Walmart

[Time_Attack]

Capitalism is the worst invention of man since war. 👎

I may be rather liberal but I see no reason why having only a few major stores would be such a bad thing. Everyone says that would be bad because they could charge whatever they want but seriously if prices were to high there would be no market. With more market share there would be larger stores specialising in a wider range of things which would be great for the consumer.

 

[FoolKiller]

...Stange, as even I, pretty much a GOP person, don't like Wal Mart one bit. In the world of "compeditive capitalism" here in the US, Wal Mart does everything within it's power to end it, and I have a problem with it. While I cannot deny it for it's success in the free market, they have done "too good" to be liked by everyone.

Actually I disagree. That's like saying that IBM ruined competitive capitalism because typewriter companies were going out of business. They do the same thing but one is newer and more satisfying to the customer (I know customer satisfaction is debatable on Wal*Mart's part, but they do well enough to keep people coming back).

Wal*Mart took competitive capitalism to a new level. They ended the era of mom and pop stores and brought about the era of supercenters. If it weren't Wal*Mart first Meijer would have eventually done it and Costco would have hit the warehouse stores first. It was coming with or without Wal*Mart, Sam just saw it and took advantage. Society was heading that way with strip malls and indoor malls and outlet centers, but the supercenter put all those things under one roof and one cashier. Wal*Mart is nothing more than the natural progression of consumerism.

Capitalism is the worst invention of man since war. 👎

Exactly, because the ability to achieve personal success without ever relying on anyone or fearing being held down by the government is a bad thing. [/SARCASM]

I may be rather liberal but I see no reason why having only a few major stores would be such a bad thing. Everyone says that would be bad because they could charge whatever they want but seriously if prices were to high there would be no market. With more market share there would be larger stores specialising in a wider range of things which would be great for the consumer.

So, having a large number of monopolies is how it should be? So, if I wanted to open a sporting goods store in my hometown, because that was my dream, but there is already one there the government would tell me no and I would have to find another way to make a living? Do you realize how un-American that is? I would have no problem accepting that I failed because the other store was better and the customers preferred his products, but failing because the law said so is the most unjust and horrid thing you can do to a person. Capitalism allows people to succeed at their dreams. Yes, it also allows them to fail, but it won't be because they didn't have a chance. To try and fail is a trillion times better than just being told if you do you go to jail.

In the Wal*Mart situation Wal*Mart got its start because one man, Sam Walton, chose to open a store and saw that by adding more items to his store he could save his customers from running around town buying different things. The idea became so popular that it became the world's most successful business. Who are you to tell Mr. Walton to go shove it because someone else already sells those things?

Then the mom and pop stores that everyone is so worried about, in your scenario they would suffer too, or you would do the same thing that Wal*Mart has done. Say old man Simpson builds a grocery store on the east side of town and old man Flanders builds one on the west side of town. Now the town decides your idea is brilliant and they have to shut down one of the stores. Which one do you choose? Who deserves to be shut down? Which person's dream, job, and livelihood are you willing to take away?

Then after this happens a town ten miles up the road has their own mom and pop store, which has slightly lower prices because they are closer to their suppliers. In this day of automobiles a ten mile drive to save about ten bucks is worth it. So mom and pop in town A loses some business. Do you have to shut down the second store in town B or maybe you make it illegal for your town's residence to shop in town B? They are still competing and practicing capitalism and you have to stop that somehow, right?


Also, think about this: If your idea had been implemented early on then you would be driving a Ford and have no other options. I hope you like the Fusion.

 

[ledhed]

Wallmart is the den of............... SATAN !!!!


Bwaaaaahahhahaahahhahaahahhaha





and some really cheap stuff...

 

[Duke]

Capitalism is the worst invention of man since war. 👎

I may be rather liberal but I see no reason why having only a few major stores would be such a bad thing. Everyone says that would be bad because they could charge whatever they want but seriously if prices were to high there would be no market. With more market share there would be larger stores specialising in a wider range of things which would be great for the consumer.

Wow. You've obviously not learned a single thing about fundamental economics. I highly suggest you go do a little reading on the topic before you post on the subject again.

 

[FoolKiller]

Wow. You've obviously not learned a single thing about fundamental economics. I highly suggest you go do a little reading on the topic before you post on the subject again.

If he had done that I wouldn't have been able to get my rant in this morning.

 

[Swift]

Capitalism is the worst invention of man since war. 👎

I may be rather liberal but I see no reason why having only a few major stores would be such a bad thing. Everyone says that would be bad because they could charge whatever they want but seriously if prices were to high there would be no market. With more market share there would be larger stores specialising in a wider range of things which would be great for the consumer.

Quick question. If there are only a few stores, why would they offer a wider range of things and what competiton would there be better, stronger, more efficient, CHEAPER products? Just a question.

 

[Danoff]

Capitalism is the worst invention of man since war. 👎

I may be rather liberal but I see no reason why having only a few major stores would be such a bad thing. Everyone says that would be bad because they could charge whatever they want but seriously if prices were to high there would be no market. With more market share there would be larger stores specialising in a wider range of things which would be great for the consumer.

Seriously, economics 101 is for you.

 

[Duke]

Seriously, economics 101 is for you.

I'm thinking that's a little over his head. Let's start with Freshman Social Studies and work up from there.

 

[YSSMAN]

Whatever you do... Don't take an economics class at Aquinas College with Professor Robertson. That liberal douchebag fills every economic "fact" with a bit of spin to make capitalism look like man's biggest "mistake" since, well, anything.

 

[TopHat]

Towns don't like it because it takes the money out of the town.

 

[Danoff]

Towns don't like it because it takes the money out of the town.

...brings money into the town as well in the form of jobs, taxes, and savings vs. mom & pop shops.

 

[FoolKiller]

Towns don't like it because it takes the money out of the town.

Exactly how does a business moving in to a town take away money?

 

[Time_Attack]

You guys didnt get what I was saying. I didnt say people would be told no if they wanted to open up a small store, just that it wouldnt be a good idea because there was already another store that was large but still specialised in that subject among other things.

Its not communism. At the wal-mart I work at there is a kroger and a mijer down the street. Why does there need to be three large stores so close? Wouldnt it be better to have a REALLY large store? So large that is could specialise in certainthings like a smaller store would?

What I'm getting at is basicly a strip mall but more geared towards a wal-mart type store.

Now as for why they would still need a good product if there were less stores.

If they didnt have a good product would they be in business long? nope.

Honestly I would like the government to control business, I just dont trust the government nearly enough to trust them with it. In a perfect world they would be nice, upstanding people but we all thats not how it is.

 

[DuckRacer]

If they didnt have a good product would they be in business long? nope.

Well, where else would you buy that product? If it sucks, but you still need it, where else would you go to buy a better quality product?

Example: cups. Blah blah blah major retailer only has cheap, plastic ones, and they're overpriced. But you still need them. If that retailer was the only one in town, you really don't have the choice of going to another major retailer to get nicer, glass cups for a cheaper price.

 

[Time_Attack]

That is a problem. I'm sorry that I didnt think of small towns that only have one store. I guess I was thinking more of a bigger town that can have 100s of little stores.

 

[Matt R]

Lowe's doesn't care a diverse amount of nuts, bolts, screws, or nails and what they do have you buy pre-packaged. They also don't carry many specialty items nor do they "special order" stuff for you. We usually have them beat on price for larger items, (water heaters for example). Has anyone ever been to Lowe's/Home Depot and gotten superb customer service, or even an employee who knew what you were talking about? We have Lowe's beat by a long shot in customer service, I hear that more times a day than I can remember.

I'm actually an employee at my local Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. If Lowe's has anything it's doing right it is out "special order" services. We are able to order over 85,000 special items that are not found in our store. I'd really like to know where you get your information.

 

[Slicks]

Towns don't like it because it takes the money out of the town.

...brings money into the town as well in the form of jobs, taxes, and savings vs. mom & pop shops.

Matt's right, you know. Where do you think Wal*Mart gets its' billions of dollars profit from? That's coming from the towns and cities where you live.
Instead of going to your local mom-and-pop store, you go to Wal*Mart. You buy stuff. You give the cashier your money, and leave. A little bit of your money goes towards the products, some towards paying the employees and the taxes. Then the rest goes to Sam's pocket.
When you go to your mom-and-pop store, you might pay a little more for the goods, but you also know you're supporting the store owner, who in return goes out and spends his/her money in the community. Your money isn't being shipped off by the truckload to a CEO's deep pockets, it's going back into the community. And that will, eventually, turn around and help you in some way.

 

[FoolKiller]

Matt's right, you know. Where do you think Wal*Mart gets its' billions of dollars profit from? That's coming from the towns and cities where you live.
Instead of going to your local mom-and-pop store, you go to Wal*Mart. You buy stuff. You give the cashier your money, and leave. A little bit of your money goes towards the products, some towards paying the employees and the taxes. Then the rest goes to Sam's pocket.
When you go to your mom-and-pop store, you might pay a little more for the goods, but you also know you're supporting the store owner, who in return goes out and spends his/her money in the community. Your money isn't being shipped off by the truckload to a CEO's deep pockets, it's going back into the community. And that will, eventually, turn around and help you in some way.

I'm not sure whether you mean the mom and pop store is buying their goods from within the community or they are living in the community and thus buying from other mom and pop stores. Either way it works out the same. Grocery products may be grown locally from a mom and pop store but the farms they come from are still outside of the town, usually in a different tax district. Not every good in the store will come locally because there aren't local appliance and/or furniture companies. On the other hand Wal*Mart does try to incorporate local favorites. A local example would be Ale-8 soda which is made in Winchester, KY and only sold in Kentucky. You can even buy it by the case at Sam's Club.

Then a Wal*Mart supercenter store requires approximately 700 employees to run the store. These are not people that drive in from hundreds of miles out every day, these are local residents who still spend their paycheck locally. This includes the high salaried management positions. The money still comes back into town. Plus a Wal*Mart will make more profit than 10 mom and pop shops, thus bringing in more local tax revenue total.

I also once again have to ask why we just accuse Wal*Mart of any of these issues when any national chain store will do this. Kroger has been around as long as I can remember but no one accuses them of shutting down mom and pop stores. The same goes for any restaraunt chain or any large chain store. So, why just attack Wal*Mart?

Heck, do you just buy used cars from local owners or do you go to a car lot? You just sent money out of your town. If I tried to only purchase things that kept all of my money locally I would only be able to chose from Ford pickups or Toyota cars and would have to buy my groceries from a farmer's market. I would still not be able to buy meats, milk, hardware or most appliances. I would have no furniture or even a house. I also wouldn't be able to buy any gas since there is no oil production or refinery facilities in my state.

Saying that Wal*Mart causes some money to leave your local area is essentially saying that Wal*Mart performs standard business functions.

 

[morganhead]

i don't like wal-mart because they are against parental advisory cds. like, approx. 92% of all american parents don't give a **** about what their kids are listening to. music is made to be listened to in their original state, not some butchered crap. i was one of mr. sam's b****es so i know that they are the most family-focused empolyees i have ever seen. in fact, i was fired for cursing at cops, so if there is such a thing as being a victim of mr. sam, it's me.

 

[Swift]

i was fired for cursing at cops, so if there is such a thing as being a victim of mr. sam, it's me.

Actually, you got fired for cussing at cops. Almost everywhere that's a fine in not an arrestable offence.

 

[Duke]

i don't like wal-mart because they are against parental advisory cds. like, approx. 92% of all american parents don't give a **** about what their kids are listening to. music is made to be listened to in their original state, not some butchered crap.

So buy your music somewhere that doesn't sell radio-edited versions. Problem solved. That way the people who do care about the content of the music their kids listen to can buy at WalMart, you can buy elsewhere, and everybody should be happy.

i was one of mr. sam's b****es so i know that they are the most family-focused empolyees i have ever seen. in fact, i was fired for cursing at cops, so if there is such a thing as being a victim of mr. sam, it's me.

Please demonstrate how you were a 'victim'. So far I'm not seeing it. You swore at police officers (I assume on the store's property). If I were the manager, I'd have fired you for swearing at anybody - cop, customer, or coworker - in my store.

Don't take this as a personal attack, but you sound remarkably immature and not terribly logical in your posts. I'd suggest you try to grow up a little emotionally, if you are really 21 as you say.

 

[YSSMAN]

...That or have the lack of a good education, or as my co-worker says, "Ya'all need more Jesus in your life!"

We've been debating Wal Mart in my American government class on and off, and it has been an interesting discussion thus far. The most interesting part has been about how the Democrats once embrased Wal Mart, and now are seperating themselves as far away as possible. I think there was a statistic thrown around in one of the articles that we read that had said that more than 80% of Americans approve of what Wal Mart does and represents, so it becomes quite obvious that the American democratic party is going for that far-left vote once again.

While I am certainly not a Liberal, I still don't care much for Wal Mart. Given that I am indeed a capitalist pig, I prefer to encourage competition over the overall dominance of a single corporation. Grand the success of Wal Mart signifies the oppertunity posed by our American economic system, but when it begins to impede on the success of others, that is when it becomes a problem, IMO.

Wal Mart is indeed a double-edged sword. On one hand they do great things for the community (saving an average family more than $2K a year on groceries) as a whole, while on the other forcing wages and costs down to a point in which other businesses either lose profits or alltogether fold (four of Wal Mart's top suppliers as of 1994 have declared bankruptcy, Kraft Foods had to cut jobs based on lost revenue from Wal Mart).

Meh, you just have to live with it... Thats why I shop at Meijer...

 

[FoolKiller]

Meh, you just have to live with it... Thats why I shop at Meijer...

You're better off there anyway. You might pay an extra couple of cents per item (it's barely a noticeable difference), but you get better quality products, fresher produce, and a much cleaner and easier to navigate store. I also don't seem to almost get run over (cars or carts) nearly as often.

I've found myself going 5-10 miles out of my way to use Meijer. We're also getting a Costco soon so Sam's might also lose my business.

While I have no problem with Wal*Mart as a business I do prefer their competitors. As long as there are people like me and you Wal*Mart will not be an overall monopoly. Instead of a dozen tiny stores in a town you will have two supercenters competing for everyone's business. As I said before, this is a natural progression of consumerism.

I also predict that in another generation a few people will open tiny stores that focus on customer service mainly and it will seem like such a great and novel idea that they will be a booming business and attract many customers.

I've seen this with video game stores in my hometown already. A privately owned video game store opened two stores on opposite ends of town and they specialized in used games long before I had even heard of Funcoland. They not only bought and sold used games and DVDs, but they had about 20 systems set up around the store and would allow you to test a game for as long as you needed to determine if you actually wanted to buy it. They even gave you a 24 hour satisfaction guarantee. If you got home and didn't enjoy the game you were given a store credit for another game. These guys do pretty good business and if I am near their stores I will always stop in. In fact, this is where I bought my first Playstation and GT1 from.

Eventually the supercenter idea will become mundane and everyone will want service focused stores. The market will flow back and forth a bit until eventually you will have supercenters that focus on customer service. This will mean slightly smaller stores than we have now and a neighborhood will be able to support a handfull of businesses that use this model. At least this is how I predict things to work. I may be wrong, but it will take a generation or two to see and I will probably be dead by then.

 

[Matt R]

I woke up this morning and logged onto GTPlanet. I came to this thread again and decided that I was in need of groceries and decided to head out to Wal*Mart. I took under observation many things I usually don't pay attention to. I was going to look at prices, customer service, and fellow shoppers. It was interesting.

Prices

You couldn't beat them. I had local stores adds and compared the prices on everything. They had everything cheaper. Everything. No other store had the same low prices each promised as Wal*Mart did. The ability to resist such deals is impossible. No wonder this giant is making billions upon billions of dollars every year.

Customer Service

You have got to be kidding me. First off, every employee was wearing different colored khaki pants and outtucked blue shirts with the Wal*Mart logo. They all had their own agenda. Stocking. Each employee had a different section. None said hello or paid me any bit of attention. Some employess had backwards Atlanta Falcons hats on. Some wore pink shoes while others their own taste. The lack of professionalism of behalf of the whole staff is astounding. Every employee I saw seemed like the type that would work at Wal*Mart. It got me thinking that maybe this is the sort of thing Wal*Mart doesn't mind. "These people don't care how much we pay them, just as long as they get a check from us," that's probably what Wal*Marts thinking.

Fellow Shoppers

Let me just say that it's obvious that you are in Wal*Mart. I don't mean to sound rude or whatever, but you can certainly tell by the vast majority of Wal*Marts shoppers, that these are low income people. Not to say that Wal*Mart is only shopped by low income individuals, but most were obviously low income. Any type of person you can imagine can be found in Wal*Mart.

We were all there for the same reason. Low prices. Even if that meant standing in long lines, crowded aisles, and horrible customer service. Wal*Mart only has to keep up a certain appeal and millions will come.

-----------

Just thought I'd share what I saw today.

 

[Time_Attack]

I at least try to help the customers the only problem is I dont really know much about the store.

There is actually different dress codes for different jobs depending on what part of the store you work in. Stockers and cart pushers basicly have none. I dont even wear my name badge unless I'm cashiering.

 

[YSSMAN]

No required uniform? That certainly is the case at Meijer and other local chains... Hell, even at Steve and Barry's we are required to wear certain things.

Thats odd that Wal Mart doesn't care, but my guess is that they know their shoppers (for the most part) won't either...

 

[Time_Attack]

No, they have guide lines, just not an actual uniform besides the vest. For those that work outside pushing carts and those that work in the back stocking they dont care. If you work the sales floor or cashier you wear your uniform. You're also not supposed to wear blue jeans I think.

 

[FoolKiller]

Prices

You couldn't beat them. I had local stores adds and compared the prices on everything. They had everything cheaper. Everything. No other store had the same low prices each promised as Wal*Mart did. The ability to resist such deals is impossible. No wonder this giant is making billions upon billions of dollars every year.

The only good thing about Wal*Mart. However, be careful, you get what you pay for in some cases. My brother bought a $6 mixer and the engine burned out the first time he made cheesecake.

Customer Service

None said hello or paid me any bit of attention. The lack of professionalism of behalf of the whole staff is astounding. Every employee I saw seemed like the type that would work at Wal*Mart. It got me thinking that maybe this is the sort of thing Wal*Mart doesn't mind. "These people don't care how much we pay them, just as long as they get a check from us," that's probably what Wal*Marts thinking.

These are also the same people no one else wants to hire unless they are desperate. You also have the people who don't need the job but it gives them extra cash during school. They have no reason to care. If they lost the job it just meant they couldn't buy a new PS3 as soon as they wanted to.

Fellow Shoppers

Let me just say that it's obvious that you are in Wal*Mart.

This keeps me away moreso than the bad customer service. Kids running wild and people nearly running me over, with carts and cars, because they aren't looking when they fly around a corner or notice if they are swerving. They are just to oblivious to even see that they nearly hit me or got so focused on teh item they wnated they didn't see me standing there. I am aware enough of my surroundings to dodge them, why can't they be aware enough to see me at all?

No, they have guide lines, just not an actual uniform besides the vest. For those that work outside pushing carts and those that work in the back stocking they dont care. If you work the sales floor or cashier you wear your uniform. You're also not supposed to wear blue jeans I think.

Yeah, when I worked at Sam's it was khakis and no logos on your shirt, unless it was a UK gameday. Then we had to wear the vest. It was the most relaxed dress code I ever had. Of course, Target does khakis and a red shirt (any shade) with your name tag and that's it. So, some places are almost as bad.

I worked at an amusement park once where you had to pay for your uniforms. That included their khakis so that everyone matched perfectly.

 

[morganhead]

If I were the manager, I'd have fired you for swearing at anybody - cop, customer, or coworker - in my store.

i'm offended just by that statement alone.

HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME. HOW DARE YOU. I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL FOR ALL I REALLY CARE

 

[FoolKiller]

i'm offended just by that statement alone.

HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME. HOW DARE YOU. I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL FOR ALL I REALLY CARE

I hope this was a joke, because he has a valid point.