Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests whats the deal with hating walmart?

just bought a headlight because my old one burned out... 8$ because they were out of silverstars... but hey, what can i say, i love that place

just bought a headlight because my old one burned out... 8$ because they were out of silverstars... but hey, what can i say, i love that place

Nice south park reference with the glass. When Walmart came to a town 25 miles from where I am, they single handedly put the mall next to them out of business. The mall had around 30 stores in it as little as 5 years ago, then came wallmart. Bam! 6 stores left. 6!!!! Sears (big company), jc penny (big company), movie theater, joanne fabrics (big company), a bank, and an arcade (don't ask how that thing is still open). Oh yeah...and a social security office. That is it! And that was just at the mall. A grociery store next to is also closed, along with k-mart and pamida (same as shopko). They say they create new jobs...no they don't, the people that loose their jobs have to go there for normally less pay and not as good bennifits. If my freinds and I are board we go there to get food and stuff at 2 a.m. but that is about it. Remember the heart of the store is in the back near the t.v's, you must destroy the heart!!!!!

I've had HUGE problems with Wal-Mart and from a number of different perspectives:

1) As a customer: The quality of products are usually sub-par compared to competitor offerings (not always, though), the shopping experience stinks (this is almost universal) and the patrons often make me yearn for a banjo to pluck away at while shopping there.

2) As a vendor: Worst strongarm tactics in the industry, they treat people HORRIBLY on the vendor side, their demands are nothing short of putrid and the majority of managers and staff at their corporate office are complete and utter idiots when it comes to making business decisions (I've had this validated by numerous ex-employees that worked in FayetteNAM and BentonHILLBILLYville). Their corporate culture is one of "beat the vendor to s**t" and it's the worst I've seen...

It seems like their corporate office likes to hire their "rank and file" with the lowest education levels they possibly can to keep pay down and advancement at a rate that they set. I had a friend that worked his ass off for them in accounting and was treated horribly. After he got his degree, he gave them the finger and has never looked back.

Furthermore, the office locations I've visited are hit or miss. One particular area had moldy carpet that covered most of the office area and cubicles that were akin to working in a trash can they were so small.

I swore long ago to NEVER badmouth a customer; Wal-Mart is the SOLE exception to this rule.

3) As a supplier: Worst and nastiest negociating tactics I've ever seen, exhorbant demands made from the beginning and they do their damndest to control your margin and supply chain inside and out, no matter what the cost to the supplier. Demands only get more exhorbant as times goes on, too. Inventory issues or quality issues that are normal when starting up? Kiss your ass goodbye, as their legal dept. will EAT you alive if you are a budding business trying to get off the ground. Long story short, if a large portion of your business is Wal-Mart, they OWN you.

4) As a concerned citizen: Along with a number of other citizens in our area, I petitioned against Wal-Mart building a SuperCenter a few miles away from us. It doesn't effect my property values or cause any nasty traffic for me, but it does threaten some of the smaller shops in our area. My former next-door neighbor was on the petition council and during the city council meeting was verbally accosted and threatened by a pair of lawyers that represented Wal-Mart in this matter. Long story short, he was told that he either change his tune or get used to litigation...

I'll burn in HELL before ever stepping foot in a Wal-Mart or patronizing ANY part of their business. They are the PRIME example of capitalism gone amok and they day the US government starts looking at them in terms of anti-trust is the day I pop the cork on a bottle of '94 Opus One I've got stowed away and party HARD.

There are other companies out there that use some of the same nasty tactics and hold the same corporate culture, but Wal-Mart is by far the worst I've dealt with and one day may their stock be delisted.

[Deep breath]

Ok, I feel much better now.

JaTo, one of the few times that I agree with ya 100%

I've learned to NEVER buy electrical products at Wal-Mart. I've purchased light bulbs, only to get home and find out they were all burnt out....somebody packaged up their old burnt out bulbs, returned the box to Wallyworld and got a refund. I've also bought electrical products that required some assembly. In unpacking the product, it was apparent that somebody had purchased the product earlier, tried to assemble it, broken something in the process, and returned it as "new". I bought a vacuum cleaner there that was advertised as a "floor display", when I got home, I discovered documentation that someone had bought it TWO YEARS earlier and had evidently returned it to Wal Mart. I've turned in our local store to Better Business Bureau a couple of times, without much success.

All I can tell you is that my little bro got me an Armor All kit for xmas from Wally World. Was never going to use it so I returned it and bought some DVD's instead. After waiting in line to return the kit for 15-20 minutes I went and picked out the DVD's. Went to the front of the store to check out. 3 cashiers for like 100 ppl!!! Huge lines just to check out! I've seen long lines before but WTF?!!! It all came back to me on why I never go to Wal Mart. You might save a little sometimes but who cares when you have to wait in line for a 1/2 hour. I walked all the way back to the register at the movie/music center and checked out. Target or Meijer all the way! Also everyone is led to believe Walmart has the best prices in town. I've seen some items a few dollars higher than the norm on some items.

I know what you saying todras. Here in Greensboro the whole Walmart parking lot be full. I be asking my self whats the big deal of going to Walmart. I think people live at Walmart because they always busy.

When I go to a big box store, its always Target.

And they're the ones who banned the bellringers from in front of their stores this past Christmas. Walmart has been off my shopping list for a long time. Target has been recently added.