500 reasons why I love WALMART

I happen to go to Walmart 2-3 times a month. Many of my friends would not want to be caught dead at Walmart and avoid the place like the plague. I really do not see Walmart the way many people seem to do here. Walmart provides well needed jobs and affordable services for many people who need them. There is nothing wrong with that. I think the question should be, why is it that so many people can only afford to shop at Walmart? Now that's a worthy debate IMO.
 
Every time I go to Walmart (and it is not often ) I feel like I'd like to start a show called "What not to put in your shopping cart " . When I see these carts piled high with twinkies ,uncrustables , sponge cakes and no veggies I want to scream especially since the people pushing the carts look so unhealthy .
 
FUEGO said:
I loathe the place but grudgingly give them what amounts to a dozen times a third world slave laborer's salary every week for all of our groceries, household items, toiletries, prescriptions, medicine, pet supplies, auto supplies, hardware, etc. It is so easy and convenient when lugging two young kids around to not have to shop at more than one store and still get 99% of what you need.

I feel good knowing that I am helping support a starving hard working citizen of some developing nation to feed their malnourished hungry kids. It allows them to avoid fates such as starving to death, farming a rice field for 14 hours a day, or starving to death. I'd rather they get paid to make cheap plastic crap in a factory versus pay some pompous self righteous full of themselves unionized laborer to manufacture the same plastic crap here in the US at 10 or 100x the price (and worse quality).

I see plenty of mom and pop's around our walmarts. Local family owned authentic ethnic restaurants, a family friends' vietnamese grocery store (they are really Laotian but don't tell anyone), local barbershop, etc. And for you folks that are too good to mix with the plebes at walmart, most of those folks are just scraping by and try to save every penny they can. Walmart has brought down prices to a level where more stuff is more affordable for everyone.

By the way, I think we should add "love/hate walmart" to the list consisting of "is 4% SWR accurate", "pay off mortgage early?", and "market time/passive portfolio or active/index funds". :D

Regarding the OP's pictures - I saw those the other day and it was good for a laugh. Luckily I only see a couple of those on our weekly walmart visits.
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I never realized it was such a hot button issue. Till I read the posts here. Slave labor to femullets..:LOL:

reminds me of this.


 
FUEGO said:
I feel good knowing that I am helping support a starving hard working citizen of some developing nation to feed their malnourished hungry kids. It allows them to avoid fates such as starving to death, farming a rice field for 14 hours a day, or starving to death. I'd rather they get paid to make cheap plastic crap in a factory versus pay some pompous self righteous full of themselves unionized laborer to manufacture the same plastic crap here in the US at 10 or 100x the price (and worse quality).
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Did you ever stop and think about who is picking up the tab for the social costs of our current economic slowdown? One clue- it sure as hell isn't Save the Children.

Sep 4, 2009, 10:35 a.m. EST
U.S. unemployment rate jumps to 26-year high of 9.7%
Nonfarm payrolls fall 216,000 in August, 20th consecutive monthly decline
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7% in August as nonfarm payrolls fell by 216,000, the 20th consecutive monthly decline, the Labor Department estimated Friday.
U.S. payrolls have dropped by 6.9 million to a total of 131.2 million since the recession began in December 2007, the government data showed. Unemployment has increased by 7.4 million during the recession to stand at 14.9 million.
"Joblessness continues to mount, which will only make it harder for households to repay debt and build savings, thereby impeding a consumer-led recovery," wrote Sal Guatieri, senior economist for BMO Capital Markets.
The 216,000 decline in payrolls was close to market expectations of a 233,000 drop, but the unemployment rate rose higher than the 9.5% level expected. The unemployment rate was 9.4% in July. See Economic Calendar.
It was the smallest decline in payrolls since August 2008.
Payrolls declined an upwardly revised 276,000 in July. In June and July, payroll losses were revised up by 49,000. Read the full government report.
Payroll losses have moderated in most industries in the past two months after severe declines earlier in the year. In the past three months, payroll losses have averaged 318,000 per month, compared with 491,000 in the previous three-month period.
Although payroll losses have moderated, the loss rate in the past three months is as bad as it was at the worst of the 1980 and 1982 recessions, said Charles Dumas, an economist for Lombard Street Research. "You have to have faith to think that job losses at the worst rate of 1980 and 1982 are consistent with level to growing GDP," Dumas said.
Economist Robert Brusca said the trend is favorable, adding that he couldn't understand the pessimism of so many observers. "I feel like a parent locked in a car with a little kid screaming " DADDY! ARE WE THERE YET?"
Many economists think the unemployment rate will top out near 10%, late this year or early next year. "What really matters is when payrolls and the jobless rate will turn, and we still believe that the timeframe on both is soon, probably sooner than most other forecasters expect," wrote Stephen Stanley, chief economist for RBS Securities.
Details of the August report were generally weak, however.
Payrolls fell in most sectors of the economy except for health care. Total hours worked in the economy dropped by 0.3%, long-term unemployment worsened, and the number of people working just part time who wanted full-time work reached 9.1 million, up 278,000.
The number of people who've been out of work longer than six months nudged up to 5 million, representing about one-third of the unemployed.
An alternative measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those forced to resort to part-time work rose to 16.8% from 16.3%, marking the highest on record dating back to 1995.
Average hourly earnings on the month rose 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.65 an hour. In the past year, average hourly earnings are up 2.6%.




Enjoy the freak show shopping at your local WalMart, and please remember your role in why many of those folks are in that predicament. :flowers:
 
I'm gonna regret this but...

A NYT article: Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart

Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart - The New York Times

Quote:
Mr. Cobb said the Wal-Mart rule that generally prohibits employees from working more than 40 hours a week to avoid paying overtime played out in strange ways for night-shift employees. Mr. Cobb said that on many workers' fifth work day of the week, they would approach the 40-hour mark and then clock out, usually around 1 a.m. They would then have to sit around, napping, playing cards or watching television, until a manager arrived at 6 a.m.
 
Westernskies said:
Did you ever stop and think about who is picking up the tab for the social costs of our current economic slowdown? One clue- it sure as hell isn't Save the Children.

Sep 4, 2009, 10:35 a.m. EST
U.S. unemployment rate jumps to 26-year high of 9.7%
Nonfarm payrolls fall 216,000 in August, 20th consecutive monthly decline
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7% in August as yadda yadda yadda - this economic headline news stuff is really a non sequitur and doesn't support the gist of what you are saying.
Average hourly earnings on the month rose 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.65 an hour. In the past year, average hourly earnings are up 2.6%.


Enjoy the freak show shopping at your local WalMart, and please remember your role in why many of those folks are in that predicament. :flowers:
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Wait a sec! I thought you were a free market conservative leaning stand up guy? Are you saying you are opposed to economic liberalism, foreign trade, etc?

The folks I see at walmart are much better off than some relatives and family friends starving to death in developing nations and working the rice paddies 14 hrs a day. It puts a smile on my face to know that the folks lining up to work in a "sweatshop" are actually avoiding a much worse fate, and are actually glad to have the job and the opportunity. And I get cheap stuff.

I don't really feel any obligation to pay more for stuff just to support an inefficient and suboptimal means of production. At least not with my dollars. You, of course, are free to choose what you do with your dollars. Just don't infringe on my rights to spend my money on things as I see fit. :flowers: (that flower was produced by exploited sweatshop labor, so be careful if you accept it! :D )
 
The funny thing about Walmart is some of the cons they run...

$4 generic drugs. Before Walmart started this "deal" some generics cost as little as $1.50. They haven't lowered the price, they've averaged it out and made it into a huge marketing campaign.

Cheap meat... packaged in sealed plastic with nitrogen so it stays red longer. Doesn't mean it stays fresh... just red.

In the motor oil section... one of the major name brands is about $3 less for 5 quarts than the local Autozone. But look closely.... the packages are almost the same except the Autozone package is 5.47 quarts!

The sandwich meats section is almost exclusively Oscar Myer now. The Kroger and Publix down the street have about a dozen brands and the prices are better... except on Oscar Myer.

My wife and I did some serious price comparisons a few months back. Our grocery bills are about 30% less at Aldi -- the selection is poor and we get the remainder at Ingles (for less than Walmart).

Walmart has a lot of loss leader stuff... but in total we do better shopping elsewhere.

Same thing with our Ace Hardware. Sure mailboxes and other big ticket items which people notice cost more than they do at Home Depot... but nuts, bolts, nails and lot of things which are really "hardware" are less.

Fruits and veggies... the quality just plain sucks at Walmart - and most of it seems to be labeled as coming from South America where they don't have very high standards for pesticide use.

Tools.... sure they are cheaper at Walmart, but I prefer to buy a tool once that last a lifetime rather than something that breaks or bends the first time you really torque down on it. Try getting a cheap thick walled Walmart socket on a bolt in a tight place - better to have higher quality tools that are stronger with thinner socket walls due to better steel.

The soft drinks isle at the local Walmart is 90% name brand with one small set of shelves holding the Walmart brand, which is often out of product. The Kroger and Publix soft drink isles are about 30% store brands.

On the rare occasion I buy name brand canned or packaged groceries I use a coupons. Ingles doubles the coupons, Walmart doesn't.

The thing about Walmart is some the prices are rock bottom but the quality is so poor that the total cost of ownership is often higher. Clothing comes to mind. I'd rather pay a little more and get far better quality at Target.
 
"Cheap meat... packaged in sealed plastic with nitrogen so it stays red longer. Doesn't mean it stays fresh... just red."

You really think this is a Walmart invention? Come on so does any other grocery store. Like any other store you need to pick the scams from the deals. Walmart is no different.
 
Have you ever been to a new 24-hour Wal-Mart at around 4:00 AM? I did that once over 5 years ago, and I actually enjoyed it. There were very few if any other customers, and I loved the empty, wide aisles and the leisurely shopping. The night crew had neatly put away everything so it wasn't a mess at all.

That was a very nice Wal-Mart experience. Normally I almost never go to Wal-Mart because I don't enjoy battling through crowds, but the stores themselves seem perfectly fine.
 
After 8 years with the wacko Govm'nt agency I work for , I now have an assistant. He was a Jr. store manager at Sam's Club ( part of the wonderfull Walmart Empire ) a few years ago. He tells me the best thing about it as a former employee , several times each year, he gets a check as a result of numerous class action lawsuits . Usually has something to do with timekeeping misdeeds by the company. Never even has to file a claim , just sit back and remain part of the class :cool:.
 
If at all possible I avoid the local Walmart. Its not that I have any qualms with Walmart itself, just my local store. The parking is horrendous the store is filled with idiots (both workers and customers). There is no service. I walked out two times in one day because of the lack of service at the checkout. The bad part is the first time I walked out was at 4 AM, when there were few people in the store. The only time I go there now is if there are no other close options. I don't even do price comparisons there. I don't care if things are cheaper there, it's not worth getting my blood pressure and my irritation level up.
 
Notmuchlonger said:
"Cheap meat... packaged in sealed plastic with nitrogen so it stays red longer. Doesn't mean it stays fresh... just red."

You really think this is a Walmart invention?
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I never said or implied that I thought this was a Walmart invention. Stating so... why? Rather, its one of the many reasons I don't like their groceries.

Come on so does any other grocery store.
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Different stores have different business models. Walmart's seems to be price over quality, among other things. I understand most retailers do certain things for marketing purposes, but it seems Walmart is king of duping people, and around here they don't even have the best prices.

Like any other store you need to pick the scams from the deals. Walmart is no different.
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I believe Walmart is different. If they weren't masters at doing what they do they wouldn't be the size they are.

Where I buy meat it is labeled as "choice", and sometimes prime, not a step down like Walmart ("select", and they even have big signs boasting about this -- I guess it fools a lot of ignorant people). It is also cut/butchered and packaged there at the place, not shipped not in pre-packaged case ready containers. It comes in a more traditional saran wrap type of package that's not going to hold in any gas, and held in the back with a sticker, not a heat sealed container. Sure, I can get lower quality "case ready" meat at these stores as well (usual its frozen), but they also have decent butchers on staff as well (and not just making hamburger).

Who do you think has fresher meat, a place which ships it in (the packages are often label Argentina or Brazil), or a place where I actually see someone behind a window cutting the meat?

Oh... need to make a correction in my last post. Carbon monoxide is used, not nitrogen.
 
Missionfinder, I agree with you that it is a personal choice not to buy lower quality food at Walmart. As Fuego said, this is one of those issues that we will not all agree on, and while our decisions to shop/not shop at Walmart are our own, you make some excellent points.

I don't go there because as lets-retire pointed out...most of the patrons and the staff are breathtakingly stupid. But I'm creeped out by the meat, too.
 
Missionfinder made excellent observations, IMHO. S/he wasn't saying we should never shop at WM, rather that we should be mindful of what we're getting, and not taken in by surface appearance. I wish more people would do price and quality comparisons and post them on the forum.

Sarah in SC said:
...most of the patrons and the staff are breathtakingly stupid. .
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I'm sure you're right, but I truly have not noticed they are any duller in my Wal-Mart than in other low-end retail stores. Some are grumpy, while others seem to appreciate a smile; no doubt they don't get many.
 
Want2retire said:
Have you ever been to a new 24-hour Wal-Mart at around 4:00 AM? I did that once over 5 years ago, and I actually enjoyed it. There were very few if any other customers, and I loved the empty, wide aisles and the leisurely shopping. The night crew had neatly put away everything so it wasn't a mess at all.

That was a very nice Wal-Mart experience. Normally I almost never go to Wal-Mart because I don't enjoy battling through crowds, but the stores themselves seem perfectly fine.
Click to expand...

In my younger days I would go grocery shopping after 2nd shift around 1am. Was quite peaceful and you seen some interesting characters come in. :D
 
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