Walmart - an observation

ka_bateman

I never had shopped at Walmart until one day my 87 year old grandmother who lives with us asked me to please go there for her to save money. I figured it is her money & she insisted it was cheap. When I finally found the groceries almost everything was more money then Winco, & I could not find a lot of things on her list. So I am back to not shopping at Wal-mart. I wonder if people dislike it so why do you shop there?

Seriously! Nothing is cheaper than Winco!

annahiven

I hate WalMart because the stores reek of cheap. Cheap items, cheap service, poorly maintained stores and it's always messy. Last time I had to go grocery shopping, I went there out of laziness, and I was surprised to find they didn't have bananas. How can you run out of BANANAS?

I prefer Target. It's cleaner, the stores are neater, and I don't feel like everything there is gross.

kwest_4_fitness

Every store I go to from Wegman's to Wal-mart to Sav-A-Lot to Aldi's has something about it that just drives me nuts. There's either no room in the aisles, no cashiers, too many self-checkout lanes, weird people, etc. Wal-mart normally has the best prices and the largest selection, so that's where I usually shop. I do, however, spread the love to other stores. But Wal-mart is my go-to!

samf36

My local Walmart is spotless and has an excellent produce ffor our area. I however do not buy meat there or at any grocery store. Our local groceries are dirty and have no produce at all.

roachhaley

I love Walmart. Here are some reasons why:


It's convenient. You can get almost anything at Walmart.

There's variety. At some stores you'll only find 1-2 varieties of something, at Walmart you can usually find them all (unless its some
specialty stuff).

It's big. We go to the "neighborhood market" to get groceries, and it's never really that crowded. It's busy, but it's big enough to spread people out pretty thin.

The cashiers are friendly. I'm sorry, but the other "local" grocery store in town, all of the people on the register are bratty teenagers that just want an easy job. I've easily seen 10+ people at Walmart that have been there for over ten or twenty years and know what they're doing.

It's CHEAP! Yeah, you can shop sales other places, but Walmart is just cheap year-round.



I could probably go on and on...

And to people who are going to say "MRRR!!! WAL MART IS A CORPORATION!!! I HATE CAPITALISM!!!".... what do you think Walmart started as? Go to Bentonville, Arkansas and see the original store. It probably looks similar to the "mom and pop" store you want to support now.

onedayillbeamilf

Last time I went it seemed like everyone looked like crazy eyed zombies. People let their kids run all over the place, so I spent a great deal of the trip abruptly stopping the cart to avoid running over the unsupervised children. People just randomly stop in the middle of the row. People were yelling at the food on the shelves like they were mad at it. It's just a miserable store to go to.

ka_bateman

It's kind of a long store, but here goes:

My mom worked there for seven years, and in the course of those seven years, she had several surgeries on her back. Her back always gave her problems, but the surgeries made it worse. The managers at walmart were unwilling to adhere to very reasonable doctor's requests for my mom, such as letting her sit for a half an hour for every hour she worked. She worked in the infants and boy's and girl's sections, so it would be simple for her to sit while folding clothes or organizing shelves. But no. And, that was another thing, they had her working three departments by herself, and threatened to fire anybody who helped her
There was finally a time when my mom could no longer work for walmart because of her back issues, however, she had to get fired from there to be able to collect money for her disability. She still went into work and did her best, never really trying to get fired, but still needing to, all the same. But, instead of firing her, they put her on unpaid leave of absence-- for a year and a half. At this time, both my brother and I were too young to work and my dad was dead, so she was the ONLY source of our income. I blame them for the hard time we went through, and I don't shop there. I will go out of my way to shop somewhere else.
Also, while working there, they had some employees do what is called "comp shopping" which is sending them to other stores to scan the prices of certain items. They did this to keep their prices the lowest. And this happens to be illegal.

This just breaks my heart...

mmoyer1978

I hate it too but like you, I usually go there. The lines are too long, the cashiers are usually very rude, the people I end up in line behind shop one item at a time. I actually had some woman have the cashier add one item at a time until she reached her budget and then kept having her take something off and put something back on. All I could think was, "USE THE F'ING CALCULATOR ON YOUR EXPENSIVE SMART PHONE!!!!!" I ALWAYS end up in line behind the dumbest most annoying people who came into the store that day and the slowest most rude cashier. But I still go because they're cheap and I can get everything. I don't buy produce their though. I'm a produce snob and spend the extra few dollars for quality fresh stuff at the produce store by my house. Totally worth it.

Sockimobi

I believe in the UK Walmart is 'ASDA'... and yes I hate it and only ever go there in an emergency. It's full of chavs.

Oooh is it Asda? The supermarket that has people patting themselves on the *kitten* in their adverts!!

nlassite

I shop at Bi-Lo because it is 24 hours so I don't have to go to Walmart for groceries.

LeeBee2012

bump. i'd love to chime in on this later, but I am at work, I wasn't busy when I started reading everyone's responses, but now I am...lol I will reply with my walmart experience later.

histora

I hate Walmart for various reasons, including my parents having worked there, completely rude and ****ty treatement as a WIC mom, crap clothes quality for my three boys, and this attitude of entitled contempt from most of the employees.

When I was a mom on WIC, we were allowed blends of certain fruit juices from one specific company, Old Orchard. Included in the list of blends were berry blends (blueberry, raspberry, cranberry etc) and pomegranate blends. So I picked up a blueberry apple juice for the boys and as I rung out the cashier tells me I will have to march back to the juice aisle and pick up a "proper" juice. I patiently explained that I had just been from the WIC office and had directly asked the dietician if that juice was covered, with her approval. The cashier refused to believe me, so I pulled out my food list and pointed out where it covered blends. The cashier called the CM, another cashier, and the GM. So now I have three tired hungry kids squirming in the cart, a line of people *****ing about me taking up the line, and the GM and CM whispering to each other about people being difficult, demanding, rude. I angrily informed them that I could hear them, there was nothing rude and difficult about getting food for my kids that is explicitly on my list, and then called the dietician again. On speakerphone in front of the CM, GM and two cashiers, I asked her if I could get the juice. She said absolutely. I asked her if there was any reason that Walmart would have a problem with me having that juice. She said very clearly that if stores begin to limit what the WIC customers are allowed to buy beyond the food list, they risk being revoked as a WIC supplier. The GM and CM clenched their jaws at that. I thanked the dietician and hung up, then asked for my juice. The CM rung me the rest out, and told me angrily that this was the only time I was going to be allowed that blend, because she was breaking "store policy" by doing so. I said that was fine, because I wasn't coming back again anyways. I found out later from the dietician that she had ten, TEN! calls about juices and Walmart from WIC families that week, and that she had had to go and have a not-so-friendly chat with the GM about how the WIC program determines the food list, not Walmart.

On top of how quickly their clothes warp and shred, the furniture breaks, the toys break...there is only one time we go there, and it is to buy non-detergent oil for the tractor. Otherwise I shop for groceries from the Super One and Target. I actually discovered that I didn't save money much at all Walmart...since switching stores, I spend *maybe* an extra 15 dollars.

I don't go back. Just walking into that store makes me irritable. With all of the **** they told my folks when mom and dad worked there...unions will destroy the fabric of America, if you try to unionize you will be blackballed, breaks are suggestions, your local public assistance office is just down the road, they'll give you medical coverage...screw 'em. There's something worse than unions destroying the fabric of America...and it starts with Walmar and ends in t.

shaynak112

I hate Walmart because of the lines, the crowds, and I haven't found many cashiers or people who work there that are very pleasant either.
I used to go to this one in Scarborough, it is a super centre. But the last time I was there, I was heading out (just paid for my stuff at the cash register) and the Walmart greeter demands to go through my bags. I was like WTF? Keep in mind, I'm a short, really innocent looking female and there is nothing sketchy about me at all. And I just came from the cash register with my receipt in hand. What a jerk.
I told him that, because of him, I was never coming back here again.

But sometimes I think about how I need to make a couple different shopping trips in a day - and then I realize it could all just be done at Walmart instead of lugging bags from store to store ... and then I just go to Walmart instead (NOT the Scarborough one).

KaleidoscopeEyes1056

And to people who are going to say "MRRR!!! WAL MART IS A CORPORATION!!! I HATE CAPITALISM!!!".... what do you think Walmart started as? Go to Bentonville, Arkansas and see the original store. It probably looks similar to the "mom and pop" store you want to support now.

I don't hate Capitalism. Capitalism is fine, when it's done right. Walmart, or as somebody else put it (and I'm stealing it) Hellmart does not do it right.

marycmeadows

I don't mind shopping at walmart... mostly because I try to not let the slow lines/cashiers and lack of cashiers, and annoying people in the store bother me. Why let those folks have any control over me and the way I feel? They have no control over me, so it doesn't bother me to go there. You encounter those issues everywhere -- and if you don't encounter those issues - like at target or something - then you don't get what you need and you pay too much -- so you choose, suck it up and don't let them bother you, or go to target, and then still have to go to walmart. ha
Edit to add -- I am at wal-mart 2-3 times a week.

tmarie2715

"Is it the general demeanor of the employees and other shoppers in the store??"

--Yes. They buy in huge quantities, so they can put places like Albertsons and Safeway (not that those are teriffic either, but at least grocery employees have unions) out of business and control prices. The employees are treated terribly and don't have benefits, because they try to keep them under full time.

WalMart is awful. I'm thrilled Seattle doesn't allow them within city limits (this could also be due to the fact we don't have any room for one of those mongo stores).

Josie_lifting_cats

The ONLY time I go in there is if I need some kind of sewing supply that I cannot get at Target.

I couldn't find tortellini and Target the other day.... went to Walmart, and they didn't have it either.

Otherwise I find in my area that Target is cheaper than the Walmart across the street for nearly everything that I buy. I don't get run over by people in motorized carts, or pushed out of the way, or dive bombed by birds..... or long lines.... or crabby people yelling at their spouses.

Plus Target clearance is discounted SO much better than Walmart clearance. And I'm a clearance addict.

EEpling89

I avoid Wal-Mart unless I need a wide variety of items (as in not just groceries) and I don't have time to go to five different stores. If I only need groceries, I go to Aldi. A lot better quality food and WAY cheaper.

I think it's because they know they're the only store where you can basically get everything, so they don't even attempt to lift a finger for "customer satisfaction". The quality of people who shop there isn't the greatest, either.

LorinaLynn

The reasons I hate it are a pretty even split between the Wal-martians... and the store's business practices.

I go there about once a year just to remind myself why I don't shop there.

futuremalestripper

I've been to 4 Walmarts in Florida. All of them were full of loud and smelly people. Mothers running around with 7 kids who are opening packages and dumping crap all over and rude people that have no civility. When I go into Target afterwards, I feel like I just walked into high-society. People don't smell, they aren't pushy, they say "excuse me" and "thank you,"

Also, in 3 of the 4 Walmarts, I half-expected to be stabbed in the parking lot.
I'm about to move to Orlando and I've been told by local residents to avoid a particular Walmart because people are robbed at gunpoint a lot there. I laughed and said they must be joking because it isn't in a bad neighborhood. Then I turned on the tv and saw there was a shooting there last week...

robot_potato

It just feels...dirty. Everything about it. Maybe it's how i was raised, but i just don't feel right going there, and i can't buy produce at all. I also work for a smaller, local grocery and i tend to support them because the quality, cleanliness and friendliness is better.

ARDuBaie

I could make a very long list, but here are a few things:

No decent gluten-free section.
They buy the cheapest produce, so you don't see organic there often, if at all. Additionally, it rots in two days.
People who push and shove, let their children run around unsupervised, swearing, etc.
The fact that they pay their staff so poorly and treat them poorly as well.
The stores around here are dirty, especially the bathrooms where people throw their used kotex pads and diapers directly on the floor.
They don't have that big of a selection compared to other stores. They offer the cheapest which does not equate to best with me.
You can't find anything made in the USA at Walmart. If you do, consider it a miracle.
The lines.
The parking lot is always over-flowing.
The fact that it is more about capitalism than serving the customer.

I could go on, but those are my biggest pet peeves.

histora

I forgot to add that I couldn't stand the produce offered at my local Walmart. Why, if I live in the heart of red potato country, do they insist on trucking their potatoes from Utah and charging me $2 more.

The fruitflies always came with the bananas, apples were bruised, and the leeks were wilted.

Why does Walmart produce always seem to be questionable?

And for the person who said they didn't understand why we let other people and problems affect us...I didn't. I voted with my pursebook. They weren't saving me money, I didn't like how they treated me, so I left.

Kara_xxx

I believe in the UK Walmart is 'ASDA'... and yes I hate it and only ever go there in an emergency. It's full of chavs.

Oooh is it Asda? The supermarket that has people patting themselves on the *kitten* in their adverts!!

That's the one! ****** ******

Dawn200321

I hate wal mart!!!! However as the mother of a 20 month old son I go often. Everything is just cheaper there. I perfer Target but the prices are higher. Why does walmart have 20 lanes and only two open...and on a Saturday! I was just there today and that was my experience. Anyways...I suppose no matter how much I hate it I will continue to go...sigh

Kara_xxx

erm.... why were those words deleted??

In the TV ad people pat their pocket with money in it twice, which makes a c-h-i-n-k sound so I typed the work twice and it gets auto deleted.

I'm not aware of c-h-i-n-k being rude?? Well not on this side of the pond it isn't?? :huh: :noway:

histora

erm.... why were those words deleted??

In the TV ad people pat their pocket with money in it twice, which makes a c-h-i-n-k sound so I typed the work twice and it gets auto deleted.

I'm not aware of c-h-i-n-k being rude?? Well not on this side of the pond it isn't?? :huh: :noway:

On this side of the puddle "c h i n k" is a slang derogatory term towards Asians, especially Chinese, that came to America in the 1800's.

Kara_xxx

Ah thank you.

mochaphobic

erm.... why were those words deleted??

In the TV ad people pat their pocket with money in it twice, which makes a c-h-i-n-k sound so I typed the work twice and it gets auto deleted.

I'm not aware of c-h-i-n-k being rude?? Well not on this side of the pond it isn't?? :huh: :noway:

That word does have bad connotations in some areas of the US ~ I think it's used to describe a certain group of people? Not sure, just remember hearing someone a long time ago correct a student in my school and say that we don't call people that.

With that being said, my Walmart is pretty nice and the only reason I don't care to shop there is that I spend soooo much time shopping there each week. I cannot go in and spend just $10, it's at least $100 and more often a full cart and $300+. I do much of my grocery shopping there ~ Aldi and Jewel are my alternatives and I can't find everything I normally buy at either of those two stores. Our Walmart is clean, the employees are friendly (usually) and the lines are normally 2-3 people deep, unless you are shopping at Christmastime.

choochoobell

Bump for now