Walmart, what a pain

Mosey · Apr 26, 2002

Walmart is getting more and more irritating to deal with. As much money as they are raking in, it really grinds me that they won't hire more "associates" and train them better. Their slogan "It's out people" (or something like that) really cracks me up! I can never find an "associate" when I need one and when I do they don't know and don't care half the time. Walmart makes so much money they could easily afford more help and pay them better and still make more money than they know what to do with. They’re prices are great, but it’s a very frustrating place to shop.

PaulT · Apr 26, 2002

I have a copy of an article from Information week, The Customer Is Always Right. There is some interesting info in it regarding Wal-mart, but it is so long, I started a different thread. For those who wish to view it, <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=off&Number=139741&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=>click here</A>.

TBone · Apr 26, 2002

They’re prices are great, but it’s a very frustrating place to shop.

Amen to that. I hate to go to Wal-Mart and avoid it whenever possible! If I just need a couple of quarts of oil or some duct tape (man's 2nd best friend) I go to K-Mart.

Bad news! Our K-Mart is closing the last of May.

TBone

RanchMan · Apr 26, 2002

I stopped shopping at K-Mart based on some of their "political stances" a while back. Sorry them going out of business is an inconvenience for you /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif and feel bad for the employees /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif and stockholders /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif as well, but have to admit, I'm not sorry the company is having issues since they went the political route they did...

Mosey · Apr 26, 2002

RanchMan - OK, you've got me curious, what "political route" are you referring to?

TonyC · Apr 26, 2002

I guess this varies around the country. Our Wal-Mart has some good people working there. No Rhodes Scholars but friendly helpful folks. No bad experiences. I even bought a $1400 riding mower there that I had to put in the shop twice in the first three months for repairs. I complained to the manager and he agreed it was not appropriate so he gave me a brand new mower. I drove it away while the first one was still sitting in the shop! Maybe the store manager is the guy who really is responsible for the workforce doing a good job.

Mosey · Apr 26, 2002

I’m sure the managers make a big difference. We got some turkeys using some coupons last night and the lady had a problem with how to ring it up. We spent 5 minutes messing with it and then a co-worker came to help. He spent 5 minutes figuring it out and then just needed a manager to OK it. When the manager got there, we had to spend another 5 minutes explaining it to her before she would OK it.

Another thing that gripes me is the way they put their bar code tags right in the middle of things and they’re a real pain to get off without leaving a mess on the thing. It’s almost like they try to pick the most annoying spot to put it.

ByuBill · Apr 26, 2002

duct tape (man's 2nd best friend)

Super Glue is 1st, right........ /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

frank_f15 · Apr 26, 2002

IT'S not only wal mart my friend. seems like all the stores say the customer comes first, when in relaitly you come first only if u aggree with their policy. we had to go to TARGET TO RETURN SOME ITEMS MY 11 MO. OLD GRAND SON GOT FOR GIFTS.1) outfit (too small) 2) video(duplicate) 3) toy(duplicate). did not have receipts, but no problem. only thing i did not like was u had to take the same type items, in other words we had to take 1 outfit, 1 video and 1 toy. whtat is the diff? if we were spending the money in that store we should have been able to buy anything.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 26, 2002

I thought the best thing ever made was the remote control.

TBone · Apr 26, 2002

Super Glue is 1st, right........

I have a furry friend at home that would bite me if I agreed with that Bill.

I see from your Bio you used to live in the Big Easy. I lived in Metairie for a few years. There are some fine folks down there but the metro area got too big and dirty for me.

TBone

TBone · Apr 26, 2002

I'm not sorry the company is having issues since they went the political route they did...

I must have missed this. What political route?

TBone

RanchMan · Apr 26, 2002

Well.... At the risk of offending others here (kindof why I wasn't explicit in the first place) 2nd Amendment stuff.

From what I've seen, Kmart has steadily moved away from a "strong supporter" position and decided to employ some rather radical "anti-gun" spokespeople. Don't get me wrong - there are some places that don't sell firearms that I shop at - but those places don't support the same type of rabid anti-gun "in your face" spokespeople either.

If you want to sell firearms -- fine; if not -- fine; just don't change your stance by bowing to PC hype and don't sponsor those who loudly oppose certain lines of the Bill of Rights and tell me I'm a "bad/evil person" if I own a gun .

PitbullMidwest · Apr 26, 2002

The only one I remember is their anti-gun stance. They came out very strongly against the NRA and your personnal right to bare arms. They used to be pro-sportsman and carried a large firearms selection, they don't even sell hunting and fishing licenses at my store anymore. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

TBone · Apr 26, 2002

I guess I didn't realize that. I was in the one here in town yesterday that is closing and they have a few (long) guns left. Since you mention it I can't remember how long it's been since they sold handguns. Of course Wal Mart doesn't sell handguns either.

I don't usually buy guns or licenses at discount stores, although I do buy some ammo. I've got a favorite gunshop that treats me pretty good and I've bought a few at gun shows, which are pretty frequent around here.

Most of the folks behind the counter at the discount stores don't know a bb gun from an AR15. If I am in the market for a particular gun I get a lot of enjoyment out of discussing them at length at the gun store, kinda like we do with tractors here at TBN.

Not to start a ruckus but I've got some personal issues with the NRA and I don't belong any more but I do believe very strongly in the right to bear arms.

TBone

MossRoad · Apr 26, 2002

Ahh, are you talking about Rosie as a Kmart spokesperson? IMHO, they made a huge mistake hiring someone with views that are so contrary to a big chunk of their customer base. Of course, that's not why I stopped shopping there. I stopped because the stores were filthy, the isles were too narrow and they closed the deli... man I loved those Kmart sub sandwiches!

Anonymous Poster · Apr 26, 2002

If you remember a few years back, K-Mart was sued for selling a gun to a suicidal person. Can't remember how the case came out, but pretty sure the family won. If I didn't want to be sued everytime some nut job misused something I sold them, I wouldn't sell it anymore either.

RanchMan · Apr 26, 2002

MossRoad-
Er - well - yea. Sorry - I can't stand her.

Between aligning themselves with her & taking "evil" ammo off the shelves, just showed me that they didn't respect their base anymore and were trying to "reinvent themselves" in a "PC world."

Kmart had PLENTY of problems (i.e. the ones you mention) without having to deal with upset sportsmen too. I had reduced my shopping there due to those reasons before the "Rosie" fiasco - just eliminated it entirely when she came on board. Can't say for sure if folks like me help "put them over the edge" or not - but I'd like to think there was some type of impact there.

RanchMan · Apr 26, 2002

gspig-
Wal-Mart was just in a suit like that as well (except the guy killed others). Wal-Mart had followed all the federal laws & such @ the time of sale.

Wal-Mart won - case dismissed. (On the news here the other night)

I understand not wanting to be sued too - and in today's "lawsuit happy" society, that is a definite risk - but it doesn't apply just to firearms.

A fellow here in Dallas who has a rental store rented a truck to a fellow. Well, some guy who works for the fellow who rented the truck got drunk, stole the truck from the fellow's driveway, ran a stop sign and had a wreck. The Rental store owner is now being sued by the insurance company for the drunk guy because "He should have known" that would probably happen if he rented the truck to the 1st fellow!

Don't get me wrong, I understand your point - just glad that there are people (in ALL lines of business) who are willing to "take the risk" and sell products/services - if there weren't, we'd have nothing... /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Mosey · Apr 26, 2002

“radical anti-gun” – no wonder they’re going out of business!

“Rosie as a Kmart spokesperson” – I didn’t know that. I can’t stand that kook.

“K-Mart was sued for selling a gun to a suicidal person” - if that’s true that’s amazing! I know our justice system a mess, but I didn’t realize it was getting that bad. I guess it’s ok to sell cigarettes though, even though they kill more people than guns! Gee, I guess someone should have sued U-Haul for renting that truck to Timmothy McVay.

This Walmart thread has turned into a Kmart thread, with both being bashed. So, where am I supposed to shop? Target doesn’t have the things I need/want. I just got back from buying a new “anti-tangle” flag pole at K-Mart. They had some at Walmart, but they were inferior and twice the cost. I was at Lowes for something else and found the same one I just bought at Kmart for $2 more. Had I known about the rosie thing, I would have gladly paid more at Lowes. I’m not going to stand in the return line, though, but I will avoid Kmart from now on. Walmart is where I get things like oil, cleaning supplies, cloths, household stuff, etc. No one else comes close to the selection and price, so I put up with the poor service. They’re supposed to be building a Super Target here, so maybe they’ll have more selection.