Has Wal-Mart Worn Out It's Welcome?

[reportertype]

Sniffy38 basically took my thoughts and posted them. All of the Wal-Marts near us are 24 hours. Since we work nights, we go really late. Of course, we can't even get to 3/4 of the aisles because they're stocking. So we stopped going and now just get up early or go shopping on our days off. I refuse to even set foot in one because of the lines.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

i "go Krogering" for the most part...we just moved to a diff part of town..i miss my old Kroger (but that aside).....i've always found good sales at Kroger...i love the "buy one, get one free"...it just seems there's always a better chance of a deal at Kroger...hadn't really thought about it, till now, but i've been shopping there for ...30 yrs or so...

i have to drive further to get to a Walmart or Target...our Targets don't have a big grocery store involved..(not the ones around us)...i HAVE been known to pick up a loaf of bread & half gallon of milk, while at Target...Kroger's is everywhere here....

They just put a new Kroger about a block from my house. They've got a sushi chef there preparing fresh sushi all day long. There's a Starbucks, a bakery with to die for pastries, including creme brulee, tons of different kinds of gourmet deli items, about 20 different kinds of olives, produce samples - enough to fill up a kid shopping with you - and wonderful flowers too. I can spend a small fortune in there. If I were the coupon clipping type, I could probably save some money, but there are just too many things in there I buy that I really don't need just because they look good at the time. The one time I did my entire shopping there, my daughter and I filled up two carts and spent about $400 for two weeks worth of groceries. I do much better doing the bulk of my shopping at Wal-Mart and then just stopping in to buy meats, produce and stuff like that.

 

[Marthatex]

Well, I just make my own toilet paper and underwear from scratch. :crazy:

Better than subsidizing the sweatshops.

 

[windovervocalcords]

I grew up in a small rural community in Arkansas, the home of Wal-Mart. They opened the store on the highway there in 1974. By 1977 80% of the small business downtown were shuttered. By 1984 it was 95%. When they started selling groceries in the mid 1990s the two other grocery chains in town folded. Now its 2006 and Wal-Mart is the largest employers in a town of 3000. In 1977 it was 5000. Virtually every other person who shops there works there. Last year Wal-Mart announced they would be closing the store there some time in 2006 because it wasn't profitable anymore, focusing instead on the Super Wal-Mart 25 miles away. That means everyone in my home town would have to travel across county lines to buy groceries, etc. Except for a couple of convenience stores, there is no grocery store in my home town or retail shops, and only one drug store/pharmacy. The Walmart closing will effectively finish destroying the local economy.

Wal-Mart is like a neutron bomb, sucking life out of small towns, leaving buildings without the essence of civic life.
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0218-10.htm

 

[close_enough]

I have been to Walmart's that are nice and those that are not.

They do offer employment and low prices but at what cost?
Some people would not NEED employment and low cost had Walmart not put their current company out of business.
And not just other retailers.

Walmart is notorious for hiring contractors to build/ improve... whatever...
Then not paying them .... in turn they cannot pay their crew or equiptment rental fees..
Most would think its a huge blessing to land a contract building a walmart or some part of it...
Really what happens is that then walmart refuses to pay for already agreed upon work.. They claim it is "extra" that they did not approve .. even though it either isn't extra or they did approve it.
For most small businesses they wind up settling for cents on the dollar of the contract because they don't have the financial means to wait or take them to court. This usually translates to either breaking even and making not profit or costing the contractor money.
That is walmarts tactic. If anyone knows someone who potentially would be doing work for Walmart I suggest you let them know if they as much as want an extra nail hammered GET IT IN Writing! Even then expect to take them to court.

i've heard that has happened from a horses' mouth...

 

[close_enough]

They just put a new Kroger about a block from my house. They've got a sushi chef there preparing fresh sushi all day long. There's a Starbucks, a bakery with to die for pastries, including creme brulee, tons of different kinds of gourmet deli items, about 20 different kinds of olives, produce samples - enough to fill up a kid shopping with you - and wonderful flowers too. I can spend a small fortune in there. If I were the coupon clipping type, I could probably save some money, but there are just too many things in there I buy that I really don't need just because they look good at the time. The one time I did my entire shopping there, my daughter and I filled up two carts and spent about $400 for two weeks worth of groceries. I do much better doing the bulk of my shopping at Wal-Mart and then just stopping in to buy meats, produce and stuff like that.

speaking of Starbucks...we have one here at the new place also
..it's on the way to work...LOL, i stopped on the way the other day...waited in a line & all that..it's on the wrong side of the road for me...it was hell getting out of there & back across the street...

i only stop at a Starbucks once in a blue moon, as a treat

 

[close_enough]

:laugh:

Well, I just make my own toilet paper and underwear from scratch. :crazy:

 

[Jules]

They just put a new Kroger about a block from my house. They've got a sushi chef there preparing fresh sushi all day long. There's a Starbucks, a bakery with to die for pastries, including creme brulee, tons of different kinds of gourmet deli items, about 20 different kinds of olives, produce samples - enough to fill up a kid shopping with you - and wonderful flowers too. I can spend a small fortune in there. If I were the coupon clipping type, I could probably save some money, but there are just too many things in there I buy that I really don't need just because they look good at the time. The one time I did my entire shopping there, my daughter and I filled up two carts and spent about $400 for two weeks worth of groceries. I do much better doing the bulk of my shopping at Wal-Mart and then just stopping in to buy meats, produce and stuff like that.

This is exactly like the Kroger near my house. I LOVE it too, but really only buy my meats and produce there - unless I'm in a hurry and something is on sale there. I do buy my cleaners, laundry soaps, etc. at WalMart, but like to go VERY early in the morning on a weekend when the store is empty. Otherwise it's a zoo and I get frustrated waiting in long lines.

Does your Kroger have the great meat sales about every 6-8 weeks? I go early - before work - on the Wednesday the sale starts. I load up! They usually only do it for a day and things are very discounted. I can get HUGE New York Strips CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!! And pork tenderloins, chicken breasts, etc. That's usually when I do the bulk of my meat shopping.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Well, I just make my own toilet paper and underwear from scratch. :crazy:

Better than subsidizing the sweatshops.

Well as long as you don't have to wash and reuse the toilet paper like they did in the old days, I guess that's ok.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Does your Kroger have the great meat sales about every 6-8 weeks? I go early - before work - on the Wednesday the sale starts. I load up! They usually only do it for a day and things are very discounted. I can get HUGE New York Strips CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!! And pork tenderloins, chicken breasts, etc. That's usually when I do the bulk of my meat shopping.

I'm not sure if they do. I buy a bunch when I go because I HATE to grocery shop, but I'll have to check out their sales papers better.

 

[Jules]

I'm not sure if they do. I buy a bunch when I go because I HATE to grocery shop, but I'll have to check out their sales papers better.

Check out their website. That's what I do.

 

[deanws]

I want to know....Are any of you shocked that some towns are making this decision?

 

[HeartofTexas]

I have a regular chain store about 4 blocks from me, and I have a Walmart Super Store about 2 miles from me. I try to divide my business between both stores because the Walmart has already closed down the Kroger and Tom Thumb that were also close to me. Mostly I buy the canned goods, which are IMO phenomenally cheaper, as well as most snack foods. A kid's drink is 2.19 at the local store and always .99 at Walmart. That's a signifcant savings! I buy larger bulk items like dog food and laundry detergent at Walmart also. I try to not go to Walmart more than every two weeks because I hate how large the store is and how easy it is to get sucked into buying a lot more stuff than you need or want. I go on weekdays, though, so it's hardly ever crowded if you go in the morning. I would probably prefer laying down in traffic than going there on the weekends. Also, I take my local ads with me when I shop at Walmart, and will get the local's sales price on milk, produce, soft drinks, ice cream, etc. I don't do more than a few items per visit on their "match the competitor's price" because I'm not that careful a shopper. I hate giving Walmart my money, but I also hate paying such high prices at my local store, so I just do about half and half and that way I feel like I'm trying! LOL!

 

[lynie]

I want to know....Are any of you shocked that some towns are making this decision?

Not at all...I suppose if there is not a lot of competition in the area, a super store would be more welcome. For us, we already have a

Winco...supplies low cost groceries, Target, KMart, Home Depot, Lowes, Costco and the rest. Are the prices at WalMart really all that much lower on all items that I can get at these places? Is the low cost worth the traffic, dirty stores and poor community consideration?

Just recently a Kohls opened in our area. I went in there about a week after it opened to get a shower curtain. Nobody in the home dept to help me. Lots of people walking around pushing carts of returns, but not their dept! Finally just grabbed a shower curtain that would do and waited in a check out line, as the next person to be helped, for over 5 minutes. The folks in front of me were questioning the check -out chick about why they did not qualify for instant credit. Employees were once again walking by with carts, talking on store radios but even as the line behind me grew, they would not open up a new line.

I can get a shower curtain anywhere...lots of stores want my money! I will not go back there again. Every WalMart I have been in has had merchandise all over the floor, no one to help you, and the prices weren't all that different.
Even if something costs a buck or two more, I will go somewhere else because a clean, organized store with knowledgeable employees show me that they care that I am happy...not that I am just cheap...

Lynie

 

[Old Broad]

About 5 years ago I swore I would never shop at walmart again!! Now I have to admit that did not last for long. I got so mad at them because I was forced to take them to court, I'd had my oil change done on my car and the damage done was very expensive!! I could not afford to just pay for it so endured the stress of taking them to small claims. In the end I won and they even had to pay interest! IMO they always deny responsibility and more people end up dropping it because they just can't keep dealing with it all. They didn't know how stubborn I can be! I do buy groceries there because I can't find some things I need at the other stores in town, and I work night shift and most other places are not open when I get off work.
Often I find mistakes made when checking out, just the other day I bought a can of coffee, was advertised as on sale 4.98 but rang up regular price which was almost 6.50, I pointed it out to the checker and I thought she had taken off the regular price and then charged me the sale price. WRONG!! She added the sale price, so I paid twice for the coffee! I noticed the mistake soon after I left and went back to customer service and got my refund. I would hate to work customer service counter at walmart! Before they offered 3.00 if something you bought was overcharged, they had to stop doing that because of all the money they were paying out! They also had to stop the 200% guarantee on the meat the lady told me. I do shop there but I really watch when things are rung up and do shop other places when I can.

Old Broad

 

[lynie]

This brings up another point....when you check out at a grocery store, and you have to put the items up on the conveyor/counter, how do you keep your eye on what they are charging you? I know mistakes have to be made, but by the time I am done unloading my cart half my groceries have already been rung up! :waitasec: :waitasec:

 

[Beyond Belief]

I have two within 10 miles of me. One clean, good service, etc., the other big YUK.

I really don't buy much there except things for the kids. Now Sam's thats a different story.

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

This brings up another point....when you check out at a grocery store, and you have to put the items up on the conveyor/counter, how do you keep your eye on what they are charging you? I know mistakes have to be made, but by the time I am done unloading my cart half my groceries have already been rung up! :waitasec: :waitasec:

I tally up wat it should be withtin $5 after tax before checking out and if it's outside that range, I check the receipt for duplicates.

 

[lynie]

I tally up wat it should be withtin $5 after tax before checking out and if it's outside that range, I check the receipt for duplicates.

Hey, thats a good idea! Although I would probably lose track by aisle 3

Lynie

 

[Jules]

I tally up wat it should be withtin $5 after tax before checking out and if it's outside that range, I check the receipt for duplicates.

I always do that too. My hubby laughs at me when we shop together because I'm always within a few dollars when we get to the register. He can't do it! :razz: :angel: