My K-Mart is Closing, swallowed by Whale Mart

[BewareofNick]

It's so sad. I have shopped a this K_mart for years and the store closing sign is up. It's one of the smaller stores, but it always had everything I needed. Last year, a Whale Mart Super Center opened down the street and I guess that did it in. Personally, I hate Whale Mart. Their product quality is crap and other that the 90 year old greeter, no one in any of their stores are nice. Whale MArts are genreally filthy and the lines are too long to be beleived. No one seems to care about the lack of customer service at Whale-Mart. They are perfectly happy to put up with the long lines and rude employees to save a dime.

 

Fortuantely, there are still 2 K-Marts withing a reasonable distance, so I just have to change my shopping habits a bit.

 

I'll miss you K-Mart!!!

[+ deej]

Slow weekend, Kneel?

 

For what it's worth, I've never been in a WallMart that was "filthy" but I have been in a few K-Marts that hadn't seen a good floor scrubbing in far too long. And clerks can be rude in *any* store.

[buckguy]

Deej, BoN is writing from Atlanta, "the city that doesn't work". So, of course we have lousy WalMarts & KMarts here. Actually, I've lived in other places where the Wal-Marts were less than uniformly positive shopping experiences.

[Guest Ant415]

I hate Walmart, they alone are responsible for much of what is wrong in American today. It is obvious.

 

I had an awlful experience in a Kmart near Columbus, Ohio. Kmart = nightmare. I hate Kmart as well.

 

Shop at your local downtown stores.

[BewareofNick]

>Deej, BoN is writing from Atlanta, "the city that doesn't

>work". So, of course we have lousy WalMarts & KMarts here.

>Actually, I've lived in other places where the Wal-Marts

>were less than uniformly positive shopping experiences.

 

That comment is right on the money. The quality of help here in the ATL is not very good. I agree with deej that that problem is not entirely endemic to Whale Mart.

 

For my money, though, the best place to buy groceries is Publix. You get superior product quality, excellent customer service and a very clean store without having to pay high prices.

[Justice]

There are three K-marts within a fifteen minute drive of my apartment. I wouldn't miss them if they closed. I can't remember the last time that I went to any of them. They're in competition -- with on another -- as to how bad a store can get -- they're dirty, the help is rude (when you can actually somebody to wait on you), and you can't take the shopping carts into the parking lot (they have barricades near the exit). We have two Wal Marts that just opened. One opened at a former location of the now defunct regional Caldor's (sob! I really liked shopping there) and one is newly constructed. I haven't been there yet and I don't plan on going there any time soon. Quite frankly, I've been underwhelmed with Wal Marts in other parts of the country. The only chain in my area that I currently have any use for is Target. Unfortunately, the closest one (also a former Caldor's) is in a county that still has "blue laws" which force it to close on Sunday.

[Guest pshaw]

Out of all the "Megalomarts," Target is definitely my store of choice. Better quality of goods (at slightly higher prices), clean stores, uncluttered aisles, more cash registers open when the lines become long, and most of the "associates" know how to smile and say thank you. The only thing I can recommend Wal-Mart for is its house brand version (Equate) of Astroglide.

[BewareofNick]

>Unfortunately, the closest one (also a former

>Caldor's) is in a county that still has "blue laws" which

>force it to close on Sunday.

 

 

I thought Georgia was backwards, but that takes the cake. Here, you can't sell beer or wine on Sunday.

[DaninWA]

WalMart is one of my accounts. In general, the previous comments about the chain are true. There are exceptions, of course, but I don't shop at WalMart or KMart. I prefer to spend my money at small, privately-owned stores. The service is much better because the owners are right there and care about their customers. Does it cost more than Wallyworld? Generally, merchandise in the small stores costs more. How much is your time worth? And the lack of aggravation?

 

Dan

[+ deej]

I'm ashamed to admit the good folks at Target get a lot more of my consumer dollar than others, but its given up grudgingly. It IS nice to have a place to buy bulk trash bags and kitty litter at bargain prices. (They go hand-in-hand, you know!)

 

But I will ONLY go to Target AT opening time (8am) on a Saturday. By 10am, it's like Battle Dome. I'm always tempted to run down the rugrats running loose in the aisles.

 

Blue laws are an interesting twist on shopping. When I lived in Virginia, EVERYTHING was closed on Sunday. And NOVA merchants wondered why consumers went into DC to shop!

 

I just heard that the Blue Laws forbidding beer sales before noon on Sunday have recently been repealed in sleepy little Urbana, IL. Why? Because the Chicago Bears will be playing their home games there while Soldier Field in Chicago is renovated. The merchants of Urbana didn't want all that commerce going to their sister city Champaign.

 

Necessity really *is* the mother of invention! ;-)

[buckguy]

Had forgotten about Caldor's from days in New England. They were great---clean, well-stocked, people who'd never admit they shop at K Mart had no qualms about saying they went to Caldor's.

 

Even Target seems to slouch in Atanta. The local one is always out of stuff like car wax that you can't find in those "little stores" others have raved about. At least it's clean and they sometimes have enough people around who have some idea what they're doing (I did up & downscale retail in my younger days; it doesn't take that much effort to give decent service).

[Rick Munroe]

What is it you're all buying at K-Mart & Walmart? I think we have 1 or 2 K-Marts in NYC (no Walmart or Target) but I don't know anyone who shops in them. What do they sell there? (I'm serious.)

[Guest RushNY]

>What is it you're all buying at K-Mart & Walmart? I think

>we have 1 or 2 K-Marts in NYC (no Walmart or Target) but I

>don't know anyone who shops in them. What do they sell

>there? (I'm serious.)

Thats the thing about Mnahattan there is so many good delis etc that your average New Yorker wouldn't put up with the crappy atmosphere and rude service of your local Enormo-Mart.I live in SI and it pains me to say that i shop at my local WM in New Jersey just because i hate shopping for groceries and i can get a months stuff in one hit just throw it in the back of the truck and i'm done.The only good thing is they have some very cute guys bagging the groceries :9

[Guest jizzdepapi]

Rick: there's three Targets in the NYC area. here's a link. sorry it's so funny looking.

 

http://www.target.com/common/storelocator/store_locator.jhtml?screen=map&searchtype=origin&link=map&&/common/storelocator/store_locator.jhtml?screen=map&clientpoi10state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi1state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi2=1&clientpoi2state=1%3a0%3a&clientpoi3state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi4state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi5state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi6state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi7state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi8state=0%3a0%3a&clientpoi9state=0%3a0%3a&closestn=3&closestprox=1&height=338&level=7&miles=200&mouse_mode=center&orig_icon_on=1&orig_iconid=2&orig_lat=407142&orig_lng=-740064&orig_search=1&search=%5e%5eNew%20York%5eNY%5e%5eUS%5e0&searchtype=origin&style=2&width=450&lat=406738&lng=-739365&ml=7&event=pan#Closest3

 

K-Mart & Walmart are all things Martha Stewart, discount clothing and housewares, Rite-Aid. Some have groceries. Some are open 24 hours.

 

Target just think a little bit more designer.

 

Happy shopping,

Jizz

[Rick Munroe]

Thanks (what was that, a link fit for a size queen?)!

I've heard great things about Target from my suburban friends & we have lots of billboards advertising it in Manhattan but I don't know of many Manhattanites who'd go to Edgewater, NJ or Flushing or Elmhurst to shop. Then again, maybe I just know lots of lazy fags.

 

So K-Mart is kind of like an upscale Woolworth's? I used to love Woolworth's lunch counter with the crusty old blue-haired waitresses.

[SmallTownJohn]

I'll miss my fave K-Mart in Nashville where an employee smoking on break out in front of the store exclaimed over a cell phone,"OH! I'll kill you motherfucker when I get home! If her skank ass is up in my house, I'll cut yo bitch too!"

 

 

John

http://www.SmallTownJohn1.com

[+ deej]

>Thanks (what was that, a link fit for a size queen?)!

 

Well, one of the stores *is* called "Queen's Place Target". :9

 

If I lived in Manhattan, I probably wouldn't ever go to Target either. The stuff you can buy on a street corner or in any of the many little shops lining every block in Manhattan is just missing from most other cities. That's the void Target (and K-Mart and WallMart, etc.) fills.

 

I'm still using an alarm clock I bought many years ago at a little electronics shop on 8th Ave in Manhattan. When it needs replacing, I'll probably start looking at Target. It's cheaper than a flight to NYC. :+

[+ deej]

<<i hate shopping for groceries>>

 

Same here. Living in a city & not having a car compounds it. Once you've done the shopping you have to schlep the stuff home.

 

So I order online (http://www.peapod.com) and have 'em delivered, usually monthly. It costs 10 bucks per delivery but I'd otherwise spend that ten bucks on a taxi to get the stuff home so it's pretty much a wash.

[Guest jizzdepapi]

it's a good thing!

 

Walmart blow-up hunk; variously used to promote toothpaste, steroids, rubber nipple clamps and women's panties. enhanced Accu-Jac model in development.

 

http://www.perryjoshua.com/top2/BENTAN06.JPG

[Justice]

>>Unfortunately, the closest one (also a former

>>Caldor's) is in a county that still has "blue laws" which

>>force it to close on Sunday.

>

>

>I thought Georgia was backwards, but that takes the cake.

>Here, you can't sell beer or wine on Sunday.

 

 

People who live in other parts of New Jersey don't get it either. That's because, unless you live in Bergen County, you can buy almost anything you want -- except for on car -- on Sunday. Bergen County is the only one of New Jersey's 21 counties that hasn't repealed its "blue laws". Bergen County is a retailing Mecca. There's five malls (including one of the state's largest), and dozens of strip malls and stand alone retailers within a couple of miles of one another along Routes 4 and 17 in Paramus and the nearby towns of Hackensack and Ridgewood. The rest of the county is dotted with stip malls, some of which are quite large. Traffic is terrible on Saturdays and can be unbearable during the holiday shopping season, so the people who live near the malls have decided that they need one day of peace and quiet. There are periodic attempts to repeal the blue laws and local residents keep voting, by significant margins, to keep them in place. (The parent company of Macy's and Bloomingdale's was behind the last repeal attempt. They later admitted that they lost a lot of business, because their opponents shouted "boycott". Ah, the power of the credit card!)

[Guest Joey Ciccone]

I miss the grill at Woolworth's, the arcade at Two-Guys, and the bargain bins at Daffy Dan's.

[Guest roninx]

The thing I liked about Woolworth was that it was a great place to get cheap stuff (sometimes the stuff was cheap in quality) but sometimes if you just want a cheap plunger that won't last that long it was great. It was better in my opinion than those 99 cent store. (though Woolworth always looked like a hurricane just struck. What a mess!)

 

One thing I hated though was they never had air conditioning in the summer (I don't know why) but ever Woolworth that I ever went to in the summer never had AC only fans. I felt so sorry for the poor employees.

 

I went in K-mart once or twice and I could never find someone to assist me. though the prices were o.k. One was kind of dirty.

 

I'm one of the few Manhattanites that to go to the Target in Queens (I used to live there so I know the area). It is only a 20 minute subway ride and has parking if you have a car. What I like about Target is the quality of items though cheap seem to be better quality (so far anyway). And they are super clean (you could eat off the floor or do other things there:9 )

 

Though it is great if you have a car. Sometimes I find myself overbuying and having the carry the stuff on the subway.

[Guest RushNY]

RE: it's a good thing!

 

I think Wal-Mart should ask for their money back their blow up model is faulty only the top half is blown up :+

 

Sorry i couldn't resist it i'm in a REALLY silly mood today !!!

[Guest pshaw]

NoVa has changed quite a bit, deej. The blue laws have been gone for almost two decades - about the only stores still closed on Sundays are the Virginia ABC stores.

The Target (frequently referred to with the phoney French "Tar-jay," similar to the old "Jacques Pennay," i.e, JC Penny) I was talking about is the Alexandria one, located in the "temporary" strip mall built where the old Potomac Rail Yard used to be (about a mile from my home). Probably half of the cars in the parking lot have DC tags. Potomac Yard and the far more upscale Pentagon City Mall (and the Costco across the street from it) are the primary shopping destinations for a significant number of DC residents these days, especially the gay ones.

[+ deej]

That's good to hear! 2 decades ago is just about when I moved away from there. At that time, Pentagon City was brand-spanking new. I used to live just up the hill on Columbia Pike and often walked to/from the Pentagon City metro station. It was a real ghost town on a Sunday.

 

I'm trying to figure out where the heck they'd *put* a Costco "across the street" from Pentagon City. Need to visit again. Last time I was there, the only sightseeing I did was Talvin. }>