For those that say they don't shop at Walmart ever........

[denisenh]

a question, where do you buy " stuff"
without going to several different stores,

do you shop Target, what if there is no target near you , where do you go?

like if you need a blender, some glue, copy paper, a night light, laundry soap, pool chemicals, all in one trip.

my dh watched this last night
http://www.appomattoxnews.com/2009/the-new-age-of-walmart-upcoming-on-cnbc.html

I CAN happily say I never shop at walmart.
I do like target but i don't shop there often.
I would get the blender and night light at bed bath and beyond, laundry soap at the grocery store, pool chemicals at namco, and copy paper and glue at staples. all of those stores are very close to each other in the "shopping district" .... i don't generally do one stop shopping.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've shopped there before, but right now I don't even know where the closest one would be. There's one about 20 minutes up the freeway, but it's a junky place that generally has 1, maybe 2, cashiers on duty EVER, so it's just really unpleasant.

Last time I went in one was to get their NoAd sunscreen, which I thought was great, but I recently re-tried Banana Boat and liked it again, so I'm done with No-Ad.


I do a lot online...hubby works for amazon so of course we shop there when tey have the best price (though we are charged tax from living in WA, so that comes into the calculations vs other places), and I like shopping through a rewards site, so I spend a LOT of time comparison-shopping.

After buying a lot of junky household things (towels, appliances, etc) from kmart and walmart when I lived in SC (and had NO choice), and replacing them with higher quality stuff from elsewhere later on, I just don't have to re-buy those things now, but if I did I'd look at macys, Fred Meyer (a Kroger company), amazon...

Fred Meyer is actually quite the go-to place for me right now...they have quite a bit, good prices, and it's nice to be in their stores. And a great frequent purchaser rewards program.

 

[Squirlz]

Meijer. I won't set foot in a WalMart.

 

[ReneeA]

I have not stepped foot in a WalMart in yeeeeaaarrrs. Hate them. The ones by me don't have groceries anyway.

So, I shop at Target...way to much . We have Meijer in this area, and I love them for groceries and miscellaneous stuff. I do 80% of all my shopping at those 2 stores. I also normally make a 1x a month stop at Aldi for a huge quantity of cereal and frozen stuff that's cheaper there than anywhere else.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

Target, Wegmans, B&Js Warehouse.

I don't shop at Kmart either and it does not present a problem.

Most stores we need are right in the same area, so if we need to hit more than one it isn't a big deal.

I "go" to Walmart occasionally with family and have priced our regular items - and it doesn't come out cheaper, so I don't get the "why would you pay more". Target is often cheaper for food items.

 

[3boymthr]

For me, it is a simple matter of not wanting to spend my money with a company who's corporate philosophy is in contradiction to my personal beliefs in so many ways. Yes, there are flaws with any company, but Walmart's business model is based on undermining something I believe very strongly in - local, community based economies - so I'm not interested in helping them profit. I don't mind spending a little more to support a local business, and if I am going to shop a "big box" store, I'll shop one that is at least somewhat more socially conscious/responsible than WM.

Ditto.

I have been to Walmart and my SIL works there but I hate going there and I hate their policies and practices (I've read reports where Walmart is is a driving force for companies moving their US manufacturing to other countries ). I do everything to avoid going there and only shop there as a last resort - like this summer when we went on vacation and it was the only option I could find. To my mind Walmarts should be banned in any small town that wants to maintain a downtown shopping district and keep their town free of traffic and their bad policies and hey my town did .

 

[AntePrincess]

I'm surprised no one said their local main street yet. That's where we do most of our shopping. (I don't go to Walmart, nor do I go to big box stores.) I pricebook relentlessly, I freely admit that it's a hobby for me to do so, and I do a lot of research for pretty much any purchase. I can safely say that I beat Walmart's prices on comparable items while shopping on main street, although most of the time it would be comparing apples to oranges, since I don't tend to buy Walmart quality (and I'm fine buying used if it's a good enough buy).

Appliances are the hardest thing for me to buy locally. I can get Walmart style appliances at either a local department store the next town over (not a chain, but Walmart caliber in everything, including grime) or the Rite Aid on main, but I use so few appliances and the ones I buy are used so often, that I prefer to do a lot of research and buy a premium brand that'll last.

As for all in one shopping, I've seen big box stores bigger than our main street, so does hitting multiples shops on main street count as one or several stops? How about if I don't move my car (or even drive it there)?

 

[eliza61]

a question, where do you buy " stuff"
without going to several different stores,

do you shop Target, what if there is no target near you , where do you go?

like if you need a blender, some glue, copy paper, a night light, laundry soap, pool chemicals, all in one trip.

my dh watched this last night
http://www.appomattoxnews.com/2009/the-new-age-of-walmart-upcoming-on-cnbc.html

I'm a recovery walmart employee so I have a moral obligation not to shop there. I just cannot justify shopping some where, where they treat their employees so horrendously. This was 5 years ago so hopefully it's gotten better but when I was there it was 1 step up from slavery.

Anyway, it's very rare that I would need all of those items at the same time on one trip but I know what you mean. I'm lucky enough that I live in an area with a lot of shopping choices available to me. Most of the time my local supermarkets meets and/or beats walmarts prices and the double my coupons where walmart does not.
I have 3 supermarkets, 1 target, 1 kmart, tons of dollar stores, lowes, home depot, a major mall with a sears, jcpenny's and macys in it. Plus every drug store known to man on various corners.
I have to be standing next to a walmart to go in it. Besides the ones near my house are so big, parking is a hassle, lines are out the door and the aisle are narrow and packed so it's not really an enjoyable shopping experience.

Lastly, I have a big objection to what their do to the local community. In south jersey, they build these huge buildings that cause local traffic head aches beyond belief, contribute to flooding and have a corporate policy of trying to put every one else out of business.

 

[luvsJack]

Two or three of you mentioned having issues with how they treat their employees. How exactly are they treating them badly? (not being sarcastic or snarky, just curious)



I use Wal-Mart almost exclusively. I stop by one local grocery store to pick up their meat sales once a week and I go to Wal-Mart for everything else once a week. One stop, buy everything I need. In and out in about an hour and I am through with shopping for the week. Add to that, no one around here beats their prices. I don't see how I can choose to go anywhere else.

 

[disfan07]

I am one that NEVER shops at wall mart...and i'm serious about that.
I'll go to 3 or 4 different stores before i'll go to walmart

We have a target, office max, office depot, costco, staples and CVS all within 15 minutes of our house.
Food wise, we also have a 6 grocery stores within a 15 min. drive of our house (1 whole foods, 2 albertsons, a vons and 2 ralphs)

We can safely say that we will not be in a situation where we need walmart

 

[eliza61]

Two or three of you mentioned having issues with how they treat their employees. How exactly are they treating them badly? (not being sarcastic or snarky, just curious)

.

At my walmart, it was very badly (my experience was 5 years ago so it may not be as bad anymore).

1) We had timed bath room breaks. I'm not lying. I would inform my floor supervisor that I was running to the potty and she would literally say "you've got 3 minutes" Excuse me. I'm 40+ not 4.

2) forced over time. Walmart has been sued numerous times for this.
In my store what they would do is this. about 1/2 hour before it was time for me to go home they would bring me a cart full of returns. then the manager would say, "you can't leave until all the returns are put away". when you informed her that it was inhumanely impossible to put that much stuff away in 30 mins you usually got a "that's your job". Then when you asked if you would be paid for the time over you always get "walmart does not pay over time"

3) if you complained or did not do the job your next weeks hours were usually cut. Now for me it was no big deal because I was a SAHM and only working part time to pick up the discount and extra cash but image if you a re a single mom or this was your only bread and butter. Now your hours have been slashed from 33 to 3 as punishment.

4) public humiliation. We had department meetings and the supervisor would list all the things employees did not do by name. So I could come in and at the meeting I might hear "Eliza really should not talk so long with the customers, it won't help you get your area clean if you continue to do so"

After 3 weeks it was a miracle I had not punched some one in the face. I quit.

 

[delilah]

in the midwest, we have Meijer
Oh and me too- I can't say I never shop Walmart, but I avoid it when I can

I go to Meijer, too. where I live, it has the best produce at the best prices. In a pinch, I can get just about anything there. The quality is better than Walmart. And the store is so much cleaner, there is just no comparison.

Walmart is about 10 miles or so from where I live, Meijer only about 3.

 

[bigbabyblues]

well, i don't have much of a choice where i live. my local super wal-mart is nearby, clean, and the prices are lower than the ONE local grocery store we have left. our k-mart is all but closed down and we don't have a target. if i want to shop for groceries and other household necessities, i go to wal-mart. if i need clothes, shoes or accessories, i go to jcpenney or buy online.

Do you live near me???? Maybe not, if you can go to JC Penney....the nearest one to us is an hour away. This area has one Walmart, one nasty Kmart with usually less than 10 cars in the parking lot, and Aldi; I don't mind Aldi, but they don't have everything we need, and sometimes I want certain brands. Anything else is an hour away.

 

[monkey68]

I never go to Wal-Mart, mostly because there isn't one here. The closest one is about 40 minutes away. I go to Target occasionally, but I get most things except for food at a place like Amazing Savings, or Value Depot, or similar stores. I can get the same stuff for a lot less. I bought a toaster oven for my friend's bridal shower, and then I saw the same exact one in a discount store in my neighborhood for $50 less. And the things I've bought from them always work fine, if not, you can return them. As for food, we rarely go to grocery stores. We live in a city, and we have fruit stores, meat stores, etc. all around the corner. Anything you need, you can get from there, and it's often cheaper than the price in a grocery store.

 

[Free4Life11]

I shop all over, but I will say Walmart is very convenient at times. I was going mountain biking the other day and on my way I stopped and was able to get a bike tire pump, bag of ice, and misc. groceries all in one trip. It sure beat running to the sporting goods store!

 

[olena]

We go to Target and a warehouse club and occasionally we'll buy toiletries or shampoo at the grocery store. I've been doing homework on pricing between my usual places and comparing them to Alice.com. Alice has free shipping and many of my friends love the convenience. If my numbers work out to be comparable or less, I will start using Alice.com.

 

[babytrees]

We go to WalMart only when absolutely necessary. Maybe once or twice a year. We live right smack dab in the midddle of 3 Target areas and 2 shopping malls. But sometimes there are times when you HAVE to go into WalMart...like when you've looked and tried on every other swimsuit in the Metro area (other than the truly expensive stores) and NONE fit (We even found a favorite one and were willing to travel to any JcPenney in the state and there were none!!). So we tried on another 20 in Walmart....until one finally basically fit.

 

[Silent1CB]

Rural area so we shop at Walmart becuase its close, just 2 miles, and they carry everything. 2nd choice would be Kmart at about 8 miles away.

It would be 15 miles to Target. Macy's forget about it. Way too far. Sears would have to come before Macy's at about 10 miles. Office Max is a good 25 miles. Staples is also 15 miles. Grocery store is 8 miles.


So, I can either drive 2 miles to Walmart and get everything, or drive 8 to 25 miles in DIFFERENT directions to many different stores. And then drive home again. No brainer that we shop at Walmart. Besides they have the lowest prices and our store is newer, huge and clean.

Our state doesn't have most of the stores even mentioned on this thread.

If I can't find what I want, or the quality of something I want at Walmart, THEN I shop elsewhere or online. We don't buy everything at Walmart since some items we want better quality on.

As for local Main St, my town NEVER had one. That's how small it was. However, since Walmart came to town, we've gotten Home Depot, McD, Dunkin Donuts, AND some gas stations. Yes, gas stations! lol We've also gotten new water mains & new sewer system in our main roads thanks to the tax money that these businesses pay. A new school and police station too. Our taxes are still very low compared to towns surrounding us.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I am NOT being snarky or judgmental at all but I cannot wrap my brain around why someone would drive out of the way or farther and spend twice as much on something to avoid going into Walmart?? I just don't understand it. My time and money are way too precious to me! 1:

Not everyone shops for the lowest price! I chose to spend my dollars to quality products and stores with good customer service.

Sometimes you do get what you pay for.

And I do not agree with Walmart's way of doing business and never shop there. (Its not hard - there is ONE Walmart in ALL of Chicago)

 

[MrsMork]

Two or three of you mentioned having issues with how they treat their employees. How exactly are they treating them badly? (not being sarcastic or snarky, just curious)

My DH was at one time a pharmacy manager at WM (he had several employes that he was responsible for and they were all treated very well), my step-bro put together bikes at another WM and eventually he enetered their management program, my cousin started on the floor and became a store manager eventually, my uncle worked at headquarters, DH's cousin worked at still another and promoted from clerk to assistant store manager. There are others I can't think of at the moment. All of them at every level were treated fairly. Guess our experiences, though many and varied, are different than others.

I'm glad you asked that question.