Walmart - an observation

I shop at Walmart once in a while (for convenience, because they do have a large selection of items), but I do my weekly grocery shopping at Market Basket. The meat and produce at Walmart are always terrible (at least in my area), and to tell the truth, I save a LOT of money shopping at Market Basket for my groceries.

I'll go there to get the things I need if I'm low on funds or short on time (it's basically across the street from me). Otherwise, I'd much prefer to go to our local Wegmans - still a bigger chain, but much nicer. They treat their employees better, keep a nicer, cleaner store, the managers are always around the registers helping, always plenty of lines open at checkout, and they have a much better selection than Wal-Mart does, surprisingly. Not to mention their awesome organic foods section! I'd usually rather spend the money there.

Sorry guys, I love Walmart. The ones by me are fine. The employees are sometimes nice, sometimes not but that's the same as any other store. The reasons the media are all over Walmart's policies is because they are non- union! It's all political. Don't believe everything you hear. Think for yourself.

- i never find a good parking spot
- its almost too big

Yeah, I typically try to park between the two entrances. I start on the left side of the store & work my way over to the grocery section on the right side, picking up the frozen stuff last. If I forget something from the left side of the store, I have 2 choices: leave it or hoof it the 3 miles back over there (I exaggerate again. A little) & let my frozen things begin to thaw. Remember, you STILL have to get in that line to checkout. Usually, if I forget something from Side A, I just get it on another trip or hit the store close to home later on.

ROFL!!!! *hoofing it the 3 miles back over there*...thats HILARIOUS, but also true!! lol Thats the way I see it also when I realize I forgot something WAAAAAAYYYY over on the other side of the building hehe :laugh:

I hate Walmart because is represents everything that is wrong with America - a bunch of cheap, made in China crap, employees not paid a living wage, therefore they are very unhelpful. Other shoppers who also hate it there, so are rude and generally look miserable too, most of them overweight. But we have to go there because there are those few items you just can't find anywhere else. Or because it's a small town and they have put all the small shops out of business. And we also have to shop there because it's the cheapest place and everyone is broke because our jobs went to China so Walmart could buy the crap at the low prices.....

I made more money at wal mart than I do at dollar general as a ASM,or at family dollar as a ASM,more than I did at kroger and alberstsons. I also got a bounus every quarter

...the long wait to pay....always have to wait.

i Hate the lines, and the people who work there always seem like you are inconveniencing them by just walking in! I went into the changing room one day because i saw some shorts i thought were cute as well as a few other things well i was informed by the fitting room lady that the fitting rooms would be closing in five minutes, as i was in the fitting room she proceeded to stand outside my fitting room counting the minutes down i thought it was so rude!! It just seems that everyone there is so freaking rude!!

That was inappropriate, because customer service should always come first, so I agree on that score but as a store manager in retail, I cannot express how much I HATE customers that turn up five minutes before close and want to try things on. The store is open hours and hours, come at a reasonable time.

#1. They always seem to be out of the things I need and don't restock their shelves.
#2. The aisles are JUST big enough to fit two carts. JUST big enough. And if you're off by 1/2 inch , you can not get by.
#3. Kids always seem to be at their worst at Walmart. Mine were when they were little. Now I notice everyone else's kids whining, crying, throwing fits, running crazy.

What I find extremely funny is that when there are lines at Walmart, people start complaining about how they should open another register.

Yet, at Price Chopper(the grocery store), no one complains when there are huge lines. They just stand in line and wait their turn.

Maybe you have a bad Price Chopper, but there are five Price Choppers within my shopping radius and six Super Walmarts(including the world's biggest, which is the worst of them all btw) and I would rather go into all five Price Choppers buying one thing from each then go into any one of those Walmarts. The only time Price Chopper has unreasonably long lines is at peak shopping hours, which to me is expected. They also usually have the majority of lanes open, therefor making it pointless to complain about. They are obviously doing the best they can.

Any of the Walmarts though hardly ever have more than three or four lanes open regardless of the time or dozens of checkout lanes that are available. It's a freakin' miracle when the express lane is open. Also, I'm fairly sure they do it on purpose which pisses me off even more. Do you ever see the amount of useless crap Walmart puts around the registers. Granted, all stores do this, but Walmart takes the cake.

There is a HUGE difference, at least from my perspective.

Your best bet is to support your local farmers market, at least when it comes to a good chunk of your food bill. The prices are generally fantastic, the quality is typically organic and just wonderful, and it supports local business while cutting down on gas emissions because they are not shipping products across dozens of states in heavy giant trucks. Just saying.

I like Walmart as long as I don't go there on the weekend when kids are running all over the place and the lines are crazy long.

I hate that store w/a passion but HAVE to shop there a couple times a month due to having certain things we use a lot and they have the lowest price on SOME items. My reason for hating them is from several bad experiences w/cashiers and managers plus the fact that I can NEVER walk out of there with everything on my list. Usually about 1/3 of what I go after is out of stock at the time!!! I truely have went from spending most of my household/food budget there to only about 100-150 a month or even less!! I also take a great dislike to the price variation from store to store. We have 2 in our small city and one about 12 miles away...the furthest one away has the best prices! And yes part is the over all attitude of most employees and their lack of customer service and helpfulness!!

I hate Walmart because is represents everything that is wrong with America - a bunch of cheap, made in China crap, employees not paid a living wage, therefore they are very unhelpful. Other shoppers who also hate it there, so are rude and generally look miserable too, most of them overweight. But we have to go there because there are those few items you just can't find anywhere else. Or because it's a small town and they have put all the small shops out of business. And we also have to shop there because it's the cheapest place and everyone is broke because our jobs went to China so Walmart could buy the crap at the low prices.....

Amen. I work in manufacturing and I will NOT shop there.

The thing I don't like the most is the one nearest me is very questionable with their stock. They'll carry one product for a few days and either never have it again or it crops up once every few months. I've also noticed if I buy milk from that certain store it spoils much faster, I don't think their units for the milk are running well. The lines are also a problem, but that tends to be because people go in the express lane with a cart full just because they're in a hurry. I've even had people have to leave right after they're rung up because their wallet's in the car or people ramming my butt with their cart as a wordless way of saying "I want to be in front of you." My mother's main complaint is the lack of seating. She's 63, has a lot of health problems and in a Super Walmart she can run out of steam quick even if we're just picking up two things.

That aside the only time I've ever been treated rudely by an employee was in the Electronics Department. The greeters know us, the pharmacy people know us and are chummy with us, and few of the cashiers are genuinely rude.

My wife snivels about Walmart, because they came in and put a few local merchants out of business.
I always thought these folks were over priced and under stocked, so GOOD RIDDANCE!

That actually is their goal. Several small towns my Aunt and Uncle used to live in when Walmarts were starting to span out watched local grocers go out of business because a Walmart would be built nearby and have the ability to lower their prices because they buy in bulk. Around this city a lot of them are right next to other big chain grocery stores, trying to take their business and shut them down. They say their goal is to provide good, family service to the common people but they're just another corporate giant looking to plant its flag everywhere.

The one that I shop at it very convenient to work for me, and open 24 hours. I start work at around 6 a.m., and if Target was open that early, I would probably go to Target. I don't like shopping, and hate shopping with crowds of people. I like to go when there are no crowds, so it works out very well for me. At that time of the morning, the store is always clean and orderly, parking is not a problem, and the employees are very nice and helpful. I agree, their produce is not that great and I don't buy fresh fruits and vegetables from them or meat, except Jennie-O fresh turkey products.

I do most of my shopping at CUB Foods (a local grocery chain) early Saturday morning so I am home by 9 a.m. I detest shopping anywhere that is crowded, not just Wal-Mart. I shop a lot on line.

Wal-Mart is less expensive than other places on a lot of items, but not everything, you have to watch things. Many folks are counting every penny and places like Wal-Mart help.

I like Walmart. My mother has worked for them for a few years now making more money than she did in a chain restaurant (where she was for 15 years!) or for a factory. She even has retirement and stock now because of them. When she had to go in hospital a couple months ago, her boss was fantastic and they even worked it out so that her whole hospital stay and time off for doctors' orders was completely covered by her time so she lost no money.

The store is no dirtier than any other store I've been in and cleaner than some. The employees are wonderful - and not because they know my mom works there. Last month I had to find green shorts for my other daughter's play costume. One of the employees searched that store high and low then tracked me down to bring me shorts that I couldn't find. Completely above and beyond anything she had to do.

I wonder if some of the horrible employees are merely reflecting back the bad attitude some customers have when they are forced to shop in the "evil" store. Or perhaps the customer was coming in to try on a mound of clothing at closing time.

Then again, I live in a rare area where the only store driven out by Walmart was K-mart. We didn't have the mom-and-pop stores in the first place so they really are beneficial for us. Too bad their prices aren't lower and that it's not a super center where we could get less expensive groceries.