Out of sheer curiosity, I just asked the 6 people in my company lunchroom to give me a quick thumbs up or thumbs down on Walmart. 3 said they don't shop there. 2 said they do shop there. 1 was indifferent and doesn't shop there mainly because Target is closer to her house. So, hardly a consensus either way but so much for the 'holier than thou' bullshit.

Maybe we're paying those 3 people who don't shop there too much.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Out of sheer curiosity, I just asked the 6 people in my company lunchroom to give me a quick thumbs up or thumbs down on Walmart. 3 said they don't shop there. 2 said they do shop there. 1 was indifferent and doesn't shop there mainly because Target is closer to her house. So, hardly a consensus either way but so much for the 'holier than thou' bullshit.

Maybe we're paying those 3 people who don't shop there too much.

=R=

Taking demographics and location into account you guys have much more options than I do. Ask that same question to 1000 people here and you'll most likely get over 90% that do shop at Walmart. Now there is a local mom and pop hardware store here in town that sells grills and Kingsford briquettes. Would you buy an inferior product rather than getting a better product at Walmart if you were limited to the choices I have here? Somebody in your position and status just may drive the 2.5 hours one way to get it at Berger Bros but that's just not an option for me.

JasonM wrote:I''m sorry I don't have twice the income required t to survive and pay my bills. I can't always afford to pay twice as much to "support the local guy."
How much do the baggers at TJs make?? I be some of them live off food stamps too. I applied for food stamps once, but was denied because I made too much money off of unemoloyment while I was out of work in bad health and could not even pay my mortgage. I used to shop at my local grocery but it sucked.
I'm sorry, but I'm not too f-ing pretentious to shop at Walmart.........

Tjs

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Tra ... -E5631.htm

It has nothing to do with pretentiousness. It's a company that reaps billions off the sweat of underpAid employees. It has preDatory business practices and has earned a lot of the bad will it has with a segment of the population.

spinynorman99 wrote:

JasonM wrote:I''m sorry I don't have twice the income required t to survive and pay my bills. I can't always afford to pay twice as much to "support the local guy."
How much do the baggers at TJs make?? I be some of them live off food stamps too. I applied for food stamps once, but was denied because I made too much money off of unemoloyment while I was out of work in bad health and could not even pay my mortgage. I used to shop at my local grocery but it sucked.
I'm sorry, but I'm not too f-ing pretentious to shop at Walmart.........

Tjs

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Tra ... -E5631.htm

It has nothing to do with pretentiousness. It's a company that reaps billions off the sweat of underpAid employees. It has preDatory business practices and has earned a lot of the bad will it has with a segment of the population.

looks like TJs employees are underpaid too.....
I make $40+ per hour and it's still difficult to make ends meet sometimes
Walmart employs single moms everywhere, or wouild you rather they work in strip clubs?

JasonM wrote:I''m sorry I don't have twice the income required t to survive and pay my bills. I can't always afford to pay twice as much to "support the local guy."
How much do the baggers at TJs make?? I be some of them live off food stamps too. I applied for food stamps once, but was denied because I made too much money off of unemoloyment while I was out of work in bad health and could not even pay my mortgage. I used to shop at my local grocery but it sucked.
I'm sorry, but I'm not too f-ing pretentious to shop at Walmart.........

I get what you're saying, but "pretentious" is definitely not the right word.
I don't shop at Wallyworld because of their ethics, not because I'm snooty. I am a man of VERY few politics, TRUST me on that one. I'm lucky to have a choice of where to shop in my area so I can exercise that choice. If Walmart is the only game in town for some, so be it, have at it, do what ya gotta do. I hope that town doesn't become another victim of the Walmart tornado effect.

And some of those single moms might be better off financially with food stamps and welfare, but they have too much pride, and think a low paying position at WalMart is temporary because of advancement opportunities, only to have the "rug pulled out from under them.**" Just because someone has a job doesn't mean life's a bed of roses compared to being on welfare. Sure, there is the pride factor involved with being seemingly gainfully employed, but the finances are hard numbers. Pride is just a feeling.

This is fantastic bar conversation, imo. I love these topics, but I'm guessing the mods are kinda thinkin about an old fashioned lock pretty soon (has that even happened recently?)

BlownZ, good lookin out for a bargain. I don't think I'd partake at 8 bucks. At 75+% off, however....maybe I might bless my local Wallyworld with my presence. Truth be told, I have bought some clearance items at Walmart in the past, and the end result of those purchases ended up with helping a charity.

**yeah, I saw that one documentary.

I thought I'd share my RO score despite some of the anti Walmart sentiment here

JasonM wrote:

spinynorman99 wrote:

JasonM wrote:I''m sorry I don't have twice the income required t to survive and pay my bills. I can't always afford to pay twice as much to "support the local guy."
How much do the baggers at TJs make?? I be some of them live off food stamps too. I applied for food stamps once, but was denied because I made too much money off of unemoloyment while I was out of work in bad health and could not even pay my mortgage. I used to shop at my local grocery but it sucked.
I'm sorry, but I'm not too f-ing pretentious to shop at Walmart.........

Tjs

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Tra ... -E5631.htm

It has nothing to do with pretentiousness. It's a company that reaps billions off the sweat of underpAid employees. It has preDatory business practices and has earned a lot of the bad will it has with a segment of the population.

At least TJs starts above the minimum wage. Wal-Mart is at the minimum wage, and as Chris Rock says, "when someone's paying you minimum wage they're saying I'd pay you less but the law won't let me."


looks like TJs employees are underpaid too.....
I make $40+ per hour and it's still difficult to make ends meet sometimes
Walmart employs single moms everywhere, or wouild you rather they work in strip clubs?

JasonM wrote:


Walmart employs single moms everywhere, or wouild you rather they work in strip clubs?

This really needs to be a banner quote on some site.

Blown Z wrote:I thought I'd share my RO score despite some of the anti Walmart sentiment here

Blown Z-

I love how the Royal Oak bags complement the baskets underneath.

seebee wrote:

JasonM wrote:


Walmart employs single moms everywhere, or wouild you rather they work in strip clubs?

This really needs to be a banner quote on some site.

The GP wrote:

Blown Z wrote:I thought I'd share my RO score despite some of the anti Walmart sentiment here

Blown Z-

I love how the Royal Oak bags complement the baskets underneath.

I've considered making the Royal Oak bags a permanent fixture above the baskets

Hi- Somebody posted this link on another site I visit. According to the Chicago Tribune, Walmart wants to bring organic food into the mainstream. They are teaming up with the folks who used to run Wild Oats to make organic food affordable. Here is the link.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 9859.story

I have mixed feelings about Walmart. The Dell desktop computer that I am using to type this post, was purchased at Walmart four years ago for $300 including the monitor, but there are only a few things I have purchased at Walmart since then, but the closest Walmart is 25 minutes away from me. I do belong to Sams Club though, but only because it is less than two miles away from me, and I have an associate membership, and so it only costs me $10 a year. I would belong to Costco instead, but the closest Costco is 6 miles away, and I would have to pay $50 for a membership every year.

On the couponing boards that I visit, Walmart is almost universally loved, because you can do price matching there, and avoid having to hit the sales at five different stores. I am not a fan of Walmart because the store is really disorganized, and it is always crowded and plus I don't like their business practices.

The only things I buy at Sams Club are my prescriptions, tires and batteries for my car, and gas. I have also bought a few things on clearance that were dirt cheap, and gas. On occasion I will buy one or two food items too, although lately they haven't been carrying the Thomas WW english muffins I used to buy there. Their gas is at least $.20 a gallon cheaper than anywhere else near me right now.

I can't see myself runing back to Walmart just because they are selling cheap organic food now.

Hope this helps, Nancy

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x121 ... 80a137.jpg?

NFriday wrote:I do belong to Sams Club though, but only because it is less than two miles away from me, and I have an associate membership, and so it only costs me $10 a year. I would belong to Costco instead, but the closest Costco is 6 miles away, and I would have to pay $50 for a membership every year.

The distance may be what does you in, but there is a Costco membership where you get cash back. If you don't make enough cash back to cover your membership they give you the cost of the membership back. I think it costs more up front, but you end up making money back on each your purchases at the end of the year.

spinynorman99 wrote:

JasonM wrote:
I''m sorry I don't have twice the income required t to survive and pay my bills. I can't always afford to pay twice as much to "support the local guy."
How much do the baggers at TJs make?? I be some of them live off food stamps too. I applied for food stamps once, but was denied because I made too much money off of unemoloyment while I was out of work in bad health and could not even pay my mortgage. I used to shop at my local grocery but it sucked.
I'm sorry, but I'm not too f-ing pretentious to shop at Walmart.........

Tjs

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Tra ... -E5631.htm

It has nothing to do with pretentiousness. It's a company that reaps billions off the sweat of underpAid employees. It has preDatory business practices and has earned a lot of the bad will it has with a segment of the population.

Ronnie_Suburban wrote:I (and others here) are hardly the only ones who think that Walmart is horrible. The City of Chicago has fought their entry here vigorously for years. Northbrook just fought them off as well.

And yet Target mystically gets a free pass and a hearty handshake from everyone! Astounding. They are the Minnesota version of Walmart, and I say this as a former corporate employee. They don't look particularly impressive, in terms of average salary - in fact, right on par with WalMart; from the tables included in this thread, at appears as if Trader Joe's employees make $5 an hour more, and they aren't even unionized. BTW. Target is just as anti-union as WalMart.

Menards ad has the 8.8 lb. Royal Oak lump charcoal for a sale price of $4.99 through April 27 and a mail-in rebate of $2.00 merchandise credit per bag with a limit of four bags per household.

Hey, at least you guys can actually use charcoal. My apartment building has mandated that you can only use an electric grill on your patio/porch. Looks like every Turkish/Persian joint in town is going to be giving my credit card a heavy workout this summer... or I'll just follow my nose to your houses!

Not even propane?!? That's crazy.

Octarine wrote:Not even propane?!? That's crazy.

No, they get pretty crabby about that. They'll be first against the wall when the BBQ revolution comes.

Québeckers don't know jacques about bbq: my condo in downtown Montréal won't allow ANY grill, not even an electric one, on the balconies or decks.

Geo

For what it's worth, Costco has a sterling reputation as an employer. I don't shop at those 5-pounds-of-Craisins places, but if I did, I would shop at Costco.

Intrigued that Walmart is embracing organic. That's a pretty big deal, given where Walmart goes many must follow. Iirc, when Walmart shifted its focus from incandescent bulbs to CFLs, it single handedly pushed national trends in that direction.

Vitesse98 wrote:For what it's worth, Costco has a sterling reputation as an employer. I don't shop at those 5-pounds-of-Craisins places, but if I did, I would shop at Costco.

Intrigued that Walmart is embracing organic. That's a pretty big deal, given where Walmart goes many must follow. Iirc, when Walmart shifted its focus from incandescent bulbs to CFLs, it single handedly pushed national trends in that direction.

One or two years ago, there was a blind panel evaluating organic produce from Whole Foods and Walmart. They favored the products from Walmart, much to their chagrin once revealed.

Regards,

Vitesse98 wrote:Intrigued that Walmart is embracing organic.

Actually, they've been at it for a while. There is a fair amount of debate about what this means for organics. Here's a taste from a 2006 article by Michael Pollan

Wal-Mart Goes Organic: And Now for the Bad News

At the risk of sounding more equivocal than any self-respecting blogger is expected to sound, I’m going to turn my attention from the benefits of Wal-Mart’s decision to enter the organic food market to its costs. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether the advantage of making organic food accessible to more Americans is outweighed by the damage Wal-Mart may do to the practice and meaning of organic food production. The trade-offs are considerable.

apopquizkid wrote:

Octarine wrote:Not even propane?!? That's crazy.

No, they get pretty crabby about that. They'll be first against the wall when the BBQ revolution comes.

I was trying to find a story about a fire I only vaguely remember. Several years ago in Lincoln Park or Lakeview, I believe, somebody's grill started their porch on fire and it spread to neighboring buildings. I did find a story about a fire 2 years ago that made some condos uninhabitable until they were repaired. The story specifically states it was a gas grill: http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1363 ... eview.html

Here's another one:

http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city ... pes-109009

Here's a quote:

CFD spokesperson "Langford said in the summertime, the city gets a few calls related to porch fires each week. The causes range from improperly disposed cigarettes that ignite trash or furniture, to Fourth of July fireworks that land on wooden slats. Of course, barbeques — both gas and charcoal — are culprits as well."

ekreider wrote:Menards ad has the 8.8 lb. Royal Oak lump charcoal for a sale price of $4.99 through April 27 and a mail-in rebate of $2.00 merchandise credit per bag with a limit of four bags per household.

Thanks for this. I have to drive about 20 minutes to get to Menards now that the one in Hillside closed, but it will be worth it.

As are as Walmart, I read last week that in order to bring their employees up to a living wage, they'd have to increase their prices by 1 and 1/2 %. The example given was a 67 cents box of mac 'n cheese would become 68 cents. Now there's something to think about.

I'm about to start a moratorium on Walmart because of various problems I've had at one of the local stores. One day I was in my car, ready to back out and the cart guy came cruising behind my vehicle. I hadn't backed up yet and I felt my car shake - the idiot steered the carts too close to the parked cars and swiped the back of my car. I got out and stopped the guy and told him that he'd just hit my car. He looked at me with a dumb-struck look and didn't know how to respond. I went inside and asked for a manager. It took several minutes until someone came to help me. She told me I needed to fill out a form and then it took her something like 15 minutes until she found it. I filled it out and mailed it in. Weeks later I got a letter saying that they had reviewed the parking lot video and denied any fault. If they had paid attention, they would have seen how close the carts were to the cars instead of going down the center of the aisle. I could have appealed, but it wasn't worth my time.

Last week hubby decided he wants to buy a $144 lawn mower to take to my mom's place to replace the ancient, broken-down mower. At the checkout, the cashier asks if he wants to sign up for the credit card and save $25. He figure why not, I'll use the coupon and then never use the card again. The cashier didn't understand how the program worked and didn't credit the coupon at the time of the sale. We took the receipt to the customer service department and asked the young lady behind the counter to return it back to the card and re-ring using the coupon. She rang it up but couldn't figure out how to enter the coupon. She called over a manager who showed her how to do it. My husband signed, was handed a bunch of receipts and off we went. A week later the credit card bill comes and there are two charges for the lawn mower. The girl didn't cancel out the first charge, just completed the sale, then the manager rang it through a second time. Back to Walmart yesterday to try and get one charge refunded. Luckily, the manager who had helped the customer service person was there and remembered us.

So what's the gist of this rant? Not only does Walmart not pay well, they also don't train their employees well. It's a lose-lose situation. But, I also understand that when it's the only game in town, that's where you go.

sundevilpeg wrote:And yet Target mystically gets a free pass and a hearty handshake from everyone! Astounding. They are the Minnesota version of Walmart, and I say this as a former corporate employee. [url=http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/target-salary-SRCH_KE0,6.htm]They don't look particularly impressive, in terms of average salary - in fact, right on par with WalMart...

Yes, because in the eyes of the cultural elite, Target is patronized by "people like us," while Walmart is patronized by "people not like us." Gee, I wonder if the content of the marketing done by Target has anything to do with that perception?

Sweet. I'm not a fan of Walmart, mainly because the one near me on Cicero is a fucking hellhole of anarchy, but for that price for that charcoal, I can stomach it.

Blown Z wrote::roll:

I guess it's a matter of opinion how far off-topic we are. The original post (from you) is about a reason to go to Walmart, to which others provided reasons not to go to Walmart, to which others replied concerning how valid or not those reasons are when seen in the light of Walmart's competition. Seems to me we're pretty much sticking to the topic--unless the only thing that qualifies as on-topic is the price of charcoal.

riddlemay wrote:

Blown Z wrote::roll:

I guess it's a matter of opinion how far off-topic we are. The original post (from you) is about a reason to go to Walmart, to which others provided reasons not to go to Walmart, to which others replied concerning how valid or not those reasons are when seen in the light of Walmart's competition. Seems to me we're pretty much sticking to the topic--unless the only thing that qualifies as on-topic is the price of charcoal.

Like I said before, my main point of this thread is to pass on a good lump charcoal deal to you guys. Instead of crapping on my thread why don't you anti-Walmart contingent start your own thread called, "I've joined the "I loathe Walmart" crowd"?