Walmart

[synesthesia]

I despise Walmart's practices.
But, then again, I dislike most stores like the Gap, products like Nike (even though I have Nikes I bought off ebay) because most of them pay about, probaly less than a dollar to manufacture a product (in a foreign country with slave labour might I add.) Then, they turn around and sell the product for 50 dollars. 50 dollars just for some ridiculous trademark, I can't stand it.
Walmart makes billions of dollars with horrible business practices and a job that is the work equivolent of a crack pipe. Hours worth of work at very little pay... Irratating.

[lilliesmomma]

I used to work in a grocery store and you are more correct about wages than the $20/30 comment. I don't think those unions exist up here NH/MA, or they are far and few between.

I don't mind wal-mart. I don't generally buy my pet stuff from them, but they have great prices on other things. I just don't like standing in line for 20 min each time I go so I use them sparingly.

Originally Posted by Katie

None of which are in NE Ohio. The stores we have here, Acme, Kmart, Walmart, Tops, Giant Eagle, Sears, Target, Khols etc.. all start out at minimum wage and work their way up. Giant Eagle is with the Union, everyone starts out at $6-$7/hr. The longer they're there, the more it goes up. All of our stores that had self checkouts (Target, Walmart, Tops, Kmart) have already pulled them out. If they paid their workers more, their prices would go up and they would lose business.

[Access]

Originally Posted by lilliesmomma

I used to work in a grocery store and you are more correct about wages than the $20/30 comment. I don't think those unions exist up here NH/MA, or they are far and few between.

I don't mind wal-mart. I don't generally buy my pet stuff from them, but they have great prices on other things. I just don't like standing in line for 20 min each time I go so I use them sparingly.

I had a friend that worked at Big Bear as a bagger when he was in high school. Back then (1990) the pay was near-minimum wage ($6.00 or so). Obviously (locally) something happened between then and now, but nonetheless it sounds like my city is an anomaly when it comes to supermarkets / unions.

Dealing with wall-mart can mean death for suppliers also. There have been some articles written about this like the pickle supplier who started to do business with wall-mart and ended up being squeezed to death by the corporate behemoth. Wall-mart destroys small businesses, and not just retailers. They don't care about product quality, they just want volume.

[Ly&Pigs]

I do shop at Wal-Mart and like Wal-Mart (I don't buy pet food there) but in the small town I live in, we have two choices for shopping. Wal-Mart and Dollar General. Our Wal-Mart does not sell fish. It's a tiny one. They are in the process of building a supercenter here but I don't know if it will sell fish or not. The new supercenter will not open until around October, so it's a wait and see situation. Even if it does sell fish, I will continue to shop there because of my limitation in shopping choices. I do buy some of my pet supplies online (food) and the shipping is killer unless you buy over a certain $ amount. We have two feed stores here in town and neither sell any type of guinea pig food. I buy hay locally which saves money.

As for those who say that grocery stores pay big bucks to it's employees, our local grocers don't. My brother worked at one of the grocery stores here for well over a year as a stocker/carry out and he was paid a measly $5.15 an hour. He received no benefits either like health insurance or discounts on his purchases. There are no unions for the grocery stores here as most are locally owned and operated or it's a small family chain that operates in a few towns all located within a radius of towns near each other. I heard the minimum wage here in Arkansas just went up to $6.15 an hour, but heck, that is still far to little for people with families to live on even with the cost-of-living here low.

[LuvMyPiggers]

Originally Posted by critterlover

Personally I love Walmart. Tons of people get paid minimum wage and are not unionized, why pick on Walmart? Restaurant workers, for instance, have dangerous jobs, are often not unionized, and are paid pitifully. Why not boycot restaurants?

I've tried to shop around in order, but the bottom line is very few stores can really make me a satisifed customer.

#1 Walmart will take back anything at any time without a receipt without any hassle.

My husband once returned a pair of pants that he had worn for 2 years and they gave him his money back because he was not satisfied.

I remember pre-Walmart trying to return something. I had to fill out a huge form and give detailed reasons why I wanted to return a simple thing. Even the other day, I went to return something to a store (not Walmart) and they would give me $10 less back if I didn't have a receipt. They didn't seem to care whether I shopped there or not, there were more associates than customers in the store.

#2 Walmart employess care more about your satisfaction than selling you something.

The other day, I had a Walmart employee suggest reasons why I not buy a wheelbarrow from Walmart and told me where to get a better one. Also I had another Walmart employee suggest where I could buy a 2nd hand lawnmower instead of convincing me to spend $100s I didn't want to. What other store will do that??

#3 In Walmart, prices are labeled. If they aren't, a price checker or associate is readily available.

In other stores, I've walked around and around trying to find someone to help me to get a price and have left in exhaustion, having bought nothing.

Im with her ^^^^

I Love walmart. Only some do sell fish and I know that is contributing to them but heck, they have everything my piggys need. And why do they have to be unionized?

[LuvMyPiggers]

Originally Posted by Katie

No one that works at a grocery store gets paid good.

I'd just be careful what I said.... I work at a grocery store =(
I get paid VERY well for a grocery store. Not all grocery stores are crappy. And Why pick on wal-mart? Some walmarts do sell fish but I love my Wal-mart. Online shipping is just too much

[Himino]

I shop with my family every month at Walmart. I like the store very much, but I would never buy a fish from them. There fish tend to be sick, and living with other dead fish. I've seen a dead fish being eaten by the other fish in the tank. I've bought fish from there before and I find that they die fast and are sick. I HATE the way they care for the Betta's they'er my fav. breed of fish, but they are fighting fish, and if they are kept together they will fight to the death. So they keep them in bowls that are the same size as a tea cup and could pass for an ash tray!!! Betta's are dark and colorful fish that are a dark purple and blue but at walmart most of them are pale and look sick, the males are easier to tell when there sick as they are darker than females so when you see a pale male you know they are sick.

[synesthesia]

I work at a grocery store
It sucks, except for sunday and holiday pay.
Since I work at the store I am in a union. Because of the union we have sunday Time and a half and holiday pay, sick hours, ect.
Unions are good for preventing the managers from taking total advantage of their workers in the worse way.

[Sparky]

you like wal-mart because it is cheap?
because their staff are well trained?
because they'll take faulty things back?
because the prices are labeled?

have you sincerely no idea of the damage they do, they force local bussinesses out. the all local competition, wal-mart pays minimun wage, as their workers have no unions. and as i said earlier, they sell products not made under fair-trade standards.

can you give me any way to ethically justify shopping there?

[synesthesia]

Not to mention practically using overseas slave labour.
Gods, I HATE THEM. i refuse to shop there, ever...
Unless there is a Rabbit Related Emergency and I have no choice.

[LuvMyPiggers]

Originally Posted by Sparky

you like wal-mart because it is cheap?
because their staff are well trained?
because they'll take faulty things back?
because the prices are labeled?

have you sincerely no idea of the damage they do, they force local bussinesses out. the all local competition, wal-mart pays minimun wage, as their workers have no unions. and as i said earlier, they sell products not made under fair-trade standards.

can you give me any way to ethically justify shopping there?

We aren't trying to make you shop there to say the least...

[Sparky]

i know, but i'm trying to make you not shop there.

by shopping there you propagate every evil they stand for

[misspigglie]

I really like shopping there, sorry, but I can't help it. I usually take my 3-year-old with me, and we have to go see the fish every time. Yes, their fish are usually not healthy, with quarantine stickers on the tanks. We usually just stop to see the Betas. My son has to give them all kisses & hugs and tell them they are beautiful. (well, he kisses the cups) We have bought fish from them before and have a Beta named Inuyasha, and a goldfish named Nemo. I also buy my bedding there and my mom's parrot food. It is really cheap and close to us. The service does suck, usually, but there are some good people there too.

[critterlover]

you like wal-mart because it is cheap?
because their staff are well trained?
because they'll take faulty things back?
because the prices are labeled?

Yes, yes, yes!! Is there something wrong with me wanting to leave a store happy??

force local bussinesses out.

Any store that can compete for my dollars is welcome to it! When I was growing up, there was a 'local' store in my hometown that we went to and we remember having no end to hassle trying to return something. They would make us fill out a long form and it was just ridiculous. I gave them plenty of chances to make me happy, but they fell short. Finally, Walmart has given them a good example to follow.

Does a store really deserve to continue getting my money if they're not working hard to make me happy??? I work my butt off for my money.

wal-mart pays minimun wage

Yes, and so does any number of 'local' stores. Small businesses can barely afford to stay in business, let alone give their employees generous wages and compensation packages. I have worked for small businesses before and they are don't exactly have extra money to toss around, I got paid minimum wage with no benefits.

they sell products not made under fair-trade standards.

OK, why don't you name a store that doesn't sell stuff that's made in China or Taiwan or India? 'Local' stores sell much the same stuff Walmart sells. Have you checked the labels at 'local' stores recently?

Sparky, I would be interested if you could give some specific examples of 'local' stores which are so good: employees are well compensated and the products are made under fair-trade conditions...

[Sparky]

ok, for each of the important products sold at walmart, i will give you a good local store in my town.

food: Wild oats market, the food co-op both sells locally produced and organic foods

clothes: nepal tibet imports sells clothes which are made under fair trade, you can also get clothes from a variety of quality thrift stores,

electronics/games: force games, dale's electronics. while they sell products that are not mad under fair trade standards, they are the most community minded place to buy such products

i could go on, but bottom line, there are local places to get almost anything you can buy at walmart,

on top of that, walmart is the largest, they have massive lobbying power, and not only do you support their poor practice, but you pour money into their lobbying groups.

have you seen "the corporation"? you should, it might open your eyes to the horrors of big bussiness

[LuvMyPiggers]

Originally Posted by Sparky

ok, for each of the important products sold at walmart, i will give you a good local store in my town.

food: Wild oats market, the food co-op both sells locally produced and organic foods

clothes: nepal tibet imports sells clothes which are made under fair trade, you can also get clothes from a variety of quality thrift stores,

electronics/games: force games, dale's electronics. while they sell products that are not mad under fair trade standards, they are the most community minded place to buy such products

i could go on, but bottom line, there are local places to get almost anything you can buy at walmart,

on top of that, walmart is the largest, they have massive lobbying power, and not only do you support their poor practice, but you pour money into their lobbying groups.

have you seen "the corporation"? you should, it might open your eyes to the horrors of big bussiness

Who cares about "The Corporation"? From what I understand, all we are getting right now is a healthy dose of a nromal thing called reality.

[Sparky]

reality?

you complain your heart out when animals are tested on, when they are bred in unfair conditions, but you care nothing about human slave-labor?

this is sicker than anything I ever posted