Walmart - Fan or Foe?

[Guest ncm2169]

(This may or may not be "political," so Moderators should feel free to move as they wish).

 

What's the word in your area? Is Walmart an engine for wealth creation and a cheap retail source, or a thuggish corporate entity which knows no ethics?

[josephga]

foe. I can't stand that place. I go to target normally

[dfw2sfo]

Foe

 

They woundn't try to open one in San Francisco.

 

I'd rather pay extra to the corner store than patronize those vultures.

[Rick Munroe]

The HRC gave Walmart a very low rating of 40 (vs. 80-something for Target) on its 0-100 scale rating businesses for their treatment of GLBT workers. We always choose Target for our bulk-shopping needs.

[BewareofNick]

Foe. When Sam Walton passed away, Wal-Mart went full steam ahead in becoming the bastion of evil that it is today. Sam Walton would be ashamed at the way his company treats their workers.

[guyfouryou]

Foe but not many options in my area. Prefer Target. Walmart is not gay friendly and their quality is horrible!

[BewareofNick]

Actually, it's pronounced Tar-zhay here in Buckhead

[Guest ncm2169]

< Actually, it's pronounced Tar-zhay here in Buckhead

 

Buckhead says it well, exactly like it's pronounced here in Minnie-Soda, where Tar-zhay originated and retains its Corporate Headquarters in Mpls.

[+ Lucky]

Safeway

 

Why not be honest here. I shop at Wal-Mart. I can't see why I should pay another corporation more for the same food. I can't see where it gets me any better service when I pay more. Having said that, I buy the food, not the stuff made in China.

[orbital sander]

Depressing

 

I have been in a Wal Mart once...it was depressing as hell. I plan never to go back.

[alanalt]

Neutral. I shop there occasionally but really wouldn't miss it if it disappeared tomorrow the way I would some other places.

[+ Tom Isern]

Walmart's food items...

 

Foe (of course)

 

Related item: Costco is better than Sam's Club, and they treat their employees better. And their stock is rated a "must buy" by Motley Fool guys. So shop/buy Costco!

 

Lucky: Check the labels to see where that food you are buying is coming from. I suspect you'll find a lot of it comes from China.

 

WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price:

 

http://www.walmartmovie.com

[Guest ncm2169]

< why I should pay another corporation more for the same food

 

Well, that assumes you are comparing apples and pandas.

[BewareofNick]

Why not be honest here. I shop at Wal-Mart. I can't see why I should pay another corporation more for the same food. I can't see where it gets me any better service when I pay more. Having said that, I buy the food, not the stuff made in China.

 

Because other corporations don't pay their employees slave wages?

 

Granted, a lot of the stuff on the shelf is the same no matter where you go, but their produce, meat, deli and bakery are usually below par and of poor quality. I wouldn't feed Wal-Mart meat to Nick's himself.

[rvwnsd]

I shop at Target and avoid Walmart at all costs. Aside from their corporate tactics (non-LGBT friendly, screw their employees, squeeze suppliers, get a tax break in order to build a store and then aboandon the first store and move to the next town that gives a bigger tax break, and so forth) their stores are disgusting and much of their merchandise isn't the same as that which is sold at Target.

[+ Lucky]

Just The Food

 

If I had joined the chorus here, this thread would have died a quick death, so why not keep it going?

[Guest]

Wal-Mart treats its workers (not just gay ones) quite badly (no health care coverge, etc.). Sad will be the day when I'm so broke that I feel I need to shop there. Of course, I also buy fair-trade certified coffee, donate to a lot of charities which help the poor, etc. I just see no reason to treat people the way Wal-Mart does.

[Guest zipperzone]

(This may or may not be "political," so Moderators should feel free to move as they wish).

 

What's the word in your area? Is Walmart an engine for wealth creation and a cheap retail source, or a thuggish corporate entity which knows no ethics?

 

I will not cross their door on principle.

 

The way they treat their employees is beyond disgusting.

 

Three of the Walton heirs are rated as the 15th, 16th and 17th richest people in America with each one being worth about 15 billion. One of them - not sure which one - recently bought a painting at auction for 35 million $$. And all this was obtained by screwing the "little people"

 

Many of their employees earn so little that they qualify for food stamps and the company encourages them to apply for same.

 

I knew someone who worked there and she told me that after a person has been employed there for a certain length of time, they become entitled to some company paid benefits. The rub is that they don't come automatically and their personnel dept doesn't advise you of you eligibility. If you are savvy enough to know that they exist and don't apply for them you get none.

 

They would go bankrupt if they were waiting for 5 cents from me. Unfortunately, they're not.

[good ol boy]

Target all the way

 

I have tried. In a moment of desperation or a momentary laps of judgment I find myself in an isle in a Walmart and then I remember, I should have never walked into the store in the first place.

 

Target they are more peaceful. Business is conducted more decently and in order.

[Prime Muscle]

A 3-pack of condoms at CVS or Walgrees in $4.59

A 3-pack of condoms at Wal-Mart is $1.89

 

Of course, my preference is the 36-pack at COSTCO. Fuck, I love COSTCO and they have some damn hot men!

[+ g56whiz]

The question is fortunately moot in New York City. Real estate values in this area (even now) are antithetical to Wal-Mart's business. We are therefore a Wal-Mart free zone. There is a Targét in the Bronx part of who's storeroom reportedly straddles over onto the northern most tip of Manhattan.

[+ azdr0710]

gotta wonder if you KNOW employees are treated poorly or you just HEARD it.....

 

anyway, the atmosphere at a WalMart store is often depressing...I go there about once a month for just a couple things and get out fast....many customers are the type that tear open a product's packaging to check it out, then abandon the entire thing on the floor...employees are left to clean it up....while some employees seem harried and pissed, I've noticed, others are calm and happy-seeming...

 

as one said here, Target is calm, clean, and pleasant to visit...not as cheap as WalMart, but there's a trade-off....

 

a reliable friend told me that Sam's Club has the best quality meat in town...(no jokes, please!)...

 

Costco is great!....though they, too, are hurting "Main St", the mood there is happy, nice, fun....as with many businesses, the employee attitude is paramount...and at Costco, everybody seems happy...and a 40-pack of Trojans is $10!!!....

[zeferrelli]

great prices but no service.

[edjames]

The question is fortunately moot in New York City. Real estate values in this area (even now) are antithetical to Wal-Mart's business. We are therefore a Wal-Mart free zone. There is a Targét in the Bronx part of who's storeroom reportedly straddles over onto the northern most tip of Manhattan.

 

 

Help is on the way. I hate Wal-Mart and although it is extremely close by to the condo in Florida, I exclusively shop at Target, or Publix.

 

Here in NYC, Target is opening several smaller retail locations which will offer only clothing, but a full scale Target is coming to East Harlem at 119th St and the East River Drive later this year, along with Costco, Marshalls, and Best Buy. There is also a Target in Jersey City (Newport) a short PATH ride across the Hudson River.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04022009/news/regionalnews/manhattan/here_comes_costco_162510.htm

 

There are also 2 K-Mart locations here in midtown (Astor Place and 34th St), and Home Depot has good prices on household cleaning items.

 

Given the state of the economy I can understand low-wage earners wanting to take advantage of lower prices at Wal-Mart, but at this point, I'll skip shopping there.

 

ED

[Guest ncm2169]

Alan, how much of a presence does Walmart have in Canada?