I’m finding it hard to find an OP I disagree with more than this one, but I may have missed a thread singing the virtues of wearing golf cleats to stomp newborn kittens. WM is the absolute pits. They treat their employees like crap, many of their electronics are substandard (compared to identical models sold at legitimate retailers) with regard to durability and features, and they consistently force the customer to choose between waiting 30 minutes in line because only one cashier is working, or to do the cashier’s job without the pay and do their own checkout. It’s a system designed to abuse consumers, employees, producers (underpaid Chinese manufacturers), and legitimate retailers (by underpricing and selling substandard crap) while increasing income for the filthy rich owners. It’s an immoral operation in just about every regard and it’s not worth my time, soul, or money to set foot in one.
I’m glad to have other options. I’ve been to Walmart once in the last six months. Their produce is terrible. I also can’t stand the receipt-checkers at the door.
I know people love on CostCo but I can’t go to CostCo becuase their receipt checking is much much worse at least in my local store. There will literally be 20 people waiting to leave the store because their one receipt checker is slowly looking at the merchandise making sure it’s correct instead of signing the damn thing and letting people move on.
Ain’t nuthin’ wrong with WalMart.
In my experience, for groceries, Safeway is slightly less expensive than Walmart. I don’t shop for clothes or other stuff often enough to have an opinion.
In many small towns its about the only store.
OP, you didn’t mention what negative views you meant. And if you personally don’t have any negative views, why not just shop there, why the thread?
I’m thinking that if you’re wondering what negatives are, it might help if you ask that question.
From my experience, if only evaluating purely on price, then it may be the best deal. For any other definition of ‘shop’ (product quality, in stock, wait times, customer service, ease of shopping, trust, community support, treatment of employees) the only other place that compares is a few Sears stores slowly withering on the vine while being liquidated.
I typically shop at Target because there’s one just a few blocks from my house. Having become accustomed to to Target, on the rare occasion that I stop at Wal-Mart just because I happen to be near one, I find the shopping experience overall is much less pleasant at Wal-Mart compared to Target. As someone else mentioned about the only good thing is Wal-Mart’s prices are a bit lower.
I loathe going to Walmart. The one nearest me is full of hicks. It’s like going to Larry the Cable Guy’s family reunion. (If I dared, I’d take pictures, because it’s prime hunting for People of Walmart)
Ours, too. Ironically, I liked our Sam’s Club before it closed. Great produce, reasonable quantities, and a nice parking lot. Our Costco parking lot is insanity and the quantities much too large for our small household. They do have some cool stuff, though.
I miss our Sam’s Club! :eek:
Yeah, this.
We don’t actually have WalMarts in New York City, but from time to time, when we’re driving somewhere outside of the city, my wife likes to stop at a WalMart and see if there are any deals to be had.
But, probably due to the way I’ve read they push their suppliers for lower and lower prices, even brand-name stuff on WalMart’s shelves quite likely isn’t what you’d buy somewhere else.
Case in point – a few years ago we were in a WalMart somewhere. I forget where. New York State, or New Jersey. We were looking around, and my wife got some kitchen stuff. Pots and pans. I saw a rack of Levis. I grabbed a couple of pairs. I wear plain Levis jeans all the time. Like, outside of work, it’s the only thing I ever wear. And the price was good.
They disintegrated within a year. Within six months, actually. I usually get a few years out of a pair of Levis.
And the pots and pans? On two of them, the bottom separated from the body of the pot (hard to explain, but that’s what it was). One of them cut me so badly, when washing them, that I had to go to the hospital to get stitched up.
So I don’t trust WalMart not to put some absolute garbage on their shelves, using (and perhaps degrading) a well-known, trusted brand to sucker in the customers.
And then there’s their labor practices…
I hate it more for the “full of” than for the “hicks” part. My local Target has been drawing a more … diverse … clientele as of late but I don’t mind because the aisles are not always full with customers and/or pallets.
The story of the Levi’s disintegrating confused me until I did some research.
According to Teh Interwebs, Walmart squeezes their vendors to keep coming up with ways to hit an absurdly low price point (at least the price Walmart pays the vendor). What companies like Levi’s end up doing is to make a separate line of clothing just for Walmart. With thinner fabrics and cheaper thread.
No wonder they don’t last.
What he said:
Huh. At the two Costcos near me, they just glance at the receipt, glance at the cart, and mark the receipt. It’s totally painless. I suspect it depends on the individual store.
I signed an agreement with Costco that I will stop and get my receipt checked. I have signed no such agreement with Walmart. On the rare occasions I go into a “real” Walmart, I just blow right by the receipt checkers. Fuck them.
Leaving my local CostCo is like entering West Germany from the East. Every single cart is thoroughly inspected before the receipt being checked off and let through, and they seem to get the oldest fogey to check who moves as slowly as possible when he literally physically checks your cart and looks through each bag.
The one time I bought an HDTV there during a super sale and I was just bringing the TV by itself not in any sort of bag, it still took a good minute of inspection of the receipt, then the TV, then the receipt, then the TV again before being let through.
It’s the same with Goodyear tires. Their is a Goodyear brand especially for WalMart that a regular Goodyear store wont touch.
Actually Dollar General has filled that role because they go into even smaller towns than WalMart and often their prices are lower. They do this by having smaller stores with a smaller selection and no areas like jewelry, shoes, automotive, or lawn and garden.
This is my experience as well. I don’t especially like the pause while they cast a cursory glance at my cart and run a marker over the receipt but I have to admit that it’s mostly painless.