# Is Target any better than Walmart? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 20, 2005, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322 "2005-04-20T22:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/41 "2005-04-25T20:27:27Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > I’ve seen several mentions of Super Walmart with a grocery store. Do none of you have a Super Target in your town? Our walmart is just a regular walmart. Our Target has a grocery section (hugely overpriced, but convenient if all you need is a loaf of bread, etc). I have a SuperTarget AND a SuperWally. Ha! Target is a tad more upscale, and the lines are shorter, but the grocery isn’t as big. Plus, for me a big factor is that Wally is 24 hour. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/42 "2005-04-25T21:28:22Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > I disagree. Their customer service is subpar. Rather, finding someone to speak to is a pain in the ass, as opposed to Target where employees are plentiful. Target’s stores, also, just looks better and is easier to navigate. > > Don’t get me wrong, I do like Costco too, but they’re far from perfect. Of course, that should be expected given the prices of their inventory. Which is exactly why debates like this are meaningless. **Is Target any better than Walmart?** Better at WHAT? For some people, price is everything. Others need more customer service. Other people want pure snob appeal. Others want something close to where they live. Etc, etc, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/43 "2005-04-25T23:18:01Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Which is exactly why debates like this are meaningless. There’s nothing meaningless (unimportant, maybe) about it, nor would I even consider this a “debate” (despite it being in Great Debates). It’s no different than the copious threads in Cafe Social regarding movies and music. ---
**Author:** ![Cynical\_Optimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Cynical\_Optimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cynical_Optimist)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/44 "2005-04-25T23:23:33Z")
Target and Walmart seem to be having a turf war around here (Target even opened a store in a former Sam’s Club). I’ve shopped at both and, maybe it’s because they’re both relatively new here, but I don’t see any real difference in a typical “basket of goods” pricewise. But I’ve had problems with Walmart items, furniture that falls apart, clothes that wear out after a few washes, etc. Target also seems to be cleaner and better organized. Overall, more pleasant for the shopper, but I’m sure the wages/benefits aren’t that much better. Even if half of the horror stories I hear about Walmart are grossly exagerated, I’d still rather not buy anything there, with the possible exception of consumables, which often aren’t any cheaper there anyway. I can understand saving a few bucks but not if I can get better quality for a slight increase i price. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/45 "2005-04-25T23:28:52Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Which is exactly why debates like this are meaningless. **Is Target any better than Walmart?** Better at WHAT? The poster of the OP already clarified this on page 1; he’s referring to “better” in terms of “social responsibility” and stuff like that. Though I agree comparing Costco to Wal-Mart and Target is off; you should really be comparing Costco to Sam’s Club and other “wholesale club” stores. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/46 "2005-04-25T23:42:45Z")
I prefer Target because the zombie factor is lower. About every time I’ve walked into WalMart in the last few years, it’s been chock full of obese zombies shuffling through the aisles. Kind of like the original Dawn of the Dead, only all the zombies are inside. I get the sense that it’s all about to break down into carniverous gibbering at the registers. KMart, on the other hand, seems empty. Empty aisles, empty shelves, empty checkout lines. Too quiet… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/47 "2005-04-25T23:52:51Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > It’s not that I have anything against the SA, it’s just that (a) Target already donates to charity, and I’d rather donate to charity in ways other than dropping coins in a bucket, no matter how friendly and cheerful the elderly bell-ringer is, and (b) I like to shop without having to walk past a bell-ringer, who I always suspect is calling me an asshole in his cheerful elderly mind whenever I walk by without dropping coins in his bucket. Total digression: I, though not elderly, have rung the Salvation Army bell a few times. I don’t think people are assholes when they don’t donate money. I’ve been on pretty tight budgets myself, & I don’t know whether you’ve already given. As for this thread, I don’t know if Target is evil or not. I do know that I live pretty close to Wal-Mart ground zero, & it’s Wal-Mart that pushes city governments around, tries to undersell everybody in everything, & stands athwart distribution in all kinds of product because they’re the “one-stop shop”. This is partly because they’re so big, & partly because they’re so tacky. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/48 "2005-04-26T00:12:44Z")
**foolsguinea,** you may want to chime in on [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=312905) ---
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/49 "2005-04-26T00:38:41Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > As for this thread, I don’t know if Target is evil or not. I do know that I live pretty close to Wal-Mart ground zero, & it’s Wal-Mart that pushes city governments around, tries to undersell everybody in everything, & stands athwart distribution in all kinds of product because they’re the “one-stop shop”. This is partly because they’re so big, & partly because they’re so tacky. Yeah that article I linked to earlier, if you didn’t read it, basically said that Walmart and Target are pretty much equally as evil, but Target has a better PR department and because Walmart is the largest, the consensus is that Target has to emmulate Walmart in order to compete, so Walmart has the responsibility to encourage a change in the overall environment. ---
**Author:** ![quelquechose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/6f9a4e/32.png) [@quelquechose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quelquechose)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322/50 "2005-04-26T00:50:55Z")
I work at a Target (a SuperTarget, technically) and I thought I’d share my experiences. I work part time in the produce department to earn money for school and other things. Overall I think working conditions are fairly good. My pay is $8.10/hour, which is enough for me, but of course I’m not trying to live off of it. The work itself is not particularly interesting, but not bad. I spend most of my time stocking fruit and vegetables, cleaning, or helping people. Working in produce offers the added benefit of being able to eat virtually as much fruit as I want, which means I’m never hungry when I’m working. My co workers seem generally happy, and most of them have stayed with Target for a while. I can’t really say much about working conditions in other departments, but I expect they are about the same. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-target-any-better-than-walmart/300322.md?page=2)