Wal-Mart Haters

[lordlundar]

Why do I hate Wal Mart? All I have to do is look at my mom. Why? She used to work there.

For 10 years She worked there, dealing with managers who spent more time kissing ass than actually tending to the store and staff, a corporate entity who saw her as nothing more than a number, and making no more than I did as a part time staff member at an electronics store (more on that a little later). Her reward? Degenerative arthritis of the lower back putting her to using a cane at 50. Why? Because she was forced to move in ways for her job that just aren't normal, let alone healthy.

To make matters worse, that got aggravated when she was told by her sup to clean up a cart and got slammed between them when a cart pusher was being a moron and didn't bother to look. Accident claim was denied, she never did really recover and was forced to go into long term disability then disabled CPP (canadian pension plan) when that ran out, and every step of it was a fight just to get retroactive payments from a year prior.

I get to watch her get steadily worse every day, knowing she'll be in a wheelchair before she hits 70. Finally, despite reports from 3 different doctors saying she will never be able to work there again, they think that it's only temporary and she'll be back to work in a few months. She went on long term last year, and they STILL think they can get several years of work out of her.

So yes, they had a large part of destroying the life of a very caring woman who I love very much for the all mighty dollar. The worst part of it? Other companies look at their business model and want to duplicate it. In my opinion, this is a large part of why the economy went in the tank, if not the direct cause.

[Dreamstalker]

To price their products below Wal-mart, they'd have to sell for less than they buy, which is suicide.

That's basically what GameStore boss wanted me to do online (undercut competitors with zero knowledge of what was actually going on), which is what drove that sales initiative into the ground with mindboggling speed. If GameStore was a chain and thus privy to greater discounts from vendors, we might have been able to pull it off, but even then not for long.

IME that tactic works for clearance and only clearance, where the only goal is to move the product and free up space (and possibly recoup a bit of money in the process).

[BethB]

Finally, despite reports from 3 different doctors saying she will never be able to work there again, they think that it's only temporary and she'll be back to work in a few months. She went on long term last year, and they STILL think they can get several years of work out of her.

I have a coworker who was going thru some hell with management over doctors appointments and illness. she was diagnosed with a tumor growing around her spine and their first response was she'll be able to work as long as she has help. WTF!! The girl just found out she has cancer and your first thought is "she can still work"?! I can guarantee that if it happened to any one of them it would be the end of the world. Fricken management!!!

[CaroPhoenix]

Aethian and RP - I thought I was the only one who hated Target clothing! Whew! Sometimes on the website, they have stuff that is only on-line, but hardly ever on sale.

If you want to get good Plus-sized clothing at cheap prices, go to Kohl's. I got a really nice dark denim skort (skirt/short combo) originallly $36.00 for $3.60!!!! It's one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe.

[AdminAssistant]

If you want to get good Plus-sized clothing at cheap prices, go to Kohl's. I got a really nice dark denim skort (skirt/short combo) originallly $36.00 for $3.60!!!! It's one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe.

I never have much luck at Kohl's...it's generally too..hmm...grownup?... for my tastes. (It is good quality, and I do shop there sometimes.) I like Maurice's the best - there clearance selection is pretty good, and the people at the one here are AWESOME. There's one girl in particular that works there that I just adore. She's plus-sized, too, and always super eager to show you the new stuff, help you put an outfit together, etc. Sometimes clerks snub plus-sized shoppers. I do shop at Target, because sometimes, depending on the cut, I can squeeze into Merona XXL's.

[Aethian]

Aethian and RP - I thought I was the only one who hated Target clothing! Whew! Sometimes on the website, they have stuff that is only on-line, but hardly ever on sale.

If you want to get good Plus-sized clothing at cheap prices, go to Kohl's. I got a really nice dark denim skort (skirt/short combo) originallly $36.00 for $3.60!!!! It's one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe.

Yup, I've noticed that. Mom tried getting me some cute men's shirts off the online store and they don't take her employee discount (retiree). Said it was invalid or something. But the women's stuff on there just makes me think that they are trying to make big girls look bigger.

I never have much luck at Kohl's...it's generally too..hmm...grownup?... for my tastes. (It is good quality, and I do shop there sometimes.) I like Maurice's the best - there clearance selection is pretty good, and the people at the one here are AWESOME. There's one girl in particular that works there that I just adore. She's plus-sized, too, and always super eager to show you the new stuff, help you put an outfit together, etc. Sometimes clerks snub plus-sized shoppers. I do shop at Target, because sometimes, depending on the cut, I can squeeze into Merona XXL's.

The Kohl's around here have *some* nice things but generally look like they are made up for the lower middle class business wear then the upper middle class business wear and nothing else. While I don't mind dressing up every so often I don't want to look like I work in a office with no windows and no sight to anyone else except maybe my boss. It's either nice clothes that one would see customers in or jeans and a nice top.


Hence...I have taken to trying to learn how to sew again, now if only I could get it to stay straight I would be in line to make cute tops for me. Or jeans that don't fall off my rear while don't kill my tummy.

[Mike Taylor]

DrFaroohk seems to have disappeared from the thread. Two posts and nothing else.

Personally, I try to avoid Wal-Mart as much as possible. There's a Super Target, a Publix, and a World Market all within a mile of my house. If I count the route I take to work, there's two more Publix stores, another Target, a Walgreens, a Costco, and a CVS. Then, of course, there's my employer and the discounts I get there render Wal-Mart's so-called "lower prices" meaningless.

I'd rather not support a business which treats its employees so poorly (see the various examples above) and would rather shut down a store than let its workers unionize.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Luckily there is no Wal-Mart over here; but there is Asda, which is owned by Wal-Mart. The only Asda I've ever been in is fairly clean, but seems to attract chavs like flies on sh*t as far as customers go. O_o The place also seems chronically short staffed all the time.

In any case, since I work at Orange Carrier Bag Shop, I get a discount so I don't set foot in other supermarkets very often. XD Only if I'm with friends who shop elsewhere.

[wagegoth]

If you're a larger size girl and looking for clothes, go online to Jessica London, Roaman's and Woman Within. They're all part of the same company, just different styles of clothes. If you buy regularly, you start getting all kinds of email coupons and discounts. I ordered some stuff from their central site, onestopplus, which, unfortunately, does not have everything the other sites carry, and I've been getting coupons for 1/3 off my total order.

Jessica London is nice businesswear and more upscale. Roaman's is for the sequins and fringe crowd. Woman Within is very basic stuff.

[depechemodefan]

Dirty WM vs. Clean WM
I noticed before they made the stores Super WM, the stores were dingy and not attractive. But now they are bigger they look much more attractive. ONly trouble is the stores are so big now, it's easier to stop at Krogers on the way home for groceries, then stop at Walgreens for meds. Because it's too much to walk from one end to the other. Also, the bathrooms can't stay clean. I blame the customers, though. Some people don't know how to use a toliet.

But wasn't this the housewares section?
Now I use to no one being helpful. When I got up to someone and ask whre something is, it's usually, "it should be in aisle x" and they walk away. I actually can count on one hand staff there who are helpful. Either they say, "I think it's aisle 7. Let's go over t here and look" and they will go look for you. Or else they do know where stuff is. But again, store is so big, I can imagine a worker not remembering where everything is.

Now it seems every 2 years the store's makeup is changed. The craft section was by the electronics. Now it's where the housewares was. So I go looking for mothballs and I find fake flowers.

interresting math
One day, I saw oranges 8/$1. I Buy 4. I get charged $.54. Every other store, may it be Krogers, Randalls, Food Town, Fruitilandia, etc,. if oranges were 8/$1, 4 would be $.50. Wal-Mart will charge $.13 each. And 4x13=.52, so I don't know how the math worked out for it to be $.54, but the receipt showed they were charged 13 cents each.

I get that if two items are $.99, if you buy one it's $.45 but I never experience math like what those oranges cost at WM.

Staff is not helpful, part 2-7
Staff rather talk to their coworkers than customers
Once I went to the electronics dept. to look at digital cameras. After looking for a while, I went to the people behind the film development counter and asked for help. There are two people. The woman behind the counter looks at me and nods her head like she acknowledges me. And she continues to talk to her coworker. I go back to the cameras and I see a person just arrived and was looking at cameras and still no one came to help me. Then the person who just arrived went to the counter, asked for help, and the woman behind the camera put on her lab jacket and came out behind the counter. The person who just arrived started to ask a question and I say, "I was here first". The other person says, "I went to get help" and I say "I went to get help first" and the other person is just rude to me and the staff woman says, "I can help you both."
I felt that the staff woman ignored me at first, which wouldn't bother me so much if it looked like she was busy, but I don't know if she was talking shop with her coworker or found her conversation too interresting to help me.

Another time I asked for a price check. The cashier gets the attention of a guy staff worker who is talking to his coworkers near the register. He was talking about some party he went to. The cashier tells him to do a price check, and he continues his conversation with his coworkers.

sometimes the cashier doesn't know where she is
One time I had more than 20 items in my cart. I go to the 20 items or less line and I say, "I have more than 20 items, is that ok?" The cashier says, "this is 10 itmes or less line." I say, "it says 20 items or less" and she repeats "this is 10 itmes or less line." Ok, i can get that cashiers get diff. lanes on diff. days, but could she not get off her ass (she was on a stool-really) and look?

I need to get the manager
I got a blanket that was on sale, for $12. The sticker on the bag it's in says $12. It rang up $14. I tell the cashier it's $12 and show her the sticker. She needs the manager not to override but to get an ok to ring it up as $12. I suppose they think I changed stickers , even though the sticker was actually in the bag, on top of the cardboard that gives info. on the blanket.

There are more stories but I will admit it's not just WM that gives me bad customer service. A lot of times I don't get greeted by a cashier, even though the cashier greeted the person before/after me. And I had this manager at Walgreens (when I didn't work there) treated me rudely 2x. But WM is the place I get treated worst.

[draftermatt]

In my town there is a Wal-Mart, (2) Weis Supermarkets, a CVS, a True Value, and some other chain stores. There aren't too many small stores left, nor were there ever. Driving through Main St the stores that are there have been there for years. So Wal-Mart didn't put them out.

I shop at Wal-Mart. Why? Because I don't like the way Target is set up, or their prices, etc.

Do I like Wal-Mart? No.

I hate that I go into Sears which used to have helpful, knowledgeable people, and while they are still there, they're no where what they used to be. And they no longer handle their own installs, etc. It's all subbed out.

I hate that my favorite electronics store (Tweeter) has filed bankruptcy meaning I have to go elsewhere for a TV when I need one (probably soon if the green blotch on Bea Arthur's face yesterday was any indication).

But where else can I go? How can I justify spending $250 on groceries at Weis, when I can get the same at Wal-Mart for $190?

I've never had a problem with dirty stores, ditzy workers sure, but I've seen them almost everywhere I go anymore.

[Kogarashi]

One day, I saw oranges 8/$1. I Buy 4. I get charged $.54. Every other store, may it be Krogers, Randalls, Food Town, Fruitilandia, etc,. if oranges were 8/$1, 4 would be $.50. Wal-Mart will charge $.13 each. And 4x13=.52, so I don't know how the math worked out for it to be $.54, but the receipt showed they were charged 13 cents each.

I get that if two items are $.99, if you buy one it's $.45 but I never experience math like what those oranges cost at WM.

Huh. Sounds like someone entered the price wrong in the system then. It's been my experience as a cashier for WM that if the price is 8/$1, then 4 would be $.50, 2 would be $.25, etc. That's how they've always rung up for me, and how they're entered into the system (for easier math for the registers). Other stores like Shaws, though, I've always had the situation where it may say 2/$5 on the sign, but you have to buy the two to get that price, and one would cost something like $3 or more.

One time I had more than 20 items in my cart. I go to the 20 items or less line and I say, "I have more than 20 items, is that ok?" The cashier says, "this is 10 itmes or less line." I say, "it says 20 items or less" and she repeats "this is 10 itmes or less line." Ok, i can get that cashiers get diff. lanes on diff. days, but could she not get off her ass (she was on a stool-really) and look?

She really sounds confused. I don't think I've ever seen a 10-or-less or 15-or-less lane in WM.

:: pout:: And I never got a stool to sit on! ::whine::

I got a blanket that was on sale, for $12. The sticker on the bag it's in says $12. It rang up $14. I tell the cashier it's $12 and show her the sticker. She needs the manager not to override but to get an ok to ring it up as $12. I suppose they think I changed stickers , even though the sticker was actually in the bag, on top of the cardboard that gives info. on the blanket.

I believe this is store policy, actually. If something rings up differently from what the customer claims, whether it's the wrong price or the cashier thinks the customer put incorrect stickers on the item, the cashiers aren't allowed to override the price without permission first. Either a CSM has to go check the shelf label, or a department employee has to verify that what the customer says is correct. Sometimes the weekly flyer can stand in if it shows the exact item at a different price. But, unfortunately, we can't just take the customer's word on it, and I've actually had price-switching customers put incorrect clearance stickers inside the zippered bedding set bags before. I'm not saying that's what you did, just that it happens so cashiers can't always just go by what the sticker says. I'm sorry you had to wait.

[depechemodefan]

Huh. Sounds like someone entered the price wrong in the system then. It's been my experience as a cashier for WM that if the price is 8/$1, then 4 would be $.50, 2 would be $.25, etc. That's how they've always rung up for me, and how they're entered into the system (for easier math for the registers). Other stores like Shaws, though, I've always had the situation where it may say 2/$5 on the sign, but you have to buy the two to get that price, and one would cost something like $3 or more.

She inputed the plu and the no. of items and they came out that way

She really sounds confused. I don't think I've ever seen a 10-or-less or 15-or-less lane in WM.

:: pout:: And I never got a stool to sit on! ::whine::

There are 10 items of less lanes now, besides the 20 items. And yeah, I was surprised she had a stool.

I believe this is store policy, actually. If something rings up differently from what the customer claims, whether it's the wrong price or the cashier thinks the customer put incorrect stickers on the item, the cashiers aren't allowed to override the price without permission first. Either a CSM has to go check the shelf label, or a department employee has to verify that what the customer says is correct. Sometimes the weekly flyer can stand in if it shows the exact item at a different price. But, unfortunately, we can't just take the customer's word on it, and I've actually had price-switching customers put incorrect clearance stickers inside the zippered bedding set bags before. I'm not saying that's what you did, just that it happens so cashiers can't always just go by what the sticker says. I'm sorry you had to wait.

I figures she might have thought I changed stickers, but I guess the way she reacted. I guess I"m used to going to, say, Ross, and getting a sweater and the clearance price is on the tag and if it rang up more the cashier gets the manager to override. This person in WM was acting she was questioning the fact that it rang up more, then just that the price could have been scanned wrong.

[Akasa]

I have a BIG problem with WM.
My best friend is blind. We ALWAYS get shit about her seeing eye dog. Its not just her and the WM we lived near. When she went to get her new seeing eye dog after her first one died she had a conversation with the other people who were getting their dog and going through the training and get to know you time with their dogs about WM. EVERYONE has had problems w/ WM and their dogs. EVERYONE.
Don't even TRY to tell me it isn't that bad. Being CHASED out into the parking lot by the door person DEMANDING to know if the dog is a service animal in a hostile tone after being asked ON EVERY ISLE by yet another WM employee is harrassment. The BS at the door is harrassment. They are ALWAYS hostile and rude.
Don't even TRY to defend them. There is no defense.

[friendofjimmyk]

We have a Walmart Supercenter near where I live...then, a Target Supercenter opened right next to it. Target has everything Walmart does except the people. Their merchandise costs a little more, however, I truly prefer the Target store to Wally World.

Like I said, I can go into Target and not have long lines, people overflowing into the aisles....and the clientele at Target is a bit better...they tend to bathe.

Not to say that I believe the OP doesn't bathe...that's just how the Walmart is here near me. Stinky and too crowded.