Walmart changes

[Swalphin]

The more I am reading here I am thinking it is the store managers who set the tone? I am honestly surprised by all the negative experiences people have had at their Walmart. I have bought things online, electronics, and hsd to return them in the store never a problem. Even the store greeter are always so pleasant at mine,they are older folks who seem to like what they do saying 'Hi".

 

[MoniqueU]

I am kind of a mixed bag. I statterd shopping superwalmart about a year ago. I have to pass our regular walmart to get to the super walmart. The walmart I pass by is a zoo and I wont go there. The super walmart is uge, bright and clean. ALot of things I can get there a heck of a lot less then the grocey stores even with coupons and we like what we like so we need it whether it is on sale or not. That both helps and hurts superwalmart in our eyes. Super walmarts produce is awful, their deli meat has gone down hill and they are slower then anyting. I can get alot of conveience4 items and toiletries there and a few speicalty items but we could get those at a abot the same price combining 33 stores close to us as well. It is has its good and its bad points to me. tHERE ARE A FEW items I go to superwalmart for that if they stop carrying i will just stay local.

 

[Kathi OD]

I had never thought I would ever see a WalMart worse than the one that used to be our local one. Then I visited my aunt in Texas. It was late and I had forgotten to pack PJs. Off to Walmart I went. It was one scary adventure. Even the parking lot was a disaster area.

I'll stick with Target.

 

[tvguy]

Interesting comments. Our Walmart is clean, the shelves are fully stocked, there is at least one employee on every isle stocking who can help you.
Their produce used to be a little iffy, but they've turned that around.
It is a 6 mile drive, instead of 1 mile for the grocery store. But the $1 I save on a gallon of milk, the $2 I save on a package of Oreos alone covers the cost of gasoline.
I just don't understand how my grocery store can justify $1 more for a gallon of milk, especially since THEY own the dairy, so there's no middle man. Walmart has to buy milk through a third party.

As for name brands, we love Walmart's Great Value line. But my dad worked in a cannery, so I grew up knowing that store brands, and often competing brand name products, came off the same line. Only thing different in most cases is the label.

 

[merryweather20]

I love Wal-Mart. I get my groceries delivered, for health reasons, but a couple of times a year I definitely head to the Wal-Mart to pick up stuff the delvery service doesn't carry.

They still bag groceries, unlike all the other grocery stores in the area. I've never found the prices to be particularly good, but one stop shopping and a little bit of bare bones service is something I really need.

I certainly don't have a problem with the quality either. I bought several sweaters around Christmas, and just this week-end I noticed that the Wal-Mart sweaters were the only ones that came with hanger ribbons, and spare buttons.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Not Walmart fans here either.

I am not a fan of rotten, fruit fly laced, overpriced produce.

Prepackaged meat with 12% "solution" at prices higher than fresh cut meat at Kroger/Meijer/or local grocer, no thanks.

No double coupons, no sale ads other than taking a Meijer ad picture, placing an x over the item with a magic marker, and lowering the price another penny saying watch out for falling prices. Would that price have fallen if Meijer didn't have it on sale? Nope.

How about stale baked goods, from an unknown bakery from who knows where? If a "fresh" doughnut has a good til date 4 weeks down the road, is it really fresh?

And then to top it off, why not have 30 lanes with 1 checkout open and 14 people in line, with a cashier that can't handle a WIC order from improper training-all on the weekend before Christmas.

 

[kwelch10377]

I hate shopping at our Walmart but I don't really have a choice because our Super Target is just as bad, if not worse than our Walmart. Target is ten times cleaner and friendlier but they can not seem to keep their shelves stocked for the life of them.

I have talked to multiple managers at my Target and I have been told the same story from all of them. Local Target stores do not get to order their own inventory. All inventory is decided upon by corporate. So, if my store is out of something, they can't just call up and order it. They have to wait for corporate to decide that they need it. That is the most ridiculous way to order that I have ever heard of.

Unfortunately, their lack of inventory keeps customers away. The Walmart parking lot that is directly across the street from Target is always three times busier. I long for the day that my Target gets it together so I can shop there exclusively but I don't think that will ever happen.

There is a good chance that it isn't even Target's fault, they may have issues getting the product from the manufacturers. Most large companies like that are set up so that once an item hits a certain number left on the shelf it gets auto re-ordered. There isn't just someone placing orders, it is all done automatically.

If it isn't an issue with getting the product from the manufacturer chances are it is actually the stores fault. If they are listed as having X number of product on the shelf and they don't actually have it they have to minus that inventory out of the system so the system knows that it needs to be re-ordered. Sometimes stores won't do that beccause the amount they have to minus out that dollar amount gets taken off their stores bottom line.

 

[Poohbear123]

I work for Publix....about 4 years ago, a Walmart went up about 5 miles from us.....guess what? EVERYONE STILL SHOPS AT MY PUBLIX! Sure, they went over there, bought thier water filled meat, and paid more for thier Paper Products, but Publix has BOGO EVERY SINGLE WEEK!! Brand Name products too, not Walmart Crap! I went over there too, but NEVER shop at the grocery side, since my DH bought ROTTEN Strawberries I had to throw away the day He brought them HOME!

 

[lakelandgal70]

I work for Publix....about 4 years ago, a Walmart went up about 5 miles from us.....guess what? EVERYONE STILL SHOPS AT MY PUBLIX! Sure, they went over there, bought thier water filled meat, and paid more for thier Paper Products, but Publix has BOGO EVERY SINGLE WEEK!! Brand Name products too, not Walmart Crap! I went over there too, but NEVER shop at the grocery side, since my DH bought ROTTEN Strawberries I had to throw away the day He brought them HOME!

Yes to this post. The produce is much nicer and I can still shop here on a small budget and get everything we need. The meat at Walmart scares me lol

 

[Swalphin]

I keep checking on this thread to see if there are any other folks who like Walmart, I saw a couple. I keep reading that the produce in your stores is not fresh and has flies, rotten ect. I swear the produce section and the produce manager at my Walmart is great. They have the exact same growers as the Kroger up the road. Blueberries for example same grower $3.99 at Kroger $1.99 at Walmart. And most of the produce is from local, GA, SC and FL growers in the spring or summer of course . I am so surprised at how bad some of these other stores are.

 

[Kat77]

I quit shopping at Walmart a long time ago. I can not find the things I need there and our list is not exotic. We are talking no bell peppers, green or red onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and other normal ingredients for recipes. The lack of produce is astounding. The shoppers they have left must not require veggies.
I mostly shop at Target and Kroger. I wish we had Publix in Texas! The Publix in Georgia near by IL's is wonderful.

 

[LindaG4458]

The Walmart in an adjacent town in NH is several years old. When they wanted to build it they wanted a super store with a complete grocery department. To do so they needed to buy the small hardware store property next door. That store refused to sell and are still in business across the street from a Lowe's! Meanwhile WalMart had a lot of call for groceries, so they cut back the other products and squeezed in about four grocery aisles. Now I frequently can't find the other products that I like and never see anything on the grocery aisles that I need.

A short distance away we also have a Home Depot that is doing a dying act. It is off the beaten track and people go to the Lowe's instead. Maybe WalMart can move there and expand if Home Depot goes under.

 

[Kycha]

However, I have been doing almost all my shopping at Kroger for a year now because with coupons, double coupons, internet coupons, and sales, Kroger is much cheaper for me than our Walmart. You just have to know how to shop to save $ and I'm slwly learning

Ditto. I've compared prices between our WM and Kroger and the prices are comparable. But until WM starts doubling coupons, I'll continue to shop at Kroger. Plus, the employees at Kroger are super, super helpful. Many times I have seen a Kroger associate helping an elderly or disabled customer do their shopping. And they have baggers!!! And every time I check out, the bagger asks if I need help loading my groceries into my car.

The more I am reading here I am thinking it is the store managers who set the tone? I am honestly surprised by all the negative experiences people have had at their Walmart. I have bought things online, electronics, and hsd to return them in the store never a problem. Even the store greeter are always so pleasant at mine,they are older folks who seem to like what they do saying 'Hi".

Our WM is nice too. The cashiers and greeters are all pleasant and helpful. And the store is clean and organized. But the store itself is not coupon friendly. I have had cashiers reject coupons because the item I'm buying is not pictured on the coupon. Even though the wording on the coupon may include the item I'm buying.

 

[Swalphin]

Ditto. I've compared prices between our WM and Kroger and the prices are comparable. But until WM starts doubling coupons, I'll continue to shop at Kroger. Plus, the employees at Kroger are super, super helpful. Many times I have seen a Kroger associate helping an elderly or disabled customer do their shopping. And they have baggers!!! And every time I check out, the bagger asks if I need help loading my groceries into my car.


Our WM is nice too. The cashiers and greeters are all pleasant and helpful. And the store is clean and organized. But the store itself is not coupon friendly. I have had cashiers reject coupons because the item I'm buying is not pictured on the coupon. Even though the wording on the coupon may include the item I'm buying.

That makes sense about the coupons. The Target here can be a pain about on line coupons and my Kroger too. Now that I think about it it was around that time, when those 2 were giving me problems with online coupons I started going to Walmart. I do not get the paper so most of the coupons I had were online, like for coffemate. I am not a brand person except pet food. I usually buy the store brand for lots of items. I see your point, if they make it difficult to use the coupons I would go elsewhere as well.

 

[Disfan1]

I work for Publix....about 4 years ago, a Walmart went up about 5 miles from us.....guess what? EVERYONE STILL SHOPS AT MY PUBLIX! Sure, they went over there, bought thier water filled meat, and paid more for thier Paper Products, but Publix has BOGO EVERY SINGLE WEEK!! Brand Name products too, not Walmart Crap! I went over there too, but NEVER shop at the grocery side, since my DH bought ROTTEN Strawberries I had to throw away the day He brought them HOME!

Yes yes YES!!! When the Super Wal-Mart opened near me, I left Publix & started doing my grocery shopping at WM. I gave up when I realized that each time I went I spent 30-45 minutes in the checkout line! I have been a happy Publix customer for the last few years now - I never wait more than 5 minutes to check out and I still save money by combining coupons with Publix sale prices.

I still hate going to Wal-Mart because even if I only need a couple of things, I can count on at LEAST a 15 minute wait, without fail.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

We finally just got a Walmart in August, the closest 3 were all about an hour away. It has it's good and bad, but enough bad so that I don't go out of my way to go to as it's still about 15 minutes away and in the opposite direction of my common places.

I'm a healthy eater for the most part, enough so that good produce is very important to me and Walmart's produce is absolutely disgusting. This is the thing that really makes me not want to go there. There's a local chain that has the best produce. And while it's a little more expensive, it's mostly locally grown and they only sell organic food. Plus, you don't ever see flies all over it.

 

[KikiFan]

I love Walmart. We've got one just about 10 min away that opened about a year and half ago. It's always clean, neat and generally good service. So I do a lot of my shopping there. Mainly staples, paper products, cleaners, toiletries etc. Especially if I'm doing major shopping. Then it's really worth it.

That said, I don't really care for their meat. I tend to be really picky about meat. I hate those meat packages that are pre-packed in Timbuktu and shipped to the store. I want a store that actually has a butcher/ meat cutter and fresh grinds their ground beef. So I usually go elsewhere for my meat.

Ours has a decent produce section, I've never seen rotted fruit or veggies. And we do buy some there. But they don't have a very exotic selection so we usually go to the farmers market or to New Flower.

 

[disykat]

I shop at Walmart about once a month to stock dry goods. Ours is clean, friendly and efficient. I have always avoided the produce, meat, and dairy departments. Recently, however, our produce has improved markedly. I just bought some asparagus the other day because for some reason they have the best asparagus in town.

 

[bicker]

A thread later in the forum talks about people's disappointment with a big Wal-Mart contemporary, Sears. There, as with Wal-Mart, the retailer responds to consumer demands for lower prices with lower cost retailing, compromising on quality, service, nation of origination, or whatever is necessary to satisfy that customer demand. However, there is always someone else willing to cut more corners and charge a lower price, at least for the things Wal-Mart and Sears sell. Our journey as American consumers down what appears to be a never-ending death-spiral of lower and lower quality/service, due to our insistence on lower and lower prices, continues.

 

[superme80]

I like Wal-Mart. I will buy non perishables there. If I want produce or meat I go local. I try to hit up the Farmer's Market and I go to the local butcher.