Walmart/big box stores

[Cookiebaker]

How do you guys feel about Walmart??

I live in a relatively small area (city of about 10,000 people). I have only lived here for 7 years and so much has CHANGED. I am increasingly becoming worried, and here's why. The majority of stores around here were Mom & Pop type stores, and 3 big stores (Ames, Kmart and Walmart). So many of the Mom & Pop stores and going out of business, or struggling to keep prices competitive. Now, Ames is gone, Kmart is struggling, and Walmart is flourishing.

The big news out is that there is a Home Depot coming in.

Don't get me wrong. I love to shop at these stores just as much as the next person, but it is very discouraging to see the small businesses blundering along while Walmart eats them up. And now with Home Depot coming, I'm afraid that our city is gonna be swiped off the map.

Am I retarded to worry about this kind of thing?? I am so tired of being treated like I am a "number" when I go into Walmart, when I can go to "Eserky's Hardware" and be known by name.

This holiday season, I am hoping to do all of my shopping with local area businesses, and not go into the giant stores. That's my mission, anyhow, and I hope I can stick to it.

[Karen]

Congratulations for sticking to your decision to support local buinesses. Funny enough, when Wal*Mart came into my home town, it was a plus, simply because we had no "local businesses" anyway - to go to a hardware store, grocery store, or anything else, you had to leave town. And to go to a decent hardware store, it was two town away. The WalMart was built on a site that had been a drive-in that had gone out of business years before, and was just an empty, weedy space.

Where we now live, there's a great local hardware store that I go to if I need keys made, anything special, hard to find, or "out of season" - they brought me down to the basement of the store when I needed clippers in the "off" season. Small businesses often cannot compete on price, but they can compete on quality, and on service. I believe the good local businesses can adapt and thrive. I hope some will in your town.

[sirrahbed]

I can understand your concern about the competition among the small busineses. I live in a fairly small town that still has the downtown square, yearly parade, Christmas tree festival, shoe repair, clockshop, barbershop, etc. The barber knows our names and all of our now grown kids

But, these businesses are gradually closing up because of the nearby mall and the stores such as you mentioned. They just can't compete with the prices and selection of the bigger stores. I think the "good ole local mom & pop" businesses will gradually become a memory. They are dying out. It is sad but true.

We also live within 30 minutes of a huge metropolis and are grasually becoming part of it. Perhaps local shops will stay viable for a few more decades in areas where there are no big cities - I don't know.

In the meantime - we do support our local businesses to some extent as there is no way to beat that quality of cervice. We use the barber, the jeweler and the shoeshop. We did have a terrific drugstore but it has closed, as has the hardware store. We have a little "greasy spoon" on the square that makes terrific breakfast, too

[sammy101]

hate Walmart! everytime i go there its always dirty and stinky and the service is bad.
I only go to Target,i love that store,greta service and clean and smells clean.I always try to support the local shops

[Edwina's Secretary]

I do not, and won't shop at Walmart. They treat their employees horribly (a number of class action suits right now...discrimination against women, minorities, immigrants, wage and hour violations ...they LOCK employees in and make them work off the clock) they treat their vendors like......and their goal is achievable only by putting the "little guy" out of business.

[Nomilynn]

Up here, I've known a lot of people who have worked at WalMart and actually really enjoyed it. The WalMart closest to where I live is ALWAYS clean, the shelves are always tidy, and I've always had great service when I go in there. I buy all my groceries there except for fresh meats and vegetables, as we don't have Super WalMarts here. I just can't afford to buy things from the "local" stores because they just simply cost too much. I live in an area that still has that small town feel, but is still within 5mins from a big city. I support the local movie theatre and a couple really good restaurants, but that's about all. It's not that I don't *want* to, but unfortunatly everything seems to come down to the dollar.

[Desert Arabian]

Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate WAL-MART! HATE it! Don't even get me started! There is one by my house, haven't set one foot in it for over 4 years. The only one I go in is the one by our cottage, because it's small and quaint.

They want to build another Wal- Mart in Menomonee Falls, only problem, it would butt up against wetlands, causing LOTS of environmental issues- does Wal-Mart care? Nope, they still want to go through with the plans.

Wont' spend one red penny at Wal-Mart.

[Corinna]

We have K-mart ,Wal-mart,Target, home depot, and Lowes.
I have been treated the best at Walmart and Home depot. Target I refuse to shop at becouse they are not allowing the Sal. Army in front of the stores this year. K-mart has been on my no shop list for 8 years becouse of the crappy service and down right refusal to help me. Haven't been in for 8 years I will order an item from some place else and pay more than go in to k-mart. The coming in of these storeshas caused the folks here in the down down area actually work to gether to find ways to make folks want to walk around and shp there. They for years acted like you want it tough shop on our terms. Down town is mosly eclectic types of stores That don't do well in malls. I have seen how they can cause problems and how businesses can work to gether.

[Tina]

I don't really have a problem with Wal Mart. The way I think of it if there was no Wal Mart here where we live. There would be a bunch of people with no job!

We live in a small community all we have around here are the small stores and Wal Mart and we have a Lowes coming in.

Our Wal Mart is actually pretty nice and it is clean. My mom works there and she likes it better then her old job.

We are also on a budget and it makes it alot better going to Wal Mart. I will continue go there as long as I'm getting lower prices then the other stores.

[Kfamr]

I LOVE Wal Mart. It's almost an addiction. I've gone to Wal Mart twice while I was here in Utah.

The one by us is very friendly and they don't treat you like a "number".

[chelsea]

I hate the Walmart here, the service is awful and their employee's are not treated fairly, mainly the women aren't treated fair.



Read this about Walmarts unfair treatment of women;


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2004Jun22.html

[Aspen and Misty]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I LOVE Wal Mart. It's almost an addiction. I've gone to Wal Mart twice while I was here in Utah.

The one by us is very friendly and they don't treat you like a "number".

Same here! Our Wal Mart is friendly and clean. All the employes are nice and we always small talk with them.

Not mention they are always helpful!

Ashley

[Albea]

Originally posted by Cookiebaker
How do you guys feel about Walmart??

I am increasingly becoming worried, and here's why. The majority of stores around here were Mom & Pop type stores, and 3 big stores (Ames, Kmart and Walmart). So many of the Mom & Pop stores and going out of business, or struggling to keep prices competitive. Now, Ames is gone, Kmart is struggling, and Walmart is flourishing.

The big news out is that there is a Home Depot coming in.

..., but it is very discouraging to see the small businesses blundering along while Walmart eats them up. And now with Home Depot coming, I'm afraid that our city is gonna be swiped off the map.

Anna, this sounds as if I had written it myself. We have the same situation here, population around 20,000. There are hardly any small stores left, except for hardware ones. They also have recently opened Sears, WalMart (where I refuse to shop), and a Home Depot is coming soon. Even my pharmacy has been sold to a Stop and Shop. There is a small mall about 2 miles away where many of the stores have also gone out of business. Now they are building a multi-screen movie house there and waiting for another anchor store to come.
It's really a very sad situation for people who invested their lives in building up a business to see all fall apart thanks to the likes of WalMart.

[NoahsMommy]

I agree that its sad seeing smaller businesses be put out of business by larger stores. Shopping should be a good experience, service being very important. I'd much rather buy a product from someone who knows and cares about it.

I hate Walmart...at least what my experience has been. The one closest to us is really gross. Its always crowded, but with less than desirable people. The quality isn't there. I was appauled to see they sold guns!

We have a larger, newer Target in our area and its pretty nice. I don't like the service though. The employees don't seem to know what customer service is, in ANY of the Targets I've been in.

[christa]

I like Walmart . . . sure, I could go to local merchants in town, but I'd pay twice as much.

The town where I'm originally from (an hour away from me now) has a Walmart, local merchants, and that's it. No restaurants, nothing . . . it hasn't changed since that Walmart came there 20 years ago!

The local merchants put a stop to every business that trys to come there. Don't know how they do it, but they do. And my hometown hasn't changed at all. It's a dead town.

Change IS GOOD . . . I left there because there was nothing there.

Glimmer of hope: My hometown is in the process of getting a Lowe's . . . which the local lumbar companies are fighting!