Just curious if anyone else refuses to shop at Walmart based on principle? Since my father got laid off many years ago, he had to pick up a job at Walmart just to make ends meet. He's worked there 5 years now and still cannot afford to pay the rent or have medical insurance. The church helps them out. And to make it worse, their HR department lied to him about losing what benefits he did have if he went down to part time 'cause he can finally get Medicare. So he lost what few benefits he had.

Based on my parents' experiences with them, I refuse to shop there any longer. Not for political reasons, but because they have proven to me over and over that they really don't give a flying rib about their employees and they treat them like dirt!

I can't be the only one who refuses to shop there....if anyone else does, please speak up! I'd like to know your reasons!

I used to shop there quite regularly, until we got a Harris Teeter that is a lot closer. Once that store opened, I was hooked-the customer service there is so much nicer and they actually act like they want you in the store, versus Walmart where it seems none of the employees even want to look at you. That being said, with summer being here, and with four boys (two teenagers), I have been going more often, just to buy cheap foods for them to eat-frozen pizzas, generic mac and cheese, generic spaghettios, etc. It is still not a pleasant experience, but I do notice that my dollar goes a lot further there, which is what I need right now.

I refuse to shop there for the reasons you state and for political reasons. If you ask me, the reasons you state are political. That's what a boycott is all about. That's nothing to apologize for.

I also don't like Walmart based on principle. I hate to admit it, but I do stop in on occasion to check out the $1/yard fabric, or pick up something that is free with a coupon. Other than those 2 things, I don't buy anything at Walmart. I'd rather pay a little more and support *local* businesses.

I also do not shop at Walmart except on very rare occasions (when I need smile fruit snacks for my smile soldier care packages ).

My reasons are elitist - I don't like the dirty, grubby environment (although I think they've improved that), I expect some level of customer service, and I don't like to feel like I've landed in a different country....like I'm the only person speaking English, or the only one that has all my teeth, or can wear normal sized clothing. Yeah, I'm being extreme, but there is a basic feeling that I am different - to a level of personal discomfort.

Just my opinion and experience....

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I only go to Walmart if I HAVE to or if I need an oil change on my car. Like CJS said its dirty and grubby, even in the "recently improved" stores in my area. You can never find someone to ask a question of, and if by chance you do, they don't know where anything is. The cashiers are unfriendly and hostile, and they act like they are doing you a favor to ring you up.

I will go out of my way to go to a Target instead. They are everything Walmart is not, especially when it comes to customer service.

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I think that it is SexySmurf who states in her signature line that she is proud to have avoided WALMART for the past five years...

I despise Walmart. I can't even stand the smell. There is no redeeming quality to spending any amount of time in a Walmart, other than the $$ saved. I'd rather squander my money. And I'm cheap, so that is saying a lot.

My friend, who has extensive special needs, was hired by Walmart immediately after the fallout they received for not employing enough people with special needs. So they have her on their payroll - but she's not allowed to work more than 10 hours a week. They refuse to give her more hours than that! It seems like they are just employing her for political reasons - it definitely isn't so that she can be gainfully employed - how is a person supposed to make ends meet with less than 10 hours of work per week? She has asked for additional work hours for years. They just won't allow it. Very sad.

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"The errors of faith are better than the best thoughts of unbelief." - Thomas Russell

Toonces said : " I only go to Walmart if I HAVE to or if I need an oil change on my car."

DS had an oil change at Walmart a while ago, and it was done incorrectly. He couldn't *prove* it was the oil change at Walmart, although the repair shop told him that was the problem. He had to replace the engine in his car. No more Walmart oil changes for him.

I refuse to shop at WalMart because of :
1. The way they treat their employees-lawsuits in many states including mine Oregon that they have lost due to cheating their workers out of money
2. The illegal way they put life insurance policies on their employees without their knowledge
3. The way they squeeze their suppliers causing them to have to choose between closing up shop or cutting their profit margin to bare levels (while WalMart continues to enjoy large across the board profit margins)
4. The cheap crap they sell that is low quality. Their own brands are so cheap that I can spot a WalMart purse or article of clothing from a mile away
5 Their big thing is "low prices". I went there with my neighbor a couple of months ago and the prices were the same or higher on name brand items only their low quality crap was cheaper.
6. The service sucks there is what I hear across the board-coupon refusals, no help when you are looking for it and when you find it they are lowly paid people who don't really give a damn

If WalMart started treating their suppliers and employees differently I would consider going there.

WalMart started out being what America is all about. Remember? Their motto was that they sold items "made in America". Not anymore. It's a shame because they have the power to change the way America does busineess but they won't!

Wal-Mart Watch

Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame

WakeUpWalMart.com - Join the fight to change Wal-Mart and change America

WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

The Wal-Mart You Don't Know | Fast Company

Wal-Mart Sucks!

If you shop at WalMart and you are reading this you may say "I don't care they have low prices" I ask you: If the store in town with the lowest prices was run by someone who was a pedophile who had gotten off from jail time due to a tehcnicality would you shop there? Would you say "I know it's run by a child molestor, a child killer but they have low prices so too bad I am shopping there"

NO you would not shop there under any circumstances. Well WalMart is no better than a child molestor. They destroy communities and close down businesses. I would much rather do without something or pay a few cents more than give my money to people who are destroying what I consider to be the American Dream.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I go to Target first. It is not like playing dodgeball with the cars trying to cross the parking lot.....I swear, I think I am going to lose my life when I go thru a Wal Mart parking lot. I did go there Thursday, DS was looking for something that Target did not have. On the way in we saw TWO shopping carts FULL of TRASH!!! I'm with Devin Mom on the smell issue, as well. I'm not sure if it's the Subway in there or what???

I hate all the crap everywhere, all over the aisles. I also don't like shopping amongst a bunch of riff raff, and sorry, but, the majority of shoppers at my local Wal Mart are dirty, smelly, and sleezy. I did have a return there the other day while I was there, and that went OK....the wait was long, and a cashier actually called a few of us over to her register. She was courteous and helpful.

I don't find there prices any or much cheaper on a lot of stuff. The one here now is not a Super Wal Mart. They are supposed to build one, and I will no doubt check them out when they open, and they are still clean.

Oh, also, wanted to add......I had gone to a Wal Mart out of state.....the battery in the car I was driving died and we needed a new one....we were stranded in their parking lot and had no other options. I asked the cashier in the auto dept. if someone could come put the battery in for us, and she said "you'll have to drive your car to the service dept" UM, HELLLOOOO......the car doesn't run....hence the new battery I'm buying. Thankfully a guy came by and jumped our car to get us back to where we were staying and we took another car to Sears to buy a Die Hard, and returned the Wal Mart battery.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

This is pretty much the same reason I don't shop at Walmart. Plus, I have a Target within walking distance and Walmart is a good 25 minute drive. The price of gas would cancel out any money saved by driving to Walmart.

I don't shop at Walmart, either. Every once in a while, I'll go because of the lower prices on something, and I regret it every time! The store is a mess. There is NO customer service. I can't find what I'm looking for and nobody who works there seems to know where to look for it either. They send you to an area, it's not there, and someone else sends you to another area, it's not there, etc. etc.

They used to have a good return policy. Not any more! I did go there to buy a coffee pot for the office. Turned in the receipt for reimbursement. The $50 coffee pot made 4 pots of coffee and then just quit. I can't return it because I don't have the original receipt (just a copy of it). They will allow me to exchange it for the same model, but they don't have any in stock. (Haven't had any for the past 3 months.) I call about once a week to see if they have any in stock (they told me they should have them in a couple of days) and can't even talk to anyone in that department because "there's nobody working in that department until 3:00 pm." Come on! How can you run a store without employees who can answer questions? Couldn't someone walk over to that department to see if there's any of what you're looking for?

I've also heard the stories about how they treat their employees. I have no first hand knowledge about that, but I do tend to believe the stories. And I DEFINITELY believe they move into a community and cause all the local stores to have to shut down. I absolutely hate that. And NO, I don't think their prices are any better than our local stores unless they are having a big sale on something. Most of the time, I believe sale prices at the local stores are better.

I would NEVER trust them to do any work on my car. I'll pay more and have it done by a reputable shop.

I won't shop at Walmart unless I absolutely have to. I just don't trust them!

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Linda

Ah, nice to see someone reads my siggy Yep, will not shop at WM. You couldn't pay me too. I hate how they put mom & pops out of business. I hate how they treat their employees. I saw the movie Wall-E with my kids and the first thing I noticed about the movie was that "Big N Low" to me, *seemed* like WM...poised to take over the world (if you've seen the movie it's easy to see how WM and BNL could be compared).

I drive an hour to shop Costco when Sam's is 5 minutes away. I save just as much, if not more money NOT shopping WM. Even if I didn't, my principles stand for mre than a few dollars. Although most people I know say "how can you LIVE and not shop WM?". They think I am crazy and I don't understand how they can't picture life without WM...

be proud to not shop WM...not embarrassed!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

This could have easily been my post Well said

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I live only an hours drive from Wal-Mart headquarters, so I live in Wal-Mart country. No one is forced to work at Wal-Mart, if you don't like the employment policies don't work there.
There is no Target at all and the K-Mart is the pits. There are only 2 other grocery stores and their prices are considerably higher than W-M. And, no, there were never any other grocery stores before W-M that I shopped at.
All the Wal-Marts within a reasonable driving distance are clean and well kept. The customer service is second to none, I've never had a problem with it. I can always depend on the manager of the W-M closest to me to help out with donations to our schools whenever I ask. I've never had a problem using coupons.
All Wal-Marts are not the same. They're not all dirty and poorly stocked and have lousy customer service.

oh, boy ! I've been waiting for this post. I hate my walmart. No customer service, coupon refusal..cheap goods, the BLASTING intercom with employees practically screaming ..." I need a stocker on aisle FOUR!!!!!!!" mindless , roaming people..crowded aisles...

I try my best to avoid walmart. I like Target a thousand times better.

I also hate how WM stopped layaway...

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Live, Love, Laugh

genichols,

I think your WM is the exception to the rule. Especially since it's headquarters (or nearby). There are some areas where you don't have a choice where to work because all there is...is Walmart or Walmart is the only place hiring. It's not as simple as not working there. I'm glad you have good experiences with WM...not too many people I know have. I don't mind folks who shop at WM. *I* just won't shop there. Like I said, you experience just sounds like the exception compared to most I've heard

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I must agree with you. WMs are much closer to me than Target, tho I LOVE Target and shop there. Our Target isn't a super Target, so few groceries. Our WMs are very clean and well kept and CS is normally very good. Oh, occasionally you get a rude employee but that's everywhere in my opinion and experience. And yes the WMs here also help with school fundraisers.
With that said, I shop there quite a bit but prefer to grocery shop at Kroger but it's more expensive so normally it's WM for me.
I guess some of us live in areas where there aren't as many choices for shopping and since most are on a budget(tight budget here), we have to shop where our money gets us the most.

All individual WalMarts might be different when it comes to cleanliness and customer service but they are all part of the big WalMart corporate machine that treats employees poorly and breaks the law and suffers suppliers and shuts down competition in towns.

They are all doing it.

As far as people not being forced to work there...hmmm let me see how many people actually have a choice where they work? Especially if they don't have a BA, MA, Ph.D or something? I hate my employer, they don't do what WalMart does but especially right now with the economy the way what do you suggest? That people create their ideal job profile and wait for the job to magically appear from nowhere?

As you said you LIVE in WalMart country there are surely people in WalMart country who have no other choice.

IF you are lucky enough to pick whom you work for, God Bless You. The rest of us working people are not so lucky. And by the way when one gets away with it the rest follow suit creating a working atmosphere that sucks for everyone.

Your low prices are costing you more than you know.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I've had an entirely different experience with WM. Ours is very clean and neat, and people actually want to work at ours. They hire a fair amount of college kids and several of our local teachers have summer jobs there.

Smurf, I can't recall exactly where you are, but we stopped at the one in Loveland on Tuesday and were very impressed with the cleanliness and service at the deli. We were picking up 150 pieces of chicken, rolls, and salads (and then picked up a made-to-order sheet cake at Sam's) and they gave us double the salad we'd ordered at no extra cost, and undercharged us a bit (on purpose because we had to wait five minutes) for the potato wedges we had ordered.

I realize that your reasons go beyond those things - just sharing my experience.

OTOH, when I've been in a couple of WM's in the Miami area - WOW. It truly WAS like I'd entered another country. They were horribly messy and crowded. I couldn't believe it.

We live in a rural area, but because our town is the largest one in the county (still under 10K population, but the biggest nonetheless!) we have a Super WalMart. The mom and pop stores, without their bulk buying power, tend to have to charge an arm and a leg for things we can buy at WM affordably. There are a lot of things the local stores carry that we simply wouldn't purchase because of their cost that we can and do buy at SWM. We also have a much more extensive selection at SWM than our locally owned store. They bring things to our lives we otherwise simply wouldn't have access to - craft supplies, socks and underwear, etc!

I do still support our local store quite a bit, but there are some things we only have because of SWM.

We have 2 WM near us. They both are dumps. Target is the same distance and I MUCH prefer Target.

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Calling a illegal alien an "undocumented immigrant" is like calling a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist."

OK....because of my job, I have intimate knowledge of Wal-Mart policies and procedures. Wal-Mart corporate does not treat their employees badly. Of course, on a store level it does happen.

Wal-Mart provides jobs for people who couldn't otherwise find a job. Wal-Mart pays as well as any other mass retailer.

I see far too many people who are "out to get" Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has a huge bulls eye on their back and if people think they have a chance of getting a settlement from Wal-Mart, they will.

I think a lot of you have absolutely no idea what Wal-Mart does and doesn't do. You're basing your opinions on second hand information, media stories, and anectdotal stories. I know first hand--Wal-Mart is not the evil corporation that so many of you make them out to be.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

It is a fact that WalMart sqeezes their suppliers; it is a fact that they have been sued for labor violations in many states and they have lost many of those cases; it's a fact that when WalMart moves to town for every 2 jobs they create 3 jobs in town are lost.
These are facts that cannot be disputed.

I would love to hear your take on these facts. I can provide links to document any of the facts you may dispute.
Another fact is that no retailer, no corporate entity has ever been so "targeted" as you say because WalMart is the first one to do thses things on a level that is across the board.

I do have plenty of idea what I am saying. I do not say these things lightly. I know the other retailers are not Gods or Angels looking out for us however they are nowhere near the "evil empire" that WalMart is.

And it is also a fact that much of the crap they sell is thrid rate cheap garbage that is not worth the money you pay for it.

Value is more than the price of an item. It is more than the monetary value to you. Value is a combination of the short and long term costs of an item. WalMart provides short term value not long term value and it certainly does not contribute to the kind of world I would proud to be a part of.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

What she said!

I think that there are good Wal-Marts and there are bad Wal-Marts. I worked at a Wal-Mart to put myself through college and while the store was older, it was pretty well-kept and clean. Most of the employees there were excellent. The bad workers we had didn't last very long. People would stand in a line 6 customers deep to go through one dear old cashier's line, he gave every customer a hug or a handshake and gave the little kids peppermints. When he died, he was buried in his Wal-Mart smock and his funeral was packed.

My DH is a Pharmacist at Wal-Mart (Yes, there are educated people that work at Wal-Mart!) and he has been with the company for 7 years and has floated back and forth among about 10 different stores before becoming the head pharmacist at his current store. He has had his share of nasty stores and good stores (fortunately he works in one of the best stores I've seen) and he's had his share of competent and incompetent employees.

The small town we live in has 6 different pharmacies, and 4 of them are so rude to their customers, yet they expect their customers to be loyal to them no matter how awful they are to them. My DH hears awful stories every day about how rude pharmacist Smith was to them at X Pharmacy, and when they transfer their prescriptions, the pharmacists get mad at my DH! My DH has saved people so much money thanks to the $4 prescription program. He has countless stories of elderly or low income people coming to fill a prescription that cost them $75 or more at one of the other pharmacies and when they hear their total is $4 they just start crying because now they don't have to chose between their medication and paying for food or rent. Oh, and my dh gets paid quite well by Wal-Mart, so you won't hear us complaining about Wal-Mart's wages.

In our small town, when Wal-Mart opened, the only store to go out of business was a movie rental place. I'm fairly sure that it wasn't Wal-Mart's fault. The single overpriced grocery store in town had to finally price it's merchandise competetively (when Wal-Mart opened, their milk went from $3.99 a gallon to $2.99 a gallon in one day!) and the grocery store finally started offering benefits to their part time employees, which previously only full timers got.

I'm not sure about Wal-Mart's part time benefits (I could dig out DH's benefits book if you really want) but I think part time workers are eligible for benefits after working there for two years, and full timers after X amount of months. I think part of the logic behind the waiting period is so that Mary Sue doesn't just start working for Wal-Mart for a few months so she can get insurance to cover the costly surgery her doctor has recommended and then quit once insurance has paid its dues. As a company of any size, it only makes sense to me that they would have their employees "put in their time" before they provide them benefits. It does cost the company money, so you can't fault them for that, whether it is a small mom and pop store or a large mass retailer such as Wal-Mart.

For the poster whose father lost his benefits when he went down to part time because he was eligible for Medicare, part timers must work X amount of hours per week to be eligible for insurance. So if he asked to drop down to 10 hours a week, he probably would lose his insurance. If he was part time at like 28 hours a week (just pulling numbers here, nothing official) he would be able to keep insurance (at least that's how it was when I worked there many years ago, things may have changed). Therefore, if you only want to work at Wal-Mart to have insurance or whatnot, you can't just be employed there for like 5 hours a week. Part timers get certain benefits right away, such as discount cards. So if you want to work at Wal-Mart just for the discount card, you CAN just work 5 hours a week. All of this can be found in the benefits book that the employee received upon being hired, and every fall at open enrollment. So the father could've done some work on his part to see how many hours he must work in order to keep insurance (if that was the case of him losing his insurance).

So basically, to summarize my long winded post :
1. Wal-Marts can be clean or dirty, just as Targets can be clean or dirty or your local mom and pop store can be clean or dirty. I don't know what makes certain stores clean and certain stores dirty--management? Lack of employees? Lack of competent employees? Cleanliness and dirtiness is an equal opportunity employer.

2. The employees can be bad or good wherever you shop. It cound be due to human resources not being as selective as they should, or the employee having a bad day, or a having a rude or demanding customer who thinks that "the customer is right, no matter what" or an endless possibility of reasons.

3. Benefits. Well, you just have do to your research on the benefits, like when you would start receiving them and how much you pay for them. Some places may pay higher but offer no benefits, while others pay an average wage but you also get benefits. Some people like cash in their pockets and some people like to know that they have medical insurance. Depends on the type of person you are.

4. You chose where you want to shop. If you like Target, that's fine. If you hate Wal-Mart, that's fine as well, but please don't group me into the category of Wal-Mart shoppers that have no teeth or wear tentlike clothing. I paid the orthodontist quite a bit of money for my smile and I wear a size six dress, thank you very much. I shop there to save money where I can (grocery items and socks/underwear/heath and beauty products/pharmacy) so I can afford to shop at more upscale places for my clothing/purses/shoes/etc.

And Annadrose, I do appreciate your gusto over the things that you are passionate about, but sometimes your emotions seem to blur into the facts that you try to present and you squeeze in assumptions and generalizations and biased or one-sided articles in amongst the facts. I know I will get blasted for saying that, but that is how I feel. (But from reading your posts you seem to be a very sincere and nice person, so please don't think I am out to get you, cause I'm not! )

And FWIW, I do prefer Target's general merchandise over Wal-Marts, I think it is more trendy and better made, so if I am close to a Target (the nearest is 45 miles away) I will drop in and check out the merchandise there, as well.

Sorry, I know I am a very longwinded person. I stay at home with 4 small children all day and don't get that much adult conversation.

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I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

I agree with your point about pay- as far as I know most entry level retail positions aren't going to pay much more than minimum wage. I worked at Sears for several years (a little over 3) and when I left I think I was making .40 more than minimum.

I DO shop at Wal Mart. The stores around here are definately clean. I banned shopping at Target some time ago after they called security on my autistic son. He wasn't doing anything to anyone and he would NEVER steal anything. He was just walking around talking to himself and I heard security called on the walkie talkies. I was very upset by this. I called Target's corporate headquarters and was basically told they don't discriminate and anyone can shop there. I told them "yeah if you don't mind security following you around". In my opinion Wal Mart employs far more disabled people than any others.

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Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you've never been hurt, and
Dance like you do when nobody's watching.

MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

I am in Loveland Both of our SWM's are farirly new. One just opened since January. The ones in the next town over are new as well. There is till one empty "old" WM building there that hasn't been filled and I doubt it will be any time soon I have heard our WM's are clean. The cleanliness was never really a big issue for me. K-Mart's here are Nasty and I don't shop them either but more because they are dirty, not the service.

I just don't understand why in a 20 mile radius, we have a total of 5 Super Wal-Marts . In Loveland, the two SWM's are like 4 miles apart. Just silly....

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Won't shop there now or ever! The stores remind me of one big garage sale and my DH won't allow me to make comments about people with body odor anymore so I just avoid the store.

We are both UAW retirees and Walmart is "the devil" to faithful union members.

I'm guessing they must just do that much business, huh? We stopped at the one on 34.

It's pretty hard to find stores there in Loveland! It's obvious that your city planners have worked very hard to keep the area from feeling like one big chain store mecca! You can hardly see anything from the road, what with all the trees and other landscaping. It truly is lovely!

We were headed up into the mountains and Loveland has always been the best place for us to stop for groceries, etc. Safeway's chicken was going to be a bit more $, and when I heard WM's prices, I couldn't imagine King Souper would've been able to beat them... so we just went with WM.

I think it's lovely too...despite the many WM's LOL

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins By Wal-Mart - New York Times

I don't intend on saying much about this subject since I've been scorched several times over the years by the flames. To the OP, I don't shop at Wal-Mart (haven't for many years) partially because of some of the things already posted which I've seen first-hand. While I live in Iowa now, I was born and raised in Fort Smith, AR and worked at Wal-Mart's corporate offices in Bentonville for a few years. After all the things I've seen, I can't in good conscience shop there. As for Wal-Mart's loyal disciples, believe what you want to. You should be able to shop whereever you want, no matter where that is... but if the powers that be at Wal-Mart have their way, that won't happen, all that will be left is Wal-Mart.

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Don't dream it. Be it.

do you feel comfortable stereo-typing people?

Of course what is in the news/media is the negative reports. That's what sells! But, what you don't hear are the really good things WM does for the communities they are in and for their employees.

I can say this--I know CRTs (Cart Retrieval Techs) who make $10/hr. These are usually people who have no secondary education. To me, that seems to be a pretty fair wage for pushing buggies! I have seen people who have worked at Wal-Mart for 10+ years who make really good money, participate in profit-sharing and when they leave Wal-Mart will have a fairly decent share of WM stock and retirement package. WM hires those who really have few marketable job skills--and if those people are willing, and work hard--WM rewards them. They do promote from within. They do provide training. I know a person who started working for WM at 16. By the time he was23 y/o he was an asst. store manager, making $45K/yr. And he did not have any sort of degree....but he committed to the WM system and is a success.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I know about the pay at Walmart and the pay at Target and Walmart pays soooo much better. You can get benefits for part time and full time is considered 28 hours and over for even better benefits. You get profit sharing and bonuses based on production. Target doesn't do this. In the midwest, with any cashier experience Walmart will start out at $9+ an hour.

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Living well IS the best revenge!!

Walmart starting pay here is $7 an hour (they have it posted in the bathrooms). All I know is we used to have United supermarket, Kroger, Safeway, Piggly Wiggly, Homeland, Albertsons and one more I can't remember. Now we have 2 Super Walmarts, Country Mart and SaveA Lot for groceries. Not sure if Walmart had anything to do with all of them going out of business or not, all I know is we have waaaaaay less selection since they came to town. I try to get everything I can at my double coupon store and only go to Walmart for things that are several dollars cheaper like pet food (we have no chain pet stores or I'd go there).

I am Not an employee at Walmart, but I am a vendor there and I know they treat vendors (let me think of a way to put this nicely: they don't treat us so well) I hear this from EVERY vendor I know and I know alot from my company and other companies and it from EVERY Walmart they have to service. My boss services TX and OK and he says it's the same everywhere not just the store I work in, apparantly I have a pretty good store, LOL. They do things like give us space in the warehouse for our items up on the third story high (knowing that our company doesn't allow us to climb ladders, so we have to break our company policy everytime we have to go into stock) I finally after 4 years just got a spot on the floor (behind 15 pallets of other product, LOL). They do stuff like call and complain that a certin item isn't stocked, we go in UMMM, that's not our item, that's an item the store is responsible for stocking, not our company, they don't even know what belongs to them (even though all our items have our name on them). Headquarters orders items they want, then the store doesn't want to give you a place on the floor for it, even when headquarters says they want it. And it is like this in all the stores. All the vendors say the same things, from all different companies. Now the individual people that I come into contact with like in receiving, they are great. I finally got to the point that I would dump all the stock into the basket, wheel it out onto the floor, talk to the dept manager and say I have this stock that headquarters says needs to go n the floor would you like me to put it out and or do you want me to leave it here for you to find space for and most of the time this works, they will usually find me space to put it. I believe this would be because they don't want to do it though, doesn't matter to me who does it as long as it gets on the floor.

As far as CHOOSING to work there. It is one of the 5 accounts I have to service. I do need a part time job where I can work around my childs school schedule. So even though it is my least favorite account I just have to suck it up and deal with it.

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I won't go near a Walmart. I agree with everyting annadrose said and couldn't say it any better.

I"m not saying that you cannot get part time benefits. What I am saying is that my father, who has a spotless record at Walmart, inquired about cutting his hours to part time and was given mis-information by the HR department. As a result, he lost some of his benefits, and more importantly, my mother lost her medical insurance which was through my dad's work. My mom has several serious chronic medical conditions and my father would have stayed on full time to keep my mom's insurance active had he been told correctly.

As for how they treat their employees, I only know of my father's experiences and those of some other people who have worked at Walmart, but it's enough for me to make my own personal decision on. I'm sure that not all stores are like that because different people are different.

I'm really surprised to see that so many people here don't shop at WalMart! I always see so many posts with people talking about the deals that they got on their recent trip there, so I was starting to think that I was alone in my own little boycott!

Funny, because I don't like Target, either. They've done nothing wrong, I just never find any deals there and their "sales" are almost never more than 30% off, if that much. I do much better elsewhere. So I keep on plugging along.

BTW, I'm glad that we are all able to share our opinions on this topic without offending one another. I know that for many it is a very hot topic, so I was very pleased to see that almost everyone is respecting other's views that may differ. THANX!

I would love to NOT have to shop at WM, but unfortunately my finances do not afford me to shop wherever I please. God bless all of you who can afford to spend the few extra dollars to shop wherever you like. I've recently become unemployed, so for me, the money just keeps getting tighter and tighter. (Along with the prices going higher and higher.) I have a SIL (and thereby my DB) who dislikes WM as much as many of the posters above, and for many of the very same reasons.

I wouldn't say my SWM is dirty or messy. Considering the amount of business they do, I must give them credit for keeping the store decently clean, stocked and organized. Of course if I shop at night, the pallets and boxes everywhere are quite a pain in the butt to maneuver through. But, the trade-off is that there are very few shoppers at night, so there are no crowded isles and virtually no lines to wait in. I know it sounds awful and judgmental on my part, but I do feel that most (not all) of the employees and many of the customers are a "Jerry Springer" class of people. But of course, I don't have a very high opinion of the town I live in either. (As soon as we can afford it, we're moving.)

SWM is much closer to me than Target and Kmart (and they're not super stores), and my Kmart is much messier and dirtier than my SWM. Plus, my SWM price matches competitor's ads which really helps me save money because I don't have to burn out gas driving from store to store to buy the "loss leader" sale items. I use to do ALL my grocery shopping at Kroger before they stopped price matching ads. They still double coupons up to 50-cents, but unless the items are on sale too, I'm not really saving much money to make it worth my trip. I'd shop at Aldi more often, but it's even further away and a lot of their prices aren't too much cheaper than SWM. Aldi's canned goods are usually pretty cheap, so I try to stock up on those when I go. WM is the only store in my area that still price matches competitor's ads. Plus, I do get a little satisfaction when I price match at WM because I kind of feel like I'm sticking it to them, instead of them sticking it to me. (LOL) I try to use all my "free item" coupons there, too.

I would prefer NOT to shop at WM, but unless you're paying my grocery bill, I will continue to shop there..... at least until I can afford not to.

.

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~~~MsMiser

That is one of the most offensive comments I have ever read on this site.


OT - Walmart carries some items that other stores in this area don't, and I stop there for those items when I am in that area.

I shop at Wal-mart. We live near a small town where Wal-mart is 10 miles away. Target is 26.2 miles away. With the price of gas, I cannot afford to stand on principles. There are many other merchants that treat their employees with little respect and offer low wages but I have to shop when I can get the best prices. I would love to have the luxury of boycotting Wal-Mart, but right now I cannot.

As far as quality, of course the clothes are going to be of a lower quality than large department or specialty stores, that is true with Target as well. But if you are shopping for anything else it's all the same quality.

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Mary

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, including that you find my comment offensive. But mine is that there are a disporportionate amount of morbidly obese people shopping in Wal-mart. Obesity is a national epidemic that we should all be worried about and catering to low nutritional value foods at low cost as my local Wal-marts (not Super Walmart) do, is not helping the situation one iota.


cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Our Walmart is neat and clean. I do shop at the SuperWalmart at least 2x's a month. I am not crazy about it as I am Target, but do shop there.

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Freedom Stands...Because HEROS Serve

Mary

Of course my emotions are going to be in this. I am very emotional about people making millions of dollars a year by sqeezing out businesses that provide them with the goods that they sell to make their fortunes.
Any time you have one entity that controls something whether it is a retailer that has more stores than anyone else or a media entity that controls the news or a utility company that controls the market you are going to have corruption and greed.
But my emotions are guided by facts and the anger and sadness I feel is because I grew up in the 60s and 70s so I know for a fact that if it were not for the greed of the people who control what we consume life would be better for the average American worker.
It was only when "they" openly said "we are idiots. We are making cars and appliances that last forever. We should make them shoddy then people will have to buy many of them in a lifetime. And we can charge more cut down production costs and pay less thus becoming richer and richer".
That is what WalMart is based on. Low cost of goods and low cost of work force combine to equal an eventual monopoly on the market and obscene profit margins.
All the while the people who make the goods and do the work see their lives going downhill with less hours, lower wages, higher food, utility and fuel costs. That is what drives the business world today.

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Are you saying that Wal-Mart is the cause of the obesity epidemic?

It wouldn't surprise me if someone were to blame Wal-Mart. But, FYI, generally speaking being morbidly obese has more to do w/ people making poor lifestyle choices. And those people would be morbidly obese without setting foot in a Wal-Mart operated facility.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

How do you know he was told incorrectly? Were you there? Maybe he misunderstood. Even though I haven't been employed by Walmart for a while now, I know that part time workers are only covered for themselves not family. It's in all the handbooks and benefit information. If he's been there 5 years he's been to the open enrollment meetings where they clearly explain the benefits for part-time and full-time. If he was told something different then before cutting his status he should have questioned it further up the HR ladder.

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Living well IS the best revenge!!

No, I did not say that, or did not mean to say that.

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I rarely go to WM, don't care for the disorganized, messy, smelly stores in my area, the poor customer service- there are always 20+ checkouts, only 2 of them are open and 10 people are in line waiting waiting waiting.

I have friends/neighbors who worked for WM and were expected to work off the clock because they hadn't finished their aisle, or not allowed to leave after clocking out at night, that's just wrong and it's also against the law.

I know some of you have said you have a nice clean store in your area, some have worked for WM and said their store complied with labor law, etc. If that were the case in all the stores I wouldn't have a problem with WM either lol. I hope WM corporate has figured out they can't get away with violations of labor law 101 anymore...

Then there were the other greedy, sleazy business practices like dead peasant insurance, that was just one of the policies I found very distasteful and unethical on the part of WM corporate management. That particular practice was not always illegal, but always sleazy imo.

Look, I'm not here to argue. My father is not stupid. He is one of the most intelligent men I have ever known; he got stuck working at Walmart because he got laid off from his other job. He is well-educated educated and has had some very bad luck over the last 5 years or so. Yes, he could have misunderstood, but I know my father. He is a very detail oriented person like myself and was looking into this for quite a while. HE's not one of those idiots who misses the fine print or only gets half of what is told to him.

I supposed you've never been told something wrong yourself, either. Look, this is not just about him being given that wrong information. That's has happened to many people. And yes, it is possible that my dad misunderstood. A company can have all the policies in place that they want and still slip up.

I refuse to get into this kind of a child-ish argument. My decision to not shop at Walmart is based yes, on many events that have happened to my father at Walmart, but is not solely based on it. Even if my father had never worked there, I would still not shop at Walmart. It is my personal choice and I only was curious if other people felt the same way.

I once applied for a job at a Wal Mart while going to college. The employees there were while I was interviewing were the most ignorant, uneducated people I have ever met. The experience was extremely unorganzed and unprofessional. The Walmart 5 miles down the road may very well have been a very professional environment. I don't know. When you're dealing with humans, the variety of experiences that a person can have are infinite. Having all the rules and policies in the world does not guarantee that the people who are supposed to be implementing and enforcing those rules is doing so or is doing so correctly.

I'm not going to get into a discussion over who is right. I'm sure that you neither one of us is going to change the mind of the other and we've both said our piece, so let's just drop it. After this post, I will not be humoring this argument any further by posting more about it. Now let's all go back to playing nice on the playground, shall we?

Look, I'm not here to argue. My father is not stupid. He is one of the most intelligent men I have ever known; he got stuck working at Walmart because he got laid off from his other job. He is well-educated educated and has had some very bad luck over the last 5 years or so. Yes, he could have misunderstood, but I know my father. He is a very detail oriented person like myself and was looking into this for quite a while. HE's not one of those idiots who misses the fine print or only gets half of what is told to him.

I supposed you've never been told something wrong yourself, either. Look, this is not just about him being given that wrong information. That's has happened to many people. And yes, it is possible that my dad misunderstood. A company can have all the policies in place that they want and still slip up.

I refuse to get into this kind of a child-ish argument. My decision to not shop at Walmart is based yes, on many events that have happened to my father at Walmart, but is not solely based on it. Even if my father had never worked there, I would still not shop at Walmart. It is my personal choice and I only was curious if other people felt the same way.

I once applied for a job at a Wal Mart while going to college. The employees there were while I was interviewing were the most ignorant, uneducated people I have ever met. The experience was extremely unorganzed and unprofessional. The Walmart 5 miles down the road may very well have been a very professional environment. I don't know. When you're dealing with humans, the variety of experiences that a person can have are infinite. Having all the rules and policies in the world does not guarantee that the people who are supposed to be implementing and enforcing those rules is doing so or is doing so correctly.

I'm not going to get into a discussion over who is right. I'm sure that you neither one of us is going to change the mind of the other and we've both said our piece, so let's just drop it. After this post, I will not be humoring this argument any further by posting more about it. Now let's all go back to playing nice on the playground, shall we?

Hey fellow Fort Smither. I was born there too. Probably long before you were and I haven't been back since we moved when I was 6.

I don't shop at Walmart. Never have, for the most part, probably never will if I want to stay married. I can't say I have never set foot in one, but it's close. I don't like their cheap items, lack of concern for the communities they move into, the way they treat their employees, and the fact that much of what they sell is made in China, possibly in locked slave shops.

The few times I was in one, the fresh produce didn't look all that fresh. Some of the meat cuts were odd. Many of the prices weren't that much better than anywhere else. And the store seemed dirty.

I live in the St. Louis area and most stores here are pretty clean in general, so I'm surprised at the people who pass up clean stores to shop there. The cleanliness seems to follow the economics of the neighborhoods they sit in too. With gas what it is, the cost of driving to one may put a crimp in the way people shop and it may hurt their sales.

I'm not in favor of nor opposed to shopping at Walmart nor have I ever worked at Walmart (although my ds worked at Sam's Club and was offered WM stocks)
I will say that most of our local WM's are very clean and well stocked. As another poster mentioned, late night shopping will be somewhat hampered with the asiles full of pallets of stock to be put out. But in a 24 hour store the new mechandise has to be put out sometime. What better time than late night when there is the least amount of customers to get in THEIR way. I also have found those same conditions in other stores when it was during prime time shopping hours of stores who closed at 8:00 pm. They could have had night people to stock after closing time but they wouldn't pay people to do that. The stock cluttering the asiles in those stores did HIGHLY agrivate me because it wasn't necessary.
Lets face it. Employers are not the same people they used to be and jobs are DEFINITELY not the same as they used to be.
The town I live in USED to be a vey industralized city. And I say USED to be. Nearly all of our major manufacturing has long since left this locality, most to other countries. So, finding a decent paying job here is next to impossible unless you have a degree of some kind. And even with a degree, it dosen't mean you're going to find a job that will support your living conditions, no matter how meager. It's a statistically proven fact that a great share of the young people here will leave the locality when they graduate from HS and/or collage.
And finding a job that provides insurance benefits is very difficult. Few to none PROVIDE insurance of any kind and for those that do, the employee pays LARGE premiums and HIGH deductibles. Even in what union shops we have left here, the insurance is very costly to the employees. As far as retail employers having insurance available, I think WM offers way more that any other here that I'm aware of.

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Barb


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