What do you think of WalMart?

[FelixDerKater]

What do you'll think of WalMart? Do you shop there, or do you see it as a monopoly like Microsoft?

[vniow]

http://www.rx7club.com/forum/images/smilies/puke.gif

[MacFan25]

I don't go there very often. I don't really look as it as a monopoly though. It seems to provide lots of jobs.

[Sun Baked]

I wouldn't call a billion dollars in retail sales every few days anything but a mega-retailer.

As they say, just getting a product on the shelves of Wal-Mart can really drop some dollars into the suppliers revenue projections.

Though Wal-Mart really hammers their suppliers, always asking for more nickles and dimes off their prices.

They also do a lot of loss leaders to attract business into their doors. They are real good at finding the key products that draw people in -- selling them below cost -- and then making it up when the customer fills their cart with more "deals." This business model hurts competitors, because, prices are lower at Wal-Mart.

[rainman::|:|]

my thoughts-- sure their products are cheap, but they're also cheaply made... and you have to deal with an unreasonably rude staff to get them. at least that's the way it is around here... i go to target if i can help it at all...

pnw

[jelloshotsrule]

don't they keep their workers from unionizing?

i thought i'd heard that.

[wdlove]

I've never been to a Walmart. Couldn't even tell you if there is one in our area, don't think there is one.

I enjoy there commercials. They must be doing something right!

[jayscheuerle]

Low prices...

I abhor going to our local Walmart, but WalMart.com has the same low prices and the shipping isn't too bad. They had the best price on a Norelco electric razor I was looking for before Xmas by quite a bit. I also bought my friend an expresso machine for around $25.

They have their place, but they're better from a distance...

[Zion Grail]

WalMart is not a monopoly, but I don't particularly like them either. Never got a good feeling going into them.

[beez7777]

i don't really mind wal mart, they are good for some stuff, but what kinda annoys me about that store is their pricing. stuff would be like, $5.87. i never understood this. people are gonna round up to 6 dollars anyway, so why not charge $5.99? this is stupid. they coould be making a lot more money by doing this. it doesn't sound like much, but 10 cents on each purchase can make quite a difference.

[ibookin']

I've never been to a Walmart. I don't think we have one in L.A...

Time to check Walmart.com!

EDIT: We do have a Walmart in L.A. It's on Crenshaw, 11 miles from where I live. Too bad I don't really want to go there... We have a nice new Target in Eagle Rock.:D

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by jelloshotsrule
don't they keep their workers from unionizing?

i thought i'd heard that.

yep. there have been some issues that employees want addressed, and walmart doesn't want the hassle. i'm not a huge pro-union person but i think there are definite uses for them, and this is one...

Originally posted by ibookin'@mwny
I've never been to a Walmart. I don't think we have one in L.A....

Consider yourself very lucky :)

pnw

[ibookin']

Originally posted by paulwhannel
Consider yourself very lucky :)

pnw

I do.

[medea]

There was a discussion a while back that brought out some peoples views on walmart, pretty funny stuff so Ill see if I can find it.
As for me, I absolutely hate going to walmart, the staff are generally unhelpful, rude and in some cases, dirty. most of the customers there seem to share the same qualities. I may paya little more shopping at Publix, but I always leave the store in a good mood and the stores are always clean so it's worth it. And I have been to several Walmarts so I know that its not just the one's here.

[medea]

found it http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13341&highlight=walmart+ipod
heh...classic case of how to move a thread to the wasteland.

[howard]

havn't been to a walmart in years...used to like them...that was a long time ago, theres none around me now though

[Dont Hurt Me]

Just walking through the store can be such a drag with people always in your way, i bought my first mac there but now you cant buy any mac stuff so i guess that tells you how i feel.

[mikulashek]

I was in a Walmart once, and I'll never step foot in one again. I think that the Gamecube commercial, that shows the clerk ringing up the Gamecube and Metroid Prime after shining the barcode reader into his eyes, is based on Walmart electronics employees.
Honestly I felt like I was in a circus, I prefer smaller grocery stores with friendlier staff.

[mc68k]

a lot of the lower forms of life there. depresses me every time i go there. i always go there to buy one thing and end up standing in a line. i only go there for cheap *****.

like a glorified 99¢ store.

[wsteineker]

We studied Wal-Mart in an honors lyceum here at school. Basically an analysis of their social and economic impact on the towns in which they locate. The conclusion was that Wal-Mart kills small towns. Here's what I mean.

Wal-Mart moves into small town X with low prices on damn near everything and employs the hell out of the town. That seems like a good thing, right? Well the low prices (due to bulk purchasing) drive local independent retailers into a situation where they can't compete with Wal-Mart on a price or selection basis, thus forcing them out of business (eventually). As unemployment rises, the economy of small town X goes through the floor, leading to lowered consumer spending. As Wal-Mart experiences slowed revenue due to said unemployment it begins to lay off workers to increase profitability. This (obviously) increases unemployment and further decreases consumer spending. Eventually, when the town is bled dry as a result of this cycle, Wal-Mart simply closes up shop and moves on. This was a HUGE problem for small towns across America in the '80s, and it continues to be a problem today.

That said, they have their benefits. They can be an asset to larger towns and cities where they don't have quite the leverage that they exert over the aforementioned small towns. Still, I can't see supporting a company that has such an awful track record of outright destruction.

Just my $.02.

[DakotaGuy]

I used to shop at Wal-Mart, but I will not step foot in a Wal-Mart store ever again. I have to work hard for my money and I don't like spending it at the worlds largest corporation. They don't need my money and I know a few people that used to work there and they pay low wages and treat their workers poorly. Their clothes are terrible and their electronics are all seconds. I would rather spend my money at Sears or Kmart.

[iJon]

wal-mart pay like crap compared to many places. i think the thing that cracks me up the most is walmart has all these billions and billions of dollars, but yet when they buy something from someone they always look for the lowest price.i guess they still shop the way they originally made. although i had lots of respect for sam walton and i think his children have taken some of that respect people had towards walmart. anyways, i have a wal mart trivia question for you guys. What is one of the main reasons Walmart has greeters in the front door.

iJon

[scem0]

WalMart's OK. Don't have anything against them...

[funkywhat2]

The office supplies are okay. I'm not a big fan, but sometimes they have decent stuff. They're clothes are cheap, and I don't personally like the way they look. I bought some socks there once. Fell apart the first time I washed them. Didn't feel like going back. I got my school supplies there. Those were decent. But there is no use that I see for a place like WalMart if you go to, say, a BJ's or something. The stuff there just feels better. And the store doesn't seem, well, sterile. (SP?)

[bcsimac]

Walmart is ok. I got a good hunting jacket for $60 bucks. The outdoors store in town didn't have a hunting jacket for less than $180 bucks. I don't have that kind of money so I went the Walmart route that time. I still buy all my live bait, fishing tackle, fly fishing equipment, and line at the outdoors store in town. I also use Walmart's phone cards.....they work best for me. I don't buy any computer equipment there though. I ocassionally buy Christian Music CDs there only because they still have some old Point of Grace, Jaci Valesquez, and Carman CDs that I really like. I buy all the new CDs at concerts or at the many local Christian bookstores we have here. The Christian bookstores get a lot of business from me......simply because I need a lot books for classes and for sermon study and writing......you can't get those from Walmart. NPH also gets a lot of business from me because it is the denomination's bookstore and I have to buy denomination specific books for certain classes. I have bought a few clothes from Walmart because they are the only one in town who sells clothes.....have to make trip to Erie otherwise.....not always safe in our snowy, icy, cold weather. Unfortunately, the guy who mentioned that Walmart puts small town businesses out of business is correct. Edinboro's mall and shopping strips are nothing but a ghost of their past. Walmart is the only big employer here.....except for the state university. What will keep Walmart in business here is that we have a state university in town.....the college students love Walmart.....I see them there everynight buying all kinds of junk. I think it wouldn't be successful otherwise. The college really changes the economics for this town compared to our sister towns. Our sister towns totally depend on the prisons for their economy. Prison jobs are at least reliable jobs.....only problem is making sure ya don't get killed in some of them. Union City is a prime example of a small town in this area that needs either a Walmart or a Prison to even really stay in existance......Union City was totally dependant on chair manufacturers and furniture manufacturers......all of them have closed shop.....Union City is dire straits. I think Sam Walton wouldn't be exactly pleased with everything Walmart does though.

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by iJon
\anyways, i have a wal mart trivia question for you guys. What is one of the main reasons Walmart has greeters in the front door.

to keep retards off the streets?

[the_ron]

I live in a small town and walmart is the only place to find a lot of things in town. There used to be a regular walmart in town and that was allright, but a few years a go a new super center opened up. Not too long afterward the 2 or 3 remaining local grocery stores closed up. Now walmart and another chain store, which isn't doing too well, are the only grocery stores left in town. I have a friend that works there and he really doesn't like it. They do make a lot of jobs in the community (I believe they are the 3rd or 4th largest employer in the town), but all of them are very low level jobs. One thing good that they do is attract business from the surrounding towns. Whenever any corporate store moves into our town most of the local stores are forced to close. It happened when Movie Gallery moved in. I actually kinda like going to walmart because at least there's always something to do there, and alot of my friends work there.

[voicegy]

One of the most powerful books I've ever read about the underbelly of the employed:

Nickled and Dimed
by Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich is a fifty something American writer/journalist, of a liberal bent. One day during a discussion of poverty with her editor, she mentioned that someone should do some "old-fashioned reporting", go out there and try for themselves what it was really like having to subsist on poverty level wages, on $6-7 per hour. Her editor thought it an excellent idea and when would she start? So she left home and family to try her luck as an unskilled worker, working as a waitress, cleaner and Wal-Mart clerk. What she found wasn't pretty.

http://www.cloggie.org/books/nickled-and-dimed.html

[Stelliform]

Originally posted by wsteineker
We studied Wal-Mart in an honors lyceum here at school. Basically an analysis of their social and economic impact on the towns in which they locate. The conclusion was that Wal-Mart kills small towns. Here's what I mean.



Yeah, the not so official term in the business community is "Wal-Mart Dead." (when referring to the victim town.)

Also On the fact that Wal-mart is trying to avoid unions. . . There is another phrase for that in the Business Community. "Companies get the Unions they deserve" As you can tell I am not very Pro-Union. But they do have their place against oppressive businesses.