Status of Everything Attachments

[ultrarunner]

Interesting you reference Walmart here. They too have seem to have lost sight of the very things that made them successful in the first place. While they were a relative latecomer to New England (don't think I ever saw one of their stores before the mid-ish 90s), the stores were always clean and well-stocked compared to many of their competitors. Now I see lots of empty display cases, employees blocking aisles stocking during business hours, and prices on their store-brand items higher than name brand equivalents.

They're still successful, but having eliminated most of their competitors in many places they're the only game in town now.

Sears began to lose their way in the late 70s/early 80s, not being sure what they wanted to be. For a while they seemed to be marketing themselves as a semi-upscale womens' clothing store that also happened to sell tools and appliances. And the business mistakes just kept on coming, no matter what they did, they just managed to dig themselves in deeper.

When they got rid of their workware lines is when I noticed change.

 

[sixdogs]

When I go into a Walmart, I get the feeling they are trying to keep 100% of what I spend. I've sort-of decided to stop going there unless necessary but patronize more local places.

 

[Oaktree]

That is why Walmart $15 polo shirts are about the same thickness as single-ply toilet paper and only last a little longer!

Hasn't that always been the case? My first experience with WM was in the early-mid 80s on a southern road trip. GF didn't realize that late Sept. in Arkansas was a lot warmer than in N.H., and didn't pack accordingly. She picked up a couple tops at WM, was initially impressed with the low price, but after a couple washings they were all stretched out.

When I go into a Walmart, I get the feeling they are trying to keep 100% of what I spend. I've sort-of decided to stop going there unless necessary but patronize more local places.

You're lucky to have options. For much of what I get there, they're the only game in town.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I had a good friend (rip) who was an inventor and took his product to Bentonville Arkansas years ago (1990s) for an interview where Walmart liked his idea and his story explains the genius of Walmart. It was a computer data backup system so you have secondary storage and you don't lose files, pictures, etc.
They agreed to start by ordering 1,000 at $100 each. He almost fainted saying "where do I get my check?". They explained what they're giving him is shelf space...he provides product, and he would agree to price dropping until he gets them back if unsold.
So basically they have real estate with shelf space for Proctor & Gamble, Wrangler, Valvoline, etc. We have two friends here who work in Walmart claims department saying no wonder they have such a liberal return policy.
Pure genius.
So if Ted (should have) had 30+ implements ready to ship within 2 days, charging card as it's ready to go, replacing attachments as they're sold, and control spending ($500K lake house) while paying bills...they would be doing extremely well. If someone orders 50+ pieces that's when you get a deposit up front and consider a 2nd or 3rd shift to keep up with demand.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Amen

As this was all starting to come out, I was thinking along the lines of Luke 12:18

 

[Jstpssng]

They lost their shirt.

Nice play on words!

 

[Sid Post]

Hasn't that always been the case? My first experience with WM was in the early-mid 80s on a southern road trip. GF didn't realize that late Sept. in Arkansas was a lot warmer than in N.H., and didn't pack accordingly. She picked up a couple tops at WM, was initially impressed with the low price, but after a couple washings they were all stretched out.

I used to be able to buy a T-shirt at Walmart that would last most of the Summer on the farm. Today, the T-shirts I buy there generally would not make it past 3 washes in my front load washer. In a top load, it probably wouldn't even last one washing today.

Walmart today is more about groceries than anything else. How many TV's a year do you buy? How dozens of eggs, gallons of milk, or cases of beer, soda pop, potato chips, etc?

I will note that if I selectively shop the weekly sales of my local regional grocery store, I eat better and spend less than if I shopped at Walmart to buy my groceries.

Case in point, a can of Ranch Style beans at Walmart is $1.39 versus $1.00 locally. Similar for Pork'n'Beans, eggs, bread, milk, etc.

Around where I live, the Dollar General also has much better pricing generally on the name-brand foods I buy there. My guilty pleasure of those little sacks of powdered donuts, tea, canned coffee drinks, canned goods like soups and veggies, pasta, all sorts of condiments, and similar things are generally attractively priced. Hot sauces and Heinz 57 are particularly good values along with the Hispanic/Latino fruit drinks.

The Walmart of my youth and the Walmart of today, have little in common other than the name IMHO.

 

[jyoutz]

I used to be able to buy a T-shirt at Walmart that would last most of the Summer on the farm. Today, the T-shirts I buy there generally would not make it past 3 washes in my front load washer. In a top load, it probably wouldn't even last one washing today.

Walmart today is more about groceries than anything else. How many TV's a year do you buy? How dozens of eggs, gallons of milk, or cases of beer, soda pop, potato chips, etc?

I will note that if I selectively shop the weekly sales of my local regional grocery store, I eat better and spend less than if I shopped at Walmart to buy my groceries.

Case in point, a can of Ranch Style beans at Walmart is $1.39 versus $1.00 locally. Similar for Pork'n'Beans, eggs, bread, milk, etc.

Around where I live, the Dollar General also has much better pricing generally on the name-brand foods I buy there. My guilty pleasure of those little sacks of powdered donuts, tea, canned coffee drinks, canned goods like soups and veggies, pasta, all sorts of condiments, and similar things are generally attractively priced. Hot sauces and Heinz 57 are particularly good values along with the Hispanic/Latino fruit drinks.

The Walmart of my youth and the Walmart of today, have little in common other than the name IMHO.

IDK about your area, but the food at our local Dollar General stores is always near the expiration date, and I have seen some that are past the expiration date.

 

[Sid Post]

I used to be able to buy a T-shirt at Walmart that would last most of the Summer on the farm. Today, the T-shirts I buy there generally would not make it past 3 washes in my front load washer. In a top load, it probably wouldn't even last one washing today.

Walmart today is more about groceries than anything else. How many TV's a year do you buy? How dozens of eggs, gallons of milk, or cases of beer, soda pop, potato chips, etc?

I will note that if I selectively shop the weekly sales of my local regional grocery store, I eat better and spend less than if I shopped at Walmart to buy my groceries.

Case in point, a can of Ranch Style beans at Walmart is $1.39 versus $1.00 locally. Similar for Pork'n'Beans, eggs, bread, milk, etc.

Around where I live, the Dollar General also has much better pricing generally on the name-brand foods I buy there. My guilty pleasure of those little sacks of powdered donuts, tea, canned coffee drinks, canned goods like soups and veggies, pasta, all sorts of condiments, and similar things are generally attractively priced. Hot sauces and Heinz 57 are particularly good values along with the Hispanic/Latino fruit drinks.

The Walmart of my youth and the Walmart of today, have little in common other than the name IMHO.

Reasons similar to this are why I try to patronize local shops or smaller to mid-size independent businesses.

While Everything Attachments wasn't "small" in overall scope, it was compared to something like Land Pride. The quality and attention I got when I was a customer was rewarded with some really good products at a fair price.

Thanks to COVID policies and lingering business practices from then, I am NOT the Kubota fan I was in the past. I don't see myself ever buying another Kubota tractor. When I sell my L4600, I will go Korean before I go back to Kubota. Even the Indian-made Massey tractors would get preferential treatment from myself before Kubota.

I grew up bleeding Green but, John Deere corporate abandoned the little guys like me for Wall Street but, I'd still prefer them over Kubota today post-COVID.

About a month ago, I considered getting a Kubota RTV-1120. There was only 1 available in a 500-mile radius! Like the car manufacturers', the dealer said they couldn't keep the RTV-1140's with all the options in stock so, Kubota won't send them a lower profit margin SxS!

 

[Sid Post]

IDK about your area, but the food at our local Dollar General stores is always near the expiration date, and I have seen some that are past the expiration date.

I travel a lot and, individual stores can vary a lot. Some of them are like you mention due to staffing issues IMHO. I also notice a difference in those store's customers generally too.

The 6 main DG stores I patronize in a ~30-mile radius all have good staff so, I never needed to return anything or point out an expired or damaged product. I also don't hesitate to call the regional manager if a store is sub-par or is particularly outstanding.

The Western Oklahoma region is where I have the most negative DG experiences. In East Texas, I rarely have a bad one generally with most being above average!

Store staff and the customer base seem to be the best indicators overall if I will have a bad, good, or outstanding DG store experience. And as noted, this generally varies as I move from one regional manager's area to another's.

 

[goeduck]

The more I read about EA, the happier I am that I swore them off years ago after a bad experience with them and push back on TBN. I'd like to say "Look Who's Laughing Now", but I feel sorry for those members caught in a pinch.

 

[Rich_Z]

Well, to throw a handful of wheat into all the chaff taking place in this thread lately..... I just happened to take a look at my online credit card statement for the card I used to place the order with EA, and I have to admit I was REALLY surprised. I see a full credit for the money I spent placing the order with EA!!!! I am shocked, because it was well over the 120 day limit they state, and honestly, I wasn't expecting them to do anything at all. I SERIOUSLY needed some good news right now. I was cleaning out some stuff in the bathroom used by my deceased wife and, well, you probably know...... NOT a good day.

 

[ultrarunner]

It's nice to hear some good news... thank you for posting.

 

[sixdogs]

We've shifted grocery shopping from the mega-stores to Meijer's and I can't recall a too-short expiration date on canned goods or a mismatched price from store shelf to checkout. Have to watch that too at the big stores.

 

[D&D]

We've shifted grocery shopping from the mega-stores to Meijer's and I can't recall a too-short expiration date on canned goods or a mismatched price from store shelf to checkout. Have to watch that too at the big stores.

The mismatched pricing is everywhere. Must be easy for some hq’s staff to change the register prices and forget to let the store know to change the sticker/tags.
Here, you need to spend the better part of a day grocery shopping in 3 or 4 stores to save any money.

 

[mrmikey]

Must be easy for some hq’s staff to change the register prices and forget to let the store know to change the sticker/tags.

Our Local Kent building supplies, Canadian Tire and Supestore grocery store now have electronic price tags on the merchandise shelves. It makes it a lot faster to change prices so they can make more profit faster.
It'll also get rid of a few jobs as well I would presume. Once all the chain stores are tied in together, one person can change the prices of all the stores with one press of the keyboard.

 

[oosik]

I have AT&T Mastercard. Ordered stuff and been burned twice. No problems with AT& T - they terminate payment or refund if necessary. No questions asked.

The PROBLEM is - I've fallen for items that are too good to be true.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Many stores have a policy that if the price on shelf and price rung is different it is free, or gets lower price. I am a very conscientious shopper, and compare things like price per lb etc when I shop. I bought an expensive item, on sale, that rung up wrong. All I wanted was the correct price, even argued that I want to pay. The grocery store wasn't having any part of it, and the item was free. (this was 6-7 years ago) That was a policy above and beyond... Big Y, based out of Massachusetts. Gotta give them props.

 

[D&D]

Our Local Kent building supplies, Canadian Tire and Supestore grocery store now have electronic price tags on the merchandise shelves. It makes it a lot faster to change prices so they can make more profit faster.
It'll also get rid of a few jobs as well I would presume. Once all the chain stores are tied in together, one person can change the prices of all the stores with one press of the keyboard.

Mom and pop stores are quickly being erased.
Went to Lowe’s the other day, had to use self checkout, none others open. In order to get my military discount they wanted me to scan my drivers license. Nope, that’s not gonna happen. I’m sure lots of others will without complaint.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Many stores have a policy that if the price on shelf and price rung is different it is free, or gets lower price. I am a very conscientious shopper, and compare things like price per lb etc when I shop. I bought an expensive item, on sale, that rung up wrong. All I wanted was the correct price, even argued that I want to pay. The grocery store wasn't having any part of it, and the item was free. (this was 6-7 years ago) That was a policy above and beyond... Big Y, based out of Massachusetts. Gotta give them props.

In Massachusetts that's the law. The tag price trumps the shelf label that trumps the price stored by barcode in the register. The "free" is a good-will gesture by the merchant; kudos to "Big Y" and "Whole Paycheck" the two grocers closest to me.

(I'm intersted to see if the censors still dislike the card-playing metaphor.)