Walmart Tales and Woes

[Sue J]

I do buy their store brand of mini-wheats (no added sugar)

Thanks for the tip. I love shredded wheat but have not seen non-frosted. It's in stock at my Walmart store and I've added it to my shopping list.

Another useful thing I've learned on ER.Org!

 

[Jerry1]

I do buy their store brand of mini-wheats (no added sugar)

Thanks for the tip. I love shredded wheat but have not seen non-frosted. It's in stock at my Walmart store and I've added it to my shopping list.

Another useful thing I've learned on ER.Org!

Definitely not store brand and probably not worth the price, but I really like the Kashi brand “mini-wheats”. Simple organic ingredients. I load up when they’re on sale or a good coupon at Kroger.

https://www.kashi.com/en_US/our-foo...mon-harvest-whole-wheat-biscuits-product.html

 

[COcheesehead]

Definitely not store brand and probably not worth the price, but I really like the Kashi brand “mini-wheats”. Simple organic ingredients. I load up when they’re on sale or a good coupon at Kroger.

https://www.kashi.com/en_US/our-foo...mon-harvest-whole-wheat-biscuits-product.html

Folks take a look at the carb content of processed cereals. Kashi is 48g per serving and people likely are eating more than a serving. Yikes.

Processed cereals fall into the “white” food category of things to avoid as we age. White foods are potatoes, pasta, rice, crackers, bread, pancakes, biscuits, etc. All loaded with carbs.

 

[JoeWras]

Awhile back, with all the hubbub around plastic bags, Kroger started making the plastic bags thinner. They worked to schlep groceries but they would inevitably have a hole in them. Having a hole doesn’t work well for the secondary use as a trash can liner. So, in their effort to be environmental, they turned a product with a great secondary use into a truly single use product. Good job guys! Thankfully, they must have got the message because it looks like they went back to the old formulation and now, very few bags end up having holes. Another secondary use is the poop bag for people who walk their dogs. In both cases, without the grocery bags, the consumer goes out and buys some other type of plastic bag. Doesn’t seem like we’re winning the battle.

Like many things, it’s not the product but the handling of said product by us humans, many of which are clueless, inconsiderate or both, that causes the problem.

One of the great mysteries in life is how does one successfully go to Home Depot (Lowes/Menards), buy a tube of caulk, and bring it home in one of their plastic bags?

 

[CardsFan]

One of the great mysteries in life is how does one successfully go to Home Depot (Lowes/Menards), buy a tube of caulk, and bring it home in one of their plastic bags?

It Has Never Happened without a hole in the bag.

For a tube of caulk, I don't use a bag. It will fall out before I get to the car.

But, on a side note, I am glad to hear you are one of the few of us who can go to Home Depot and ONLY by a tube of caulk.

 

[Jerry1]

One of the great mysteries in life is how does one successfully go to Home Depot (Lowes/Menards), buy a tube of caulk, and bring it home in one of their plastic bags?

I used to skip the bag. Then, the cashier asked me if I wanted a bag (you can tell how long ago this was because there was actually a cashier). I said no. Before I got out to the car, one of the lightbulbs fell out of the packaging they came in and busted on the ground. Ever since then I use a bag. I also have found that the big box stores have some really nice bags that I can use as trash can liners when I get home. Win win.

 

[Jerry1]

Folks take a look at the carb content of processed cereals. Kashi is 48g per serving and people likely are eating more than a serving. Yikes.

Processed cereals fall into the “white” food category of things to avoid as we age. White foods are potatoes, pasta, rice, crackers, bread, pancakes, biscuits, etc. All loaded with carbs.

True enough, but I have health problems (kidneys) that require I reduce my protein intake. Carbs are an important part of my diet. I balance it out with a lot of fruits and vegetables so I don’t gain weight. One can eat carbs without causing too much problem, but as with most things, it’s and individual thing.

 

[CaptTom]

I've been known to poke the caulk tube ends out of the bag so I can lay them down in the bottom. I figure if it's gonna get a hole in it anyway, might as well be just one, and in the right spot so it won't rip the bag open.

 

[JoeWras]

I've been known to poke the caulk tube ends out of the bag so I can lay them down in the bottom. I figure if it's gonna get a hole in it anyway, might as well be just one, and in the right spot so it won't rip the bag open.

That's a good idea.

 

[folivier]

Yeah, we always use the plastic bags for our small trash cans. In Colorado those are now outlawed. So rather than reusing the bags we now have to buy plastic trash bags. Huh? how is that helping?
Here's something that happened years ago. I went to the local auto parts place and bought a case of Mobil 1 to change my oil. Opened the first quart and it was used oil! Opened the second quart and it was used oil. On both the plastic ring was intact. Brought all of them back to the store. At first they didn't believe me so I had them open the next quart, with an intact ring, and it was used also! How? don't know but I got another case.

 

[JoeWras]

Yeah, we always use the plastic bags for our small trash cans. In Colorado those are now outlawed. So rather than reusing the bags we now have to buy plastic trash bags. Huh? how is that helping?
Here's something that happened years ago. I went to the local auto parts place and bought a case of Mobil 1 to change my oil. Opened the first quart and it was used oil! Opened the second quart and it was used oil. On both the plastic ring was intact. Brought all of them back to the store. At first they didn't believe me so I had them open the next quart, with an intact ring, and it was used also! How? don't know but I got another case.

That, my friend, is the wildest thing I've ever heard! That took a lot of effort by some scammer.

On the old 1 qt. containers, which had very soft plastic, I remember it was pretty easy to screw off the top and carry along the ring with it. This is what must have happened. On the newer 5 qt. containers, I don't think it is possible.

Reading stories like this continue to diminish my hope in humanity.

 

[CaptTom]

The best scam I was ever involved in appeared to be an inside job at the shipper. The merchant sent a box of whatever I'd ordered, but I received a different box, the same weight as the original, but filled with thrash. The original shipping label had been removed from "my" box and pasted on to the one I received.

The shipper (UPS or FedEx, I forget) didn't have a check box for that complaint when I called, so they sent a driver to see for himself. The box was actually leaking from a half-empty shampoo bottle inside. He said he'd never seen anything like that, put on gloves and put the box in a big plastic bag to bring back.

I assume someone working alongside the conveyor belt, watching boxes go by all day, figured out this scheme. I imagine it went like this: Pull a box off the line. Weigh it. Empty some trash into a new box until it weighs the same. Put the old label on the new box and send it along the line. It gets scanned and weighed all the way to its destination, as if nothing happened. Scammer has long since taken the "real" box home. I gotta give them credit for creativity.

 

[JoeWras]

Another story, and my hope in humanity continues to diminish.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I just cancelled Walmart + free trial. 2 day shipping turned into 6 days with 2 delays.

 

[John Galt III]

Good to hear some stores care about the shoplifting, and even (gasp) call the cops. I heard that anything under $900 per theft incident was supposed to be allowed. Maybe only in some states.

 

[tryan]

So as a 5th grade project my son had to do a "pizza box hero"....basically you decorate the outside of a pizza box with the accomplishments of this person then put a picture of them inside the box. On demo day the class tries to guess who your person is.

So he downloaded a few pics to a USB stick ... we then went to the Wallymart photo shop to print them at the kios. This nerdy looking kid at the register pulls the pictures and asks "DO you have COPY RIGHTS to this photo? I ASSUME NOT. I CANNOT LET YOU LEAVE WITH THESE PHOTOS." I said "This is for my son's FIFTH GRADE PROJECT . I THOUGHT YOUR JOB WAS TO PUT THINGS IN BAGS. Didn't expect to see self appointed copy right police here. I'll go the Staples."

Left. Went to Staples ... no issues.

 

[scrabbler1]

The first time I went to Aldis, I was not aware of the quarter requirement to get a cart. So at first blush, it pissed me off. Then, I came to realize the beauty of it and now wish everyone did that. It totally irks me when people can’t even put their cart in the cart corral.

After the first few times at Aldi's not able to work the thingy to get the quarter back, I simply treat it as an extra cost of shopping there. The parking lot is always jammed so maneuvering the cart all the way back to the corral from my car is a major PITA. If I don't see someone approaching the store willing to give me a quarter for my empty cart, I simply leave it near my car.

The last time I went there, a few weeks ago, I was able to find an empty cart near my car, so others feel the way I do. That was almost as good as paying $37 for a few items which would have cost double that at my local supermarket. And the parking wasn't its usual terrible.

As for Walmart, the one near me is a zoo. I once went in there to buy a few items but when I saw how long the lines were at the checkout (and this was 11 AM on a non-holiday weekday), I turned around and left the store. The parking there, like at Aldi's rots. I'll go to the nearby Target, where it doesn't look like a zoo, the parking is good, and short waiting times at the checkout, even if I have to pay more there.

 

[ownyourfuture]

 

[brucethebroker]

The first time I went to Aldis, I was not aware of the quarter requirement to get a cart. So at first blush, it pissed me off. Then, I came to realize the beauty of it and now wish everyone did that. It totally irks me when people can’t even put their cart in the cart corral.

First time i really paid attention the the genius of the Aldi quarter-in-the-cart was when I noticed an Aldi sitting next door to a Goodwill. Same sized lots-similar number of cars: nearly a dozen GW blue carts scattered around their lot. NONE at Aldi.

Amazing what people will do to get that quarter back-perhaps some folks scan the parking lot for loose carts and return them for the quarter. (As someone who parks far from the door to avoid dents from wind blown, abandoned shopping carts, I appreciate what Aldi has done.)

 

[brucethebroker]

Yeah, we always use the plastic bags for our small trash cans. In Colorado those are now outlawed. So rather than reusing the bags we now have to buy plastic trash bags. Huh? how is that helping?

My poochie and I "recycle/reuse" small plastic grocery bags every-time we take a walk..."

 

[HarveyS]

And do people realize that the good old fashioned paper bag is made from RENEWABLE resources? Trees that are grown and harvested just like corn?

RENEWABLE, yes. But it takes 7-25 years to grow a tree for pulp. Depends on type of tree and where in the world it is growing. I'd say not "just like corn".

 

[Badger]

RENEWABLE, yes. But it takes 7-25 years to grow a tree for pulp. Depends on type of tree and where in the world it is growing. I'd say not "just like corn".

If it weren't for having major capital expenses for paper mills for processing then hemp would be a fast growing alternative that provides a few crops a year to outproduce the quantity of fiber/acre from trees.

Cheers!

 

[scrabbler1]

Re: reusing grocery store bags for garbage bags - For decades, in my kitchen I put a paper bag inside a plastic bag which fits inside my garbage pail. When full, or when there is something smelly in the bag, I can then remove them and tie the outer (plastic) bag shut. But when my state banned these single-use bags back in 2020, I would quickly run out of plastic bags (I can buy paper bags from the store for 5 cents each). So, I remove only the paper bag and staple it shut. Over time, the plastic bag will rip or become otherwise unusable, so I will have to replace it. But that might be once or twice a year, and I get those plastic bags from take-out once in a while to begin the cycle again.

 

[CardsFan]

RENEWABLE, yes. But it takes 7-25 years to grow a tree for pulp. Depends on type of tree and where in the world it is growing. I'd say not "just like corn".

Well, I said they are planted and harvested just like corn, which IS correct. If you drive in the FL panhandle you can see the nice even rows of trees planted, maintained and harvested by the paper companies. I can also find other info on line suggesting that in some places the harvest time can be a short as 3 years, but I recall being told by someone in a paper mill years ago that 5-7 was more typical.

Anyway, sorry for the thread hijack. Now back to your regularly scheduled Walmart comments.

 

[Chuckanut]

First time i really paid attention the the genius of the Aldi quarter-in-the-cart was when I noticed an Aldi sitting next door to a Goodwill. Same sized lots-similar number of cars: nearly a dozen GW blue carts scattered around their lot. NONE at Aldi.



Amazing what people will do to get that quarter back-perhaps some folks scan the parking lot for loose carts and return them for the quarter. (As someone who parks far from the door to avoid dents from wind blown, abandoned shopping carts, I appreciate what Aldi has done.)

As kids my friends and I used to go out Saturday morning and scoop up discarded pop bottles that had a deposit on them. On Sunday we used the money to buy a ticket to the local 99 cent movie theater. I imagine some kids might do that with Aldi carts.