Walmart and other stores, why the negativity torwards them? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Hayes]

I have been on this forum lurking for a long time but in the last five or six months becoming more active. (unemployed with little else to do). I am curious about something. Many of you really hate Walmart, Target, Suncoast and Blockbuster. Why is that?

I am not a fan of Walmart. I shop there when I have to. It seems they hire the dregs of society at times but they have good prices on things. I hear alot of complaints that they sell only P&S DVD but I usually find widescreen versions of everything and really cheap. I went there tonight and I didnt see a DVD over 21$. In fact they had Blade, Young Guns I&II, both Bill&Ted Movies, and Austin Powers, all WS and for 9.99$ each. Now they have a 4.99$ section all though I didnt see to much that peaked my interest, seemed it was all Roger Corman movies and the Bloodfist series.

At the Target by the Mall they are going to start selling DVD Audio and the manger of the electronics said that soon they are going to have a whole section for DVD Audio and SACD. I cant find those in the mall so I was surprised to learn that a store like Target is going to sell them.

Since I wont buy movies off the internet, if I want to buy hard to find movies or DVD from television shows the only place to go around were I live is Suncoast. I am collecting Star Trek TOS. They sell them for 20$ Seems like a good price to me. I got a replay card and am constantly getting descent coupons in the mail from them. Plus they can order any movie that is out on dvd and pretty quickly, usually within a few days.

Finally Blockbuster. I dont rent that much anymore but back in the day that was the only place to go because they always had the movie you wanted. Now I go there because as the popularity of a rental wanes they sell the excess DVDs they have at pretty good prices, usually 10$ but it verys from town to town. The next town over if you buy two used dvds at 16$ you get a third free. In the town I live its prety much just 10$ sometimes 12$

So am I missing something? Do all of you see something in these stores that I dont? Maybe the stores vary from one part of the country to the next. I am curious about this. Anyone care to respond?

 

[Ike]

Generally,
It seems to be because they are a general store, and not a specialized audio/video store. That's no big surprise.
And unfortunately, I'd say some of it is a bit of animosity towards a class lower than them.
I don't like it because it's crowded, and whatever it has in terms of bargains on DVD's, Sam's has better. But, I don't loathe them-how could I, I own their stock?

 

[DonnyD]

I think a lot of the animosity towards WalMart is that they are pretty much responsible for the death of small town businesses whenever a WalMart is near. No one has been as successful in driving competitors out of business as Wal Mart has been. There's a superstore near me and it is always so crowded and the roads that were built to accomodate that area are sosososo congested. I avoid the area if at all possible.

 

[Eve T]

I think a lot of the animosity towards WalMart is that they are pretty much responsible for the death of small town businesses whenever a WalMart is near.

I agree! I know that plans were under way in a small town in VA for a Walmart to go up and the small businesses boycotted against it. Unfortunantly Walmart won the battle and many of those small businesses went under and the ones that didn't are struggling. These businesses were around for ages and it's sad to see shops with a more personal "human touch" being snuffed out like a candle.

Now as for why (I) don't like Walmart? It never fails that every time I have ever attempted to go to one while on vacation or anywhere else...that the lines are terrible! They only have a few opened and they never seem to move with any suitable speed. It never fails that when I would get right up to the register that it would either (A) close, or (B) something would happen to where the cashieer would have to turn on the annoying flashing light to signal for help. I have NEVER had a good experience at Walmart.

 

[Kelley_B]

I hate WalMart for one reason:

The Soccer Mom's who can't park their SUVs, Super SUVs, Mini Vans, Vans, and Buses.

 

[MatthewA]

Eve, you hit the nail on the head. When Walmart comes, homogenization follows close by.

 

[MickeS]

What Buzz said, plus the fact that nobody who shops there seem to know how to park a car, return a shopping cart, or move to the side of the aisle instead of standing in the middle.

Every Wal-Mart I've been to also has been really messy, the prices haven't been clearly marked, and the staff don't know shit about anything (why should they, they don't get paid to know anything).

I know other stores are similar, but I have only had these problems at Wal-Mart.

The fact that they are like locusts, taking over a town, stripping it of local business, then leaving if they don't make enough of a profit, doesn't help either, but it's not even my main concern.

/Mike

 

[Eve T]

Buzz, that is an interesting post, I never knew about the part time status at Walmart to "keep prices low". Very informative to say the least. I will never venture into another WalMart again...not just because of the reasons you listed which are reason enough not to darken their door steps..but because of my last visit to one. I saw with my own two eyes some hillbilly with both her boobs exposed as her baby clung onto one of her breast. She walked around as if it didn't matter, it did to me. I know that laws have been passed to allow breast feeding in public in certain states but the way I perceived it was very distateful to say the least. I am not sure of the laws governing my state on that issue, however, that's mainly the kind of customers I see walking around in that store. I do not consider myself a snob and I've been known to turn a few heads with my choices in fashion but I got tired of seeing things of that nature..the lines..the employees lack of knowledge on any item sold in the store etc. Like I said I have NEVER had a pleasant experience in one of those stores.

 

[Chris Lock]

> I saw with my own two eyes some hillbilly with both her boobs exposed
I gotta go to WalMart.
Hey, isn't it funny how "everyone hates them", yet the stores are always so crowded? People apparently prefer WalMart, or else they'd shop at the small stores that they accuse WalMart of putting out of business. Um, only customers (or lack thereof) can do that- if those stores want to stay in business they need to do less whining, more competing.

 

[BrianW]

In addition to all the reasons listed, WalMart also has a strip-mining mentality that devastates neighborhoods. Once they get a foothold in a town, they build a store, then buy up additional land, and move their store from one location to another every few years. When they do this, they close down their old stores, but they don’t sell the land. This keeps competitors from moving in where they used to be, but it also makes for some very ugly shopping centers. The closed WalMart buildings are no longer maintained, and their old parking lots become areas of refuse and a place to dump abandoned vehicles and appliances.

The WalMart store nearest my house is slated for such “decommissioning” within the year when a new SuperWalMart is completed just ten blocks away. The old WalMart will just sit there, empty and ugly, never to be used again.

I hate that.

 

[ikiru]

I dont have too much problem with walmart. They do have low prices on certain items that I buy. I dont care too much for their fresh foods selection and their meats kinda scare me. Like the others, I have never been impressed with the checkout service.

I dont ever buy electronics from walmart (Im too snobby to do that). Walmart is pretty much good for hair and eye care products, cleaning products, film, frozen name brand foods, and dry cereal. Anything else I just prefer to go to a specialty store or real grocery store.

-ikiru

 

[brentl]

"I think a lot of the animosity towards WalMart is that they are pretty much responsible for the death of small town businesses whenever a WalMart is near"

I thought I was the only one that noticed this..

In the last 10 years I've shopped at WalMart maybe 10 times. That's still to much though

 

[Mark Olson]

This has been a very interesting thread.
I saw a billboard the other day in Michigan that advertised the following web-site:
walmart watch
I'm not sure who is responsible for this site, but it has some interesting information.
Also, I would recommend a book called "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. In the book, Barbara goes to 4 different cities and tries to make it one month at a low wage job. It deals with her experiences trying to find work and affordable housing and her experiences at the jobs she does find. In one of the chapters, she talks about her experiences working at a Wal-mart.
Take care,
Mark

 

[Jason Handy]

Horrifying. I went to that walmart watch page and my heart sank.

Well, the adage still holds - ain't no such thing as a free lunch. The lower prices reflect a lower value placed on the infrastructure that manages the merchandise.

But it is really hard to pass up the prices...my white collar blinders have been secured making me impervious to the indirect effects. My wife and I only go there once in awhile, mostly to look at people and wander the aisles (hey it is fun to watch the night shift...jeepers creepers)

But, if my shampoo sells for 1.97 at Walmart and 2.29 at CVS, I still buy at CVS. Out of principle.

Jason

 

[RobertR]

I think it's all about choice. I don't particularly care for Walmart (have only been there a few times), but if other people make the choice to work there and shop there, I would never presume to tell them otherwise.

 

[Scott Hayes]

Actually I was mostly refuring to the electronics but I see your points. What about the other stores I mentioned? Target Suncoast and Blockbuster?

 

[Clinton McClure]

I have no problem shopping at WalMart. Sure, there are plenty of annoying factors involved with each trip there and they are single-handedly putting the hurt on OAR DVD releases, but if I can get a bargain on merchandise there, then it's where I'm gonna shop.

 

[John Chow]

I think everyone else pretty much hit the Walmart nail on the head, so to address the other stores:

Target: I don't believe there is really much animosity towards them at all. In fact, most people seem to prefer Target over Walmart and Kmart as the slightly higher class alternative. Interestingly enough, this topic popped up on another forum when Kmart went under, and it seemed the general consensus was that Target was ok. Hell, I've even seen a webpage where someone said the best place to pick up women on a friday night was at a Target !?!

Suncoast: Basically the fact that they charge full MSRP for just about everything. I know that is why I don't shop there. Why pay $30 for a dvd when you can get it for $20 online? By the way, why is it that you don't shop online? Concerned about credit card fraud issues? Just don't want to deal with the hassles? If I was not willing to shop online, there's a good chance that I would be forced to buy stuff from Suncoast, since Anime(which comprises >50% of my dvd collection) is harder to find elsewhere.

Blockbuster: The main complaint seems to be the fact that they are pushing the Pan/Scan side of things rather than OAR. I haven't really paid attention to discs that were offered in multiple versions, but I've seen other members complain about not being able to get the OAR version of movies like Jurassic Park, Remember the Titans, or the Mummy. The other thing is that they seem unwilling to listen to the HTF type crowd, or every query is answered with 'that is something that is decided in the corporate office'

I hope that sums it up, i'm sure others will add their input.

 

[Todd Hochard]

The WalMart store nearest my house is slated for such “decommissioning” within the year when a new SuperWalMart is completed just ten blocks away. The old WalMart will just sit there, empty and ugly, never to be used again.

This happened a 1/2 mile from my house, and they moved two blocks down, into a Megalo-Wal-Mart. They instituted a traffic nightmare in the process.

I love Tar-jhay, however. They get my business.

Todd

 

[Scott Hayes]

By the way, why is it that you don't shop online? Concerned about credit card fraud issues? Just don't want to deal with the hassles?

For all the reasons you listed. I like instant gratification why wait when I can get it today? Here in CT we have had some pretty high profile identity theft rings broken up. I dont want to take a chance, nobody can convince me the internet is secure. I pay cash for everything now.
Like I said I get 10$ sometimes 20$ coupons from Suncoast probably once a month or every 6 weeks. I never figured out the math but it does offset some of the high price you pay.