If I did my best to not let other people ruin my shopping it would mean bringing a machete with me to mow through the overcrowded conditions.
If I did my best to not let other people ruin my shopping it would mean bringing a machete with me to mow through the overcrowded conditions.
I get most of my stuff at Kroger and Target. There's a huge 24hr Kroger 5 minutes away from my place, and a Target about 15 minutes away.
Walmart just feels.... dirty.
Walmart just feels.... dirty.
I used to shop at Wally world, but now that I'm not dirt poor working for minimum wage, I don't go there unless I absolutely have to. There are several reasons I don't shop there:
1. Product Quality: Since Wal-mart sells product so cheap and at such a high volume, it dictates to the manufacuters how to make their products. Often manufacturers will have different quality variations of the same product for different retailers. One popular example are Levi Jeans. One would naturally assume that a pair of Levi Jeans purchased at Wal-mart are the same quality as those purchased at say Target, Costco, Fred Meyer, etc. However that is not the case, the jeans for Wal-mart are made using the cheapest and lowest cost materials of all the retailers, and this is the standard with all clothing lines at Wal-mart. This is also prevalent in many other product categories. What good is it to buy a pair of jeans for $20 dollars that will wear out in 6 months as opposed to the $30 dollar jeans that will last 1-2 years?
Another by-product of this constant demand for lower priced goods, is the migration of jobs overseas. Since Wal-mart continually requires manufacturers to cut costs, it forces them to move their manufacturing operations overseas in order to save money. Which causes them to lay-off american workers, which causes greater unemployment and poverty in the U.S. which in turn forces more people to shop at Wal-mart, because now it is all they can afford.
Read this article for more info: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
2. The Customers: I don't know about you, but I can rarely stand to be in Wal-mart for long primarily due to the other people in there. It's like walking into another universe where you are either sporting a mullet or a mumu and hygiene is a foreign concept. It seems to me you find the bottom of the barrel of society shopping at Wal-mart, and working there also.
3. Social Responsibility: Unlike the majority of posters over in P&N, I do not believe that MAXIMUM profit should be the end all be all of a corporation. I believe that a corporation is not only the stockholders that own the company, but also the employees who, in all essence, ARE the company. In other words, the purpose of the company should be not only to operate profitably therefore rewarding the stockholders, but also to properly reward the employees who actually perform the work. Wal-mart does not do this, it severly underpays it's employees, provides limited benefits ( I.E. almost nil) which in fact increases YOUR tax burden, all the while funnelling the overwhelming majority of profits to the stockholders. Now again I am not saying the stockholders should not be rewarded, but there is a difference between profiting and outright greed. In fact, by not suffeciently supporting their work force, in the long run Wal-mart ends up damaging/depressing the local economy. Which will eventually create a self-perpetuating cylce, since now the only place you can afford to shop is Wal-mart, which further depresses and so on and so on.
That is why I do not shop at Wal-mart. I would rather pay 50 cents more for my box of cheerios at Target or Safeway, so that the cashier or stocker can have a decent health/dental plan, make a living wage, be able to afford things in life outside of wal-mart, so that the factory where that box of cheerios is made can actually make a profit without resorting to moving jobs overseas.
Here is a pdf with some info on wally world: http://walmartwatch.com/pdf/ad-nyt-042005-backup.pdf
1. Product Quality: Since Wal-mart sells product so cheap and at such a high volume, it dictates to the manufacuters how to make their products. Often manufacturers will have different quality variations of the same product for different retailers. One popular example are Levi Jeans. One would naturally assume that a pair of Levi Jeans purchased at Wal-mart are the same quality as those purchased at say Target, Costco, Fred Meyer, etc. However that is not the case, the jeans for Wal-mart are made using the cheapest and lowest cost materials of all the retailers, and this is the standard with all clothing lines at Wal-mart. This is also prevalent in many other product categories. What good is it to buy a pair of jeans for $20 dollars that will wear out in 6 months as opposed to the $30 dollar jeans that will last 1-2 years?
Another by-product of this constant demand for lower priced goods, is the migration of jobs overseas. Since Wal-mart continually requires manufacturers to cut costs, it forces them to move their manufacturing operations overseas in order to save money. Which causes them to lay-off american workers, which causes greater unemployment and poverty in the U.S. which in turn forces more people to shop at Wal-mart, because now it is all they can afford.
Read this article for more info: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
2. The Customers: I don't know about you, but I can rarely stand to be in Wal-mart for long primarily due to the other people in there. It's like walking into another universe where you are either sporting a mullet or a mumu and hygiene is a foreign concept. It seems to me you find the bottom of the barrel of society shopping at Wal-mart, and working there also.
3. Social Responsibility: Unlike the majority of posters over in P&N, I do not believe that MAXIMUM profit should be the end all be all of a corporation. I believe that a corporation is not only the stockholders that own the company, but also the employees who, in all essence, ARE the company. In other words, the purpose of the company should be not only to operate profitably therefore rewarding the stockholders, but also to properly reward the employees who actually perform the work. Wal-mart does not do this, it severly underpays it's employees, provides limited benefits ( I.E. almost nil) which in fact increases YOUR tax burden, all the while funnelling the overwhelming majority of profits to the stockholders. Now again I am not saying the stockholders should not be rewarded, but there is a difference between profiting and outright greed. In fact, by not suffeciently supporting their work force, in the long run Wal-mart ends up damaging/depressing the local economy. Which will eventually create a self-perpetuating cylce, since now the only place you can afford to shop is Wal-mart, which further depresses and so on and so on.
That is why I do not shop at Wal-mart. I would rather pay 50 cents more for my box of cheerios at Target or Safeway, so that the cashier or stocker can have a decent health/dental plan, make a living wage, be able to afford things in life outside of wal-mart, so that the factory where that box of cheerios is made can actually make a profit without resorting to moving jobs overseas.
Here is a pdf with some info on wally world: http://walmartwatch.com/pdf/ad-nyt-042005-backup.pdf
I stopped shopping because I ran out of money. I can't afford to shop at walmart until next payday.
AnonymouseUser
Diamond Member
- May 14, 2003
- 9,943
- 107
- 106
Thank you for your informed response. I know that the products they sell are different from the products other retailers sell, but I didn't know how to prove/explain it. You really do get what you pay for, which few exceptions. I noticed it in a simple pack of paper towels years ago, and haven't looked at WalMart the same since.
Too far away......... well not that far 15 minute drive......... my city (1.5million+) will not let walmart open a store that is like 2 minutes away from my house.
Cheers,
Aquaman
Cheers,
Aquaman
I'll shop there, but only when I have to. The primary reason I dislike Wal-Mart is because it's so damned crowded. When it comes to the point that I can't successfully turn a corner because a sea of people is clogging the candy section, I try to avoid Wal-Mart. Also, there are always a bunch of screaming snot-nosed kids running freely throughout the store. I remember one time I walked by some little kid in diapers and the smell of poop just hit me like a ton of bricks.
IAteYourMother
Lifer
- Nov 3, 2004
- 10,491
- 22
- 81
Babbles
Diamond Member
- Jan 4, 2001
- 8,253
- 14
- 81
I was a Costco fanboy then moved to a city that did not have a Costco but has a Sam's. So I decided to get a Sam's Club membership and my conclusion is that it was nothing but a waste of money. Sam's totally blows way hard compared to Costco.
Costco is so far above Sam's, they shouldn't even be put in the same category.
Costco is so far above Sam's, they shouldn't even be put in the same category.
Because they made $8Billion last year, but we are paying their medical benefit for their employee. WTF? How can you reward companies like that?
An interesting sidenote about Costco. A co-worker of mine has a brother that works at Costco. This brother of his was the underachiever of the family. Out of high school he started work at Costco as a stocker, while all his brothers either went to college or got picked for Lineman apprenticeships for power companies(a good job and hard to get). While all his brothers either finished school or finished their apprenticeships and started making very good money, he stuck it out at Costco and quickly moved up the ranks. He eventually made his way up to manager of a store, when 5 years ago we was promoted to Vice President of Anderson-Chamberlin, this is a food brokerage company owned by Costco, basically they buy all the food for Costco. He now makes about 300G a year, which isn't bad for someone without a college degree, and for someone who started out as a stocker and worked his way up. My point being, that Costco is one of the few companies that encourages promotion from within, especially starting out at the bottom. In fact up here in seattle it is quite common to see a lot of college grads applying for stocker or cashier postions at costco knowing that they will quickly be promoted up the ranks, there are VERY few management postions that haven't been filled this way.
Zenmervolt
Elite member
- Oct 22, 2000
- 24,514
- 42
- 91
I was in a WalMart for the first and last time today. Too many people. The only store that was more disorienting for me to be in was Ikea. And that was only by a little bit.
I'll take Target and Fred Meyer every time.
ZV
I'll take Target and Fred Meyer every time.
ZV
They can try. We had a new, huge Fred Meyer's open next to the new Wal-Mart we had open up here. The Wal-Mart doesn't sell grocery items but is planning to expand into that area, but Fred's already sells them.
Yeah, they always have long lines, and I get that dirty feeling everytime I'm in there... but they do have low prices. That said, I'd be surprised if I'm found in there once a month. Only really good part about Walmart is their auto parts counter is a 3rd party company that can get performance parts
I never had a problem at Wal-Marts in the midwest (MN, IA, OH). In my hometown, everyone knows everyone and didn't mind Wal-Mart moving into a much bigger store. Most the cities I've been to in the area have nice stores. While not always the cleanest, I've never had a problem with long waiting in line. The supercenters have incredibly cheap groceries. I usually buy name brand stuff anyway so it saves me (a poor college student) money. Target is headquartered in MN; I go there every now and then, but not too often.
When I lived in Seattle for the summer... it was completely different. The Wal-Mart was extremely crowded and it was extremely stressful shopping there. I ended up going there once a month and stocking up on larger items, while going to other stores most the time. Fred Meyers was ridiculously over-priced on non-groceries, but maybe that's because I'm from the midwest where everything isn't over-priced.
When I lived in Seattle for the summer... it was completely different. The Wal-Mart was extremely crowded and it was extremely stressful shopping there. I ended up going there once a month and stocking up on larger items, while going to other stores most the time. Fred Meyers was ridiculously over-priced on non-groceries, but maybe that's because I'm from the midwest where everything isn't over-priced.
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