Wal*Mart Nation

Walmart was the go-to place. I have been drawn in by it since I was born and have yet to break the cycle. I had once vowed never to set foot in a Walmart again.
Every time I tell myself "I WILL BREAK THE CURSE, I WILL FIGHT THE ADDICTION," I always end up at the same evil place. Mysterious....as if I am an H addict, or an alcoholic. It's unhealthy and I am not afraid to admit my fear.

Let's listen to some lovely music while we read, shall we?
www.youtube.com...


We will create an army and stop Walmart...but only if we are great in numbers.

Have you ever worked at a Walmart? Have you ever seen it from the inside?
They’re not only aggressively non-union, they’re aggressively non-living wage — the average employee is paid minimum wage and is strongly discouraged from holding a full time position. Poor labor practices such as these make it hard or impossible for many employees to afford the health care benefits “provided” to them by their own corporation. And so these employees instead turn to public assistance, which places a burden on taxpayers and allows Walmart the privilege of selling their products at the stated “low prices”.

But there is no such thing as Walmart’s low prices! Not only are we effectively paying Walmart employees’ health benefits, we are also paying, with our tax money, huge developer subsidies to Walmart. The corporation has received $1.008 Billion of taxpayers money for these subsidies. Still think they have the cheapest wares in town?

Maybe all this could be forgiven if the Walton family and its Walmart Corporation were stalwart members of the communities in which they set up shop, or if they actually were pro-American, and provided Americans with desperately needed jobs by buying and selling American made goods. But they aren’t and they don’t. The Waltons (Helen, Alice, John, Rob, and Jim) — collectively worth $90 billion, with giant federal tax cuts like a $91,500 per HOUR in 2004 raining down on them — have given less than 1% of their wealth to charity, and imported $18 billion from China in 2004.

I suggest watching “WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price”.
It really is important. A must see, I think. May change your life.

Please voice your opinions. Tell me if you have worked at Walmart, and just what they did to you...
Tell me if there's a cure to being pulled into Walmart, too.
Well, actually, just tell me whatever you generally think about Walmart from your personal experiences and thoughts, but please do keep it on the subject at hand. Let's try not to stray so far as to question my negative obsession with Walmart. This is about all of us.

I have never worked in WalMart.

Though I share the loath of WalMart and only set foot in one if I absolutely am forced to. I detest WalMart. The crowds, the smell, the utterly cheap way things are made (broken within 8.2 hours) the trudge of miles to anything needed, the inept help... It is an exercise in frustration for any sane person.

I recommend reading Nickel and Dimed-On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich to get a behind the scenes look on working in WalMart by a person coming in off the streets, for those who have "never been". She is an investigative journalist.

I truly feel for those who have to work there. They also carried "Dead Peasant" policies on their employees until 2009. That, in and of itself, is beyond disgust, for an employer of "honest Americans".

Do we really want our elders to become WalMart greeters? Is that the American Dream now instead of retirement?

reply to post by LimbicSystem


I can with all honesty say that I have never been in a WalMart, most don't beleive me when I tell them, I am very careful where I shop and what I buy, in fact go out of my way to buy American, I know that is difficult and sometimes there is no choice, 99% of the time there is.

Walmart supported the H1N1 vaccine and made it very noticeable they wanted as many people as they could to take it along with Walgreen and CVS they should all be boycotted!

reply to post by thegoodearth


You know, you really hit the nail on the head there.

I've seen some of our war heroes with colostomy bags out and everything...as door greeters. Terrible.

It sort of gave me this dream of being a door greeter there when I get old...because I could, like, squirt my colostomy bag at everyone...but never mind that[seriously]

It's awful what things come down to some times.
Stay strong! As long as we keep paying them and putting up with them, they'll keep doing the damage.

Originally posted by Aquarius1
reply to post by LimbicSystem

 

I can with all honesty say that I have never been in a WalMart, most don't beleive me when I tell them, I am very careful where I shop and what I buy, in fact go out of my way to buy American, I know that is difficult and sometimes there is no choice, 99% of the time there is.

Wow, I really admire you.
Know what they say, "once you pop, you never stop".

I consider the Walmart addiction something of that matter.

Keep at it... The best way to help the crisis is to do nothing...and by nothing, I mean not go there.

I do not work directly for Walmart, lets just say that I am a vendor who works out of a few. What I see:
Severe under staffing.
The employees who are on the sales floor are sparse, The customers actually look to me as if I worked there. I try to help the poor WM employees by answering questions and directing traffic, but in reality my job is selling one product only in the electronics department. When shoppers start to become arrogant, belligerent, or demanding (and they do quite a bit) then I just tell them "I do not work for Walmart" as I point to my vendor name badge. Than they apologize and look elsewhere for help. The customers continuously gripe and complain there's no one to help them. I let them know, "Hey, if they had more help you wouldn't get the low prices. I actually am a very stressed out person for my experiences in Walmart. I have an unshakable feeling of paranoia, imagine upwards of 5 people at any given time, jeering at you, staring with that unmistakable look "I need help, NOW!" I actually feel guilt from this, and how is that all my fault? I can only imagine how some of the employees feel.
A "different" type of human being who shops there
Not all people that shop there are under this category, but 23 that I observe are. One third of these folks may have a valid excuse, such as senility or prescription drug abuse, or alcoholism. (not really legitimate excuses, are they?) I have to wonder how they even manage their every day life. Its as if they just leave their god given brain at the door. They will not look for anything, they become impatient from the get go, cut in when you are speaking with another person. Needy people for sure. Things out of the poor employees control are rewarded with berating snide remarks, verbal assaults, and physical threats of violence. Rude people out there. i don't blame any person for not wanting to shop there.
A babysitting management style with micro management over tones
Not much else to say about this one. Those are the orders from above. So those family members and shareholders who are filthy with wealth, don't really care about the people who slave away every day, to get them there. It make me sick with disgust. But what can you do. The economy is so bad, we need the low prices. I need Walmart to make my living to.

reply to post by jymmyjaymes


Oh, my...you've seen too much!

From my experiences with Walmart, I can completely agree with you.
Those of us who are drawn to shop there...chronically, aren't quite "right", as it were.

You have the employees that get laid off after they reach a certain "rank" in Walmart, and can actually be rehired at starting pay again.
Then you have the employees that are so effortless because they aren't paid enough to put up with the people they're faced with day in and day out.

reply to post by jymmyjaymes


In reading your post, I realize I need to clarify mine.

In no way am I trying to denigrate the people who work at WalMart in my tagging the help "inept".

In that, I mean that in my experience at WalMart, I have yet (and I truly mean this) to ever have been actually helped by one who I asked for assistance in finding something. And in all cases, it was because the person I asked had "just begun working there" and wasn't familiar with the store.

By inept, I meant untrained. And that is the company's fault entirely. They don't waste the time to train people to their warehouse stores, which only increases their customer's frustrations... and they really don't care how abusive the customers are to employees. I have witnessed incredible acts of cruelty to associates by customers in the few times I have been in WalMart.

These kinds of places experience an unusually high turnover rate, like most low paying jobs. They hire and fire fast, knowing that they can replace quickly from the pool of people who are desperate for work and willing to work for minimum wage, no benefits, and getting gypped out of overtime pay and any kind of part-time or full-time status.

The customers come in knowing they can get cheap crap. A lot of the truly poor have no other alternative but to shop there, sadly.

However, there are a lot of others who know they can shoplift to their heart's content there, too, due to the sheer size of WalMart and the understaffing. It attracts all kinds of people.

And it brings out the worst in people, too, when they, who feel perhaps low on the totem pole of life, may feel superior in that while shopping at WalMart, they are able to release some of their frustration and anger at a lowly WalMart associate by being a total demanding, "high and mighty" jerk.

They're trying to get a foothold here in SA.

But it's ok, they haven't met COSATU yet, South African trade unions ..

It's going to be fun. They really have met their match. And no, any store they buy i won't buy from. Go home yankees.

reply to post by harryhaller


That is so good to hear.

You're all, like, an SA patriot.
You have my admiration. ...Whoa, that's actually a word.

uHH, sorry, I'm very tired. It just looked funny at first..psychedelic even.

reply to post by harryhaller


I truly hope that they fail in their quest.
Sadly, I doubt it.