# Wal-Mart **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186 "2004-02-08T22:50:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MAFA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@MAFA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MAFA)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/1 "2004-02-08T22:50:07Z")
Do you like the Bentonville Arkansas retailer or hate it with all your might? ---
**Author:** ![TitoBenito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2acd7d/32.png) [@TitoBenito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TitoBenito)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/2 "2004-02-08T22:55:55Z")
> [@MAFA](#): > > Do you like the Bentonville Arkansas retailer or hate it with all your might? Before 11 o’clock PM I really dont like it. Afterwards its nice to have at least once place open where you can buy almost anything you could need. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/3 "2004-02-08T23:00:51Z")
Wrong Forum **MAFA**. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/4 "2004-02-08T23:02:32Z")
I used to shop there. Then I found out what they were doing in Alabaster, Alabama, and now I only shop at Target. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/5 "2004-02-09T01:59:17Z")
As a college student, I have to say many of my fondest memories have taken place there. Then the cashier caught us, and they kicked us out of the store without even letting me put my pants back on. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Samaritan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bad\_Samaritan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Samaritan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/6 "2004-02-09T02:53:32Z")
I had my oil changed at the auto service center while I shopped at WalMart today, and although it was convenient & affordable… I felt it was necessary to double-check my drain plug and oil levels once I got home. (something I would never do had I taken it elsewhere) That pretty much sums up my feelings about the world’s largest retailer. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/7 "2004-02-09T03:42:41Z")
You can say whatever you want about the Mart. Anything that I need and it’s sold at Wal Mart, I buy it there. It saves me money and I’m just looking out for No. 1. ---
**Author:** ![jesleigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@jesleigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesleigh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/8 "2004-02-09T04:06:32Z")
In the town I go to school in, Wal-Mart is about the only place to shop and kill time. Thus, every other line in my checkbook says “wal-mart” I love it, but yet I hate it because it takes so much of my money ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/9 "2004-02-09T04:11:59Z")
> [@King Friday](#): > > \ just looking out for No. 1. You’re being a little short-sighted, King Friday. > **[The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know](https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know)** > > The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line? This is only one of many. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/10 "2004-02-09T04:34:25Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > You’re being a little short-sighted, King Friday. > > [The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know](http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html) > > This is only one of many. So you’re telling me that I, a middle class working stiff struggling from paycheck to paycheck, should buy my toilet paper at the local grocery store so that I, over the course of my lifetime, may provide a job for someone at the Charmin factory? What’s he done for me lately? ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/11 "2004-02-09T04:36:57Z")
Incidently, when Wegman’s finally opens a store around here, which they’re in the process of doing, I’ll do all my shopping there that I usually do at Wal Mart. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/12 "2004-02-09T05:38:29Z")
That “someone at the Charmin factory” could be you next week. So much for “living paycheck to paycheck” when you don’t have one. I’m all for free trade and capitalism and all that rot. However, I cannot support a company that uses strong-arm tactics to manipulate their suppliers just so you can buy cheap toilet paper. Whenever possible I purchase from _local_ merchants. As a small business owner, I appreciate lost concepts like “customer loyalty” and “good value vs. a cheap price”. Unfortunately, most people just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/13 "2004-02-09T06:11:04Z")
Sorry sweetie… it’s you that doesn’t get it. First, Wal-Mart only “strongarms” its suppliers as far as they’re willing to let them. No company is forced to sell their products to Wal-Mart at prices they don’t like. They’re entirely free to sever their relationships with Wal-Mart when their contracts are up- just like any other company. If they get into contracts that aren’t advantageous, or that they can’t handle, well, that’s not Wal-Mart’s problem. And companies that can’t stay in business without Wal-Mart’s business…well, maybe they shouldn’t be in that business. Second, what value does a local grocery store add on toilet paper? Very little. Pickles? Very little. Flour? Very little. That’s why people buy them as cheaply as possible, usually at Wal-Mart. That’s the way undifferentiated products work. On the other hand, things like meat, fish, bakery products, wine, etc… are things that definitely have value added at the grocery store. That’s why many people patronize grocery stores with better products in these categories. You just can’t get some wines, beers or cuts of meat at Wal-Mart. And they won’t cut the meat for you at Wal-Mart either. Third, nobody owes anyone a job, and companies aren’t owed any sort of profitability or even staying in business. Wal-Mart is successful because they do things right- they reduce inventory costs and achieve enormous economies of scale, and this allows them to underprice smaller operations, yet still make a good profit. If Joe’s Corner Grocery can’t keep up, it’s not Wal-Mart’s fault for doing business better; it’s Joe’s fault for not specializing in things Wal-Mart doesn’t do well or doesn’t carry. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/14 "2004-02-09T06:23:41Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > That “someone at the Charmin factory” could be you next week. So much for “living paycheck to paycheck” when you don’t have one. No worries. My line of work is not, nor will ever be affected by the dealings of Wal Mart. When the other 27 million or so Wal Mart customers decide to buy their peanuts and motor oil from a _local merchant_, well then maybe I will too. Until then, I choose to save money any which way I can. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/15 "2004-02-09T06:28:16Z")
I guess we’d all better stop flying on Southwest also. A discount airline that serves virturally the entire country? They must be the devil. (I always think of something else to say after I post my first thought) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/16 "2004-02-09T06:28:49Z")
Had to pick up something at the local Wal Mart tonight. Everyone working there seemed to be a brain dead mutant. The worst part is that they didn’t have enough brain dead mutants working there. Why have 25 registers when you only open 4. I shop at Target whenever possible. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/17 "2004-02-09T06:31:48Z")
Are you suggesting that there _is_ a store in existance that has multiple check out counters and has them all open at once? Or even half of them open? Certainly not the Target in my neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/18 "2004-02-09T06:44:53Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sorry sweetie… it’s you that doesn’t get it. > First, Wal-Mart only “strongarms” its suppliers as far as they’re willing to let them. No company is forced to sell their products to Wal-Mart at prices they don’t like. They’re entirely free to sever their relationships with Wal-Mart when their contracts are up- just like any other company. If they get into contracts that aren’t advantageous, or that they can’t handle, well, that’s not Wal-Mart’s problem. And companies that can’t stay in business without Wal-Mart’s business…well, maybe they shouldn’t be in that business. > > Second, what value does a local grocery store add on toilet paper? Very little. Pickles? Very little. Flour? Very little. That’s why people buy them as cheaply as possible, usually at Wal-Mart. That’s the way undifferentiated products work. On the other hand, things like meat, fish, bakery products, wine, etc… are things that definitely have value added at the grocery store. That’s why many people patronize grocery stores with better products in these categories. You just can’t get some wines, beers or cuts of meat at Wal-Mart. And they won’t cut the meat for you at Wal-Mart either. > > Third, nobody owes anyone a job, and companies aren’t owed any sort of profitability or even staying in business. Wal-Mart is successful because they do things right- they reduce inventory costs and achieve enormous economies of scale, and this allows them to underprice smaller operations, yet still make a good profit. If Joe’s Corner Grocery can’t keep up, it’s not Wal-Mart’s fault for doing business better; it’s Joe’s fault for not specializing in things Wal-Mart doesn’t do well or doesn’t carry. You’re missing the point though. Wal-Mart doesn’t threaten to stop buying a certain line if you want too much for it; it stops buying ALL your lines. Given that more than 6% of ALL retail sales in the US take place at Wal-Mart registers, this can often be a deathblow to a company. Also, it could be considered a violation of antitrust laws, in the same way that Microsoft required suppliers to include IE with Windows. Most importantly, it is just another example of the Starbucks phenomenon. Not Mom & Pop stores closing, so much as “Why can’t I get a decent freaking cup of coffee?”. There are no independent coffee bars east of downtown, here in Orlando. Not one. I can go to Starbucks’ or Barnies’, but their stuff tastes the same- ie. nasty. Why? Because Starbucks is cheaper, and while that might be good for my wallet, it means my coffee is shitty. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/19 "2004-02-09T06:55:37Z")
I go to Wal-Mart to buy socks and cheap t-shirts, late at night or early in the morning. That’s all. On the whole, I’d rather have better stuff than what they sell, and I have better things to do with my time than wait in line because they didn’t want to pay for more cashiers. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186/20 "2004-02-09T07:15:49Z")
> [@dutchboy208](#): > > Most importantly, it is just another example of the Starbucks phenomenon. Not Mom & Pop stores closing, so much as “Why can’t I get a decent freaking cup of coffee?”. There are no independent coffee bars east of downtown, here in Orlando. Not one. I can go to Starbucks’ or Barnies’, but their stuff tastes the same- ie. nasty. Why? Because Starbucks is cheaper, and while that might be good for my wallet, it means my coffee is shitty. The reason you can’t get a decent cup of coffee is that you really dont WANT a decent cup of coffee even though you think you do. Given the choice of cheap, crap coffee and expensive, decent coffee, enough people have opted for the crap coffee so that Mom & Pop coffee stands are not profitable enough to stay in buisness. If there WERE enough people willing to buy expensive coffee, then the Mom & Pop’s wouldn’t have shut down. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart/228186.md?page=2)