Wal-Mart Haters

[BethB]

As an employee of the Giant smiley face I'd say it's the best paying job I've had so far in my work experience(except the military but I felt more like a dressed up monkey drone) at nearly $11/hr. the only problems I've had are/were with power-tripping management. contradicting themselves and each other, no communication, and when you ask for assistance or need to let them know things they talk down to you like a child who kept saying "mom, mom, mom..." over and over again. Every wally is different and many have had bad experiences. Most of mine have come from K-Mart and Target.

[jnd4rusty]

Personaly I love to shop at Wal-Mart, in fact it is the only place I normally shop at for my groceries. They price match the other supermarkets here and I have the layout and most prices memorized. I avoid it like the plague on weekends!!!! I usually go there late at night and it is not bad. Ours is pretty clean but it is the only Wally's in a 50 mile radius. The nearest one is in Spearfish. The dominating supermarket in our area is Nash Finch, they have 3 FTC, one Prairie Market and one FTC Express. Then we have two Safeways and one privately owned supermarket in Rapid Valley. Our Wal-Mart is CONSTANTLY busy, I can go to the store at 3a.m. and there are still at least 75 cars in the parking lot. I also heard that our location is tops in the nation for sales. We need another one but the crazy "Wally" haters keep putting a crimp in that idea. Hopefully it will happen someday!! My city has a population of around 60,000 but when you factor in all the outlaying towns, the reservation and the fact that there are only two Wal-Marts in Western South Dakota (that I am aware of) you can imagine the business this one gets. It is crazy there!! But I love cheap!!

[malmalthekiller]

As an employee of the Giant smiley face I'd say it's the best paying job I've had so far in my work experience(except the military but I felt more like a dressed up monkey drone) at nearly $11/hr. the only problems I've had are/were with power-tripping management. contradicting themselves and each other, no communication, and when you ask for assistance or need to let them know things they talk down to you like a child who kept saying "mom, mom, mom..." over and over again.

This. Except I have a much bigger problem with it. There is NO communication whatsoever.

For example, this weekend was my birthday, so I asked off more than a month in advance, talked to managers about it, etc. They scheduled me. So I informed a manager that I wouldn't be around all weekend, they said that was fine.

So my boyfriend tells me that, on Saturday, they asked where I was. FUCK.

Plus the customers are all ruthless assholes.

Thank god I have a new job.

[smileyeagle1021]

Sadly, good Walmarts are the minority. I've honestly never seen a good one. =/

I've seen one. The wal-mart in Logan is actually very good. Always clean, always well staffed, they do have a (albeit small) section for regional products (so not all cheap made in China crap), and they chose a location that actually helped the local businesses (there weren't many stores in that area that directly competed with them, but are grateful for the extra traffic that wal-mart generates).

Salt Lake and Reno though I've started to see the opposite trend, and is something of a consequence of what GK was saying... once they become the dominate retailer you can say good bye to everyday low prices. Once they no longer have to actually compete the prices can and do go up.

[CaroPhoenix]

I love my local Wal-Mart & the Super Wal-Mart that's almost an hour away.

I don't really like Target. I sometimes get clothing for my daughter there (when it's on the 50% or higher clearance racks), but I never buy anything from their very, very, very, very, very (did I mention very?) small Plus-Sized women's section. Also, they don't carry my size in the "intimates" department. I feel very discriminated against.

So it's Wal-Mart for me as they have some nice pairs of pants I've had for ages, I like their denim leggings & I can actually find Petite sizes for their pants!!

[Kogarashi]

Sadly, good Walmarts are the minority. I've honestly never seen a good one. =/

I, on the other hand, have only ever seen two that I would consider "bad," and that was more because both were in serious need of a proper renovation/remodel (and one was actually staffed with chronic frowners rather than normal people--I'm talking the cashiers whose faces are frozen into a deathglare that only gets worse if you try to smile at them).

I've worked in two and shopped in far, far more than that, and the two mentioned above were the exceptions for me. Ample staff, decently kept (usually only messy on freaky-busy days, which makes sense), well-stocked, etc. As an employee, it was a good-paying job and I'd do it again if I had to, though I would honestly prefer a job in a field I truly enjoy. Who wouldn't? The bad management, coworkers, and customers were vastly outnumbered by the good, and things like harassment, overtime, and requested days off were handled well.

Haven't heard any complaints from the several family members and friends who work for the company either, and I've got a decent spread to ask (store employees in different departments, distribution center employees, home office employees, even a truck driver for the company). Only relatives' complaints I've received are from the in-laws, who up until recently didn't have a good Walmart anywhere near them, just the one in dire need of a cleaning and renovation (and fewer scowl-faced employees).

As for Target and K-Mart.... I avoid the latter on general principle after a few experiences while job-hunting, though I'm sure there are good K-Marts out there as well, and it wasn't until I went to the Target near my in-laws' house and the one local to our current residence that I encountered good ones. The rest were trashed (some beyond belief, and understaffed in addition), the prices often rather higher than Walmart's for no change in quality, and the selection much smaller. I really don't like their in-store maternity line right now. Bleh. They do have some useful things, though, and as I said, my opinion is changing slightly due to the stores I've been to more recently.

Though I have to admit the prevalence of red throughout Target stores grates on me for some reason. I get uncomfortable and want to get out as quickly as possible.

[Severen13]

Mixed feelings about Wal-Mart here.

I briefly worked for Wal-Mart and it was hell. Long hours, low wages, customers getting mad at ME when something wouldn't ring up. Ugh.

But that same Wal-Mart was a Super Wal-Mart. It was relatively clean and well stocked, it's grocery section was just as good--if not better--than the other grocery stores in town, and the prices were hard to beat. I shopped there at least once a week and made a point to be nice to the cashiers since I knew what they were going through.

I've moved since then and there is no Wal-Mart nearby, but there is a Target literally up the road.

[wagegoth]

What everyone has said before.

There are three WMs near me that I have been to (the kids keep getting gift cards from my FIL to use there). None of them was really run-down or trashy, and they were fairly neat, but there was a general miasma of misery surrounding them. I've never been in more dangerous parking lots, and I've been in some places in Oakland and San Francisco that would probably freak most people out. The clientele comes in every shade and type of trash. I've never seen anyone, employee or shopper, in a good mood. Desperation and anger seem to be the overriding emotions. I just feel physically and mentally ill when I'm in those stores and tend to rush out as quickly as possible. My kids even hate it.

I do my shopping at Costco, Target and Lucky. I was upset to learn about some real labor issues that are now coming out about Target. I try to not shop at stores that treat their employees poorly. I will admit that that the khaki and red of the stores is not pleasant to me, either.

[Dreamstalker]

None of them was really run-down or trashy, and they were fairly neat, but there was a general miasma of misery surrounding them. I've never been in more dangerous parking lots, and I've been in some places in Oakland and San Francisco that would probably freak most people out. The clientele comes in every shade and type of trash. I've never seen anyone, employee or shopper, in a good mood. Desperation and anger seem to be the overriding emotions.

So I'm not the only one who notices that...it's funny, I can spend half a day in Target, but after five minutes in WM I'm ready to run out the door.

My dad used to go to WM almost exclusively, but stopped after the aforementioned problems his company had with them. He's aware that one person not shopping there won't make any difference at all, but knowing what he now does about how corporate works...

I've just read and heard too much bad stuff about their corporate practices to feel comfortable shopping there.

[Aethian]

I don't really like Target. I sometimes get clothing for my daughter there (when it's on the 50% or higher clearance racks), but I never buy anything from their very, very, very, very, very (did I mention very?) small Plus-Sized women's section. Also, they don't carry my size in the "intimates" department. I feel very discriminated against.

DITTO DITTO DITTO

[RootedPhoenix]

I don't really like Target. I sometimes get clothing for my daughter there (when it's on the 50% or higher clearance racks), but I never buy anything from their very, very, very, very, very (did I mention very?) small Plus-Sized women's section. Also, they don't carry my size in the "intimates" department. I feel very discriminated against.

This is why I don't buy clothing at Target. I really hate how they have loads of room for trendy tiny stuff, and no room for classic things and more sizes. ARGH.

At the same time, I used to work for them, and wasn't mistreated. I'm a bit of a beast though, so that has to have something to do with it. I shop there out of some old worker loyalty...thing. I don't know, really. Sometimes it's just that they have what I need when I need it.

As for Wal-Mart, I've felt the same kind of ...mental unease that some others were talking about. Some stores don't really have it, but some are just so bad I don't want to shop there. Good prices, but I'd rather shop where I felt better.

[Kogarashi]

So I'm not the only one who notices that...it's funny, I can spend half a day in Target, but after five minutes in WM I'm ready to run out the door.

Which I find interesting, since for me, it's the exact opposite. I lose track of time in Walmart, but Target stores have me itching to get out almost as soon as I get in.

[Mr. Rager!]

I used to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. But, when I can go to HyVee and buy $100 worth of groceries or go to Wal-Mart and buy the same groceries for $80-85, come on, there's a savings. Plus, it's one-stop shopping almost. I would never buy any thing big-ticket there. I never have. But, if I have a list of things, chances are I can find them all at wal-mart, which is just fine for me. Our Wal-Marts are nice. They're constantly upgrading stuff at our Wal-Marts. We have two Wal-Mart supercenters.

[powerboy]

When I worked there, I got treated like shit. The managers are back stabbers. The claim to pay great.......Nope. When I worked there I made $6.50 an hour and I was outside pushing carts for 9 hours a day, without breaks. Hardly ever received a lunch. And when I did take one, I got in trouble for it. Almost had a heat stroke and still had to work, remember, I could not take a break. I got threaten to be fired, if I didn't go back out.

So yeah, I am going to hate Walmart after that crap. I will only shop there for little things. Otherwise, I shop at Target or other stores.

[Fox One]

Another is that they wipe out local businesses. ok, ever heard of being COMPETITIVE? Maybe if you didn't charge 19.99 for a 3 pack of bic pens, I might shop at your store instead of wal-mart. Fuck you.

That's rarely, if ever, an option. Wal-mart buys in major bulk for a nation-wide chain, meaning they can get deep discounts from the source. For a smaller chain, or worse, a mom-and-pop store, they have to buy their stock at reduced discounts (since they're buying less) up to being only slightly below what the consumer pays. To price their products below Wal-mart, they'd have to sell for less than they buy, which is suicide.