Poll: What's the worst thing about Walmart?

It's definitely flawed and despicable, but maybe it's the retailer America deserves.

I worked at Wal-Mart one summer in college. It was the early 00's and I made at least twice minimum wage (plus time and a half on Sundays). We were given breaks, free water, discounts on food, and even an opportunity to buy company stock.

I hated being constantly reminded of my red state existence, so I ended up leaving the job shortly after being selected employee of the month. However, Wal-Mart was NOT a bad employer in any way. My boss was kind of a bitch, but even she was kept in line by company policies.

The horror stories I hear today about Amazon were never an issue at Wal-Mart. I disagree with their business practices and their impact on small businesses, but they're one of the best employers for people with few prospects. I even dated a guy who was on the management track by 19, despite not having a degree...although by now they likely offer tuition assistance to employees in college.

You are all hypocrites, if everyone had to pay for their toilet paper at the local mom and pop, and pay a much higher price due to low volume buying, you would all bitch like cunts. So STFU, everyone bitches all the time.

R3 Get a Tushy or a Toto Washlet, and your consumption of toilet paper will drop dramatically.

R2 I worked at a Walmart in 2010, for a week of training and a day on the floor. The training was mostly anti-union shit, along with guidelines on how to fold shirts. On the floor, I had two supervisors. One was a tacky Russian broad with balloon tits, corn-rows, and nails like Flo-Jo. I think she was a mail-order bride who got left at the UPS Store and wound up working at Walmart instead of a whorehouse. Anyway, she spent the entire shift watching Russian porn on her iPhone, blasting the sound for all to hear. The other supervisor was a sassy old Black broad, too fat to stand up. She sat on a special chair they bought just for her, and supervised the fitting rooms. She kept a shopping cart nearby that she claimed was for unwanted merchandise, but throughout the day, she'd slip away and come back with other items from the store to put into the basket. At the end of her shift, we watched her push the cart out of the store without paying for any of it. She was shoplifting from her own employer. I sat down with the big cheese (whatever you call the one manager who wears a tie and has an office) and tried to snitch on the old cow, but he waved it off. Said they knew about her and gave her coachings, but not to worry about it because her situation was unique. I got the impression he was telling me she was a welfare hire for tax purposes, and the store got a fat tax break for keeping her on the payroll even if she was a do-nothing shoplifter. I quit that day. Fuck these Arkansas fools and their trashy workers.

I kind of love Walmart... shop online. *hides*

Environmental Destructionists Bigtime

The hellish fluorescent lighting. The 400 pound fat asses riding on groaning motorized carts, eating from bags of potato chips. Their gross, disgusting fat asses hanging down the sides of the cart, crumbs on their repulsive mouths. No one wearing masks, including employees. Zombie pandemic rats. The bright colored displays assaulting and over stimulating your brain. The employees with their soulless, dead eyed gaze staring beyond you, never making eye contact. They are dead inside. The dirty children running up and down aisles, their parents pretending not to notice. Me, as I walk down the kitchen aide aisle, looking longingly at the kitchen knifes, fantasizing about slitting an artery.

I love they offer up their parking lots to sleep in when I am traveling cross country.

R8, always seeing the glass as half full. 😉

R8 What, no motels in your budget? Pull a Blanche Devereaux, and find some guy online who'll let you sleep over after you fuck him.

It definitely has its minuses. It was THE big box store that killed most of the mom and pop outlets, but even they are now in many cases trumped by Amazon. The thing that kept WM strong was its pivot to groceries.

The rock bottom prices have killed many manufacturers in the US, but they were not the only company to make that happen. Old Navy selling $5 t shirts means that no one wants to pay the $50 it actually costs for someone to make a t shirt and make money in this country, so thanks to you fat whores, we have Indonesian children making 2 cents a day to make your Live Love Laugh t shit.

The two good things I can say about WM:

I've had to use their pharmacy and they are consistently good in that category (versus Walgreens/CVS) with good employees

and

They were overall consistent and dependable during the pandemic in ways other stores were not

[quote]We were given breaks, free water...

OMG, free water?

That's not a business that's a charity!

R11- "They were overall consistent and dependable during the pandemic in ways other stores were not." Agree, but you have to expose yourself to covid to shop there. No masks mandates.

R13 I had delivery

I've only walked in a couple times, the massive size felt wasteful and unfriendly, I left before I could get to the check out

I live in a small resort community, Walmart is really the only place to get everyday stuff and it's not just me the parking lot has plenty of Rolls Royces, Bentleys and Range Rovers. I don't care how rich you are when you need toothpaste and toilet paper you go to Walmart

[quote] I left before I could get to the check out

MARY!!!

Walmart doesn't sell caftans. They're more of a muumuu store.

Other - All of the above

There's a Wal Mart near my mother's house. I actually like going there. I buy all my essential stuff - detergent, deodorant, trash bags, etc. - very convenient and cheap.

I'd rather go to Walmart than Amazon at this point. Made an Amazon order on 9/15 and it just shipped today 9/21. It's like they've run everybody else out and now it's "Screw you, you'll get your stuff when we feel like it."

It's a dreadful place. I haven't been to one in years. I'll pay more for items to not shop at WM.

In one picture.

[quote]I worked at Wal-Mart one summer in college. It was the early 00's and I made at least twice minimum wage (plus time and a half on Sundays)

That is total bullshit.

The employee of the month thing is also a nice touch after stating you only worked there briefly during the summer. You must have really dazzled them.

Where do you live, r7? Your post reads like a New Yorker's cliched fantasy of Appalachia. Or a DLer's opportunity to get all the objectionable types into one paragraph.

But let's go with it a sec. So is this your considered observation from a reasonable number of times you yourself shopped at a Walmart; or is your gripe based on the one time you slummed it?

There was an old queen working at the one in Canoga Park. He wore the vest and each and every day he had a different pair of conspicuously cheap women's earrings dangling from his ears. They ALWAYS matched his socks and he worked the women's clothing section. I remember my sister telling me about him because she got maternity pantyhose and leggings there. I talked to him once and he said he had worked in fashion and was bored at home. He was in his early 70's.

No cashiers? Not even one? Ask me how I paid $13 for $40 worth of goods.

r4 why were you trying to snitch on her?

I voted "other" because I wanted to choose "All of the Above"

The failure of Walmart in Europe was very strange, they didn't seem to have any concept of how the grocery market worked.

With the ASDA brand they would modernize stores but somehow make them look like it was still the 1980's, they were also more expensive than their direct competitors and had the worst 'own brand' offering imaginable.

In the end ALDI and LIDL had classier stores, cheaper prices and more effective staff.

Germany was a complete disaster, they hated everything about Walmart and the experiment was over in less than 3 years.

Paywall at R30

R31

Try this link

Or this one.

Walmart was expanding in Europe at the same time it was experiencing a shame cycle in the U.S. In the U.S., the stores were dirty, disorganized, customer service was beyond bad, product selection was usually mediocre. Other retailers were catching up with WM's supply chain and retailing tricks.

As the articles above said, UK retailers were already ahead of WM with a more appealing product mix. Not long ago, WM's soft goods and clothing were mostly atrocious. But there's not much meat in the article either. Seems like WM's biggest problem was regulators - they couldn't get zoned for large stores and they began to get in hot water with anti-trust regulators.

No doubt UK (and esp German) workers could not be pushed around and worked like dogs to increase profits. Indeed, WM finally caved to public opinion in the US and began offering slightly better than bottom of the barrel pay and benefits in the States too.

Similar to Southwest Airlines, they won on price and the entire sector cheapened to compete. So now Walmart doesn’t even seem too bad though it is still on the trashy side.

I shop there occasionally. One thing I will say, their frozen vegetables are high quality. I was pleasantly surprised.

[quote] Walmart was expanding in Europe at the same time it was experiencing a shame cycle in the U.S. In the U.S., the stores were dirty, disorganized, customer service was beyond bad, product selection was usually mediocre

WAS experiencing?

The clientele brings them down. I just cannot shop in any store that allows shoplifting and has rude and tacky staff. Horrible horrible people. The clientele are so vile and morally bankrupt. And did I mention the shoplifting? Even at the better stores you have to watch for people saving spaces in line for each other and cashiers who impulsively take breaks.

You're such a chunk of deep fryer slag, R36. The worst, trashiest and most dishonest thieving people I've ever known are people with money. They are able to cover up their stench with nice clothes and cologne and tinted car windows. That's their only advantage over the schlubs of Walmart.

Fact is, like it or not, WM has improved product selection and quality across the board. They don't hire enough employees, but they are paid better than they used to be. WM isn't my main store to shop in, but there are several things I get there because I can't find them anywhere else, or because Amazon charges too much for them.

I’ve been insulted by r37. Sorta like being on Nixon’s enemy list.

I’m going to wear it like a badge of honor, cunt!

Now get back in the store and keep boosting.

Deep fryer slag…indeed!

One of the main problems Walmart had in the UK is that supermarkets usually make a loss on basic foods. Milk, Bread, Eggs, Bacon, Bananas, unbranded Cookies and frozen vegetables are sold below cost price. It's been happening for almost 30 years now so below cost has become the 'normal' price.

If your more premium offering is weak then it's likely that you'd be losing money on a large number of your customers.

[quote] What's the worst thing about Walmart?

Literally, Everything

You go in and they have stacks of shit everywhere. Pass.

Walmart.com was where I found masks at the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, it was a DLer who alerted us all to the availability (at Walmart) in one of those "MegaThreads" about coronavirus (on DL).

If you shop early in the morning (or late at night), you can avoid crowds and that aggravation. In some areas, it is the only place to get certain things at a reasonable price.

To me, "The "People Zoo" aspect (drawing so many gross weirdos and losers to one spot) is the BEST part.

When I went to the USA some years back I went to a Walmart as a cultural experience

R7 your complaint about the service workers looking unhappy reminds me of something David Mitchell said. It was something like: it's such a shitty job that anyone who looks happy doing it is either completely crazy or a liar, either way I don't want anything to do with them.

The worst thing is that you go there to buy name brands at a cheap price, but the name brands offer second-tier versions of themselves without indicating that on the package. You're not really getting a good deal because you're buying shoddy crap that makes the quarter you saved on the item not worth it.

I've been maybe four or five times, mostly while traveling. I do find it depressing.