because that would just lead to dealing with more if you have any success, but that if you are smart you step on those cockroaches you can that are within your reach, the big fat ones like in your kitchen or the WalMart down the street.
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I have a difficult time understanding why people complain about Wal-Mart....
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It means a couple of things. First it means, if you are stupid like me you don't deal with immediate problems because that would just lead to dealing with more if you have any success, but that if you are smart you step on those cockroaches you can that are within your reach, the big fat ones like in your kitchen or the WalMart down the street.
CPA
Elite Member
What I find funny is that the people who rail against WalMart and the insurance thing are the same people who complain about Walmart running mom-and-pop shops into the ground. The funny thing is Mom-and-pop shops generally pay lower, have no advancement opportunities, have absolutely NO benefits (medical, 401K, paid vacation, etc.).
steppinthrax
Diamond Member
One thing in our country is most people aren't motivated for making themselves better. If they can make by with 10 bucks an hour and putting on 2K of credit card debt every month then that is OK. They don't think for the future like when johnny needs braces.
steppinthrax
Diamond Member
Yeah his 38 hour requirement is b.s.. The part/full time only comes in when your dealing with benefits. A person working full will likely get more reduction in medical insurance. Most companies have a graduate system where the more you work on average in a month the more reduction you get in medical bene up to 40 hours being the highest benefit. If not that then a 3 or 4 tier hour system.
steppinthrax
Diamond Member
Most of the people who complain about wal-mart are those who feel they should get something for nothing. The Canadian type of mentality. I worked to get my status in life and my great medical benefts. I worked at Office Depot, hotels and did odd jobs to move my self up. The very things people complain about I've experienced myself. But by no means did I feel Office Depot for example was my last option or main place I would work the rest of my life!!!!!!! I also did not feel Office Depot for example would have an income to raise a family.
homercles337
Diamond Member
Now why do you suppose you say that? Turn off Limabaugh and Faux "News." I have now placed the onus of proof on you to show that your statement is historically accurate.
homercles337
Diamond Member
Take your Ayn Rand philosophy and shove it up your ass. I have a phd, great benefits, and decent pay. By your copy/paste philosophy i should just shit on the workers in this nation that have not or not able to do so? :roll:
StageLeft
No Lifer
I know I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I really hope such words don't come back to bite me, but the fact is if you are working at Walmart, you need to understand that it's going to suck, your benefits and pay will suck. That is what you get for scraping the bottom of the barrel with your employment. If you don't like it, get an education. Get motivated. Give a @(#* about your family and your life and stop doing a job that a machine and do better (as they do, automated checkout machines right next to you doing what you do while you ring things through the register).
Frankly, we live in a damn lucky society if we can take people with the crappiest jobs in our economy (walmart) and those jobs can actually provide for a family and food and shelter--WHICH THEY CAN. They just can't do it as well as the job of somebody who dumped 4 years into university and maybe more and is doing a job that cannot be automated by a machine with a scanner and a few touch-screen commands.
Anybody who just read this knows I'm right, even if they wish I weren't.
Frankly, we live in a damn lucky society if we can take people with the crappiest jobs in our economy (walmart) and those jobs can actually provide for a family and food and shelter--WHICH THEY CAN. They just can't do it as well as the job of somebody who dumped 4 years into university and maybe more and is doing a job that cannot be automated by a machine with a scanner and a few touch-screen commands.
Anybody who just read this knows I'm right, even if they wish I weren't.
I don't like the fact that they are slowly becoming the only choice. I don't like the people who work there (they look miserable and give the minimalest effort) and they sell the lowest quality of product they can pull off. I hate going to malls nowadays since they are slowly being eaten away due to businesses closing. It pisses me off that I more or less am forced to shop online where I do not get to see the product in reallife prior to purchase.
JEDIYoda
Lifer
So you actually think people with no degrees or ambition or people who didn`t apply themselves in school should get a free ride just because others who applied themselves and studied or for that matter went to tech school or a trade school and learned a trade should get the same benefits that those of us who worked hard and didn`t complain when others who had more education were paid better and recieved benefit packages.......hmmmmm
"Why should a job that requires zero skills, zero training pay 40k/year?"
spittledip
Diamond Member
I think a big problem in this country is that false statement that "you can be anything you want to be." That is the biggest bunch of bull****. Some people are born with much greater advantages than others. some people don't ever really have a chance to get a better job than Walmart. People need to be more understanding and compassionate in regard to those who don't have the same opportunites. People need to stop assuming that everyone has the opportunity to "do something" with their lives. For some of us, "doing something with our lives" is a simple statement. For others, it is incredibly complicated and has to do with much more than just financial and educational issues.
The problem with Walmart is that they make billions and the worker bees don't see any of it except a pittance. If Walmart didn't make much money that would be different. However, like most companies, there is a huge discrepancy between what the people n the top make as opposed to the people on the bottom. Obviously the people on the top should make more. But, I think the pay should balance out a little bit more b/c the people on the top would be without a job if it were not for the people on the bottom. I understand that this would mean slower growth for Walmart. But, if people really care about other people like the Walmart ads seem to insinuate, growth would be on the same level with quality of company.
The problem with Walmart is that they make billions and the worker bees don't see any of it except a pittance. If Walmart didn't make much money that would be different. However, like most companies, there is a huge discrepancy between what the people n the top make as opposed to the people on the bottom. Obviously the people on the top should make more. But, I think the pay should balance out a little bit more b/c the people on the top would be without a job if it were not for the people on the bottom. I understand that this would mean slower growth for Walmart. But, if people really care about other people like the Walmart ads seem to insinuate, growth would be on the same level with quality of company.
dmcowen674
No Lifer
I didn't say that.
I simply said you guys support those working 40 hours at Walmart to only be able live in a cardboard box and the resounding answer is yes.
Congrats on your Third Worldization of America, you've succeeded well while your Corporate Execs rake in billions.
steppinthrax
Diamond Member
Also there is a technical issue with this as well. What is the main or most important person in the store. The Cashier. If you've been to a store recently they have electronic checkout lines. Right now they are just accompanying actual human begins. At home depot for example they have 4 of such machines being supervised by one employee. We all know one thing leads to another and once the door opens it can only get wider. I don't see in the future why you can't have 8 to 10 of these such machines while one or two employees supervise people from a one-way mirror booth. I mean with a machine it never takes a break, never gets pregnant, hurt, go postal, create unions, bitch, sue you among other things.
steppinthrax
Diamond Member
You need to visit other counteries like China where labor workers are treated considerbly worse and have almost no rights compared to US labor workers.
I don't complain about them as a corporation really, but as a shopping experience, they suck. The Mrs goes there for stuff like bird feed, cat food, cosmetic stuff, household cleaners, but I never go near the place anymore. Crowded, narrow isles, long checkout lines, and the parking lot is a zoo.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
The reason I hate Walmart is because, as a result of them dictating price to their manufacturers, their manufacturers often use inferior components/manufacturing methods. In short, a lot of the products at Walmart are crappy quality. However, because the price is so good on them, many people purchase those goods instead of similar, slightly more expensive goods from local stores that specialize in that type of product.
Now, those local stores not only have the somewhat lower quality items, but they also carry several tiers of those items they specialize in, in terms of quality. Now, since the lower level quality items still constituted the majority of their sales, they're left trying to compete on level of service as well as their higher quality items. Unfortunately, many of these stores end up going out of business, and the consumer loses choices.
To try to give a more concrete example, go out and try to buy a quality badmitton set. Some of the sporting goods stores near me used to sell sets that could even be passed down a generation. Those stores are out of business. Alas, now all that's available are the crappy $9.99 sets, the like of which Walmart sells.
So, hurray, we can all purchase our goods for less money. Quite honestly, I really don't mind for a lot of types of purchases. However, Walmart impacts so many other "niches" that overall, there's a decrease in the quality of items available to purchase.
Now, those local stores not only have the somewhat lower quality items, but they also carry several tiers of those items they specialize in, in terms of quality. Now, since the lower level quality items still constituted the majority of their sales, they're left trying to compete on level of service as well as their higher quality items. Unfortunately, many of these stores end up going out of business, and the consumer loses choices.
To try to give a more concrete example, go out and try to buy a quality badmitton set. Some of the sporting goods stores near me used to sell sets that could even be passed down a generation. Those stores are out of business. Alas, now all that's available are the crappy $9.99 sets, the like of which Walmart sells.
So, hurray, we can all purchase our goods for less money. Quite honestly, I really don't mind for a lot of types of purchases. However, Walmart impacts so many other "niches" that overall, there's a decrease in the quality of items available to purchase.
StageLeft
No Lifer
Amen, but you know what? Only 99% of walmarts are like that. 99% of them are zoos full of riff-raff and white trash and crowding and inbreds meandering down isles at .02 mph or in the parking lot surprised that a car is trying to drive down an aisle but 1% of them are not and one recently opened by our house that falls in the 1%. It is quite pleasant and in an area so uncrowded that parking is no problem, the riff raff haven't yet spilled in, and it's really not a bad place to visit.
We have a local super-wallmart, but I think as stores goes it is right up there with target or best buy or a lot of the other stores like k-mart or the dollar store or whatever else you might see. It is just another junky retail store that sells lots of plastic junk and cheap to standard food and goods for the masses. Sometimes I go there and sometimes I dont. It is a large store, so it makes for a nice walk.
blackangst1
Lifer
That may be true for "niche" items, but you are flase that it is somehow the rule and not the exception. The products WalMart carries are the smae EXACT products most other retailers carry. So the argument they carry nothing but crap is...well...crap. They sell what people buy.
The WalMart haters place the blame of ma and pa shops going out of business on WalMart, instead of where it belongs: on the consumer. If Billy Bob needs an oil change, why would he go to Joe's Auto shop and get a LOF for 29.99 when he can go to WalMart and get the exact same LOF, including oil of his choice, for 19.99? With all this talk of inflation, over-pricing, etc, I would think more of you would favor a store who sells the same thing for less? I guess not. In your example, a badminton set. Perhaps if consumers bought more $99 dollar sets ma and pa sporting goods would be in business yes? Is it WalMart's fault if people dont WANT to pay $99 for a badmonton set? Is it? The beauty of free market is is...if both the buyer and the seller are happy, it's a fair deal. Thus, WalMart passed Exxon as the largest company on the planet this year. They offer what people want. It's not being force fed. Sure, they dont provide high-end niche items. Thats not their market! If I want a cheap computer for the wife to surf on and chat on while Im gaming, hell yeah I'll go to WalMart and get one for $199.99. It's cheaper than building it myself WITH THE SAME PARTS! If I want a gaming rig, I dont go there. If I want a cheap stereo for the kids room (if I had kids), hell yeah I'd go to WalMart and buy a $99 setup. If I want to buy a new surround sound receiver, I go to a specialty store. Can someone explain why I would want to pay 2.99 for a jar of JIF peanut butter instead of 1.99? WTF is the difference?
Where's the problem?
Wrong. Many manufactors have their own "wal-mart" line. The items have the same name and most of the time look the same, but are made much cheaper. Look at Levis. They have a factory that makes jeans only for wal-mart. They say Levis like other retailers but are made much cheaper just for wal-mart to meet their price demands. Same for other products. Yes some are the same, but a lot of them are not. YMMV when shopping at wal-mart.
steppinthrax
Diamond Member
I think the thing your sacrificing when you go to Wal-Mart is the shopping experience. When I buy things at Wal-mart it's common to see crushed packaging and or missing components. Wal-mart employees are some of the rudest around. However, they are improving their customer service in some ways. Their turnover is quite high. However, when they get new employees they come with "young blood" and a smile on their face. When I see this I think in my head yeah you act like this it will only last and it does. They are usually out in 1 month or so. I would say the entire store staff changes every 1 year. But that is what you expect if you want to buy from the cheapest in town. They cut corners in ways to accommodate the customer more then anything.
dmcowen674
No Lifer
Give it time, we're getting there thanks to you and your heroes.
You and people like you are slowing killing America. Why do you hate America so much?
Picture it this way:
Communist Premier of China standing on the corner selling his $1.99 jar of peanut butter
On the other corner is Grandma and grandpa Jones with their 14 employees standing behind them selling their $2.99 jar of peanut butter
It is that simple. Really.
At what cost do your precious cost savings really cost America?
Buy American
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