Maybe this was already mentioned, but no time to read all the posts…
The reason we switched from shopping mainly at Target to Wal-mart, which were only 3 blocks apart, was diapers and formula!
When we had our son 5 years ago, we looked all around, and Wal-mart beat everyone on baby items, by a LOT! The formula that we used was Half as much as it was anywhere else, and when you pay $10-$12 a can, and go through a can or two a week, that really adds up.
Now we also have a Wal-mart supercenter, which is a few miles from Target. We still Go to WM more because we also get all of our prescriptions there. Something Target doesn’t offer.
I still like to go to Target, just because it is cleaner and neater.
EDIT ***Our Walmart is newer than target by about 10 years. But it is more crammed full of stuff, has very narrow aisle, is often disorganized, and not as neat as Target. Target is always sparkling clean. So there must be something to that. So many people I know feel the same way. ***
I haven’t visited a US K-mart but I did find Target stores to be “Sharper” than Wal-Marts when I’ve visited, but for price and selection they were exactly the same.
I’m still trying to work out why we still have Target and K-mart here; given they’re both owned by the same company, have the same stock, same prices, and are frequently in the same freaking shopping centres. :smack:
The Wal-Mart closest to me (40 miles away) is dingy and nobody likes it. However there is a SuperCenter a little farther that is much nicer. Maybe it’s mostly the older Wal-Marts that people don’t like.
As far as i know, the WALMART model has been around for years-in France (the so-called “hypermarts”). Do the French like these stores? and, have they devastated small retailers in france (as they are claimed to do in the USA)?
I live in Washington, DC. The worst Wal-Mart that I’ve seen was on Route 1 in the Fairfax County section of Alexandria. This one had excrement smeared on the bathroom walls, was crowded, dingy, and felt generally claustrophic. There was stuff piled in the aisles, and it was dirty. From what I’ve seen, the Wal-Marts I’ve seen in more rural areas tend to be far cleaner, and nicer than the ones in more urban areas. The Wal-Mart in Blacksburg/ Christiansburg, VA was far nicer and cleaner than the ones I’ve seen in the DC Metro area.
The other Wal-Mart is in Kingstowne, also in Alexandria, and is much newer. I’ve been to some Wal-Marts that are much nicer, but for the most part, there is always something about the experience that is lacking. The stores aren’t as well layed out, the drink cooler is positioned in such a way that exiting the checkout is crowded, and the aisles always seem smaller than the equivalent Target. For the most part, the grocery section seems unimpressive, mostly consisting of canned, boxed or frozen items, nothing fresh and no deli section.
They’re not the same company. Target is owned by Target Corp., and Kmart is owned by Sears Holding Company. Still odd they’d be in the same shopping centers, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a center anchored with multiple discount stores. (Though, I suppose, if a mall can be anchored by four or five nearly identical department stores, why not a center with two discount stores?)
For a couple years, I worked in the NW Chicago burbs. There was a Wal-Mart right next to my office. I HATE Wal-Mart, but it was just too damned convenient, you know? I don’t have a car and I lived in the city, so, say I realized I needed some new socks, what was I going to do? Wait until the weekend, take the el downtown to buy my socks, or just run over to Wal-Mart during my lunch break? You can guess what I usually did.
But every single time I gave in and went to Wal-Mart, I was reminded of why I hated it. It was just so freaking depressing and the people there all looked miserable.
Now going to Target, Meijer, and Wal-Mart are all equally inconvenient for me. I usually end up going to Target if I need to go to one of those places. Meijer has better food, but I prefer to get my groceries at Trader Joe’s anyway.
That dude was a jerk, but I was told at one of my local pharmacies that the purpose of the line was to comply with HIPAA regulations, and that it was set up to make it impossible for people to see your confidential medical information over your shoulder or overhear your conversation while you were consulting with the pharmacist.
The thing is, I found that out from a clerk who said, “Excuse me, you need to stay behind the ‘please wait here for service’ sign because HIPAA blah blah” in a polite tone of voice.
