Walmart: Merchant Of Shame

[lordsmurf]

I don't shop Walmart simply because they are scummy. I've been to at least ten in California, and they've all been like junkyards: cluttered aisles, items strewn all about, and just generally messy.

Which is on top of their clientèle. Seems like only ghetto-trash and welfare rats shop there. Women hauling 40 kids from 62 different daddies, homeless people, and all other dregs of humanity.

...and the whole destruction of America thing.

Seriously.

It's only like that in the big cities. Smaller towns are almost always clean and nice.

[thecoalman]

Unfortunately, there are some individuals who have no choice but to shop at Walmart.

I've heard that argument before but in some cases it doesn't really matter. In a lot of those places the choice prior to Wal-Mart moving in was driving 40 or 50 miles to the either another Wal-Mart or similar box store.. There was one that moved in outside of small town about 30 miles from where I live that was surrouned by rural areas and that was the big concern, most if not all of the business's are still their including the harware store and the Hunting store.

[Supreme2k]

It's only like that in the big cities. Smaller towns are almost always clean and nice.

What are these "smaller towns" of which you speak? I know the individual words, but I've never seen them placed together in that manner.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Walmarts here in Tampa are nice and clean. (Well, it depends on the neighborhood....) I know one or two that are dirty and cluttered as hell!

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Lucifers_Ghost:

Walmart's poor business practices have been well documented over the years and so have the successful law suits against them. IMO, people with a conscience should boycott them and any other company that has poor practices. (Sorry you don't have a conscience - maybe you should be managing a Walmart... )

Unfortunately, there are some individuals who have no choice but to shop at Walmart. It's likely because they are victims of Walmart or Walmart-like businesses. However, those who have a choice need to be unified against the Owners and Managers. Otherwise Walmart will take over, and we'll all be living and working in sub-standard contions. Is that worth saving 2 or 3 dollars now and then?

LMFAO LOL WOOO .. that was a good one. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ugh.

So, because I dont share your opinion of boycotting Walmart, I have no conscience? Im not even going to both with this anymore. Any arguments I put up that dont meet your criteria will result in more insults, so its a pointless "debate."

Have fun in your little crusade against the big bad retail chain muffin. Let me know how it works out for ya!!

[Epicurus8a]

Insult?

Egocentric much?

Now run along plague boy!!!

IMO, you need to focus your anger on unfair businesses that cheat their workers and keep all the profits for themselves.

[lordsmurf]

It's only like that in the big cities. Smaller towns are almost always clean and nice.

What are these "smaller towns" of which you speak? I know the individual words, but I've never seen them placed together in that manner.

City = Population of 1 million or more, in a metro area
Town = 35,000 or less, isolated from big city (not in a metro)

They exist all over the place.

[thecoalman]

They exist all over the place.

I can vouch for this as I live in one.

Here's the Wal-Mart I was referring to above: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=tunkhannock&sll=37...&t=k&z=17&om=1


Move North about 1 mile over the river to see thsi small town thing we speak of. Appears this imagery was taken in fall as the river is very high. Would have been after the snaown melted, that's why you get that uniform muddy look everywhere in the fields.

[Epicurus8a]

Check out these YouTube Videos I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiSmlmXp-aU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tI3B-AQZWk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pK1b7f19u8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzyjDP3umQ8

There are many more videos, too.


And read this PDF....
http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/downloads/wal-mart-wages-facts.pdf

[LSchafroth]

As long as they sell what I want at a good price I will be there.

[Epicurus8a]

Wal-mart = Evil! The press has covered it many times. For those of you who still choose to shop at Wal-mart, just remember you could be the next victim in their conquest to destroy society.

Wal-Mart Depresses Wages, Study Finds

Retail workers in the U.S. are making $4.5 billion less each year due to Wal-Mart's presence, according to a new study by the University of California's Center for Labor Research and Education.

Click on the link below for the full story.

http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_slug.php?slugid=365

"Always low prices", always low standards for corporate responsibility.
Wal-Mart dominates the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican markets and is currently China's eighth-largest trading partner. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart confines its leadership to the realm of sales and in other areas promotes the attitude that virtually everything--products, workers, or even communities--can be disposable . Wal-Mart may drive prices down, but it drags the quality of life for millions of people down with it.

Click on the link below for the full story.

http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs/profile.cfm?id=306

Low Prices Leads to Low Employees
What's behind Wal-Mart's troubles? Bad customer service. And why can't they give better service? Because they screw over most of their employees and people get tired of getting screwed by their employer. Especially when their employer has driven every other employment opportunity out of business (i.e. Wal-Mart's scorched neighborhood policy).

Click on the link below for the full story.

http://www.intellectualpoison.com/WalMartisPureEvil.html

US: Wal-Mart Denies Workers Basic Rights

(Washington, DC, May 1, 2007) – Wal-Mart’s relentless exploitation of weak US labor laws thwarts union formation and violates the rights of its US workers, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Click on the link below for the full story.

http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/01/usdom15797.htm

[bigshotceo]

I think that before we go ahead and criticize Wal-Mart, we need to remember one thing: Most retail sales jobs have, and will continue to be, low-paying jobs. We seem to be caught up in the myth that once upon a time there were tons of mom and pop stores, and that they all paid a decent living wage and had great benefits. The reality, however, is that most mom and pop stores paid minimum wage or slightly above it and did not offer benefits.

[gadgetguy]

I think that before we go ahead and criticize Wal-Mart, we need to remember one thing: Most retail sales jobs have, and will continue to be, low-paying jobs. We seem to be caught up in the myth that once upon a time there were tons of mom and pop stores, and that they all paid a decent living wage and had great benefits. The reality, however, is that most mom and pop stores paid minimum wage or slightly above it and did not offer benefits.

Please don't confuse the issue with facts and reality.

[zzyzzx]

I shop at Wal Mart all the time. I mostly buy food, toiletries, stuff for my cats, and other consumables. Almost everything I buy there is made in USA. I just avoid the Chinese and other thirld world country junk that they sell there, and other merchandise specifically made (i.e.- degraded)for WalMart. Nothing wrong with buying my food, toiletries, and some automative stuff (Mobil 1) and things like paint thinner there. It's the clothing, electronics, furniture, and crappy housewares that I'd avoid.

[Tom Saurus]

I have only shopped at Walmart once. I forget what year it was but Teletubbies was all the rage. It seemed like every aisle there were teletubbies. Some items were real bargains, but not everything is at a bargain price. I was much more impressed with the Dollarama store I went to. My mom is a fan of Value Village. There has been talk about Walmart setting up shop in a neighbouring town, but I don't think we really need them in our area. Though I wouldn't mind perusing through there DVD Section looking for some bargains, there wasn't much there the day I was in.

[Epicurus8a]

How Wal-Mart is Destroying America (and the World)

After carving up the once lovingly cared-for downtowns of Small Town America, Wal-Mart launched a frontal assault on mom-and-pop businesses all over the globe. With 1.5 million employees operating more than 3, 500 stores, Wal-Mart is now the world’s largest private employer. In this third edition of How Wal-Mart Is Destroying America (and the World), intrepid Texas newspaperman Bill Quinn continues the fight. Featuring detailed accounts of Wal-Mart’s questionable business practices and the latest information on Wal-Mart lawsuits, vendor issues, and efforts to stop expansion, Quinn shows why Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is arguably the most feared and despised corporation in the world. Whether you’re a customer fed up with Wal-Mart’s false claims, a vendor squeezed by strong-arm tactics, a worker pushed to increase the Waltons’ bottom line, or a concerned citizen trying to save your hometown, this book will show you how to get Wal-Mart off your back and out of your backyard.

http://www.ecowise.com/product_info.php?products_id=435

[Nelson37]

I often joke that I am a top-of-the-line shopper, I buy only the very finest products that WalMart has to offer.

Where do they keep the office for their Quest to Destroy Society? Is there a newsletter, a secret base, is Dr. Evil on the comittee? What would be their purpose in achieving this goal?

They sell stuff. We buy it. They do what they do because we want them to. It's that simple.

Now let's all be clear that WalMart agents do not actually storm the Mom and Pops and kill Fred and Ethel. We stop buying stuff there because they cannot effectively compete.

As late as 1978, there was still a large sign in my hometown advertising a buggy whip company. The classic example of a product which just could not compete. Folks talked then about the "evils" of the horseless carriage.

Big businesses by definition and of necessity absorb or eliminate competitors. Large amounts of money have major effects on economies. Some see this as somehow wrong. Their solution generally involves having decisions made by someone who thinks they know how to run such an enterprise, as oppossed to someone who has actually done it and earned the right to continue to do so.

Would you like your next car to be a Yugo, or would you like to have some other options?

[Epicurus8a]

I'll consider that. Meanwhile consider this:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/facts.php

[Lucifers_Ghost]

That "movie" is no different than something Michael Moore or Al Gore have done. Its all from one persons perspective.

The guy interviewed "X" amount of people, took the "saddest stories" from the bunch and made a movie about it. How is that objective? Where are the people who DO have good things to say about Walmart? A friend of mine worked there for several years near the end of high school and through college. He has nary a bad thing to say. Im sure there are others who feel the same way. If you think that there arent ANY of them out there, all I have to say is "wow." I worked at a retail store called Stitches when I was 16 - 18. Minimum wage, no benefits, long ass hours, weekends, selling crappy clothing that begins to unravel after 5 washes. Why are you not boycotting these types of places? Or how about boycotting McDonalds after watching Super Size Me?

Besides ... lets face it, bad press always makes more waves then good press. If Walmart was to donate a billion dollars to some charity, it would be the 4th bullet point on the news, get talked about for 45 seconds, and no one would ever think about it again. BUT, a Walmart store opens and puts a small family own store out of business and they are an evil empire destroying the world?

At the end of the day, Walmart is a business just like any other. They are in it to make as much money as they can. If they put mom and dad out of business, then so be it. Its no different than a Future Shop or Target opening and putting "Dave's Computer Shack" or "Ediths Designer Jeans" out of business.

[Epicurus8a]

Lucifers_Ghost: So let's see some good press about Wal-Mart, not just one or two persons opinions. IMO, the facts are already in and Wal-Mart is guilty as charged.

They might occasionally do some charitable things, but thats just for taxes purposes. Its also an attempt to distract people from the truth.

Once again, I'll refer people to this Pulitzer Prize winning article. If anyone has truly read this article and they still believe Wal-Mart is good for anyone, then they don't have a conscience, IMO.

http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2004/national-reporting/works/

[Nelson37]

HDMI cables are $19.95 at WalMart, over $40.00 at Circuit City and Best Buy.

CC and BB are involved in a global conspiracy to prevent all but the wealthy from seeing HD TV, they want the lower classes to be blind so we can't read the contract for the New World Order!

Good press on WalMart is easy to find, just check any business-oriented publication. They are a successful, money-making company with a reputation for reasonably priced products.

I know you don't like them, and I am sorry they did not carry tin-foil hats in your size. Their business practices are what the market, meaning us, you and me, whether you like it or not, have dictated.

If you don't like it, lobby for different laws. Convince others that paying more money and making more trips for the same products is better for the environment, their karma, the collective soul, whatever. Otherwise you're just pissing into the wind.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

Riddle me this, Epicurious.

Last night on the way home from work, I was supposed to stop to get some salt for my walkway. I forgot until I got just about home. The Walmart is literally about 300ft from my place. The closest other place that I can think of to get salt is about a 10 minute drive/20 minute walk. I will also mention that it was about -10 celcius

Should I NOT have gone to Walmart in that scenario?

Ok, so its not so much a riddle.

[Epicurus8a]

Lucifers_Ghost,
I would have gone without until I could obtain it elsewhere.

[Lucifers_Ghost]

So, instead of going to walmart, you would rather take the chance of your wife and/or kids slipping and falling down some steps and potentially hurting themselves?

[thecoalman]

I'd just throw some coal ashes on it. :P Saves the cement too.

[Epicurus8a]

So, instead of going to walmart, you would rather take the chance of your wife and/or kids slipping and falling down some steps and potentially hurting themselves?

I'd just throw some coal ashes on it. :P Saves the cement too.

[oldandinthe way]

Dr Thunder is a great Dr Pepper taste-alike especially the diet version. The folks at Cott formulate Walmart's house brand sodas. They also do so for Stop and Shop and Giant.

I see no personal experience with Walmart from the OPs posts.

As a shopper I am pleased, and if the congenial and helpful nature of the employees is a indicator, they are happy to have a Walmart job.

Another rap is that they are tough on their vendors. These complaints often come from unsuccessful vendors. Walmart differs from other merchants is that they know what they want from their vendors upfront and tell them so. If the vendor agrees, they are a great customer. They pay their bills when they are due!!! The major department store chains are engaged in serious lawsuits for attempting to renegociate contracts after the merchandise is sold, slow payment and fraudulent reduction in payments.

When Walmart overcomes local union inspired resistance they typically receive applications from more than 10 times the number of jobseekers, than they have jobs for.

Lawsuits on behalf of their employees are all financially subsided by groups who receive their money from the union.

Walmart has one principal enemy and it is woven into the fabric of the American Left-wing.

Walmart is a tough opponent of the union. Buying prepackaged meat to avoid in store meat cutters, closing a store after it voted to unionize. By the union's standard it truly is satan. By my stadards they are standing up for the consumer.

Walmart's opponents can have another glass of Kool-Aid.

[Epicurus8a]

(Walmart's) opponents refuse to give Walmart credit for anything positive. When Walmart introduced its $4.00 prescription program, its critics said "Big Deal - they were already selling that cheaply". $4.00 is less than the copay on my medical insurance for generic drugs.

Wal-Mart isn't entirely bad. Its only 95% bad - and not worth of keeping around. Look at it this way; if your arm had 95% cancer, you'd be a fool for not having it amputated.



I'm always saddened, but never surprised, when I discover the primal "survival of the fittest" mentality is alive and well.

IMO, Social Investment and Social Responsibility are things all human beings should engage in every day, not just when the mood happens to strike us. (Right-wing thinking.) Moreover, these things transcend politics and religion. The goal is to see the human race prosper as a whole - not just to benefit the corrupt, greedy bastards at the top who firmly believe "the next best thing to slavery is minimum wage."

While I suspect proponents of Wal-Mart are much lower on the evolutionary scale, I would never suggest they should drink "Kool-Aid." Instead, I would suggest mandatory sterilization to prevent them from breeding any further.

Mods, please feel free to lock this thread if you feel it is becoming political or adversarial in nature.

[oldandinthe way]

Proponents of Walmart come in all sizes and evolutionary levels.

I probably have more degrees than you do and they are probably from more prestigious universities.

I would never base my definition of what constitutes socially responsible behavior, and accuse any institution of undermining it, if I had no first hand experience of that institution.

The left in America has reached a point where they would liberate the downtrodden by starving them to death. They would promote their vision of social justice by reducing the living standards of everyone.

The fact is the poor in America have a higher standard of living than the middle class in places like Europe. And following the latest leftist fad will only serve to lower not raise their living standard.

Go to Walmart, ask the people who work there about their employer and see what their attitude is.

Don't attempt to fight the battles of people who do not need your defense or your pity. Your condescending and elitist attitudes do not serve the greater good, they do not serve even a limited good, they are flatulence in a crowded room. Maybe Michael Moore would find your opinions interesting but real people in the real world have more important needs than your self-righteous concerns.

[Epicurus8a]

oldanintheway, you selected screen name quite well.

As to your childish posturing, I couldn't care less.