Wally World Woes
 

I was reading this NYT article that kept making me chuckle so here it is.



Link

I have yet to visit one of these stores and I guess that has been a good move on my part. :p


Carl

I avoid them as much as I can.

Whenever I go to the one near my house I feel like I'm in a third world country.

It's a pig sty.

The floors are always dirty, the parking lot is full of trash, and the shopping carts are rusty and the wheels on them are all worn out so that they roll like a car with four flat tires.

Good man Carl. I wouldn't spend my last dollar in one of those stores, even if they were selling filet mignon for fifty cents a pound.

I avoid going into one of their stores, nor do I see a pressing need.

I think most intelligent people with a decent income would avoid going to Wall Mart, considering the damage it's done to the US retail landscape, increased taxes and reduced wages across the country.

But I also understand why they have such a large base. It takes a middle class income to shop Kroger et al, and half the country ain't got that luxury. (and even Kroger meat ain't that good. I use a local butcher and fish shop, prices are about the same but the quality is 100% better)

I cannot speak to Wally's food prices, but my daughter claims they are low at Wally's and that is the only way she can put food on the table. My son works there in the pharmacy. He says it's an OK place to work but they have way more tasks than employees so it's a stress.

And the Waltons, don't they collectively clear more than 7 billion dollars a year?

Meanwhile, here in Kansas traditional retail is slowly closing shop and they just opened a 4th Wall Mart in my town. That my town only has 120,000 residents is very telling.

I don't even know where their stores are and I really do not want to know.

Here, Target is right across the street. The store is (relatively) clean and well organized. The prices are higher, but I don't care......because the Walton Family slums parking lot has become a hangout for gangbangers. We've had all sorts of lovely things take place there; car theft, rape........

Which strikes me as odd, because the friggin' place has more surveillance equipment than the NSA. The roof looks inhabited by a flock of one-eyed electronic vultures. They're probably too cheap to hire anyone to actually use the stuff.

Dave

I used to do about 1/2 my grocery shopping there, and the other half at Publix which is a really great grocery store. Then, being a number cruncher at heart I started to compare prices with the idea in mind that if the savings on an item at Wally World was less than 10% cheaper than Publix I would buy it at Publix.

What I found was that the actual price differentials were almost always far less than 10%, and sometimes Publix even beat Wally World. Right now the only item that I can save 10% on is Duncan Doughnuts French Vanilla Coffee.

It's $13.48 for the big bag at Wally's and $15.99 at Publix. That's 15%.

But other items are much closer in price., Take butter. Today Publix had Lake O Lakes Butter on sale at 2 for $7.00. Land O Lakes, that's the good stuff! At Wally World their nasty Great Value is 2 for $6.94.

So I can go to a nice clean store with plenty of friendly helpful employees and no fucking "self service" checkout lanes (God I HATE those!) and get Land O Lakes butter for $3.50 a pound.

Or I can go to that crowded nasty Walmart and get their nasty Great Value Butter for 3 cents less a pound. No contest.

Sam Walton is rolling in his grave.

I hate Walmart. I only go there to mount and balance my tires. That's all labor so we keep it more or less, and they install the tires, actually check the lug nut torque, drive it in a figure 8 and the manager has to re-check the torque.

Pete

It's difficult to get it, I realize.

Pete

That you trust Wally World to mount and balance your tires?

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/z...and-dumber.jpg

I can get LOL butter here for $2.50 at Kroger :)

You go to a wall mart here for tires and they're so stupid they'll mount bicycle tires on yer car.....

Go for an oil change and your likely to get vegetable oil in the crank case.

When you're only making $1.36 an hour to service cars you really don't care.

Now I'm pissed!:mad:

The amazing thing is that same pound of butter is $7.00 at the Apple mart.

What is that?

One of them Whole Food Organic Hippie Places?

LOL, no, it's just a small local market.

You mean the sort of place you have to shop if you don't have a car?

I was thinking more along the lines of the sort of place where you can't shop unless you bring your own bag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX5Nf-BiOQ4

It's a regular market that serves the neighborhood. The old fashion kind. It's not a "super" market and variety is comparitively limited (you won't find organic milk) but the produce is first rate, the meat OK but limited.

Got iy. Low volume, getting by on customer loyalty. But it once was a 'supermarket,' in it's day.

Costco does the same thing,......AND they only use nitrogen to inflate the tires.:)

Best part is you can get a premium hot dog and soda for $1.50 while you wait. :)

From what I hear Costco pays their employees a decent wage and treats them good. Thats the kind of person you don't mind trusting to put your tires and wheels on right, as opposed to some poor schmuck that gets minimum wage and treated like shit.

As for Pete, he can continue to save a nickel and roll the dice.

In fact, I'd be disappointed if he doesn't.

I buy all my tires at Costco. I am actually thinking about checking out their vehicle program next year. I need a new truck.

I have a nephew in the Tacoma area who has worked for Costco for years and been treated very well.

Regards,

D-Ray

When Florence's Impala needed new tires I took it to Goodyear. I also took a list of DOT codes so that I would know where the tires were made. Put on four Triple Treads 80,000 mile warranty 'cause she is the only wife I have, or want. Made right here in the US of A

I have bought several vehicles through Costco. I have never comparison shopped actually but it's usually $xxx over invoice and that's good enough for me. Fast and easy shopping with all arrangements done over the phone as to what and how much.

We olde farts been members since they were 'Price Club' and we still do most of our shopping there. Just voting with our wallets.:)

That's what I did too.


God I love that woman......gotta keep her safe.

I quit buying tires at Costco years ago when they over torqued my lugs and twisted two right off.
They did pay to have another shop replace my lugs, but what a pain in the neck.

One screw up that they made right and you've sworn 'em off. Yep, you're a Republican. :rolleyes:

Hey, didn't you sourdoughs just elect and Independent governator? ;)

At least I gave Les Schwab two chances before i swore them off. They broke one stud on my 2004 Tacoma on a routine rotation. The second was on the next rotation I chose to have done right before I left town on a 1200 mile round trip. They blamed it on Toyota's cheap lugs and wanted me to bring it back the next day because they were too busy to fix it. I made them fix it on the spot then drove home and loosened and re-torqued them all myself before commencing my trip.

I put 80,000 mile Michelin's on my Accord.

It costs more up front but it's cheaper in the long run.

And I'm a cheap SOB.

Back in the 90's Goodyear tried the old "We can't align your front end because your ball joints are too worn out" scam on my wife back before we were married. Fortunately she called me before she let them take her for $500.

So I will never darken their door again.

Sears tried that same shit on me twice. Once in the 60's and again in the the 70's.

Odd as we have had excellent service from the dealers here in MD.

Yup, you have to watch all shops like a hawk. They all try to screw you. Dealerships are the worst. I won't let the missus take the cars in for work, they always target women.

I have bought nothing but Michelins since the late 60s. Never have had any trouble with them all these years. You do have to find a shop you can trust to do the job right though.

I had big trouble with some 80,000 mile tires I put on a Jeep Cherokee once, back in the early 90's. Started skidding around if there was a drop of rain on the road. Rubber too hard, vehicle too heavy. But got my money back (pro-rated)--from Wally World.