# Opinion of Wal-Mart. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979 "2014-01-28T20:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/21 "2014-01-28T22:01:56Z")
Hate walmart. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/22 "2014-01-28T22:02:45Z")
I live in a crowded part of a big city, and there is no room for a huge Wal-Mart (let alone a parking lot). But we do have a Wal-Mart Express (or whatever the hell they call it) which is basically a big drug store and grocery store and little else. I LOVE it. Great prices on the stuff that I would otherwise get at Walgreen’s or CVS for 50% more money. Plus equal or better quality to the name brands. ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/23 "2014-01-28T22:03:39Z")
I like Walmart and do probably 90% of my bricks and mortar shopping there, usually once or twice a week for groceries and whatever else I need. I like the superstores since sometimes need groceries + something not usually carried by grocery stores on my trips. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/24 "2014-01-28T22:10:07Z")
Everybody hates Wal-Mart, so nobody goes there anymore. Maybe that’s why it’s so crowded and they’re making so much money. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/25 "2014-01-28T22:13:47Z")
I rarely shop at Wal-Mart except when I’m on road trips. Apart from Target, there just isn’t a good option for one-stop shopping when I need a bunch of miscellaneous items. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/26 "2014-01-28T22:17:56Z")
I have shopped in Wal-Mart twice, mainly because I had no other options. Not my style of shopping but I don’t mind going to the Super Target occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/27 "2014-01-28T22:33:25Z")
With all the hate seen in this thread, I wonder how they can stay in business? Possible explanations:[ul][_]Dopers are not a typical cross section of the economy, but a minor sub-section\* Dopers are hypocrites and shop at WalMart but don’t admit it[_]Dopers are following the crowd. The alternative crowd. Y’know – the one WalMart doesn’t care about and doesn’t cater toDopers who _like_ WalMart are afraid to stand up because they’ll be shot down.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/28 "2014-01-28T22:37:26Z")
> [@jrsone](#): > > When Wal-Mart came to out town 24 years ago, we were happy to have them. At that time we had other stores, even a shopping mall. Quite a thriving retail evironment. > > Years later, that’s all gone except Wal-Mart built a Supercenter and is the only kid on the block. I don’t blame Wal-Mart for everthing else going away. Many of the stores that are gone simply don’t exist anymore, some areas around us are more built up then they were 15-20 years ago and businesses left, and frankly, poor planning on the city’s part. > > Anyway, back to the issue at hand. People’s opinion of Wal-Mart has shifted to “Let’s go to Wal-Mart, yeah!” to “Let’s go to these 4 different stores to get the things we need in order to get what we need so we can avoid Wal-Mart at all costs!” > > For me, I don’t like the Supercenter aspect. When we had a small Wal-Mart I thought it would be great to have everything you needed all under one roof. While it may be convienient at times, it’s a monster and a pain to “run in” and get what you need. Everybody that is shopping there talks about how much they hate being there. In my town, there isn’t much of a choice. You get what you need here or you drive 20 miles north or south to get it. We’d rather shop here and complain. So it’s long lines, poorly managed stores, apathetic employees and just an overall feeling of misery at Wal-Mart. I didn’t feel that as much even 10 years ago when I worked there. > > Am I crazy? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you live in my town. Maybe you do. Our mall is almost dead, but now that Sears is closing I give it a year. Just about everyone else, all the small stores, are gone. We have one supermarket still hanging on, and their prices are higher than Wal Marts, but I really try to go there for my food. I fill my prescriptions at CVS although that’s not really a local business. The town is full of empty buildings that no one will ever rent. I blame Wal Mart, but I also blame the people who flocked there, myself included, thinking the other stores would hang around. ---
**Author:** ![TheBori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@TheBori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBori)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/29 "2014-01-28T22:37:48Z")
> [@Silver\_Fire](#): > > I don’t buy make up, grown up clothes, shoes, produce, meat, or jewelry at Walmart. I go fairly regularly for things like toiletries, baby items, toys, and grocery staples. > > I hate Walmart. It makes me crabby, it makes my kids crabby, and my husband and I are almost guaranteed to fight about stupid shit on days we all go together. I still hate it when I’m all by myself but it goes faster and I’m already better by the time I get home. Well, there it is. “I hate it, but I go regularly for…”. Walmart exists because we value price over all else. If we were truly concerned about Walmart’s business practices or treatment of their employees, we would shop somewhere else, even if it took us out of our way. We are hooked on cheap and convenient. Walmart doesn’t force anyone to shop there or to work there. They make money because we give it to them. Should we vent our spleen at a company that provides the service we’ve asked for? Hardly fair. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/30 "2014-01-28T22:54:09Z")
WalMart is The One Ring of retail stores. It promises you everything, but is only interested in taking. The goods you take out of WalMart are like the smelly physical evidence on your nethers as you sadly drive home from a really bad relationship choice. And when you get home, taking shoddy junk out of the box, you’re increasingly unsure just how consentual your experience really was. You self-loathe and there is somehow never enough hot water to get yourself clean. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/31 "2014-01-28T23:03:23Z")
I live in the city that has many stores. I hate shopping so I try to limit as much as possible. I enjoy enough of a disposable income where I don’t have to pinch every single penny. I don’t like the layout of the store or its colossal size. And I don’t care for Walmart’s reputation. These are the reasons I don’t shop there. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/32 "2014-01-28T23:29:52Z")
I’m a little surprised about all the people talking about junk. Every Walmart I’ve ever been in has the exact same national brands and manufactured goods that everybody else has, but they are often cheaper. I prefer Meijer, but if WM has a significantly better price on something I’ll go there for stuff. They also have a much better website that shows everything they carry, and an inventory system to tell me if it is in stock. Everybody else’s website is crap in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/33 "2014-01-29T01:33:44Z")
Maybe Canadian Wal-Marts are different, I don’t know, but the arrival of Wal-Mart in Canada had no visible effect on other stores unless those stores were even shitter cheap-end department stores. Generally speaking they’re also clean and, as someone else has pointed out, the products there are pretty much the same products you’ll find anywhere else. A bottle of Heinz ketchup is a bottle of Heinz ketchup. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/34 "2014-01-29T01:51:09Z")
Every Wal-Mart Super Center I’ve ever been in was trashy…merchandise scattered all over, bargain bins of random crap cluttering the aisles, stains on the floors, and so on. It’s not unusual to find broken/damaged merchandise too; I think this is mostly due to shoddy manufacturing though. For the record, I would rather go to a Wal-Mart than a K-Mart…that place combines everything that’s bad about Wal-Mart with an additional level of filth and neglect. I do remember enjoying the novelty of Wal-Mart in the pre-Super Center days though. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/35 "2014-01-29T01:58:33Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > **I’m a little surprised about all the people talking about junk. Every Walmart I’ve ever been in has the exact same national brands and manufactured goods that everybody else has, but they are often cheaper.** > > I prefer Meijer, but if WM has a significantly better price on something I’ll go there for stuff. They also have a much better website that shows everything they carry, and an inventory system to tell me if it is in stock. Everybody else’s website is crap in comparison. It’s quite possible they’re not the same. Walmart squeezes producers so much that many of them are forced to carry a lower-quality version of their products than in other stores. Rubber Maid comes to mind, and I know this holds true for some electronics. We have two Walmarts within 15 minutes of us, and we manage to avoid both. One is a Super Center, and the other is a horrible, dirty, crowded one we call the ghetto Walmart. I’ve found that Fred Meyer is coming closer and closer to Walmart on their prices, with a MUCH more pleasant shopping experience. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/36 "2014-01-29T02:17:19Z")
[quote=“Musicat, post:27, topic:679979”] With all the hate seen in this thread, I wonder how they can stay in business? Possible explanations:[ul][li]Dopers are not a typical cross section of the economy, but a minor sub-section\* Dopers are hypocrites and shop at WalMart but don’t admit it[_]Dopers are following the crowd. The alternative crowd. Y’know – the one WalMart doesn’t care about and doesn’t cater to[_]Dopers who _like_ WalMart are afraid to stand up because they’ll be shot down.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] Agree. I don’t mind shopping at Walmart. It’s no worse than any other store IME. The way I see it, any hate towards Walmart’s business practices should be guided towards the lack of Government over site and regulation. I’m totally fine if Uncle Sam wants to force higher wages on Walmart or any other employer. Even if that means I have to pay 50cents more for a crappy cheese grater that’s probably going to break 2 years from now. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/37 "2014-01-29T02:18:06Z")
There should be a good Yogi Berra-type quote in this thread: “No wonder no one shops there; it’s too crowded.” Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/38 "2014-01-29T03:01:15Z")
> [@TheBori](#): > > Well, there it is. “I hate it, but I go regularly for…”. Walmart exists because we value price over all else. If we were truly concerned about Walmart’s business practices or treatment of their employees, we would shop somewhere else, even if it took us out of our way. We are hooked on cheap and convenient. Walmart doesn’t force anyone to shop there or to work there. They make money because we give it to them. > Should we vent our spleen at a company that provides the service we’ve asked for? Hardly fair. Here’s why I hate Walmart: their parking lot is retarded; they changed the self-checkout so that it is no longer convenient to use if you have more items than you can hold in your hands; there are never enough staffed checkout lanes open; the other people shopping there do stupid things that annoy me, as do people in general but they are concentrated there. If I can schedule shopping trips at midnight, Walmart becomes significantly less bad. It really has nothing to do with their business practices or how they treat their employees. And I say that as someone who worked there as a teenager. What I like about Walmart is that I can go there and find every single thing I need in a timely manner with minimal fuss, despite my above complaints. Grocery stores, aside from being insanely more expensive, rotate their inventory in such a way that I can’t find items from one week to the next. Because I now only buy perimeter foods at the local grocery store, this frustration has been eliminated and my life is better for it. I haven’t compared prices for toiletries and things against Target because it’s a longer drive (neither store exists in my town). I think there’s a Costco in this state now but it’s at least an hour away, assuming it’s in the closest major city to me. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/39 "2014-01-29T03:06:03Z")
I don’t have anything \*against \*Wal-Mart, but I much prefer Target. Every time I’ve been to Wal-Mart it’s been insanely crowded with like 4 checkout lanes out of 20 open and the store just seems messy. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979/40 "2014-01-29T03:10:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > There should be a good Yogi Berra-type quote in this thread: “No wonder no one shops there; it’s too crowded.” > > Or something like that. I thought this was just a strawman until I searched through this thread. Two posts out of 40 mention WM being crowded in a negative way. so congratulations I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinion-of-wal-mart/679979.md?page=3)