Captain Harlock Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 It never ceases to amaze me. For a store with so much merchandise I always walk out of Wal Mart pissed off and empty handed. I attempted to purchase season 2 of 24 tonight. First Circuit City was out of them. So was Target. I ended up at Wal Mart and every copy they had there was a loose disc inside. The last one seemed okay. But it was ten dollars MORE than everywhere else and I was so ticked off I said screw this! I'm taking my chances and ordering it on Amazon. And don't get me started about their CD selection!!Some people don't understand my disdain for the corporate goliath that Sam Walden created. But I really hate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy K. Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Wal-Mart is a relatively new deal in the West, though you guys in the East and Midwest had it for years.I had never been in one until about three years ago. Granted, they have some cheap deals on stuff, but nothing any more special than what Target or K-mart would have.The service is not any better than K-mart, though the stores are a bit cleaner. What really galled me was the corporate culture that has been happening in the company the past few years. Not Sam but who has been controlling his company since his death.Like the deal where the doors automatically lock late at night. And the guy who broke his leg when falling and couldn't get help. That is just plain inhumane.I am far from being one of those polically correct folks......but I am against inhumanity against our own people. They work hard enough, and probably don't get paid enough, so cut the workers some slack, OK. That's really asinine.Needless to say, I don't do Wal-Mart for that reason, except as a last resort. Same for K-mart, but different reason---crappy service.Ironically, there was a Wal-Mart somewhere in Washington state that closed, due to lack of business.....and it ended up being taken over by Amazon and converted it into a call center.(Sure beats talking to India!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Harlock Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 I should add the my first bad experience was when I bought a 19 inch color television from Wal Mart. I worked fine... for 90 days. On day 95 it started making this high pitched squealing sound. Finally 6 months later it crapped out on me completely. Two hundred dollars down the tube! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlene Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I had to start looking at my receipts when purchasing several items in our local Wal Mart. I was charged twice three different times. I believe they had some kind of incentive thing going for the cashiers--whoever rang up the greatest total in the least amount of time got some bonus points toward a contest or something. This was supposed to move the lines faster, but cashiers evidently started padding their totals. I gave up in disgust and started going to K Mart.Prices have increased since Sears took over, but at least I find everything I want and haven't gotten charged twice. --Darlene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JannyGurr Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I think Walmart tries to run their stores like concentration camps-is that too harsh? They seem like Nazis to me......I know people that have worked for them for almost 20 yrs and are not even making 10.00 an hr-Scary..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryanne Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Because I live in the middle of "NO FREAKIN" WHERE" I have 2 choices to shop at locally. One is Walmart the other is Kmart. Darlene, I am sorry but I have to agree with Rainman. Kmart sucks.. At least around here... They never have stocked what they advertise. The womens clothes are geared toward old ladies, and IF you find what you need there are never more then 2 cashiers on duty at once. Both are usually trainees and have no clue what they are doing. ............ Captain, Walmart can be a royal pain but you have to know how to work them. In the future let them know that you can get your item at a competitor for cheaper. They do match prices. Also FYI they take back pretty much ANYTHING. especially if you are firm about it. That TV would have gone back for sure if it were mine and I'd have a gotten a new one to replace it. I once took back a DEAD hamster. I kid you not.... My daughter got the thing on a Monday and by Friday it was belly up. I packed him up in the box he came in (which I fished out of the trash) and took him back, I set the thing on the counter and told them I wanted a replacement before my 7 year old came home from school and cried her eyes out. Yes I could have just bought a new one, but it was the principle of the thing... The CSR in charge didn't know what to say! She told me to go get a new one which I did... I left the dead one for them to dispose of... They take back stuff with no reciepts, ripped reciepts, and expired reciepts. The squeaking wheel gets you in and out quickly at Walmart just incase you ever decide to go there again Maryanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Much as I'd like to, I can't knock the store that has exclusive rights to carry the new Eagles cd when it is released in a few months.Marv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popdude Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I know people that have worked for them for almost 20 yrs and are not even making 10.00 an hr-Scary..... Scarier that they would stay there for 20 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Walmart sells good product at dirt cheap prices. And that puts a ton of money in its customers pockets. Who does this benefit mostly? It's the guy with a modest income. Without Walmart and the other big general merchandise discount houses, the "little guy" would pay much more for basic necessities and be POORER as a result.It does what it does well. That's why it has grown to the size it has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Yeah, the concentration camp anology is too harsh. I don't recall anyone ever applying to get exterminated at the Nazi's concentration camps. It seems each time a Walmart opens, there are hundreds applying for each job opening at the new store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Harlock Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 Maryanne, I attempted to bring back the television to Wal Mart and they said that the 90 days were up and they no longer had to honor their return policy. I said "You're telling me that you sold me this product and you're no longer going to stand behind it? Is that it?". They said in no uncertain terms that was indeed the case. Another time they couldn't find my photos in the photo lab. I went back the next day and told them I wasn't going to pay the 1 hour charge and the young lady at the photo counter said that I had to anyway. I said "Listen, I came here to pick up my photos and you couldn't find them. That's on you. So why should I pay for a mistake that YOU made?". And I kid you not she said "Just because it says 'one hour photo' doesn't mean you're pictures will be ready in hour". I looked at her and said "WHAT DO YOU THINK 'ONE HOUR PHOTO' MEANS?? It's self explanitory!". I ended up paying the one hour photo charge even after speaking to the manager for my film and told her I was going to bad mouth them to everyone who would listen. They were pretty much speechless. So either this is indicative of the Wal Mart corporation or the stores in my area are loaded with extremely stupid employees. Either way I can't stand them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popdude Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 At one of the Wal Mart stores here in CA, I once saw a cashier with a tattoo on her lip. I had never seen anyone with a tattoo on their lip before. Of course, I've never seen Tommy Tunes in person... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I don't shop Walmart. I don't like Walmart. I've seen them come into towns and ruin the family owned businesses that made these towns. The people they've shattered end up working in the Walmarts for next to nothing, spending their next to nothing paycheck at Walmart- not unlike the "company town" mentality from years past. Then, if Walmart ups and leaves, the damage is already done and you end up with a ghost town. I won't claim to be unbiased on this matter. Far from it. Kirk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellie Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Wal-Mart isn't alone with the 90-day return policy. A lot of stores (Best Buy, Fred Meyer...) only honor 30-day returns and refer you to the product warranty after that. I bought a Dell plasma t.v. 3 years ago for about $650. It had a 1-year warranty and I bought a 5-year extended warranty. 18 months later the photo proton whatchamacallit that makes it have a picture burned out. They had discontinued the t.v. and no longer even had parts. The only way they would "honor the warranty" was if I forked over another $300 for a same size t.v. advertised in their catalog for $300. It took a letter to the Attorney General's Fair Business Practices attorney to get them to honor the warranty.Wal-Mart debuted in Anchorage in 11/93 and within a year all of the homegrown one-stop shops went out of business. Now people can't buy a new rifle and shells in the same store while they wait for their zyprexa refill! Isn't that just inconvenient! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneG Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I'll never set foot in a Wal-Mart. Their quality is sub-standard and they strong arm their suppliers.Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordharris Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I like Walmart in some ways, you sure can find what you want, even on the floor too.I find stores that really sell food with clothes and vegetables(produce),meats, you get viruses and germs from people that spread on store items. People tend to cough and hack without covering their yap.Our Walmart store in Hamilton is getting prettydisgusting, and unorganizing.Otherwise, you find what your looking for.As for a MCDonalds, being in Walmart, Oh my, no way, I hardly in restaurants.I usually get a take, 80% of my time, I love cooking with fresh vegetables, sometimes, Turnips,LOl.!Walmart is too junky.No wonder the prices are rolling down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspberries4ever Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 After reading my daughter's college Sociology book "Nickel and Dimed", I try to avoid WalMart! It's not a place I choose to support and I'm thankful that I've never had to work there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Hey Captain! Looks like you're not the only one!Though I'm on the outside on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Mississippi Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 You certainly are not the only one.What bugs me most about WalMart is what they have had a hand in doing to the economy of our nation. Every time I hear about the jobs they supposedly created or the money they have given to communities... it makes me sick. They have cost far more jobs to American workers than they have created, and many, many times those jobs were for substantially more money than the pittance they pay. And because of all the smaller chains and "mom & pop" stores they've run out of business, quite often they are one of the few places to buy many things... meaning that not only do the people of that given community not have a true choice in where to shop, but also the employees find that they are losing much of their hard earned income to the "company store"...I am reasonably sure that decades or centuries now, when the demise of the American empire is studied, the advent of Wal-Mart will be pointed at as a key to our undoing... unless of course Wal-Mart controls the world of education by then as well, in which case they will be in control of history and its revising... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Well, it's not that I love WalMart, but, where I live there just isn't anything else. Luckily, our WalMart is in a pretty small town and the workers are nice and I recognize them. When I had to shop there in Omaha, I hated it. My bad experiences were all there.Here's a good one for you. I had to go the the restroom while I was shopping and went to the one in the back of the store. I had a cart with several items in it. Was only in the bathroom for less than 2 minutes. When I came out, a clerk was taking my stuff out of my cart and putting it on an end cap. I said, "Hey, that's my cart and my stuff!" He said, "Well, this guy is buying a TV and we need the cart to take it up front. You can go and get yourself another cart!" I absolutely could not believe it. He actually took it! I didn't go back to that store for 6 months. I complained and it didn't do me any good. I'm a much more confident person now. If that happened again, I'd probably slug him! Lol!--Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecstasy Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I think that a lot of it has to do with how well ANY store is managed in your area. Here I despise Wal-Mart and I'm not overjoyed by Target anymore but K-Mart is pretty good. Pick another one in another city and the whole story changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordharris Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 This lady with the tatoo on her lip, do you know how I can get a hold of her? I could try to remove her tatoo for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierre Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 What bugs me most about WalMart is what they have had a hand in doing to the economy of our nation. Every time I hear about the jobs they supposedly created or the money they have given to communities... it makes me sick. They have cost far more jobs to American workers than they have created, and many, many times those jobs were for substantially more money than the pittance they pay. And because of all the smaller chains and "mom & pop" stores they've run out of business, quite often they are one of the few places to buy many things... meaning that not only do the people of that given community not have a true choice in where to shop, but also the employees find that they are losing much of their hard earned income to the "company store"...I am reasonably sure that decades or centuries now, when the demise of the American empire is studied, the advent of Wal-Mart will be pointed at as a key to our undoing... unless of course Wal-Mart controls the world of education by then as well, in which case they will be in control of history and its revising... Agreed. Wal-Mart is one of the most vicious corporate models ever devised, and it is particularly ironic that they employ "greeters" at their stores. "Welcome to the destruction of your community!"Shopping at Wal-Mart is like smoking. It's a cheap fix, but the long-term cost (to both the individual and society) is far greater than most people realize. And are their products really of the same quality as other stores?Actually, we could link this topic to "An Inconvenient Truth". Same idea - consumerist society is addicted to product ("cheap" goods, oil, cigarettes, McDonald's, instant gratification generally), but is unable to accept the consequences that addiction entails (community-destroying monopoly, environmental destruction, cancer, obesity, inability to see beyond one's present). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordharris Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 OK, how about A&W, who here like's their food? Look out! here comes the RootBear!Bud-um, bud-um,Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Lol! Well, Gord, our local A & W is awesome! Unfortunately, it's just not diet-friendly. Way too much fat for my figure! It's really great that they have diet root beer on tap though! --Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.