I think I'm going crazy . . .

[Starman]

You mean there's civilization in Montana?

Well, I wouldn't call it civilization, yet. We're still making inroads. You can find plenty of bars and churches, though, which, I guess, is enough for most people to call it civilization.

Starman

 

[Starman]

Iowa's really important!

Shoeless Joe Jackson: Is this heaven?
Ray Kinsella: No, it's Iowa.

Starman

 

[Videssian]

Iowa's really important!

I'll say.. the BBS that I met my wife on is located here (and now, so am I)..

I shop at the local Hyvee for groceries (good organic section too), but I avoid Walmart whenever possible.. I'm willing to spend a bit of extra money to avoid them and to support a smaller local business, as long as service is there and selection is good. If I do go to a chain store, it's usually Target..

 

[reveal]

I'll say.. the BBS that I met my wife on is located here (and now, so am I)..

I shop at the local Hyvee for groceries (good organic section too), but I avoid Walmart whenever possible.. I'm willing to spend a bit of extra money to avoid them and to support a smaller local business, as long as service is there and selection is good. If I do go to a chain store, it's usually Target..

Isn't Hyvee a chain? :\

 

[Videssian]

Isn't Hyvee a chain? :\

Yes, but a much smaller one. Not perfect I know, but much better than Walmart and they treat their employees far better (My wife worked there for quite a number of years up until she graduated college)

 

[EricNoah]

I shop at the local Hyvee for groceries

Ok, isn't it funny how you get certain notions in your head when you're a kid? My parents never shopped at HyVee, I always thought it was for "rich people." We shopped at a different store about a block away. Now in actuallity, I have no idea why we chose the other store. Was it cheaper? Was it just closer? I will never know.

 

[LightPhoenix]

But when a Wal-Mart store sucks, it is absolutely, positively the direct result of the store manager. You see, at Wal-Mart, their bonus is based on store profit. So, the more sales they have, the more profit they make. To make more profit you either sell more stuff, or you cut costs. Guess which most managers choose? That's right, costs. It's the culture of the company to cut costs. Wal-Mart associates are fanatical about cutting costs. To the point of obsession, really. One easy way to cut costs is to reduce the number of employees. It wasn't uncommon on a Sunday morning when I worked at a store in college to be only one of two people covering all of hard lines. This is everything that's not clothes.

I just wanted to chime in here with agreement. My mother works at one of the two Walmarts here in Syracuse, and the number one complaint by workers she has, and others she has talked to, isn't anything the chain itself does, but what the store manager does. The condition of any given Walmart seems highly dependant on who is running it. For example, I know that theft is a big problem in both stores here, but instead of working to deter criminals they lower employee hours to improve profit lines, which actually contributes to higher theft.

Sometimes I wonder if the requirement to be a store manager is an abject lack of business sense.

 

[Ashrum the Black]

I just wanted to chime in here with agreement. My mother works at one of the two Walmarts here in Syracuse, and the number one complaint by workers she has, and others she has talked to, isn't anything the chain itself does, but what the store manager does. The condition of any given Walmart seems highly dependant on who is running it. For example, I know that theft is a big problem in both stores here, but instead of working to deter criminals they lower employee hours to improve profit lines, which actually contributes to higher theft.

Sometimes I wonder if the requirement to be a store manager is an abject lack of business sense.

Which is also a failing of the upper management of the company. For not seeing what's going on below them, and for not doing something about it. I've got to say that I have been in a walmart all of three times, and came out feeling dirty each time. The place just seemed to not feel clean. And those complaints about folks and thier kids also holds true for me as well. Everytime I've gone in it seems I'm fighting around somebody's unattended child/chirldren.

Of course any company that has TV spots that seem to do nothing but advertise the fact that our employee's know nothing about the products we sell, so we can pay them less and pass along this saving to you ... well, lets just say that after having sold PC's for a living, I know where I'd want to shop, and it isn't where the employee seems to be prided on ignorance.

-Ashrum

 

[JoeGKushner]

Sorry guys, love our Wal-Mart across the road. But then again, I EXPECT stupidity out of every human, so I'm never disappointed.

This would be a "me too" post.

The world is full of all sorts and that's okay.

 

[reveal]

[rant]

If you go into any location with a pre-conceived notion of who/what you're going to find in there, then of course you're going to "feel dirty" or think that people in there are stupid. Gimme a break. I find it asinine that people complain about Wal-Mart first and then go in there and "their opinions are justified." That's BS. You're opinions are justified because you WANT them to be justified. You find anything you can to verify your opinions and make yourself feel better that you don't shop there. Get over yourself; you're not perfect.

[/rant]