Your thoughts on shopping in Walmart these days

[Dtail]

For us, the goods we get at BJ's are cheaper, so no Walmart for us.

 

[PatrickW]

I always feel out-of-place when I visit Walmart. No matter how grubby I happen to be at the time. Honestly, I feel like I need to "dress down" prior to going to a Walmart.


The place gives me the creeps. I honestly believe that mankind sets the bar just a little bit lower at Walmart.

 

[Chuckanut]

WalMart? The closest one to me is a bit to far away especialy in traffic. And it's not one of the super centers, more of a very big grocery store that's expanded to include other non-grocery store. The closest Super Big Walmart is even farther away and has more congested roads leading to it.

WalMart? I only visit one when I am traveling since they usually have whatever I need.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I do find it interesting to see how different stores are run so differently. When we lived in Atlanta, our closest WM was in a pretty affluent area and all the employees were incredibly polite and helpful. It was never a bother to order extra birdseed for my Dad...they would even stash some in the back for him.

Here in flyover country, our closest one is pretty good, but the clientele is not as affluent (or even close) and the employees attitudes are generally "meh". The next closest one is terrible...you can hardly find an employee and if you do, they sure as hell aren't going to help you.

I have noticed that the closest one to us is very busy with the employee "pickers" gathering orders for pickup. It really surprises me at the sheer number of these pickers I see in the AM. I haven't tried the online pickup yet, but have to give it a try.

 

[JJpop]

No Thanks

It is interesting reading this thread. I live in California and have frequently read how big a deal Walmart is in more rural areas. Personally I cannot stand Walmart and I avoided it like the plague but I can see how it would be a godsend in certain areas.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Went to Wal Mart this AM to do our weekly grocery shopping. We live fairly close to a DECA commissary (military base grocery store) and have been shopping there for the most part, but they are continually out of stuff. There is no rhyme or reason for this...I have tried shopping at different times of the day/week/month and have NEVER been able to get all the stuff on the list. Wal Mart was different. I left with every single item I wanted and the selection was as good as what we had at Kroger and Publix back in Atlanta. Yes, the prices were a bit higher than the commissary, but not by a huge amount. Also, used a cashier and was in and out in a jiffy...no line and she did a good job bagging stuff as you would expect. So, out of 5 stars, I would give it a solid 4.5

 

[RunningBum]

Boy, there are a lot of long-winded, pretentious answers to the simple question about best times to shop Walmart! Especially just to say they DON'T shop at Walmart, or as my relatives in the country call it,
"The Walmart's".
Oh, and just so I don't get called a hypocrite...we like to shop Walmart on weekday mornings. Sundays after morning church services are the absolute worst times!

The OP covered a lot of ground, including shopping online, at discount grocery stores, and at Target. I don't think it was a simple question, nor was it limited to best times to shop at Walmart. The OP was probably the most long-winded post--not criticizing that at all, just making my point that it wasn't a specific, simple question at all.

 

[karen1972]

Walmarts vary so much by area. The one near me is disgusting. The electronic department clearly has a theft issue as many items in boxes have the bottoms ripped off and items removed. They don't have much for food and the freezers don't always look like they are working. I used them once for an oil change and pretty sure based on how my car ran after that they didn't use the synthetic I had paid for. Its sad because its surrounded by lots of nice stores and there is no reason for this one store to be so run down.

My sisters in Wisconsin is very clean, well layed out and I've gone there from time to time to get a specific toy the kids wanted that you can only get figure X in their one package. I've bought food there and always been happy with the quality and presentation.

We prefer to shop elsewhere I'm not as opposed to them as I use to be as Amazon came in and ate their lunch and I can't complain about the ethics of Walmart and then shop at Amazon given the data on their warehouse workers. Though I'm not likely to shop at either if I can help it.

 

[Bir48die]

Let’s get a few things straight:

Many people who have significant financial means are not going to be shopping at Walmart.

Some Walmart’s sell guns. Many do not. The ones that do are called Superstores and they have everything under the sun. That means guns too. Sorry

I will echo that if you’re an employee with a good work ethic you will advance. They don’t necessarily pay well on the floor but they promote within and if you have a degree you can do well.

For being as large as they are I see them as one of the very few companies that is competing with Amazon for online sales.

Many people in rural areas swear by them and WM is kind of an institution in those areas.

If you’re looking for center of the store (non perishable) they are very competitive.

I don’t like that at least in our area WM has gone to pre-packaged meats and I’ll agree that their quality sucks which is interesting as Sams Club has excellent meat.

I’m in an area where WinCo is predominantly the retailer for low cost groceries. They execute better because they are smaller and more nimble but still huge buying power.

 

[Retiree_Having_Fun]

Never thought I would but I am more inclined now to order stuff online. If I have to go to walmart - I avoid monday mornings since shelves look like a war zone with little restocking completed. Tuesday 6 am seems to be the best time.

 

[fh2000]

We have a Walmart close by. It is inside a big open mall right next to Ross, then Sprouts, then Michaels. I would say I visit there once a month mostly for cheap men's wear and sometimes Xmas stuff. Overnight parking is not permitted, so no RVs.

To me, it is no different than other stores in the mall. Right outside their door, you can find Stonefire Grill, Olive Garden and other eating places.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I live in a VERY small town and the nearest upscale grocery store or department store is 45 minutes away. I shop there frequently- and I like it. There are well run Walmarts and poorly run Walmarts (one of my best friends is a store manager so I know lots about this) and ours is middle of the road.

Before Walmart pick up I avoided the store on Monday as the shelves were bare, and any time after 11am on Friday. Mornings are much better than afternoons.

I LOVE Walmart pick up! I can shop at home while meal planning and while I'm looking in my pantry and can see what I need. And I can pick up groceries on the way home from the gym when I would never go into a store.

 

[COZICAN]

We have a very nice WalMart Neighborhood Grocery (the cube) less than a mile from the house and a disgusting SuperCenter about five miles away. We rarely go to the SuperCenter. We both drive by the cube almost daily so it's easy to pop in and self check-out.

 

[Badger]

Not a fan of Walmart. If the few around here are any indication of what is available elsewhere I would never buy groceries there. Prices are not that competitive and much of the fresh produce is not.



Cheers!

 

[timo2]

Walmart quit meeting my needs, so I stopped shopping at there years ago. It started when I realized the electronics I purchased there were specially made for Walmart. They were cheaper OK, because the special made products had fewer ports, places to hook cables up, and useful setting in general. Basically they looked the same as something from Best Buy, but they were degraded to get a cheaper price . Plus I didn't like their meat and produce quality . I can afford to pay for decent food.

I now shop locally as much as possible, which helps with my no-walmart decision. By supporting my business-owning neighbors I'm helping keep my community in good shape.

Then Stan Kroenke used his WalMart money to ruin a couple of my favorite sports teams.

 

[CardsFan]

It started when I realized the electronics I purchased there were specially made for Walmart. They were cheaper OK, because the special made products had fewer ports, places to hook cables up, and useful setting in general. Basically they looked the same as something from Best Buy, but they were degraded to get a cheaper price

Then Stan Kroenke used his WalMart money to ruin a couple of my favorite sports teams.

To the first point, here is a news flash: Best Buy does the same thing, might be different than Walmart, but still a "custom" build.

To the second point: There is no love for Kroenke in the St. Louis area (or for Bill Bidwell, for that matter). But if I refused to do business with every company that was owned or operated by someone I thought to be an a$$, I probably wouldn't be buying much of any thing.

 

[timo2]

To the second point: There is no love for Kroenke in the St. Louis area (or for Bill Bidwell, for that matter). But if I refused to do business with every company that was owned or operated by someone I thought to be an a$$, I probably wouldn't be buying much of any thing.

+10000. That is not why I don't shop at Walmart, but it is the icing on the cake.



BTW the other members of my family that would be walmart shoppers all shop at dollar store instead.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I LOVE Walmart pick up! I can shop at home while meal planning and while I'm looking in my pantry and can see what I need. And I can pick up groceries on the way home from the gym when I would never go into a store.

How do they do with fruits/veggies? I have wanted to try the pickup but have been hesitant in that they would just grab "whatever" and throw it in the bin. Watching some of the pickers at our local WM it *appears* that they are picking decently and don't seem to be under a clock (which is somewhat surprising).

 

[ugeauxgirl]

On the whole pretty good. I've only gotten one thing (lettuce) that looked less fresh than I expected. None of the fruit has been bruised etc. If it was really important that the produce be at a certain point of ripeness, (like making guacamole) I'd get it myself.

How do they do with fruits/veggies? I have wanted to try the pickup but have been hesitant in that they would just grab "whatever" and throw it in the bin. Watching some of the pickers at our local WM it *appears* that they are picking decently and don't seem to be under a clock (which is somewhat surprising).

 

[Amethyst]

We buy lots of dry goods from walmart.com or jet.com, which Walmart owns.

As far as shopping in the store itself, our closest grocery store is a small "neighborhood" Walmart. It has all the grocery basics, some wine and beer, and a pharmacy. The people who work there have gone out of their way for us a couple of times. We go there once a month, on a weekday morning, in between monthly treks to the BJs nearly 30 miles away. Also use it for the odd item we run out of. It is too small to have a gun department, not that such would bother us. Armed customers...well, FL has concealed carry, so I just assume everyone is packing!

Haven't seen any fashion models, nor any disgusting adults yet either. Just plain old people people, like us.

We went to Aldi's once (15 mile drive) and weren't impressed. Poor selection (no whole wheat flour? No mangoes?) and didn't enjoy being rushed through the checkout line to the diaper-changing table - well, that's what it looked like, the place where you transfer everything from the cart to your bags. the nicest part was when we were loading the car, and a lady pulled up and held a quarter out the window to me, so she could have our empty cart.

Those are just our impressions.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We buy lots of dry goods from walmart.com or jet.com, which Walmart owns.

As far as shopping in the store itself, our closest grocery store is a small "neighborhood" Walmart. It has all the grocery basics, some wine and beer, and a pharmacy. The people who work there have gone out of their way for us a couple of times. We go there once a month, on a weekday morning, in between monthly treks to the BJs nearly 30 miles away. Also use it for the odd item we run out of. It is too small to have a gun department, not that such would bother us. Armed customers...well, FL has concealed carry, so I just assume everyone is packing!

Haven't seen any fashion models, nor any disgusting adults yet either. Just plain old people people, like us.

We went to Aldi's once (15 mile drive) and weren't impressed. Poor selection (no whole wheat flour? No mangoes?) and didn't enjoy being rushed through the checkout line to the diaper-changing table - well, that's what it looked like, the place where you transfer everything from the cart to your bags. the nicest part was when we were loading the car, and a lady pulled up and held a quarter out the window to me, so she could have our empty cart.

Those are just our impressions.

Aldi is similar to WM in that different locations seem to be run better than others. We have one not too far away, but are not too impressed. SIL *loves* it there and does almost all her shopping there. I find the selection less than impressive, but the one that was close to us in Atlanta had a pretty good selection.

 

[badatmath]

I shop out of necessity not for recreation so spending an hour in a store sounds more like torture. And I love self checkout. So works for me.

 

[Amethyst]

Same here! That is why we have honed our shopping trips down to every 2 weeks, plus online ordering.

We are also using pre-order/pickup more and more.

I shop out of necessity not for recreation so spending an hour in a store sounds more like torture. And I love self checkout. So works for me.

 

[Gumby]

Convenient buy guns, ammo and food 24 hours a day, just gotta find that time slot the creepy people are not there.

Our local Walmart does not sell firearms. They do sell ammunition at what appear to be reasonable prices, but I've never bought any, as I suspect it would be a long search to find someone who could actually come over to the special register and sell it to me (in CT, you need to show your pistol permit to buy ammunition and they need to record it.) I mostly go to Walmart to get canning supplies and motor oil.

 

[Amethyst]

I'm sure this is true.

I don't know what being well-run (or not) has to do with the type of customer, though. Are the horrible customers everyone is talking about, only attracted to poorly-run Walmarts? Does a better-run store cause people to behave better? Inquiring minds want to know.

Aldi is similar to WM in that different locations seem to be run better than others. .