Watching Us Save, One Cart At A Time

Walmart wants to help me "Live Better, but our local Walmarts prices are higher than our neighboring towns Walmart. Of course our Walmart has little competition while the neighboring towns Walmart does. Before Walmart, our town had 4 supermarkets and 2 department stores. 3 of the supermarkets and both department stores closed so Walmart is just about the only place left in town and they know it, thus they charge accordingly. Live Better with Walmart, just not in Clearfield, PA.

I do not shop at Wal-Mart, nor the Home Depot, and it is no more expensive at the smaller stores. People like you are selfish and worry only about youself. I am a self employed small business man, selling lawn equipment. The big box stores sell garbage, i see it everyday and those who thought they were saving money end up screwing themselves. They then end up coming to a local business wanting us to help them out of their mess. And yes if necessary i will pay more more american made goods, I don't know what you do for a living but you mentality is what is driving down the standard of living for all americans.

So Karisa Sprague happily works 12 hours a day just to serve Wal-Mart customers.
However, Daniel McGinn leaves a few disconcerting questions unanswered. Does Ms. Sprage get paid time and half overtime for putting in a 12 hour shift. Or are the extra hours "off-clock" unpaid time that Ms. Sprague is forced to put in because she is a "manager." McGinn conveniently forgets that several years ago Wal-Mart promoted all of its employees to a managerial status to avoid dealing with pesky issues like an 8 hour day or over time.

McGinn also fails to tell us how much Ms. Sprague earns. What sort of medical insurance does she receive? Do her wages enable to buy a house in the suburban Denver area where she works, or can she even afford a crummy rental in a trailer park? With a 6 AM to 6 PM schedule, does Ms. Sprague have time to watch her children play soccer or attend parent conference night at the school her children attend? In fact, do her children see their teachers more frequently than they see her. (I'm a retired school teacher, so trust me - I know the answer to that question.)
Does Ms. Sprage get time off to go to church?
McGinn's article sounds like the sort of puff propaganda piece you'd get from an official newspaper in North Korea. Substitute Sam Walton for Kim il-Jong, as the Father of the People, and the analogy is complete.

P.S McGinn should read Barbara Ehrenriech's book Nickled and Dimed. He should follow Ms. Ehrenreich's example and actually get a job working at Wal-Mart

Tollet Paper is Toilet Paper...I don't need carpet under my feet or a sales clerk to explain what it does. Love Walmart! Get in and out and save my money for other things I'd rather have. Shopping for my eggs, bread, or cheese does not necessitate an expeience either. We own two Cadillacs and a Corvette, own a great house, have an MBA, and take nice vacations...because I don't need the "fancy" marketing of other stores to make me feel like I'm a trendy person.

ATTENTION ! SHOPPERS.

I SPEND MOST OF MY GROCERY MONEY AT WALMART.

I HAVE WATCHED THE FOOD PRICES ESCALATE AT THE STORE.

THE STORY IS USUALLY BUSY AND AT TIMES THE CASHIER LINES ARE SLOW.

GREAT PRICES WHEN ITEMS ARE ON SALE.

THEY TREAT THEIR EMPLOYEES LIKE CHILDREN , THEY DISAPPROVE OF UNIONS ( MAY WORRY THAT THE BLACK PREZ WILL GIVE THE UNIONS A MAJORITY SHARE OF THE COMPANY ), THEY SOMETIMES VIOLATE LABOR LAWS.

I WORRY ABOUT CHINA LEAD TAINTED TOYS AND AVOID BUYING THINGS THAT MAY HARM MY GRANDKIDS.

WHY DO I SHOP THERE STILL; BECAUSE, OF A LACK OF CHOICE.

LOCAL STORES OVER CHARGE ------- ANYONE WANT TO PAY $ 1.50 FOR A MEDIUM TOMATO ?

stop using WalMart and small town shops will return across the US

There's a reason their prices are cheaper - with the exception of food, their products are of very poor quality and tear or break after only a few uses and their service is dismal. Over the course of a lifetime, you can easily end up wasting more money on cheap goods at stores like this than if you had bought a higher quality good for a little bit more money. Buy a real Oak desk for more money instead of 5 cheap plywood ones over the span of a lifetime and you'll see what I mean. 60 years from now, the Oak one will still be in your family.

And I'm disappointed by the people who think small mom and pop stores should go out of business. Those mom and pop stores typically carry specialty goods you can't get anywhere else and let a town retain its sense of identity.

Long term, Wal Mart hurts tourism and commerce in a town - because if you can get the exact same goods in any Wal Mart you go to in any town you visit, then what's the point of going to those other towns?

WalMart* is not my store of choice, even when I need to pinch pennies. Their store brand is terrible. The produce is cheap because most of it is past its time. I have seen the price of one particular item that I did purchase from them, rise 50 cents over the past 4-5 months. I can't speak for all the WalMarts, but the one in my town needs to teach proper hygeine and clothing choices for the employees. Now that they have went to their "uniform", the employees look worse.