Your thoughts on shopping in Walmart these days

[Katsmeow]

I avoid Walmart. Just an unpleasant atmosphere. We do have a Walmart Neighborhood Market grocery store that is nearby and I occasionally shop at and it is fine. For most general type shopping, though, I prefer Target. Prices generally seem pretty good to me and the store is just way more pleasant.

[pj.mask]

Growing up we used to go to Walmart all the time. On the outskirts of major city. No issues.

Nowadays, it is always a pain as you described. The last 3 times I went for kids OTC medicine - the generics were sold out and the name brand had a few of the product boxes emptied out (stolen). I ended up going to the grocery store.

We don’t shop for food there - low quality produce/meat and we don’t eat lots of processed/packaged foods. For the minimal shopping we do, I’ll buy at Costco it just suck up the price difference elsewhere.

I feel I make enough money for the $5-10 monthly savings to not be worth the additional 20 minutes of waiting or multiple trips to see if they have it in stock.

[Boose]

I went on a multi-month Walmart boycott about 17 years ago because they insisted on stocking 14 lb. containers of cat litter on the top shelf, which is well over my reach (I'm short). And there was never anyone around to help.

Now I'm fortunate that DH is the designated WM shopper in our household. He cleans our bathrooms (another reason why I'm lucky!) and buys bathroom cleaner as well as car supplies there. Otherwise, we rarely go.

[frayne]

Avoid it like the plague.

[joeea]

Quote:

Your thoughts on shopping in Walmart these days

My thoughts these days are the same as every day - never shop at Walmart. Just thinking of it makes my teeth itch.

[Bamaman]

I have a Walmart at the front of our subdivision--2 minutes away. And it's my drive in market, as I'm in there virtually every day.

Mornings, I do get tired of seeing all the shoppers in their pajama bottoms. I pray that some day, they may come to their senses.

I go in late at night, and there are about 50 stockers all over the store--but mainly in groceries. Get talking to them, and you'll find out many work day jobs, and some are self employed. They work Walmart because they can purchase health insurance for their sick children. At least Walmart workers are willing to work--which is something that many of the meth heads and career thieves in our community cannot say. My hat's off to them.

I'm just thankful that the Walmarts in our community are exceptionally well run and well stocked. We frequent a couple of Walmarts in the mountains, and they're not created equal or even priced equal to our stores.

And I'm especially thankful for the $.88 eggs and $.98 gallons of milk and chocolate milk our grandkids go through so much of.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman At least Walmart workers are willing to work--which is something that many of the meth heads and career thieves in our community cannot say. My hat's off to them.

+1

Much respect for any and all who work for a living.

Present company excepted...

[Camas Lilly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj.mask Growing up we used to go to Walmart all the time. On the outskirts of major city. No issues. Nowadays, it is always a pain as you described. The last 3 times I went for kids OTC medicine - the generics were sold out and the name brand had a few of the product boxes emptied out (stolen). I ended up going to the grocery store. We don’t shop for food there - low quality produce/meat and we don’t eat lots of processed/packaged foods. For the minimal shopping we do, I’ll buy at Costco it just suck up the price difference elsewhere. I feel I make enough money for the $5-10 monthly savings to not be worth the additional 20 minutes of waiting or multiple trips to see if they have it in stock.

Good point.

[Marita40]

Our urban Walmart is really terrible. Messy shelves, dirty floor, really unhelpful service if you can even find a person. Prices may be lower there, but I chose rather to shop at Target down the street. Completely good experience there.

[Camas Lilly]

Hmmm. Looks like I am going to have to revisit Target. i really did enjoy the time I spent there.

[CardsFan]

We have two Walmart's less than 10 minutes away, in different directions.

I confess to finding myself in one or the other 2-4 times a week. Both appear to be clean, well stocked and well lit. I have found the staff to be friendly and helpful.

Since they are so close, and I am retired, I tend to go on week days. I rarely have a lot to buy so I always use self checkout. MUCH faster.

I have found the pricing to be competitive with the best prices I can get on-line, and I can get it today. Or, if it is something they do not stock locally, I can order on line and have it shipped to the store for pick-up, at no cost, so who needs Amazon Prime?

Off topic, but we use ship to store frequently at Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowe's and even Bass Pro. No minimum, no annual payment, no cost.

[Dawg52]

I occasionally go to a Walmart Market for groceries. The regular Walmart I try to avoid and I certainly wouldn't go to one on a weekend. I can usually find what I need at Dollar General, Ace Hardware and other smaller stores.

[mystang52]

I don't like Walmart and rarely shop there. A couple of nearby Targets are nice. If I pay a little more there it's worth it to avoid Walmart. Another case of YMMV.

[iloveyoga]

I guess we are lucky. The nearest Walmart is well run and clean. I do go early because it gets crazy there later. Usually I don't have to wait long or at all in line. I try to buy everything I can there because they have fresh stuff and they do have great prices.

[Cobra9777]

I use Amazon for most purchases of general merchandise.

I go to Walmart for specific things that are priced very low, like liquid chlorine for the pool and mulch in the spring. They have a drive-through set-up in the parking lot that is very convenient for stuff like mulch. I typically buy 20-30 bags every spring. If I go in the store for something, I've learned to park at automotive and that's where I check-out. I rarely go to Walmart for anything else and certainly would never browse there.

Recently our small neighborhood grocery store shut down. They were a small regional chain that you'd find in a lot of small towns in Texas. We really enjoyed shopping there for the last 15 years. So now I'm trying out the Walmart Neighborhood Market. It's the same small size, prices are better, and it's actually a bit closer to our house. So far, I'm impressed. The produce is very good quality. Employees are friendly and helpful. Meat is somewhat limited, especially seafood. But all the basics are there. I like the self check-out. Very fast and convenient. We recently started buying gas there as well as it's cheap and very convenient.

We still use Sprouts, Kroger, and Costco for specific food items. But the little Walmart Neighborhood Market might be our new go-to place for produce, meat, and other everyday basics.

[MichaelB]

I don't like to shop, so categorizing stores into like / dislike doesn't work, because I don't like any of them. So far, the store I've liked the least was Amazon Go. Way too antiseptic for me.


When I do need to buy stuff in person, I like Trader Joe.

[Moemg]

I have not been to Walmart in years . I do go to Target frequently but mostly use Amazon.

[imoldernu]

A retail company out of control.
The sole means of controlling profits in retail stores, is, as has always been...
Payroll.
The square footage of the superstores is a self limiting disaster. Walmart had a choice of faster stock replenishment or more instock. Instead of choosing, they maintained the trucking network, and tried to save money by using greater instock initial stocking.

The number of SKU's is out of control... a management problem at the top, where infighting has replaced working together. This is obvious in most stores too, where the multi department nature of the organization is impossible to manage centrally. Where the average number of store employees, is 200+... very difficult to manage. Consider that 24/7 requires nearly three times as many workers, and accordingly 3 times as many in management.

Add to all of that, another change, taking place in the past year... higher pricing. Impossible to maintain profitability by raising prices, more items, and an unnecessary third round of costs based on clearance pricing.

The Pharmacy, while others have pointed out somewhat lower prices, has also been hit hard by sudden rise in OTC pricing. The payroll restrictions have also led to poorer service for prescription drugs.

An interesting point you may want to check on the next time you go to WM...
A sample of the kind of built in ignorance endemic in the highest management...
.................................................. .................................................. ....

This is funny... There are some of us who still hold on to the enjoyment of a dry martini... Despite carrying 500+ wines (or so it seems), our Walmart does not sell Vermouth.... the necessary ingredient in this classic cocktail.
Despite talking to the Department (day) manager and later writing to the corporate office... our walmart has not stocked Dry Vermouth for 2 years. Obviously prompted by a failure to restock over two order periods, and having the item removed from the basic inventory for lack of sales. (No sales, no scanned items, no reorders...) and nobody who cares.
After going to our local Whole Foods Store, which DOES stock dry vermouth... and talking with the liquor department manager... he said... "Please don't tell Walmart... We own the Gin and Vermouth market, and the regular liquor customers who have left Walmart because of this.." Yeah.. no kidding.

Still.. with no KMart, and a nearly closed Mall... the WM parking lot is always full. An average or below average wage market area. No real competition. Still the people we talk too have given up on Walmart... Grocery has gone to Aldi's or upscale markets, and of course, the change over to Amazon. IMHO, even the WM attempt to challenge them, is about a year behind.

My two cents worth.

[mamadogmamacat]

I think much of the issues with how nice a given store is has a lot to do with the neighborhoods, both the store location and the one, if it is different, that the store draws its employees from.

The closest Walmart market to me is one town over, in an area of homes that are $500k and up, with most new developments being at/near $1 million. I love this store, especially the reasonably priced and excellent produce. And all the employees are clean, as is the store, and efficient.

The next closest Walmart, is much larger and in the opposite direction, is in an area with lots of malls, both traditional and strip malls, plus many relatively low rent apartments nearby. It's only advantage for me is that it is better stocked with some of the cleaning supplies I prefer. The downsides are many, and include some rather frightening fellow customers, surly or indifferent clerks for the most part, you have to show your receipt as you leave, and one time while pushing my cart to my car I walked right through a domestic argument when the apparently former boyfriend/spouse/whatever of a very large woman drove up threatening her, her child, and the new boyfriend/spouse/whatever. No one was hurt, at least not while I hightailed it out of there as fast as my knees allowed.

[Walt34]

I don't do standing in lines. If a business is "too busy" to take my money I'll spend it someplace else. While I may be retired that does not mean that my time has no value.

Too many businesses seem to forget that. I very much favor those few business that answer the telephone. In person. Not with a recording or a telephone maze. I really don't think that extending the simple courtesy of answering the telephone is too much to ask. Please don't insult my intelligence by claiming using the machine is to "give me better service". Gimme a break - it is to save your time at the expense of mine.

While I will occasionally order something online from Walmart I very rarely set foot in the store, and when I do my resolve hardens yet again to never go back. I think the last time I was physically in a Walmart was about two years ago and their poor service and long lines is the reason.

And get off my lawn....