At least one good thing with Walmart

chris i feel that way everytime i go to walmart.


joe

QUOTE: Originally posted by fightnjoe chris i feel that way everytime i go to walmart. joe

That place scares me

It's a shame that Wal mart doesn't carry the kits we want. In the old days, K Mart would carry a wide variety. But, no more, just model cars. I guess this is good for the Auto guys.

Ever since they added the supermarket to it and it became a "Supercenter", I have grown to detest it. Used to like going there- but now it is a madhouse!

The only things I buy at Wally-world is cleaning supplys,dog food,little bit on tools of my modeling and dvd's-cd's.So other then that can anybody tell me what wal-mart is good for?because I still can't figure it out.I would not buy Applances nor vacuums or any thing that might break down with no service contract,that is if I want to throw it away in 6 months to one year.Also I fine that dollar general is cheap on there stuff then wal-mart.I would not go to buy kits from a store that can't sell the paints that I need to build my kit.Wal-mart Digger

What's so scary about Wal-Mart? Whenever I'm back in the States visiting the folks down in Brunswick, Georgia, I love going to Wal-Mart! Sure, it's a big place, but it's never crowded, and certainly never scary. What's the problem?
Are your Wal-Marts different?

We have a huge Walmart with a giant Sam's Club adjacent. Always a Zoo there. The parking lot is humongous, but always full. I went there once, never will I return.

Regards, Rick

i think the scary bit comes from the fireamrs selection? i think its weird that you can get firearms along with dogfood and blenders. dont get me wrong - i have been a competitive shooter for about 4 years now but i think its just not quite the right place.

Walmart has turned into a place to avoid, Brian. Seems that since Sam Walton died, the corporate heads have placed profit over the old store format. You can find some useful things there, but they only stock what marketers tell them will sell. You'll find that customer input counts for little with managment these days. They launch sales with loss-leader prices that competitors can't touch, and then wonder why they get negative publicity for the mob scenes that follow. I'm afraid I'm with the others on this one........it's a place I avoid now as often as possible. Even my wife, the pinnacle of patience, doesn't like going there anymore.

Try something a bit different. The best time to shop at Walmart is at 5:00am on a Monday morning (now that I'm retired). Even when I worked, I would shop at 4:30 or 5:00 on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Twenty employees, four shoppers, and extremely quiet...perfect.

I avoid WalMart Friday - Sunday like it's the Plague. The rest of the week isn't to bad. I think it's more the parking lot I detest then the store itself very small spaces and poor traffic flow (that part could just be the drives).

QUOTE: Originally posted by RAF120 I avoid WalMart Friday - Sunday like it's the Plague. The rest of the week isn't to bad. I think it's more the parking lot I detest then the store itself very small spaces and poor traffic flow (that part could just be the drives).

I see...
The times I've gone were on weekday afternoons, and it wasn't crowded at all.
Sorry to hear Sam's dream has turned into a nightmare for some.

i agree. walmart is a madhouse looney biun psycho bucket. i dislilke going there and go other nplaces such as my LHS's for my hobby supply. future floor polish i procure from king kullen.

Main things got to me the other night was the store was packed and they had 2 registers open. Look to the left and there is about 20 employees sortingthrough buggys. Asked why they did not put them on registers and they said they were not trained. All I had to say to that was cross training. That and more and more it seems like I am haveing to do more of the work myself and the prices sure aint getting any lower. Thats why I hate those self check out things, why do the work myself and pay the same?
And around Christmas would it not kill someone to break out one of those good ole price guns and put prices on the toys. Between no prices on them and that checker thing not working, who knows what something costs.

IMO Wal-Mart is the Evil Empire. I just don't like the way they force stores on communities that don't want them. This is something that is happening in my area right now. I take my money to Kroger or Meijer. Parking is always a hassle and it is so frustrating to navigate my way through boxes and boxes of stuff piled up on the floors.

Upon looking at floor to ceiling, wall to wall of oil filters, and they didn't have mine, I told one of the workers there this weekend that they should sell lottery tickets, since I can bet that the one size I need, whether it be an oil filter, furnace filter, or 40 watt light bulb, THEY WON"T HAVE IT!

Yup, Walmart Supercenter DIDN"T HAVE ANY FRICKEN 40 WATT LIGHTBULBS. Two rows of 60, but no 40.

Need furnace filters? Better get them in the Fall, since now they are bringing out their summer stuff, like I really need a stupid swimming pool filter in March.

They went from Sams philosophy to Henry Ford's "You can have any color you want as long as its black".

As far as my wife, both her and her mother are addicted to the place. I can't get her through the forst 10 feet without her zeroing in on the piles of advertised "junk" that tells her that she needs this and that. Oh all the times she goes "this looks good, maybe I'l get it for for we may need it someday".

Then again, HobbyLobby and Home Depot have the same effect on me.

Typical of large chain outlets of all types, but the apex predator of the food chain.
The only upside to it is the fun you migft have watching the drunks shop on the weekends. Why is it that drunks on thier way home from a hard night's partying decide thats the time to go shopping? The amusement factor is worth the price of admission.

Nope, its the icon of our society these days. Kill the small business, drop property prices, congest the roads, all so we can get motor oil, fishing gear, toilet paper and milk at the same place for a few dollars less and make some rich parasite who would rather swallow nails than have a wal mart in his neighborhood a few more bucks in his stock portfolio. Same problem I have with Home Depot. Sure the prices are great but you get the DIY stuff they sell and the small guy that handled specialty hardware.....he's now flatening boxes behind the home depot in a stupid orange vest. Try and buy a brass, copper or steel rivet at home depot.....

But hey, walmarts are fun. Now where is that drunk going with a basket full of motor oil, a shotgun, gallon of milk and a box of feminine napkins.....

Hi everyone,
As someone who works in retail management may I offer a few words...now I am not catagorically defending WalMart, but as I do work for another retail empire, can I say a few things from us in the trenches:
1. I can empathise with the person who made the comment about 20 associates sorting carts but only two registers were staffed. What may have happened is that the stores were given an inadequete training budget from their District Managers/regional managers etc. In expectation of flat to low percent same store sales, most of us could not hire/train for the crush that came into our stores last week. The previous three weeks gave most of us no hint that the last week would be so busy.
2. It may seem that store management does not listen to customers suggestions, but we actually do. BUT (there is always a but) most retail companies are so centrally controlled we at store level cannot do a whole lot except pass the comment on. A more effective voice for the customer would be to call those 1-800/1-888 tollfree customer service numbers or customer service websites. If it comes from us (store managers) it is filtered through many layers or comes off as us doing the complaining. When you the customer directly make your voice heard, companies will listen. By directing our customers to this resource, we have effectively changed some policies as the company felt that the change would enhance our customers experience.
I hope I did not "blank" anyone off, but gee guys and girls, we are human too....
I do hope everyone has a Happy Holiday and best wishes for the coming New Year.

We know you are human, and feel for you that you must try to manage a store with your hands tied. When I'm at a large retailer, I keep the same philosophy as I do in an airport, that the people working behind the desk have no control over my discomfort, but can really add to it if I take everything out on them. I make an effort to be nice, joke with them, and always smile, it goes a long way and makes their job better and in the long run, I end up being a happier shopper.

I too worked in management for a large food managment firm, and found that they micormanage so much at the corporate and district level, that it is impossible to be attentive to the local markets needs when the ones running the show have no clue what is going on.

Hence why I complain when Walmart puts away all their pesticides in August to put up Holloween and Christmas merchandise. Their corporate thinktank failed to calculate that we still have a lot of bugs in the midwest, and need bugspray more than we need Raindeer flock.

However, I am a minority, for people are defintly stocking up on holiday supplies on August 28th and tolerating the bugs.

Scott

The Wal-Mart in Amherst NY is a porthole to hell. They should have the greeters handing out blood pressure meds. I'm with most folks here in this one, everytime I'm in Wal-Mart, no matter what mood I go in with, I end up wanting to stomp a mud hole in someone's pooper. And I don't know about the rest of the country, but if there's 200 customers in the my store, you might have 5 complete sets of teeth. Sorry if I offended anyone....it's just.......the place scares me is all.

Think shopping there is bad?
I worked part time for a Wal-Mart for 2 yrs.
They treat thier employees like #'s
expect 100% devotion, including getting upset when I wouldn't take time from my 50k a yr job to work for them on an unusually busy day....for $9 hr.

They brainwash the employees, and force you to sit thru a film on why Wal-Mart doesn't need Unions...a film that just skirts the law.
They make it very clear the word UNION could make life miserable for you at the store.

Wal-mart is good for only 2 things as an employer,
1.) training kids on thier 1st job.
2.) Giving seniors a job when no one else will.
Don't expect a living wage out of them, you won't get it.
All tho they think they are paying you more then you deserve.

I've heard that from more than one person. I had a friend who worked there for one day. He started watching that film of which you speak which was interupted by one of the management types that came in to meet the "new recruits." They (the veteran employees) then proceeded with a pep CHANT! Needless to say my friend looked like this......
They did a, "Give me a 'W'........Give me an 'A'," and so on. Once they completed spelling the name Wal-Mart, and finished up with a "and what do we do?........Kick ," everyone was slapped on the back and shown back to their seat to finish watching the rest of "How Johnny Stockroom Got His Thumbs Broken."
My friend quietly slipped out (no kidding) and left his little blue vest on his chair never to return.

That's one of the reasons that Wal Mart scares the hell out of me.

QUOTE: Originally posted by renarts But hey, walmarts are fun. Now where is that drunk going with a basket full of motor oil, a shotgun, gallon of milk and a box of feminine napkins.....

I laughed myself silly on that one Digger... you must have been at the Wal Mart by my house.. I live out in a rural section of the county and on a given day you might see two rednecks playing with a winch and overhear one remark to the other "now how you figgur we gonna get this here wire round that horses neck?" (in a strikingly similar accent to the guys on "O Brother Where art Thou")

Two aisles over is a biker and his girlfriend both stoned in the bakery section arguing about the relative merits of two different flavors of creme cake...

Kinda reminiscent of a 3rd Rock from the Sun show sometimes...

What a relief. I thought I was the only person left who thinks Wally World sucks. After studying their business practices in college, I've learned to detest the way they treat their suppliers. I wonder what kind of beating Revellogram has had to take to get 2 feet of poorly maintained aisle space at my local Wal Mart. And yes, as much as I hate to say it, the clientele locally looks like the casting call for Deliverance.

At least they speak English there, but at least I can go armed in Arizona as long as it's not concealed.
John
helicopters don't fly, they beat the air into submission

I went to apply for a job at wally world and some of the questions they asked were to me some thing else.I did not know that a honesty quiz went with getting a job.I have never thought of stealing or bring my personal problem to my job but I guess you have to so you can work at wal-mart.These pep-rallys started only after Sam died and he would not treat people like they treat there employees now.After seeing what was on t.v. about them,I do not want a job with them.My allegance gos to one and only one person and most of ya'll know how that is.As far as shopping there,like Isaid before cleaning supplys and just a few other things.Digger

I'm not doubting all the various tales of horror that are being posted here, but I just wanted to chime in again to reiterate that the Wal-Mart in Brunswick, Georgia isn't at all like anything I'm reading in these posts.

Sure, it's a huge place, but it's full of good stuff at great prices, the staff are always friendly and helpfull, and the customers are just normal people (with a seemingly normal tooth count).

Again, I'm not rebuffing what is being posted here, but I just want you folks to realize that it's not a horror story everywhere.

I think we have one of the worse Wal-Marts out there.
It is open 24 hours also and attracts some real high-class people. Not!
I have heard that Wal-Mart regrets building it here because of the theft, etc.

Mike