I agree mikemic......where else can you do that?

I myself avoid going to Wal*Mart because it's a SC. When the old store was open....it had a home town atmosphere. Not any more. Folks come from all over to this store now. Plus...they built the SC in a location that is hard to get in and out of at times and now the old building sits empty.....most of it anyway.

 

Maybe our "lowest common denominator" is higher than yours because I don't see "scum" when I enter our bright, clean Walmart and I have no idea what sets the appearance of a sex offender apart. I park in the back of the parking lot, an old habit, walk past late model cars and trucks the "scum" have parked, and look for an employee with a gun forcing people to shop there (I have yet to spot him). Inside the store today, I purchased a prescription, fish oil and some spray paint at significant savings and was checked out by a cheerful clerk .... a pleasant shopping experience. I failed to notice any excrement or urine on the shiney floors and heard no announcement, "Pedophile needed in Housewares".
I recommend Sam Walton's autobiography to anyone interested in business. It traces the growth of a single Ben Franklin store in a small Arkansas town to a retail giant.
Should I have occasion to visit your part of the country (that will never happen in the winter), I will make an effort to visit a walmart to observe the "scum" and sex offender types first hand. You have my sympathy.
Dono

 

My mom and my grandma worked at the walmart home office. They treat there employees like poo. Eventually they'll go bank rupt from all the lawsuits....maybe...in 100 years......

 

Gee Dono...what's the weather like in your world, 78 & sunny no doubt. Most of the wally worlds around here stink. Period. Dirty, no customer service to speak of, low wages, no insurance benefits, Huge tax abatements so they will come here. City i live in is trying to get a super center....'bout a mile away from where their first wal mart was built. Funny thing, they came in, several locals closed, then the WM closed, & built a super center a few miles away. The now want to build a S/C, get the tax break, have the city / state pay for the roads, etc.

You mention Sam Walton's book....I would imagine ol sam is rolling in his grave.seeing what his beloved kids have done to his empire. Wal Mart used to have signs in them, stating how they brougt jobs back to america. You don't see that any more.

 

There are Pro and Con about any business. Bottom line, does it benefit you. Me it does. I live on a very limited budget. Wal-Mart come to our small town two years ago. All our local business had to shape up or ship out. Take a pair of Levi's for example. They cost $30 to $50 at our local merchants. They said it is because they had to ship them so far. Nearest place we can get to a big store before Wal-Mart was 150 miles. Now I can go to Wal-Mart and get them for $10. When you have kids, and it comes time to go back to school, you do the math. Instead of my kids having one pair of pants and washing them every night, they now have 3 for the same price.

Complain all you want, bottom line, if it is all you can afford, then they are a god send.

 

I shop Wally world. Have seen nice and clean ones, also trashed ones. Washington Pa fairly new one is being revamped after half dozen years or so. Real shame how people can trash a store. I walked out of restroom, real bad, walls tore up, and writing everywhere. Management does play a part here. You have to fix first signs of destruction, constant checking up.

The biggest issue I have with Walmart is price structure! Low prices first, average price next, and Higher prices after they drive the other stores out! Somerset Pa will back me up on this.

 

10 bucks for levis ?
Not were I live......and like I posted before you pay a price for cheap items.
Everyone wants a pair of 10 dollar jeans.....but then they wonder why taxes is so high when the state has to foot the bill for the health care costs.
At least thats what happens up here in the north country.
Walmart cares about one thing and its not the people who work at there stores.

 

Wal-mart dose have benifits for it's full time workers and just like everyother major retailer they pay a wage that is relative to what work is being performed. I'm guessing by your disgust that you boycott all major retailers like k-mart, target, menards, home depot and Lowes? They all do the same thing. Are we supposed to stop going to all chain stores that have lots of part-time work and only care about making money? Man that would seriously change things in a persons life. Even local grocers are loaded with part-time workers with no bennifits and I'm sure they are in it for the money too. Where would I get my food from with this hate and boycott big business plan?

 

Now that's funny right there!
Sounds just like what I would expect at Walmart. I never go there can't stand the place.

The main scam with Walmart is that they get their suppliers on an exclusive contract with them, who then expand big time to meet the demand of Walmart, then, once they are too big to survive without wally world or major cutbacks, Wally World tells them their price is too high, and to manufacture cheaper (read Korea or China) and there goes another North American manufacturer to Asia.

Just Like Levis jeans for example.

 

check prices alot of time walmart is not the cheepest like my wife's digital camera sear beat it buy $50 bucks (combo kit) that is where they hook you the sell some cheap and the mind automatically thinks everything is cheeper... kinda like sam's club buying in bulk.... also all walmart in missouri are going to Super centers .. one becuase at the super center they own the store and property the small ones was just leased..

 

Sears used to do the same thing. Like I said...the only reason I dislike going there is because the SC lost that hometown atmosphere.
I also add that the store is always clean.

 

No bennies? No Health insurance? No etc?

Bull pucky!

WM employees enjoy some of the best dental and health care around, if they do join the program.

WM employees also enjoy THE BEST stock sharing program in this hemisphere.

The average pay rate across all hourly employees is $9.86 per hour, just about 2x the minimum wage.

"Wal-Mart offers affordable health care coverage to both its full and part-time associates. .....Historically, Wal-Mart has paid about two-thirds of the cost of the Associates' Medical Plan. As of today, 620,000 associates have signed up for health insurance coverage in a Wal-Mart sponsored plan. Wal-Mart provides insurance to more than 1 million people and offers up to 18 different plans. Coverage is available for as little as $11 per month for individuals and 30 cents per day for children - no matter how many children an associate has."

Most companys pay roughly half.

"In recent years, Wal-Mart has contributed 4 percent of an associate's eligible pay to the combined Profit Sharing & 401(k) plan. Our hourly associates, just like our management and executive associates, receive bonuses and other incentives for helping the company achieve its goals. In FYE 2005, we spent $4.2 billion on benefits for our associates."

The ratio on the stock options is something like 6%.

http://www.walmartfacts.com/doyouknow/default.aspx#a136

Of course I'll save a few posts by saying that since it came from a Walmart site, it's all BS.

 

Remember the good old days when WongMart advertised the American Flag and supporting the American worker? It wasn't that long ago. Now the majority of the invertory is made in China. A TV program even showed a mega office complex in China. The majority of shipping out of China is attributed to WongMart. I shop WongMart but only buy stuff made in the USA. Yes, Sears was kind of a of a monopabley but they sold only made in USA products. I stopped buying at Sears when they stopped selling guns and accessories, the market that made them big. Check their history when Roebuck went door to door in a wagon selling guns..... I don't expect this thread to last much longer because WongMart has far reaching influence.... Money talks..

 

I have always heard that all Walmart sold was seconds...and yes, it does employ a lot of people in a general area, but dang, everything else has closed down....Out here, almost everyone shops at Walmart....it knows no class, but frankly there is no where else to go. The Mom and Pop stores have long since closed......and if they are not closed they soon will be.....Walmart is not for me, and in Oklahoma it is not that cheap. The stores in OKC are cheaper than the ones in the rural area....No Walmart for me, for sure......Just my feelings.....!

 

What is the percentage of china products wal-mart carries over it's competetors? Pointing fingers and calling names is easy but what are they stocking that k-mart and Target don't?