More Wal-Mart slamming, well deserved

[chazzheatherly]

the $8 an hour post got me thinnking about my personal experiences with Wal Mart!
first, I applied for a job at two of them, having been one of many techies laid off by
Bush-o-nomics.
Anyway, neither store asked me for an interview - after I admitted graduating college and earning up to $18 an hour in previous jobs.
So, recently I go to Wal mart, and stand in line 20 minutes(!) (at the shortest checkout stand) When I get to the front,
the 60 year old, dumb as a rock cashier rings my mushrooms as garlic, and spends 10 - yes, 10 full minutes mis-identifying a mushroom as garlic.
When I inform her that that was mushrooms, she tries to start the whole, painful deal over again! I beg her not too, it is the same price, let it go.
Not only does Wal Mart screw it's employees on health care and benefits, it intentionally hires the slow and dumb witted to ring you up! Today, I was in Wal Mart for a personal air cleaner because WM is the only place that carries it.
I used the self check out because the regular checkout lines were 7 people deep, and half the checkers do not speak english. Have you ever asked a WM checker how they are doing today? Half will ignore you, the other half just smile and say nothing. It is because they don't speak or understand English!
We should all boycott WM. Personally, I have discovered many other grocery stores, and only go to WM when I need something the other stores don't carry.

 

[tontod]

Also, what I find annoying is that out of 14 checkout lanes, I usually see like 4 open and all 4 are packed with people waiting in line. Yet, they wont open up any more lanes.

 

[daniel1113]

Then don't shop there... it's quite simple, really.

 

[Piano Man]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
Then don't shop there... it's quite simple, really.

Not quite so simple. A lot ot towns that have Walmarts have seen thier local businesses driven into the ground. Therefore, there is no other place to shop.

 

[gistech1978]

i learned my lesson to check my receipts at the store from now on.
i bought a bag of catfood, i didnt realize the girl behind the register charged me 13 dollars for it.
she doubled charged me for soda, but caught her mistake. she didnt catch the cat food i guess.
i was pretty steamed. thats some expensive cat food.

 

[gistech1978]

Originally posted by: Piano Man

Originally posted by: daniel1113
Then don't shop there... it's quite simple, really.

Not quite so simple. A lot ot towns that have Walmarts have seen thier local businesses driven into the ground. Therefore, there is no other place to shop.

exactly. i have to drive 76 miles roundtrip to the nearest town with a decent grocery store.
you have two choices a large supermarket chain thru kansas or wal mart.
i usually go to the supermarket. its more expensive, but i dont risk life, limb and my ride home driving thru their parking lot.

 

[rjain]

If Walmarts are so bad, why did they put the local stores out of business? They haven't done so in Manhattan. In fact, there isn't even a single Walmart near Manhattan. They just can't compete with the dominant chains, Gristedes and Duane Reade, I guess.

 

[nowareman]

In the other WalMart thread I complained about stores like WalMart and Home Depot among others which move into an area, drive their competition out of business and IMO opinion do real harm to communities. I mention how I was angry about the fact that you have to go to Home Depot, help yourself, ring yourself out at the self check out because like WalMart they don't have enough cashiers then when you get to the door a security guard wants to check your receipt and merchandise! I find that offensive and I don't comply. Well yesterday I went to a Home Depot a few miles from the one I usually go to because we were in the area looking for lighting fixtures and my wife wanted to check out Home Depot to compare prices with a local chain of lighting stores. Surprise, the Home Depot just 15 miles from the one I usually go to doesn't have security guards checking everyone at the exit. They have no security guards visible at all. The Home Depot I was at yesterday is in an area where there are fewer minority customers. I'll be writing Home Depot to express my displeasure with their discriminatory policies and the fact that instead of providing more cashiers for customers they instead supply guards to harass customers. For the information of people who will claim there are losses which justify customer harassment I want to point out that retail stores suffer most of their losses through employee theft not from shop lifting and as I said before Home Depot and most other retailers today have surveillance as well as theft detection devices at all their entrances and exits. I would advise anyone who shops that if they are asked to show their receipt and or merchandise after they spent their hard earned money at a store to refuse to comply. If everyone does this customer harassment will stop.

 

[nowareman]

Originally posted by: rjain
If Walmarts are so bad, why did they put the local stores out of business? They haven't done so in Manhattan. In fact, there isn't even a single Walmart near Manhattan. They just can't compete with the dominant chains, Gristedes and Duane Reade, I guess.

WalMart likes to buy land cheap on the edge of a community, build an ugly big box and use the savings from the cheap land and lower taxes and operating costs as an advantage to run their competition which is in town paying higher taxes and op costs out of business. That doesn't work in Manhattan or in any other major city center. It only works in suburbs and rural areas where they can set up shop outside of town like a retail vampire and suck the blood out of communities.

 

[rjain]

nowareman: Do you really think that Home Depot is so adamant on losing money that their hiring policies are based on the racial makeup of the neighborhood? They probably notice how much discrepancy there is between the outflow of inventory and the influx of payments and realize that there must be quite a bit of shoplifting going on in some store, so they put a guard there. If you don't want to shop at a place which tries to make sure you don't have to pay extra to support someone else's shoplifting, go ahead and spend more money. It's your money to waste as you want, after all.

By your logic, we should also shut down all outlet stores in Seacaucus because they are outside of the cities and suck the blood out of the 5th ave shops.

 

[nowareman]

Originally posted by: rjain
nowareman: Do you really think that Home Depot is so adamant on losing money that their hiring policies are based on the racial makeup of the neighborhood? They probably notice how much discrepancy there is between the outflow of inventory and the influx of payments and realize that there must be quite a bit of shoplifting going on in some store, so they put a guard there. If you don't want to shop at a place which tries to make sure you don't have to pay extra to support someone else's shoplifting, go ahead and spend more money. It's your money to waste as you want, after all.

By your logic, we should also shut down all outlet stores in Seacaucus because they are outside of the cities and suck the blood out of the 5th ave shops.

Home Depot understaffs their stores. If they had sufficient staff their inventory problems would be minimized. Instead they harass customers who have spent their hard earned money there. I find this objectionable. I'm not a shoplifter and I don't like being treated like one. As for outlet stores they usually sell seconds or last year's merchandise at a lower price than the regualr retail stores so the same company that is selling the products is making the profit from both operations. WalMart stores use several methods to cut their costs and drive community merchants out of business. Among the tactics WalMart uses besides the ones I mentioned above is using illegal aliens to clean their stores and not paying their employees for overtime they work. Both illegal and both only the tip of the iceberg I'm sure because if WalMart will cheat on these items two you can be sure they are cheating on many more.

 

[rjain]

So you oppose road blocks to catch drunk drivers on new year's? You're being stopped like a drunk driver even though you (I hope) aren't driving drunk. I never said anything about inventory problems, so I don't know what adding staff other than security personnel would do to help reduce shoplifting.

As for Walmart using a contractor that hires illegal aliens, sure they should be punished, and at least fined (with their contractor) for the lost tax revenues. I work unpaid overtime (technically, I could get paid for the hours I work over 10 in a day) on a regular basis. I do this because I want to keep my job. If I'm not offering competitive service to my employer, why should he keep me?

 

[DealMonkey]

If retail stores were that concerned about "loss prevention" - they'd shake their own employees down before letting them leave for the night. I've seen statistics that show more shoplifting is done by a store's own employees vs the store's customers. By the way, there's no legal basis for stores to ask for a receipt and check your belongings at the door. Have a problem with it? Just walk on by...

 

[rjain]

Sure, they could check their employees also, but that's a different issue. I'm sure that if there was enough employee theft in a store to justify it, they would enact some measures.

They're security guards, not police. You can do whatever you want around mall guards, too, and they can't raise a finger.

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

Originally posted by: rjain
If Walmarts are so bad, why did they put the local stores out of business? They haven't done so in Manhattan. In fact, there isn't even a single Walmart near Manhattan. They just can't compete with the dominant chains, Gristedes and Duane Reade, I guess.

Gee, could it be because New York City won't let them move in on/near Manhattan?

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: nowareman

Originally posted by: rjain
If Walmarts are so bad, why did they put the local stores out of business? They haven't done so in Manhattan. In fact, there isn't even a single Walmart near Manhattan. They just can't compete with the dominant chains, Gristedes and Duane Reade, I guess.

WalMart likes to buy land cheap on the edge of a community, build an ugly big box and use the savings from the cheap land and lower taxes and operating costs as an advantage to run their competition which is in town paying higher taxes and op costs out of business. That doesn't work in Manhattan or in any other major city center. It only works in suburbs and rural areas where they can set up shop outside of town like a retail vampire and suck the blood out of communities.

nowareman is BOBDN Account locked.

AnandTech Moderator

I didn't know BOBDN was banned, what did he do, anyone know?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey there's an idea.

Why don't they build a massive Wal-Mart on the World Trade Center site?

After all, Wal-Mart is the Center of all World Trade now.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: nowareman

Originally posted by: rjain
If Walmarts are so bad, why did they put the local stores out of business? They haven't done so in Manhattan. In fact, there isn't even a single Walmart near Manhattan. They just can't compete with the dominant chains, Gristedes and Duane Reade, I guess.

WalMart likes to buy land cheap on the edge of a community, build an ugly big box and use the savings from the cheap land and lower taxes and operating costs as an advantage to run their competition which is in town paying higher taxes and op costs out of business. That doesn't work in Manhattan or in any other major city center. It only works in suburbs and rural areas where they can set up shop outside of town like a retail vampire and suck the blood out of communities.

nowareman is BOBDN Account locked.

AnandTech Moderator

I didn't know BOBDN was banned, what did he do, anyone know?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey there's an idea.

Why don't they build a massive Wal-Mart on the World Trade Center site?

After all, Wal-Mart is the Center of all World Trade now.

BOBDN got vacationed for some very inappropriate language and insults. If you look back in one of the locked threads from just over a week ago you'll find it.

- Walmart on the WTC site...Hmmm I wonder if any of the designers thought of that

CkG

 

[ReiAyanami]

they will stack two walmarts on top of each other and put several walmarts inside each walmart until walmart is at the corner of every starbux

 

[railer]

What is it with you people and walmart? You're all starting to give me the creeps. As if any other local supermarket or dept store has better wages and/or benefits than walmart. THEY DON'T. If people decide that the quality of goods and prices at their local walmart are attractive, then they will shop there. If workers find that the wages and/or befefits at their local walmarts are attractive, then they will take jobs there. It's really quite simple. Walmart is not in the axis of evil, nor is mcdonalds, burger king, kmart, the olive garden, uh walgreens, etc, etc, etc. They're a big chain, trying to make money...just like 10000 other corporations. It's called capitalism. Move to China if you don't like it....babies...!