I have HATED Wal-Mart for a long time, but this opened my eyes even more. It really did make me sick to my stomach to hear some of the things they've done. I recommend this to anyone, especially if you shop there. Anyone else seen this? Discuss...

I wish more people would look in the mirror and realize that WalMart only exists because of consumer demand. It is a good documentary but Sam Walton is not the devil. The public's need for cheap shit is what drives our economy. If people did shitty jobs themselves and supported local businesses, WalMart wouldn't have prospered. Unfortunately, in our society, right now, it is unavoidable. You will see things get much worse before they get better.

I see things from a different perspective because I sell to WalMart. If I don't, someone else will. We are well past the point of no return. I couldn't beat 'em so I'll earn a living from them.

I haven't shopped at Wal-Mart in probably 6 months now, and let me tell you it feels great. I'm not trying to take a holier than thou stance on the whole thing though. Like many of you, I had some of the same issues that most of us who have reservations about their stores have and still continued to shop there, as antiyou stated, to satisfy my need for cheap stuff.

Big grocery trips is mainly what I'd make and I used to really hate to go shopping for food. I'd buy the same stuff every time, my idea was to treat it like warfare, have a battle plan, have a list, get the items you need and get the f out. It ruined many an evening going up there and shopping, the lines were long, the place was crowded, the staff is unfriendly, etc. I finally started just doing all of my grocery shopping at Kroger, which is by no means a Mom and Pop place, but the selection is better, the lines are never long, the cashiers are all pretty friendly and it's just overall a better experience. My grocery bill has gone up considerably as I find myself making more short trips after work that run me about $30 each time, which isn't bad but adds up quicker than the big $120 Wal-Mart runs I was making every two weeks but I've always got something good to eat at home. There were times when the fridge would be bare and we'd be eating out all week just to avoid the dreaded Wal-Mart trip. Ultimately, I think you're right, cheap wins, but convenience can be a big deal too.

must...buy...hammer...so...affordable...

I think the documentary is very rellivant for what it covers. I understand your position and everyone like you that has to sell to Wal-Mart or go out of business. What I took away from it the most was how bad they treat their employees, I was a salesman for Nabisco for years, and was also treated like shit by them when I went in there to work. The guy who got fired for trying to just do his job by informing them of the sweat shops was horrible. The worst part is that this is one of the biggest or biggest employer in the world, but apparently their health insurance is outrageous and most full time employees don't make enough money to actually pay the fee to have it.

Sam Walton may not be the devil, but he was a horrible person. I actually knew a lady who had worked at a Wal-Mart for years. I think it was back in the 80's and she said that he came to their store. He walked through the door with his two dogs and she was the greeter. She didn't realize who he was and asked that he not bring dogs into the store. He told her, "I own this store, I own these dogs, and I own you. I'll do as I damn well please." What a dick.

I'm confused. Why can't you do a 1 stop shop at Kroger like you did w/ WalMart?


I worked at WalMart for about 6-7 months while the mom I nannied for was home on Maternity Leave. It was horrible. I have a pet peeve about unfriendly staff, but give the WalMart employees a break. The stores are ALWAYS understaffed. Technically, there should be three associates in each department at all times - most of the time, there was 1 associate covering three departments. They also have a shitload of insane rules, like you can't point any customer in the right direction. They have to WALK the customer to their destination. I was in the Toy department, which was in one front corner of the store. I would always have customers asking for baby toys, which were in the baby department, at the opposite BACK corner. I would have to walk them to that isle, and then always get into trouble for not being in my department during that time, especially since I was expected to get fish for the customers in pets and mix paint for the customers in hardware. All for $6.00 an hour. Only part time, because they didn't have to offer health insurance for anyone under 40 hours a week.

I suppose I could do one big trip, and usually do make a bigger trip every week or two, but my point is that it's so easy to get in and out that I typically just stop there everyday after work to get whatever we're running out of. Stopping everyday at Wal-mart would be a far more time consuming experience.

And I'm not trying to slam the Wal-mart employees either, I guess I should have explained it better. The feeling I get is that the lines were long because they were understaffed and the people weren't friendly because the place they worked sucks. I'm sure that Kroger probably sucks to a lot of the people who work there as well, but they never seem as miserable as the ones running the registers at Wal-mart, and it's a noticeable difference.

Listen, I'm not condoning what he does. He is/was (is he dead?) a businessman. People and benefits are overhead. It's that simple. The lower the overhead, the lower the margin, the higher the volume = WalMart's strategy. Obviously, it was the right one for the time. 50 000 000 Elvis fans can't be wrong. However, we live in a capitalist free market society. No one forces anyone to shop at WalMart. Every customer makes that choice themselves. The only people to blame for WalMart's success and the poor employee programs that go along with it, are us.
As soon as I was old enough to understand how it works, I stopped shopping there. I buy all my food from a local independant who buys as locally as possible. Everything else is impossible to substitute. No matter where you go, nearly all of the products come from China or India. You can go to another retailer but it is the same thing. The only difference is the overhead.
Sam Walton was a genious because he saw the way the world was heading and he figured out a way to capitalize on it. He did not invent Outsourcing. He just realized how to use it to it's full potential before it all goes to shit.
Mark my words, it is all going to go to shit. It won't be long either.
China's middle class is growing at an astronomical rate. Once that # balances with the amount of purchasing leverage that WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes etc. bring to the table, the Chinese will realize that they don't need to ship product to North America. Their own backyard will have more consumers with disposable income. That puts us in a precarious position because we have little to no skilled labour, nor do we have the infastructure to support ourselves anymore. Guess where that will leave us? Working at factories with sub-standard conditions producing cheap goods for other countries. Sound familiar?

This doc sounds really interesting. I'm gonna have to check it out.

it seems like americans have forgotten how to protest.

On a large scale, yes. You will see a lot of brave people in this documentary stick up for themselves, but there just aren't enough of them. Since there are so few, the ones that do stick up for themselves lose their jobs.

haha

Random protests don't really work. The people protesting in front of the store aren't liable to have already shopped there, nor are they very likely to convince those who do to not shop there.

For the most part, I do 90% of my shopping at Target or Giant Supermarket. I will occasionally stop in at WalMart if I'm already at that mall. But for the same basic things that I can buy at all 3 stores (Hair dye, Razors, Soap/shampoo, etc), I have found that Giant and Target will alternate between being the least expensive. Walmart usually hovers in the middle or more expensive. Where are the big savings everyone talks about? Maybe they used to be dirt cheap, but I don't see it anymore. So maybe it's the big ticket items? I don't buy TVs very often. LOL.