Do you shop at Wal-Mart?

Yes I do

ok, is that an american food store

I only shop at Wal-Mart (The one where I live) only when I need to. The Wal-Mart here has poor management.

No. I have in the past but I've found that their stuff seems to be poorly made and break easily.

I do sometimes.

> ok, is that an american food store

Some of them sell food too.

oh right ok thanks, sorry im from England !! i wasn't really sure hehe

Have you heard of K-Mart or Target? Same kinda place.

yes, is that K-mart out of the simpsons?

I don't know, I don't watch the simpsons. I would say so though. Just do a search for wal-mart and that will probably give you a good picture of the kinda store it is.

http://www.walmart.com/?adid=150000000000000062460...

Try this site.

There are about 3 items that keep me going ack Otherwise, I avoid it. That store somehow creates the illusion that people need to shop there to survive, because they can't afford not too. And they somehow create a shopping frenzy inside the store, it's a strange phenomenum. I hate the way they drive in the parking lots, too. Like they have to buy something NOW efore they die to save that 23 cents.

No, there's none around.

Yes I do. There's a Wal-Mart five minutes walk from my apartment, so it's practical. I mainly go there for bathroom stuff and some kitchen stuff.

There are not any near me. Even if there were, I very much doubt it. It doesn't seem, from what I've heard about it -- big, ordinary chain store 'n all -- that I would especially go for it.

Hell no.

They also have some of the worst employment practices in the country. They employ most people part-time so that they don't have to pay benefits, and they pay a very low wage as well. It's ridiculous because they're huge, and the owners are some of the richest people in the US. They drive local stores, and even some smaller regional or national chains, out of business because they can undersell them. They have major buying power and can get everything cheaper than just about anyone else.

Ah, that was one of the things I heard. This all sounds very familiar to me as that was what I myself have had to put up with as a temp since being downsized in '98 from a perm job. The companies only hired temps at various corporate offices cuz they didn't want to pay benefits, AND paid a low wage. Seems the richest corps are the stingiest. Let's all boycott Wal-Mart for sure then. They probably wouldn't get a chance to have one in SF anyway (DO they already have one here?) -- unless it was maybe south of Market -- around where they have that Costco. Anyway thanks for the explanation.

ok thanks

There's no Wal-Mart here, and I doubt that people would ever let one in. I think there would be a huge uproar. Speaking of Costco, they're supposed to be great. They pay their employees quite well (well above minimum wage); the president/CEO takes home a relatively small paycheck (low 6-figures rather than 7-figures); they charge the lowest prices they can without compromising on quality or having to cut their employees' pay and benefits. I read an article about them a year or so ago, and they definitely sounded like a good, progressive company.

Of course, why not? It's a perfectly good store.

I have just discovered that "Wal-Mart" is actually losing money opposed to last year at this holiday time. Clothing sales are way down, due to "Old Navy" and for the other products "Targets" is lowing their price lower than Wal-Mart...so, they are not the only kids on the block anymore.

Sometimes..and I absolutely hate it. Worst store ever. My parents buy groceries there..and it takes 3 hours!!!
But the store is big..and crappy..so..yeah, that's why I hate it.

Good!

I dont have any here, as well as sometimes when I am in the US

Wal-Mart.... lol... that would be a big N O

> yes, is that K-mart out of the simpsons?

That's a Kwik E Mart... not sure of the spelling

I haven't lately

I didn't think there was one but you never know what they might stick in SoMa. Glad to hear that about Costco. My neighbor's been there. We in small apartments can't store a lot of bulk items at a time though.

No Wal-Marts in Australia. But yes, I have shopped there when I was in America.

I can't store a lot of bulk items either, and I have a two-bedroom apartment! It's just a little short on storage (and I have a lot of stuff)!

There's one about 20 miles from here. I've purchased stuff there twice and wandered around the store without finding what I wanted twice as well.

Sometimes. I try not to as much as possible.

I used to but theres way too many people there, wait in lines for hours sometimes

Have you ever thought of all those container places -- online, Ikea (good catalog), and there's at least one big container place I can think of downtown. There are all these shelves, boxes, etc. My problem is that I have no more room on the walls, closets or floors in my one-room studio apt. to put any of the storage thingies. I threw out a bunch of stuff in the closet awhile back. People with small apartments have more garage sales or runs to the donation box at the thrift store I guess.

Have not been to a Wal-Mart in a long time and Wal-Mart is cheaper then Target any day

I don't really have any extra wall space, either. My SO and I have a lot of bookshelves. I could probably have a better organizational system for the closets, but it doesn't seem worth investing in that for a place we're just renting.

YES I DO
I should have shares in the place by now

No Wal-Marts where I live.

um, yes. Why wouldn't I?

well, ideally (at least for me) they would BOTH pay their employees as low as possible AND give their president/CEO the lowest paycheck possible, in addition to running at barely minimum profit; and just pass off the savings to the consumers.

The really poor people would be happy about the low prices, except maybe for the people who work there. Also the investors wouldn't be too trilled about that. Or how bout slash the CEO's and the employee's paychecks, keep the prices where they are, thus maximizing profit. This would make the investors VERY happy. Or just keep the way things are, except that in addition have the CEO also pull an enron type thing-- thus the employees, consumers, and the investors will be screwed; but hey, the CEO will be very happy, at least until the feds catch up to him. Then theres always the numorous lovely things that labor unions can do to screw the CEO, investors, and the consumers.

Theres no way in hell that everyone will be happy. No matter what, SOMEONE will get the crap end of the stick.

no, and i won't

Remind me never to invest in a company that you're the CEO of!

I understand that in a capitalist economy, it never works out optimally for everyone involved; but it seems to me that screwing your employees so that your CEO can be even more filthy stinking rich is a long way from a reasonable compromise.

Yeah, spent a couple hun there yesterday on toys, an ironing board, fabric softener and Christmas wreathes.

No one will ever stop WalMart. So why punish yourself by boycotting them? I bought instant capuccino stuff at SaveMart the other night. Then I saw it in WalMart yesterday for half the price.
I bet you wouldn't shop for food at Winco either, eh? They have very low prices, are open 24 hrs a day and also have a poor record of employment practices, low pay, etc. I always shop there when I buy more than just a few things.
The way I see it - if the people don't like the low pay and benefits they can go elsewhere to work. No one is forcing them to work there.

oh yeh sorry

I'm not punishing myself by boycotting them. There are plenty of ready alternatives, and in fact, I don't even know where the nearest Wal-Mart is. It's very easy to boycott them, but even if it weren't, I think it would be worth it. I may not stop them, but there's no way to get them to change even a little if everyone just gives them a pass for what they're doing. As for their employees, some of them may not have a choice about working there; it may be the only work they can find.

yes

It irritates the hell out of me when people dog about Wal Mart's hiring practices. Here in Mormonville, they are one of the best places to work. Everyone I know who works there is full-time and gets benefits. They recently upgraded the store here from a regular store to a Superstore, and I'm loving it. Safeway and Albertson's had the market cornered on groceries here, and were gouging the hell out of everyone. Now Wal mart has forced them to be more honest with their prices. The 'Great Value' products are priced well below the 'name brand' stuff, and it's just as good.... none of that off-tasting stuff like generics usually are. On top of all this, Wal Mart employs a lot of the 'unemployable' here.... the elderly. There is a 70+ year old woman working as a door greeter here.... do you think she could get a job anywhere else? You are right in that if people don't like the employment practices, then don't work there. Sam Walton worked hard to build his empire, and if someone wants it done differently, then they can open a store and put their name on it.

Nope, not into the local economy usurping thing.

Someday though, we have to face the possibility of a world where one company with no employees produces all goods and services. Seen in that light, the current model of economics simply isn't indefinitely sustainable.

A superstore is certainly more efficient, and a Walmart may provide jobs. The problem comes when comparing Walmart to several mom&pop stores. Not only do the small stores create more employment, the huge difference is that any profits made recirculate within the local economy rather than get siphoned off to CEO's and investors.

Put another way, as per the typical capitalist profit model, drop a mega-store into a community, and the community pays more to the store than the store returns in terms of goods and employment income. To any extent which a mega-store usurps locally owned businesses or lowers quantity of local employees and reduces local wages, essentially the effect of the store is to comparatively drain a community of it's own resources to the benefit of remote owners.

The other end of the spectrum, which most people have been trained to find absurd, but is really the only sustainable economic model, would be one in which both the employees and the stores clients were co-owners.

Imagine how low your phone bill would average out to if any profits it made were distributed back to you. (or similarly, if it were never trying to achieve a profit in the first place).

I try not to which isn't too hard because I have a really great Shopko and Menard's and Farm & Fleet MUCH closer and easier to get to than any Wal Mart. However - there is a new "Super" Wal Mart going up right behind Shopko - unless something is done about the traffic pattern I still won't go there much if at all.

When I can't get it elsewhere.

I shouldn't... but I occasionally do.

Yes, I do.

I try my hardest not to. It is overwhelmingly crowded here. Last time I went to the pharmacy there, they could only fill one out of three of my prescriptions after waiting in a line of about 30 people and were supposed to call them into another pharmacy for me and they called in the wrong one and the other, which they told me had been discontinued I filled at the grocery next door, no problem. I will never, ever, go back to their pharmacy.

Yes, Walmart's pharmacy is TERRIBLE! I hate Walgreens too. Too much of an assembly line, too many mistakes and crazy stuff. I like this pharmacy here. It is the only one anywhere unless you want to drive 30 minutes. A small town affair. I was afraid they wouldn't even have my stuff but they did. And now, like my old one, they know me by sight.

I understand that Walmart often has the lowest price but the fact that the girl LIED and said my asthma medication had been discontinued is unforgiving because I even said, "That sucks real bad cause I need it right now." I called my sister crying cause I don't have a doctor here yet and she uses the same med. and she is a nurse and she said it was crap & to try another pharmacy so I did with no problem. I'd rather pay more for more personal service.

It is a pain in the ASS when you move and have to find a doctor to get meds you've been taking for a long time, especially a specialist.

Yeah, I've moved 2x in the last 6 months and won't have insurance for 90 days & I need refills now. I'm gonna pay out the ass.

That sucks. I've had to do that before.

I'm just glad to have insurance coming because as soon as I quit working I became sick, sicker than I have ever been in my entire life.