Wahhh! Mart.

I love it when people bitch and whine about Walmart.  Here is a synopsis of a recent conversation.

SHE- "We don't want a Walmart coming into our neighborhood"

ME- "Why Not?"

SHE- "Well, they will cause too much traffic"

ME- "Really?  When that shopping mall they are replacing was first opened, it had HUGE traffic"

SHE- "Well, they will be open all night"

ME- "Like the Denny's next to it?"

SHE- "It attracts a bad crowd"

ME- "Like poor people?"

SHE-  "No no no, I meant..."

ME- "Value conscious late night shoppers?"

SHE- "Well, you know what I mean.  Anyway, they treat their employees badly"

ME- "Well, I wouldn't want to work there.  But who forces them to work there?"

SHE- "Well, no one, but the economy is bad and people have a hard time, you know?"

ME- "Well, they could save a bunch shopping at Walmart, couldn't they?"

SHE- "And the treat their vendors badly"

ME- "Who tell the vendors they have to sell to Walmart?  I thought that was a voluntary kind of thing.  Like working there."

SHE- "Yes, but.  They put Mom and Pops out of business!"

ME-  "How do they do that?"

SHE- "They are so big that they get pricing power so they get stuff cheaper than Mom and Pop and sell it at smaller margins due to their wide inventory"

ME- "You mean from those vendors they treat so badly?"

SHE- "Well, yes"

ME- "So Mom and Pop go out of business because Walmart sells stuff more cheaply?"

SHE- "Exactly"

ME- "Why don't Mom and Pop's friends and neighbors buy from Mom and Pop INSTEAD of Walmart?"

SHE- "Because WalMart is CHEAPER!"

ME- "So Mom and Pop's Friends and Neighbors put Mom and Pop out of business?"

SHE- "Who the hell are you and who invited you to this party?"

ME- "I heard a statistic somewhere where Walmart saves a family of four several thousands of dollars a year on essentials.  That seems more powerful and beneficial that any government program for the average working American".

SHE- "Get away from me you fascist bastard!"

Comments

[Scott]

Wallyworld has a problem with the "dead peasant" insurance policies.

[Matt]

Choke,

I have to agree with you on most points. I have had several friends that worked their way through school with the help of wal-mart. However, my beef with wally world is how they treat customers waiting in line. They don't use common sense. The last time I went to a wal-mart I stood, next in line, for 20 minutes while they did a price check over a quarter. Yes, 20 minutes in the express lane waiting for a quarter. If I had a quarter on me I would have gladly given it to the lady in front of me but I didn't. I don't know how long the price check took because I left when the cashier refused to call a manager to take care of the quarter.

Also, it seems like they have a policy that if there are less than 3 people in line at each register, they close a cashier and then wait until there are 10 people in line to open one back up. I understand that they want to minimize their costs, but saving money by making your customers wait longer is not right. I honestly believe that they want there to be a long line at every register so people will impulse buy from the candy racks, overpriced batteries, and soda at the register. I know everyone tries to do that, but wal-mart is by far the leader.

Maybe I am just odd but I will gladly pay a slight premium to not wait in line.

Cheers,
Matt

[openchoke]

Matt, excellent point. Customer satisfaction is what brung em to the dance, and screwing with that to save a buck will kill them.