WE Blog

Ask any Wal-Mart employee how they feel about their company. They love it! By he way, did you put on the lipstick!?

If you love it, I’m glad for you. But you say I can ask any of them and they’ll say the same? Really? Well then, my interpretations of all of the complaining about not getting bene’s has been grossly misinterpreted. Sorry. Have you ever seen that movie, “Wal-Mart, The High Cost of Low Prices”?

No, the poor, wittle Chi-com, slave kid put the lipstick on.

I’ll be sure to ask as many employees of Chi-Mart as I can if they do indeed “love the place”.

IF Wal-Mart is as good as its word on the manufacturing of energy efficient appliances, that would be a relatively good thing because it would have an effect on China’s manufacturing. It is the one carrot and stick approach that anyone has with the Chinese to get them to behave more responsibly.

Agree with Pfeefer about Wal-Mart’s relationship with Chinese manufacturing, except that I feel compelled to point out that it mirrors the relationship between China and a lot of retailers in this country. I may not like Wal-Mart, but they are as much if not more a symptom as a cause.

The symbiosis, including China’s intentionallydepressing the earning power of its workers to make the goods affordable to the Americans, is going to be very difficult for either partner, the US or China, to pull out of. And the Chinese have no interest in pulling loose.

If Walmart pulled out of Wichita, there would be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Brownlee fails to see that not every action or call for action originates in Washington D.C. It’s why we have States, Governors and Legislatures.

There is no magical nanny government that is going to cure all problems, especially with the environment.

Kansas can pass their own environmental and energy savings law and should. Kansas can act on his own to see to it that certain things should be prioritized in way of energy conservation.

The individual business and individual can act to improve their own situation.

I dunno, have Kansas give out presitigious “Green” awards that entitle the company to not only special recognition, but a seal like one sees on restaurants rating their sanitation. If a company displays five “Stars” on their door, the customer will take notice. The company can then encourage their employees. The employees can then encourage home builders to build five star energy efficient homes. Auto dealers can offer five star maintenance plans that will help with fuel efficiency.

Schools can teach five star compliance and how to approach it. Universities can have seminars and offer college credit hours on how to achieve five star environmental friendliness.

The City of Wichita can try and get the Arkansas River up to a standard of five stars and their own office buildings and vehicle fleet rating up.

So let’s not wait for the nanny government in D.C. to shoot some magic bullet to fix things.

We can do it here.

AQn elderly lady came to see me about doing some pre-planning on her “last wishes” list… You know, final arrangements, funeral items, etc…

She told me it was extremely important that she be cremated, and her ashes scattered at a local WalMart parking lot…

Now, I do a lot of pre-planning work with people, but this was strange… “The local WalMart parking lot?” I asked her…

She said, “Yes. That way my daughter will come see me every week!”

Maybe Wal-mart should tackle the non-leaded product problem first.

Good call sursum.

Because of the current outdated I-9 federal employment verification they are still able to hire low cost illegal labor as well. (as long as they have fake ID)

When I walk into Walmart I use those electric wheelchair carts. You have to be carful with those, I’ve hit a few stray tots that jumped out in front of me. They need more of those carts, they only have about 5 sitting around for some reason. It makes shopping a read adventure, if you hop in one, drive straight to the appliance isle, and find a reach pole with a grabber attachment on the end, and open it up right there, you’ll need it to get some items from the top shelves, because you can’t stand up, if you stand up they’ll kick you out of the store sometimes for some reason.

RD,
True, but as Chi-Mart does so do the rest. Real leaders in their field. China and Wal-Mart want to dominate our economy and are succeeding quite nicely. Gotta love Chi-Mart, they love us.

I have two very different opinions about all this. First off, I worked for Walmart for 3 years a dozen years ago. I also have a cousin who has worked there for 15 years. I loved working there and she does too. Yet, lots of folks complain about it so I don’t know if we were just fortunate in the Walmart we worked at or what.

Second, I agree RD, who doesn’t sell stuff from China? Maybe more to the point is try to find some place that doesn’t. It’s everywhere anymore, we can’t escape trade goods from China. I personally think that needs to stop immediately. They are constantly being proved to be inferior, if not totally dangerous items.

Walmart serves it’s purpose – providing items at low cost. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for, so buyer beware. The idea of Walmart being a ‘green’ store seems a bit off the wall, but I do have to give them kudos for making some changes. And if Wally World can do it, so can others.

That’s what I’d like to see, more retailer’s taking up the ‘green’ stance with Walmart.

No competition means that Chi-Mart is not pro-capitalist at all. Pro-Fascist is more accurate. THEY are, if anything, AntiAmerican.

Wal-mart set the bar, and some places like Target, “Venture” was one of them that went under. Target almost went under, until they revamped their business plan like 8 years ago.

As Wal-Mart goes, so goes the others. I miss TG&Y and David’s.

TG & Y was one of the stores that had tons of what they used to call “japanese junk” So did Atlantic Mills (anybody remember that place?)

Well, its Friday… appointments all over the place today… Back later!! Y’all have a good Friday!!

No, not retarded… just an idealist… major differernce there

Taz writes: “The millions that do go there regularly are not forced to shop there, are they?”

Yes, in some cases they are.

In many small towns, mom & pop stores are forced by local gov’t to give their tax money to Wal-Mart in the form of infrastructure and incentives which drives out the competition.

Then they have no alternative but to shop there.

So did Atlantic Mills (anybody remember that place?)

Vaguely, Chas. The name set off memory bells, but that’s about it. Location? If you remember…

I thought all you guys were pro-Capitalism and pro free market trade/enterprise/whatever.

Hopesprings, I know several people who have worked at Wally World and were happy with it. Granted, it isn’t for the PhD crowd, but it can help a lot of people who are unable, for various reasons, to find jobs elsewhere. It’s a step toward further employment for many. Now, some may call that preying on the “less fortunate”, but there are pros and cons to everything. At least those who are working are not sitting on their backsides collecting “entitlements”. And they’re keeping the unemployment numbers lower.

If you don’t like Wal-Mart, don’t shop there.

Capn,

It also means they could bring in more customers. It’s marketing at it’s finest. ;)

R D, Atlantic Mills was on the northeast corner of 21st St. and Amidon. I can’t remember whether it was before Twin Lakes (southeast corner of same streets).

There will always be a market for specialty “mom and pop” stores who sell higher quality goods and personalized services that Walmart will not.

Walmart only puts the higher cost retailers out of business due to economy of scale. It is better for the consumer to have Walmart in town or else Walmart would not exist.

David Cay Johnson writes in his new book “Free Lunch” that

“Sam Walton practiced corporate socialism. As much as he could, he put the public’s money to work for his benefit. Free land, long-term leases at below-market rates, pocketing sales taxes, even getting workers trained at government expense were among the ways Wal-Mart took every dollar it could get. Walton had a particular fondness for government-sponsored industrial revenue bonds, which cost him less in interest charges than the corporate bonds the market economy uses to raise money.”

Documented studies show that Wal-Mart has received at least 1 billion dollars, but Johnson writes that “That 1 billion dollar figure is surely far less than the actual amount of money Wal-Mart took [since Wal-Mart itself admits receiving subsidizies for 1/3 of all new locations].” pp. 99-100

Instructions for cleaning up a broken compact fluorescent lightbulb,
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#flourescent

New bulbs have a minimum amount of mercury inside.

Also the mercury vapor is absorbed into the phosphor, glass, etc as the bulb is used.

Keep the package the CFL came in, and use it to safely store the bulb when it burns out (tape it closed). Store somewhere safe (in a larger box) until have enough to bother with recycling.

Stores that sell CFL’s sometimes recycle them — otherwise take to a recycle center.

Cuss em if you like, but I’ll second what rfl said, and I saw it first hand where I grew up. The local chamber turned Wal-Mart away. Wal-Mart went elsewhere, to another nearby small town. That town grew, my own town is dying.

They’d have been better off with Wal-Mart.

Local small mom and pops can compete with Wal-Mart; it means adapting your busines, but what else is new. Change is inevitable. And if we didn’t have Wal-Mart to rail against, it would be Gibsons (remember them?) or K-Mart, or whomever, ad infinitum. There will always be a big retailer who threatens smaller sellers. And smaller sellers always have to adapt to compete.

It’s the way of the world, folks. Has always been so; will always be so. You can compete, or die. There is no third option.

Damn, I wish we could outsource lawyers . . .

so the Mom and Pop stores should be subsidized by the consumer with higher prices? I think not. Wal Mart is the number one retailer bccause people shop there. Period. They also have one of the lower profit margins. And I don;t see the Mom and Pops supplying insurance to their workers, sick leave or vacation days. The small store CAN compete, but not on price. They have to do it by serving niches, or by service. WOw. There’s a concept. Service. I have been to too many small town mom and pops where you get the same service as Wal-Mart, especially if you aren;t “from” there. The Mom and Pop stores still exist, they just need to adapt to their market. Downtown Kingman has lots of stores to chose from, of course they only have an ALCO. Oh, perhaps that is a detriment to downtown too. Let’s get rid of all large stores, not just Wal-mart. Wal-Mart is just the convenient whipping boy. By all accounts, Target doesn;t pay any better, or treat it’s employees any better.

Fact is, I do support my local hardware. For every day chore needs, and some not so everyday. I support them, even with the higher prices, because i want them there is is need them. Fact is, for larger purchases, where they savings is more than about 15 or 20%, i go to one of the big box stores. Which one depends on what i need.
Fact is, my local hardward supplies no benefits to those they hire. Fact is, they pay no better, and in some cases, less than Wal-Mart.
Fact is, they deserve no special break because of the nostalgia factor, or the fact they are locally owned.

“CONs forever confuse success with moral rightness. If that were true, Mao and Castro and Ho Chi Minh were more right than the governments that preceeded them.”

WHo said anything about that?

My local hardare also changes suppliers to get a better deal.

“It’s natural that governments tax the poor and the middle class to give to rich corporations like Wal-Mart. It’s inevitible that the biggest, richest company in the world needs all the tax breaks, union-busting, and tax-payer subsidizes it can get

Yeah, that’s just the way it is, to the CONs.”
-Capn

Okay based on the above post, here is how it is to the Liberals,

The ONLY way a business gets big is through unfair treatment coerced from the goverment. Any virtuous company will by rule always remain small. Liberals believe that Walmarts are really ghost towns. All those customers you see standing in line to buy goods are really props put there make it look like Walmart is selling goods.

Walmart and other big businesses only survive because Uncle Sam gives them money that was taxed from the poor. The rich get money only by taking it from someone else without giving anything in return. There is a finite amount of wealth in the world. When a business gets big by selling a product that people need or want at a cheap price, someone else gets poor.

Total hogwash. When such a mindset becomes the status quo in America, so bye bye to an economy that benefits the poor.

BTW, does the local hardware store buy hedge funds for off-shore leasing deals so that it can avoid millions of dollars in taxes?

Wal-Mart does.

Taz–

Don’t blow a gasket, my friend.

What you ask is like trying to find dung in a barnyard.

The examples abound.

BRB.

“Then they have no alternative but to shop there.”

BS. Prove it. ”

Sure.

Well you can get around Walmart if you choose to simply not buy certain items AT ALL.

Walmart is now in the position of controlling their suppliers as well as their customers. They decide how much their suppliers will charge them and in MANY cases demand that they be the sole distributor. SO if there is such an item you want to buy you choose Walmart or not at all.

So far? I choose not at all. I wouldn’t buy water at Walmart if I was dying of thirst.

I’d like to see anti trust action brought against them.

“Well you can get around Walmart if you choose to simply not buy certain items AT ALL.”

Really? which ones? Just by one manufacturer, or them all?

“MANY cases demand that they be the sole distributor”

Seen that before as a general wholesaler. My customers demanded that they be sole distributor for a particular product in their community. That included Mom and Pops.

Still haven;t proven CapnAMerica’s point.

http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/walmart/walmart_4.cfm

Whenever a new Wal-Mart opens, small businesses—from dress shops and pharmacies to hardware, auto supply and music stores—close their doors and good jobs disappear.

According to the city of Los Angeles’ 2003 report on big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, big box retailers and supercenters “often can result in the reduction of consumer choice due to their tendency to cannibalize competing retail businesses.”

While Wal-Mart kills family retail businesses and pushes out jobs that pay well, it also forces suppliers to relocate their plants overseas to meet its low-price demands.

“Wal-Mart has the power to squeeze profit-killing concessions from vendors,” wrote business reporter Charles Fishman in the Dec. 2003 issue of Fast Company magazine: “To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bras to bicycles to blue jeans have had to lay off employees and close U.S. plants in favor of outsourcing products from overseas.”

*****

Wal-Mart single-handedly destroyed the fine US manufacturer RubberMaid when it wouldn’t pass on a price increase due to increased cost of plastic resin.

Worchester, Mass. lost its biggest employer which could do nothing but watch its machines get auctioned off to Asian bidders.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

Steve Dobbins has been bearing the brunt of that switch. He’s president and CEO of Carolina Mills, a 75-year-old North Carolina company that supplies thread, yarn, and textile finishing to apparel makers–half of which supply Wal-Mart. Carolina Mills grew steadily until 2000. But in the past three years, as its customers have gone either overseas or out of business, it has shrunk from 17 factories to 7, and from 2,600 employees to 1,200. Dobbins’s customers have begun to face imported clothing sold so cheaply to Wal-Mart that they could not compete even if they paid their workers nothing.

“People ask, ‘How can it be bad for things to come into the U.S. cheaply? How can it be bad to have a bargain at Wal-Mart?’ Sure, it’s held inflation down, and it’s great to have bargains,” says Dobbins. “But you can’t buy anything if you’re not employed. We are shopping ourselves out of jobs.”

I think the Internet is going to doom of large scale big box type retail. Movies, Books, computer accessoires, software I all buy direct mostly off the net, now. Food is about the only thing that isn’t convient to get now and generally I find walmart is the cheapest anyways. Personally I buy much of my bulk groceries at Aldi’s, its much cheaper, meat on the other hand Walmart IMHO has cheap meat but it tends to be cheap quality, so that generally I either buy meat in Goddard at the Stroot meat locker, I know the stroots, would rather give them my money and the meat is fresh and they cut it the way i want it. Or Super Del centro when i want pork, chorizo or some other specialty meat, I actually cook most of my food ans generally dislike prepacked prepared foods. Besides its cheaper to cook.

I meant walmart isnt generally the cheapest

“Reduce your price to us, or we go elsewhere”

Having worked for a company that supplied Wal-Mart, they not only tell you to reduce your price, but they tell you to make a cheaper product, in non-standard configurations and they tell you that you better be willing to lose money for the privilege of supplying them.

Supplying Wal-Mart is a money losing proposition for most American companies and THAT is why you see them stocking so many Chinese products.

I rarely shop at Walmart. Not much there I need or want.

I go there occasionally if there is a sale, but usually not.

RD — Linda — It was actually the corner of 21st and Coolidge… Across from where WENDY’S is now… Some kind of tire place in that general area now… I think Twin Lakes was very new at that time… I remember it well…

The first Walmart I was ever in reminded me of that old Atlantic Mills(later Atlantic Thrift)… They had many things very cheap… and much of it was Made in Japan…

HERE TAZ… READ SLOW NOW SO YOU DONT MISS IT THIS TIME >>>>
_____________________________

CapnAmerica
Posted February 22, 2008 at 10:16 am | Permalink
Taz writes: “The millions that do go there regularly are not forced to shop there, are they?”

Yes, in some cases they are.

In many small towns, mom & pop stores are forced by local gov’t to give their tax money to Wal-Mart in the form of infrastructure and incentives which drives out the competition.

Then they have no alternative but to shop there.
_____________________________

StevenD–

According to the phone book, there are 11 Wal-Marts in the Wichita area. That doesn’t include the Sam’s clubs.

They’ve been wanting to put in a mid-town Wal-Mart at Kellogg and Oliver, but fortunately that’s close enough to the rich and powerful Eastborough so it probably won’t happen.

The one time that the snooty rich did something good.

“As for LittleJohn, he can actually believe that his hometown hardware store has the high-powered lobbyists and lawyers to force tributes from the US tax-payer like the world’s biggest corporation.

There’s no talking sense to him.”

I never said any such thing. I call your BUllshit, cause that is what it is. There is just no talking sense toCapnAmerica. The whole point is that they are the worlds’s largest retailer because they meet the one need poeople give a shit about, low prices. They don;t give a damn about anything else. Period. They don;t care where it comes from, has no idea who made it, and simply do not care as long as they can buy it cheaper, so they can buy more.
Yet, you want to defend the mom and pops who charge more, who typically offer their workers no benefits, who don;t care either where they buy their shit as long as they can sell it cheap, and on and on. The only difference? Scale. Look, I iam not upholding Wal-mart as any bastion of rightness. It’;s a business. It’s init to make money. Yeah, they bully their suppliers. Yeah, they bully even some manufacturers. Yeah, the suppliers and manufacturers go along with it, because they know selling to wal mart brings in the bucks. Otherwise, they would just tell then to take a flying leap! And your higher dollars stores? Look where their shit is made. Tell yo what Capn. Only buy your clothes from the local haberdasher. Only buy your groceries from the local producers. Only buy what you can local. Don;t buy ANYTHING made elsewhere. Show your support for your small businessman. ANd buy nothing made overseas. Have some backbone.

IIRC most if not all of the groceries at WalMart are grown, packaged, and shipped from within the USA… But there is a lot of foreign stuff in the rest of the store… However, I was noticing earlier this week, not ALL of it comes from China… A lot from Korea, and Japan, and even a lot from Europe…

If I remember, most if not all of the groceries at WalMart are grown, packaged, and shipped from within the USA… But there is a lot of foreign stuff in the rest of the store… However, I was noticing earlier this week, not ALL of it comes from China… A lot from Korea, and Japan, and even a lot from Europe…

I get my groceries at the Base Commissary. It makes Walmart prices look like the Neiman-Marcus of grocery stores.

Tom — if it was a Coleman Lantern, it was not likely made in China…

Regular — See?? There’s that government intervention benefit you get… Please dont try to compare Walmart prices to the Comissary… Ok??

North Rock

Regardless of the good or bad of Wal-Mart,
I have always, and will continue, to advocate buying as local as one can. Buy your meet directly from the producer, or a local meatlocker at Stroots.
Buy your fruit and vegetables in season from local producers, or the kansas farmers market. Look at the tag, and buy US made where possible. Buy US made cars, not imports. Go the local grocer when you can, and buy only the stuff the small town grocer can afford to carry (good luck with that one)
Buy gifts from local crafters, instead of paying less at Wal-Mart. Buy only American made. THere are products out there.

Right — 29th & Rock… Duhhh… was just there two months ago!! LOL

Vaughn — Does anywhere in the States have good grapes at this time of year?? Just wondering…

They have gotten so dominant a little thin like customer satisfaction won’t hurt their business much.

Chas., no; while I speculate there have been “greenhouse grapes” available at a price for many years, the influx of “new crop” grapes in February assures they aren’t from the U.S., IMO. The Chile mention was due to the box I saw the produce worker unloading the past weekend when at Dillons.

It was also pointed out that more formerly up-scale shoppers will be moving downward and becoming Wal-mart loyalst as the economy declines.
I think at some future point, there won’t be enough people with income to purchase even at Wal-Mart, that the company will re-group in China. How convenient will that be, having the outlets in the same country as their goods are produced!

Toshiba folded on their attempts to push HD-DVD technology as the DVD of choice after many of the key movie production companies had recently made a decision to stop producing DVD’s on the HD format and use only Blu-Ray.

Walmart’s decision is a result of external market forces.

Another good gem describing the American consumer from the same article

” the end, of course, it is we as shoppers who have the power, and who have given that power to Wal-Mart. Part of Wal-Mart’s dominance, part of its insight, and part of its arrogance, is that it presumes to speak for American shoppers.”

And the best, not about Wal-Mart, but about ourselves

“Says Steve Dobbins, president of thread maker Carolina Mills: “We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world–yet we aren’t willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions.”

apophis
Posted February 22, 2008 at 6:44 am | Permalink
Ask any Wal-Mart employee how they feel about their company. They love it! By he way, did you put on the lipstick!?

This is interesting………………….someone is actually trolling with my nic!

I was already at work at 6:44……..and I NEVER post at work………”on the clock” or not (actually, this time would be OFF the clock).

Has happened to me as well, Apophis. Usually right after Capn/chas has posted. Go figure.

Look who is claiming that? the original capn/chas troll.

Go back under your bridge, Troll!!

i make an observation, of how my nic has been stolen in the past. And, as a matter of fact, it has happened within a close time frame of chas/capn posting.

And your response? Any denial? Any attempt at discussing the facts? Nope. Name calling. How juvenile.

Just giving the crap back to you, chas/capn. So, you can dish it out but not take it, troll?

Taz, it wasnt just a WORD… thats nothing… Its that whole list of words…. Thats what gets people wondering… Obviously, you dont get it, so dont worry about it… If you want to be Taz, as you see, we will call you Taz!!

ALSO Taz, please note very carefully… Apophis did not say WHO stole his nic… only that it was stolen…

Your response was to make a phone allegation….

That would be typical Troll behavior…

Sorry, you still lose!!

Sounds familiar…posters accusing other posters of being other posters.

(chortles)

By all accounts, Target doesn;t pay any better, or treat it’s employees any better.

Ah, there’s the rub. Check with any retail store employee, and you’ll find that health insurance is poor if even available, full-time is a dream (except for dept. managers), and pay is low. I don’t care what retailer it is, whether it’s Target, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Penneys, Sears, or even Dillards, it’s the same.

5 walmarts in wichita 1 in derby 1 in valley center

Add August and El Dorado, and one of the first was Wellington, which is still there and is now a Super. I remember going to it long before Wichita ever had one.

rfl,

Wal-Mart wasn’t the first of several that ditched HD DVDs, but it definitely hit hard when they climbed off the wagon.

Anybody out there have a Beta VCR?

Do I know you, Reg?
I have a patient right now that has a parrot…the first time I went to visit, the parrot said “Hello Grandma” when I walked in! Now everytime I go to her house, he yells “Grandma!” when he sees me. Birds are smart…I think he says that because I have gray hair just like his 80 year old owner.

Kitrell,

Amen.

Could very well be the case, JWink…