District residents why are you so against Walmart?

[Anonymous]

I agree. You can go straight to hell PP. Have a nice flight, and enjoy your destination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that Walmart, more than any other chain I know of, has a sound reputation for treating their employees like absolute shit, and that is why I have chosen to avoid the store. Until recently. Their sheet selection is truly excellent, so I succumed. I still feel a bit bad about it.

Ah! But you let price take the place of your scruples. I bet you live in DC and you come to VA or MD and clog up our roads. You should buy your sheets where you pay 4 or 5 times the price of Walmart.

You complain about DC residents clogging up your roads? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. VA and MD drivers speed down our residential streets all the time! And you don't pay a commuter tax! DC is overrun by you suburban creeps who refuse to leave your cars to come to work. Get real!

The District of Columbia is a Federal City and belongs to all Americans. We should not have to pay to enter or leave the City and DC isn't likely to EVER receive statehood so until it does, the the Federal City belongs to all Americans and we can come and go as we wish.

[Anonymous]

Fuck you. And stay out of my city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that Walmart, more than any other chain I know of, has a sound reputation for treating their employees like absolute shit, and that is why I have chosen to avoid the store. Until recently. Their sheet selection is truly excellent, so I succumed. I still feel a bit bad about it.

Ah! But you let price take the place of your scruples. I bet you live in DC and you come to VA or MD and clog up our roads. You should buy your sheets where you pay 4 or 5 times the price of Walmart.

You complain about DC residents clogging up your roads? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. VA and MD drivers speed down our residential streets all the time! And you don't pay a commuter tax! DC is overrun by you suburban creeps who refuse to leave your cars to come to work. Get real!

The District of Columbia is a Federal City and belongs to all Americans. We should not have to pay to enter or leave the City and DC isn't likely to EVER receive statehood so until it does, the the Federal City belongs to all Americans and we can come and go as we wish.

Guess what? VA and MD are states, but DC residents can "come and go" to those places without paying. Get a clue, freak.

[Anonymous]

Personally, I liked fuck you and stay out of my city better. But yes, she appears to be a stupid bitch, too. She should stat on Spotsylvania.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can take something back to Nordstrom's after a few years? You must be one hell of a negotiator. How does that work? I don't think I could pull it off.

I think the poster lacks dignity, it has nothing to do with negotiation skills. What kind of person takes worn clothes back to a store after a few years? Trashy people, that is who.

[Anonymous]

To return to the original question .... it is clear that nothing will convince OP that Wal-mart is anything other than a free-marketer's wet dream. But for anyone else honestly on the fence, you should know that low prices don't actually have to translate into awful jobs without a living wage. Costco seems to do quite well while paying their employees decent wages and benefits.

The poster who rattled off Wal-mart's generosity to its "associates" should provide full disclosure of the history -- which is that Wal-mart offered NONE of that until people started protesting its exploitative practices and -- yes, you guessed it! -- banding together to force improvements as a condition of moving into larger cities. Google "Chicago" and "Wal-mart" and see what comes up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that Walmart, more than any other chain I know of, has a sound reputation for treating their employees like absolute shit, and that is why I have chosen to avoid the store. Until recently. Their sheet selection is truly excellent, so I succumed. I still feel a bit bad about it.

My dad needed more income in retirement, so took a greeter job. He loved the job, the company, the $10/hr to greet his neighbors and friends - no stress either. He worked there 4 years until my mom's health required more of his attention. He speaks fondly of the people he worked with, many of whom are still there. It cannot be that bad!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wal-Mart treats its employees like shit, and because they have run all competition out of town they are the only place where many people can work. I say this as someone who has seen what Wal-Mart has done to my small hometown. People need jobs, and Walm-Mart finds ways to underpay and to avoid giving employees benefits. Sure, they have cheap products, but that employee that is ringing you up will be buying her groceries with food stamps and going to the free clinic when she gets sick. Wal-Mart destroys communities and continues the cycle of poverty. Lower prices come at a cost, its just a cost that a lot of people don't want to recognize.

I totally disagree. Walmart did not destroy those jobs. The people in those towns wanted Walmart's products more. They either wanted or needed cheaper products, and so they put those mom and pop stores out of business. We are all voting with our pocket books and guess what - the small shop owners weren't cutting it and so we bought from them. Those communities needed to focus on doing things they are better at than selling retail goods. In reality, their high prices cost the communities more than their jobs provided.

It's not just a Walmart thing. 100 years ago, your great grandmother bought shoes from a cobbler. One day a factory started making shoes and she bought some. They were cheaper, they fit better, sizes were reliable, and they lasted as long. Did she feel bad that the cobbler went out of business? Maybe a bit, but she wasn't going to have her kids running around with holes in their shoes. And today you buy from Zappos. The same goes with machinery. Cars would still be vanity objects for the rich and famous if they were not mass produced in a factory. Do you know that there were craftsmen who were put completely out of business by mass production, people who came from a long line of craftsmen who built machinery of just about every sort? Does that make you want to buy a handmade car or lawn mower to preserve the rich and dignified tradition of craftsmen. Same goes for clothing, transportation, medicine, and just about everything else you can buy.

I love my local small hardware store, but dammit they charge me about 35% higher than the big guys and they aren't that helpful like hardware stores used to be. So it's nice to pop in for one or two items, and I feel good that I am keeping some family operation in business. But you know what? I'm not paying $130 for a weed whacker when I can get it from Lowe's at $90 or Amazon for $85. It doesn't make sense.

If you are a small business owner and you can't provide a better product than Walmart, you know in your heart that you aren't doing anyone any good. You may blame Walmart, but really it could have been Target or Costco or Home Depot or Amazon.com that did you in.

I understand the legitimate concerns about workplace environment. But on the other hand, Walmart recognizes gay rights and provides health insurance at a very low cost to its employees. Almost 95% of Walmart employees have health coverage, half of them through walmart, and I'm betting no other chain can say the same. It makes 2000 drugs available to its employees at a flat price of $4. It's not all bad. And I'm also betting that the mom and pop companies that went under didn't offer health insurance at all.

Thank you pp for your moment of sanity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fuck you. And stay out of my city.

Can't you read? The District of Columbia is a Federal City open to all US citizens. You can't keep us out no matter how manytimes you tell us to fuck off. If you don't like this then move back to whatever sewer hold you came from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that Walmart, more than any other chain I know of, has a sound reputation for treating their employees like absolute shit, and that is why I have chosen to avoid the store. Until recently. Their sheet selection is truly excellent, so I succumed. I still feel a bit bad about it.

My dad needed more income in retirement, so took a greeter job. He loved the job, the company, the $10/hr to greet his neighbors and friends - no stress either. He worked there 4 years until my mom's health required more of his attention. He speaks fondly of the people he worked with, many of whom are still there. It cannot be that bad!

I'm sure there was no stress - he took the job to provide supplemental income for his retirement. The guy trying to provide for himself, or his family, on the substandard wages Wal-Mart pays woudl probably have a different take on the situation. To claim, based on your father's idylic experience, that "it cannot be that bad" is just absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that Walmart, more than any other chain I know of, has a sound reputation for treating their employees like absolute shit, and that is why I have chosen to avoid the store. Until recently. Their sheet selection is truly excellent, so I succumed. I still feel a bit bad about it.

My dad needed more income in retirement, so took a greeter job. He loved the job, the company, the $10/hr to greet his neighbors and friends - no stress either. He worked there 4 years until my mom's health required more of his attention. He speaks fondly of the people he worked with, many of whom are still there. It cannot be that bad!

I'm sure there was no stress - he took the job to provide supplemental income for his retirement. The guy trying to provide for himself, or his family, on the substandard wages Wal-Mart pays woudl probably have a different take on the situation. To claim, based on your father's idylic experience, that "it cannot be that bad" is just absurd.

Actually the guy trying to provide for himself or his family should acquire the education or skills to obtain a better job than a WalMart greeter. Walmart pays prevailing wages for low skilled jobs, and when the job requires more skills (department manager maybe) I am sure there is a difference in compensation.

[Anonymous]

OK, I'll bite. I took something back to Nordstrom that was a couple years old. My mother bought a pair of pumps there and gave them to me when she couldn't wear high heels anymore. I wore them to a party and one of the heels broke in half. I brought them to Nordstrom just to ask them to fix the problem. They couldn't fix it and gave me $150 - the original price when I know my mom would have bought them on sale - back in cash. I felt bad and protested but they insisted - their customer service is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually the guy trying to provide for himself or his family should acquire the education or skills to obtain a better job than a WalMart greeter. Walmart pays prevailing wages for low skilled jobs, and when the job requires more skills (department manager maybe) I am sure there is a difference in compensation.

You are kidding, right? In 2004, the average annual salary for a Wal-mart worker was $14,000. This is neither "prevailing wage" (unless Wal-mart is the only game in town, of course) nor is it a living wage.

And for those who might be wondering how come some folks on here appear to have surprising amounts of facts and figures at their fingertips.... please see article below about Wal-mart's paid shillers in connection with the recent Chicago campaign:

Walmart “Supporters” Paid Untraceable $100
Jul 15, 2010

100dollarsupport.jpgA story in today’s Chicago Reader1 reveals that at least one hundred pro-Walmart “supporters” in Chicago were paid $100 to come and protest on behalf of the retail giant building in their neighborhood in front of Chicago’s City Council on Thursday, June 24.

In the run up to the City Council vote in Chicago over the proposed zoning, Walmart was involved in a lot of footwork in the South Side community. For example, they did push polling2, they pushed a lot of money at charities3, and they created a fake community group4 (along with Walmart-paid comment spammers).

The Wall Street Journal5 said that even Obama could learn something from Walmart about community organizing.

But if Walmart or some other group was paying these South Side residents a C-note each to “protest,” it demonstrates that this visible and media-friendly support for Walmart was manufactured.

Community groups and labor were able to extract some concessions6 from Walmart in the run up to the City Council vote, though Walmart said it was be reneging7 on those agreements.

Walmart continually claims that people want the company in their communities. When the agreement was reached and the City Council was about to vote, how many of those folks with signs8 that read things like “Benefits from Walmart better than AFDC [Aid to Families with Dependent Children]” and “Walmart is better than welfare 4 me” came out because they supported Walmart and how many came because there was a crisp hundred dollar bill in it for them.

Notes:

1. Brooks, Max. “You Can Buy Love” Chicago Reader. 15 July 2010. Web.
2. Robinson, Kevin. “Wal-Mart Push Polls Chicago, Claims 74% Support New Store - Chicagoist.” Chicagoist: Chicago News, Food, Arts & Events. 29 July 2009. Web.
3. Hinz, Greg. “Wal-Mart Reaches Deal for ‘dozens’ of New Chicago Stores.” Crain’s Chicago Business. 21 June 2010. Web.
4. Robinson, Kevin. “Wal-Mart Using Fake Community Group to Manufacture Support.” Chicagoist. 26 Jan. 2010. Web.
5. Mcgurn, William. “McGurn: Wal-Mart Does Saul Alinsky - WSJ.com.” Business News & Financial News - The Wall Street Journal - WSJ.com. 6 July 2010. Web.
6. Statement from the Wake Up Walmart Campaign of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union on the Agreement Between Worker Organizations and Walmart in Chicago.
7. Tice, Carol. “Walmart Gets Its Chicago Store, and Immediately Reneges on Its Wage Deal.” Business Blogs BNET. 25 June 2010. Web.
8. Clifford, Stephanie. “Wal-Mart Gains in Its Wooing of Chicago.” The New York Times. 24 June 2010. Web.

Posted by Will O'Neill | Permalink

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The truth is that Walmart, more than any other chain I know of, has a sound reputation for treating their employees like absolute shit, and that is why I have chosen to avoid the store. Until recently. Their sheet selection is truly excellent, so I succumed. I still feel a bit bad about it.

My dad needed more income in retirement, so took a greeter job. He loved the job, the company, the $10/hr to greet his neighbors and friends - no stress either. He worked there 4 years until my mom's health required more of his attention. He speaks fondly of the people he worked with, many of whom are still there. It cannot be that bad!

I'm sure there was no stress - he took the job to provide supplemental income for his retirement. The guy trying to provide for himself, or his family, on the substandard wages Wal-Mart pays woudl probably have a different take on the situation. To claim, based on your father's idylic experience, that "it cannot be that bad" is just absurd.

It is not absurd to take a job that pays $10.00/hr if you need a job. That is better than paying only minimum wage. PP was speaking of her father's experience not the overall experience of every one who has ever worked at Wal-Mart. I've seen greeters who are mentally and physically challenged at Wal-Mart, but I've never seen any one with these disabilities at Macys, SAks, Nordstroms, etc. Quite possibly, the clothes you buy at these up scale stores were manufactured under far worse conditions that those manufactured for Wal-Mart