Wal-Mart or Target?

[toocooltobeMom]

Tell your friend to find another job at your local grocery stores. It's better for her.

 

[kimntrent]

I am not allowed to shop at Walmart because it is Non Union. Therefore my choice is Target.

 

[Hixski]

Tell your friend to find another job at your local grocery stores. It's better for her.

See now that does not make sense. You don't think there is anything wrong with Walmart.

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

Tell your friend to find another job at your local grocery stores. It's better for her.

Wow, maybe you should run for office with your ability to solve problems that quickly.

She would love to work at one of the other grocery stores, however in the town that she's in Walmart is about it and the other stores aren't hiring, making it slightly difficult to find a new job. Did you miss the part about Wal-Mart being the only job she could find? So unless you have some magical idea on how to make jobs appear in economically depressed areas she's stuck working for that place at least it's a job right now and it pays the rent on her single wide. (how horribly cliché does that sound??)

 

[Papa Deuce]

Hmmmn. let me think on it...

 

[elizke]

I usually prefer not to get involved in debate. (That's not what I come here for ! : )

But I just don't get it. Was Walmart the first large store? Or the first corporation to grow huge and put smaller companies out of business? Is Walmart the only non-union business? Is Walmart the only place of business where it's hard to support a family working there?

The answer to all of these question is a huge NO. I can understand arguing these issues, and certainly all large corporations these days make greedy bottom line decisions and reap all the benefits at the top. But does anyone think Target, or BP, or McDonald's or millions of others are any different? I just don't get why Walmart gets all the blame for some people. I don't hold the corporation itself in high regard either, but neither do I any of the others.

I just think it's strange that a shopping question always turns into a debate when Walmart is mentioned. But not any other place. I have a friend who works at Macy's and could she hope to support her family??? Heck no!

 

[Hixski]

I usually prefer not to get involved in debate. (That's not what I come here for ! : )

But I just don't get it. Was Walmart the first large store? Or the first corporation to grow huge and put smaller companies out of business? Is Walmart the only non-union business? Is Walmart the only place of business where it's hard to support a family working there?

The answer to all of these question is a huge NO. I can understand arguing these issues, and certainly all large corporations these days make greedy bottom line decisions and reap all the benefits at the top. But does anyone think Target, or BP, or McDonald's or millions of others are any different? I just don't get why Walmart gets all the blame for some people. I don't hold the corporation itself in high regard either, but neither do I any of the others.

I just think it's strange that a shopping question always turns into a debate when Walmart is mentioned. But not any other place. I have a friend who works at Macy's and could she hope to support her family??? Heck no!

Walmart is the largest retail corporation in the world. They have more employees than anyone else. That is why they need to step up to the plate and give working wages and health insurance that everyone can afford. (See previous posting about person who needs 75% of their salary just to afford insurance.) If you think that is right so be it. Others need to do the right thing too, but Walmart needs to start the ball rolling. People working for a company should not be on Medicaid. Just remember it is your tax dollars paying for this.

I will not debate this anymore. To the folks that think Walmart is the be all end all, that is good for you. But I will not support a company that is trying to put so many others out of business. And leave their own employees on government assistance.

 

[barkley]

the superwalmart here was built a couple of years ago, and i love it. it's clean, well kept up-and they've largely maintained their staff such that they are able to help you locate items with ease. our local target is constantly rearranging it's products such that it is impossible to locate them, and 9 times out of 10 when you can finaly locate a sales associate it's some teen whose standard response is 'um, i just started working here let me see if i can find someone who knows' then he walks down the aisle never to be seen again. i also hate the way they have their cash registers set up such that there are 2-one in front of the other-you can never tell which line feeds into which register!

but largely it comes down to variety and quality for me. when our first child was born we were given many clothing items from target-they were terribly poorly made-snaps would break away, seams would rip apart, and after a couple of washing they resembled limp rags. the junior clothing they carry now is largely of a style i won't let my dd wear (crass tshirts, low rise jeans, and slips passing as dresses. our walmart on the other hand-carries hanes items, white stagg and other brand names that are much better made. they also carry much more durable female and male sweat clothing (again hanes brand i think)-i get none of the 'pilling' after laundering (which i did with targets) and the stuff lasts allot longer. i'm also able to find dd clothing she likes that does not cause problems with her wearing them to school.

and on the union issue-both dh and i are very supportive of our unions, but since dh has gone with no raise in 3 years and will not see one for the forseeable next several (part of a union tradeoff-freeze dh's classification pay level in exchange for the employer 'considering' a wage classification study for a much smaller group of people than those impacted in dh's shop), and my last raise of only 1.5% (while employee share of med costs went waaaaaaaaaay up) we have to support our children in the most economical way we know how-by comparison shopping. and in our area walmart offers the best products at the best values.

oh-and don't think too highly of safeway and the bulk of the 'unionized' grocery chains-you only get benefits when you become a member of the retail clerks union and thats after you've worked their long enough to move into the ranks of 'full time employee'-and many of the nice folks at my local safeways have worked just under full time for years in hopes of getting that distinction. and i'm surprised to heat that target is unionized-does'nt make sense when they were the one's that bought out all the old 'gemco' stores and fired all the union employees because they were'nt unionized in their existing stores.

 

[tiggerlover]

I prefer Target, but I shop at both depending on what I am looking for. Wal-Mart Super Store is closest to my house though.

 

[disneymouse]

our super target has a starbucks which can be a nice treat once in awhile.
it's super clean . has MUCH better customer service and never feels over crowded like walmart.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

our walmart on the other hand-carries hanes items, white stagg and other brand names that are much better made.

You are aware, I'm sure, that the brand names sold at Wal-Mart are of different quality than the same brand names sold at other stores? For example, Levi's Signature jeans sold only at Wal-Mart are of lower quality than the Levi's that have been available forever. In order to sell their jeans at the price Wal-Mart demanded they had to come up with a special, cheaper-made line. Do they tell the customer this? No, they just let you think that you are getting Levi's for cheaper at Wal-Mart.

The same can be said for many products; you are getting it for a lower price, but you also are not getting the quality product that the higher price pays for.

Sam Walton was an extremely competitive man; his goal was to get everyone else's customers and he did it through lower prices. He didn't lower the prices for the customers, he did it for his own gain. Wal-Mart continues this legacy. They want all of the customers, regardless of the cost to the rest of the economy.

You can claim all you want that the backlash against Wal-Mart is media bias, but it is hard to deny the evidence.

 

[luvmyfam444]

You are aware, I'm sure, that the brand names sold at Wal-Mart are of different quality than the same brand names sold at other stores? For example, Levi's Signature jeans sold only at Wal-Mart are of lower quality than the Levi's that have been available forever. In order to sell their jeans at the price Wal-Mart demanded they had to come up with a special, cheaper-made line. Do they tell the customer this? No, they just let you think that you are getting Levi's for cheaper at Wal-Mart.



YES everyone knows this info - but a different quality of Levis is still better than OFF brand - these companies stand ny their products & won't put out complete junk (like your implying) because it would hurt theire brands image & you'd never buy that brand again from Walmart or from any high end store either. Companies do their best to protect their image. Customers don't need to be told this info it's common sense you can usually FEEL the difference in weight of fabric, etc.

You have to look at it the other way - in the beginning Walmart didn't carry all those name brands - Carter's is brand new @ WM...when dd8 was a baby it was McKids (McDonalds---why on earth were they making clothes(instead of hamburgers)?? didn't that take business away from some other clothing manufacturer - sure it did)

MOST of the companies today are clammering to get into Walmart because they know their the #1 retailer - and for good reason. Sam Walton worked hard at is job.

Why doesn't anyone say this crazy stuff about Walt Disney? All is brilliant ideas put a lot of the small time amusement parks out of business. I'm sure there were many upset about this in the beginning.
BUT it also caused other parks to spruce up themselves if they wanted to compete. So it's been a good thing for the amusment park industry.

As a pp mentioned its all the same thing - it just depends on how you choose to look at it - the large companies became large by squashing the little ones...it's just the way it is in America. Haven't the large chain restaurants hurt your small restaurants in your area? They have sure have around here.

 

[boomhauer]

Why doesn't anyone say this crazy stuff about Walt Disney? All is brilliant ideas put a lot of the small time amusement parks out of business. I'm sure there were many upset about this in the beginning.
BUT it also caused other parks to spruce up themselves if they wanted to compete. So it's been a good thing for the amusment park industry.

I agree. People can be a bit hard on Wal-Mart. I was a victim of them myself. I worked for a retail chain in the Northeast called Bradlees for years before Wal-Mart put them out. Bradlees was by far a nicer, cleaner, friendlier store with far superior products. But I never took it personally. In fact, when Wal-Mart first opened in my town, I thought it was pretty cool. I just happened to notice the last few years how tacky it has become. They're turning more and more into what K-Mart was (and some still are) every day.

I don't think you can compare Sam Walton to Walt Disney. I'm not saying Walt wasn't interested in making money. Of course he was. However, at the same time, Walt cared deeply for the American family, for children and for giving back to the community.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

the large companies became large by squashing the little ones...it's just the way it is in America. Haven't the large chain restaurants hurt your small restaurants in your area? They have sure have around here.

First off, let me say that I in no way am trying to slam anyone who shops at or is a fan of Wal-Mart. I am merely posting information that not everyone may be aware of. I appreciate that this thread has remained surprisingly civil and I am doing my part to maintain that; we might be an example to the rest of the DIS!

My counterpoint to your quoted point above is that Wal-Mart, in fact, is not like other large companies. Everyone learned in Economics class the basics of supply and demand: a company can charge whatever they want for their product and consumer demand will decide whether that is an acceptable price. Wal-Mart doesn't allow manufacturers to set their own prices. When you see that smiley face slashing prices throughout Wal-Mart, it isn't because the manufacturers are finding cheaper ways to make their products, it is because Wal-Mart told the manufacturers what price they were going to accept for their products. The manufacturers, then, are faced with either pulling their product from Wal-Mart or figuring out a way to make their product cheaper so that they can still make a profit. How many of them do you think pull their product from the largest retailer in the world?

 

[elizke]

For example, Levi's Signature jeans sold only at Wal-Mart are of lower quality than the Levi's that have been available forever. In order to sell their jeans at the price Wal-Mart demanded they had to come up with a special, cheaper-made line. Do they tell the customer this? No, they just let you think that you are getting Levi's for cheaper at Wal-Mart.

Before those jeans came out I read about the deal, and it was a mutually beneficial arrangement for both Walmart and the Levi company. It certainly wasn't hidden from anyone, and in fact was touted by Levi's as a great new line for the budget-minded.

I don't think Levis wanted their regular line "cheapened" by being sold at Walmart. So regular Levis don't come down in stature, and Levi's has made a ton of money on selling the thinner jeans by the truckload through Walmart.

As it turns out they are my all time favorite jeans, and I like them much better than the regular Levi's. They just fit me better and I like the thinner denim, and they are holding up perfectly. I've had one pair for at least two years now. And Target carries them too, and I just saw them at Meijer also.

Which reminds me, I went to Target today, and for the first time EVER came out without having bought anything. I couldn't believe it. That has NEVER happened before. I wonder if the stuff they usually put in the air that has me buying many pretty things was off today...