Wal-Mart is hurting for shoppers

[napi21]

http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/15/investing/wal-mart-weather-earnings/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_latest+%28Latest+News%29

Walmart is blaming the weather on it's poor earnings, but the investor community isn't buying it.


One quote is "every quarter there's another excuse!"

I winder is they'll ever realize that lots of people are like ME and won't shop there because of the way they treat their employees, the fact that they carry JUNK, and badger their suppliers into bankruptcy if it'll make them another penny!

[840high]

1. I shop there but lately

prefer Kroger for lower prices and less hassle.

[Big Blue Marble]

3. Kroger is unionized.

I have friends who work there and like the way they are treated.
I often shop there for things I cannot get at my local coop.

[RKP5637]

2. I would go to Target any day. n/t

[DotGone]

16. Target is Wal-Mart with better PR

I used to work there. Same low wages, same slave treatment.

[RKP5637]

19. That's a good way of putting it! n/t

[Alkene]

31. +1 I work there now.

Minimum wage cashier, i.e. general public abuse magnet.
No benefits.
No paid holidays.
No vacation time.
Sick leave use is a "blemish."
Random 4-6 hour shifts.
Anti-union video viewing required.

I'm a 57 year molecular biologist and chemist, but "mature" workers aren't much in demand- so this is what I do when I'm not working on my job search.

Sucks to wear red.

[RockaFowler]

4. Publix is so much better

The stores are cleaner. The food looks better and fresher. The Employees are nice. They are coupon friendly. Oh and they are rated #3 in the country for Customer Service. I'll spend a little more to go to Publix, but it is well worth it!!

[CurtEastPoint]

7. Publix is EMPLOYEE OWNED! That's why they are so caring...it matters. It's THEIR company!

I wish I could buy stock in it! Instead, I just shop there.

[doc03]

13. I go to Publix when I am in Florida, I wish we had them in Ohio. n/t

[RebelOne]

15. I like Publix, but I shop at Kroger because their prices are lower. n/t

[CurtEastPoint]

20. Sometimes yes, on some items but when Publix has BOGO you cannot beat that.

I shop both but prefer Publix.

[840high]

24. Oh yes. Publix is

$2 higher on litter I buy. Like Publix but can't afford.

[Aerows]

23. I always went to Publix when I could

great store, nice folks.

[Larkspur]

5. I shop at Walmart for my medicines and cat litter

but don't visit it as much as I use to. Mostly because I need to pay off bills and prepare to get a new furnace and newer car.

I've cut down on my shopping everywhere quite a bit. But I do shop and purchase more via the Internet at home.

[dawg]

6. Kohl's missed their number too.

Target will report next week. It'll be interesting to see how they do.

[bahrbearian]

8. It'll turn around soon.

Now that Obama is their spokesman. I can't wait for the commercials.

[Orsino]

9. Wal-Mart is hurting shoppers.

Fixed it for you.

[Blue Owl]

10. Fuggem.

n/t

[jwirr]

11. And then there are people like me who cannot afford to shop elsewhere. The Walmarts of the world

should realize that when they support their politicians in cutting the safety net they are cutting their
own profits. I have $61 food stamps now instead of closer to $100. That also means I have less money to spend on other items like laundry soap, etc..

[napi21]

21. Maybe you do better there, but please check places like the dollar stores

and the various grocery store ads. I don't know where you live but in the South East, Publix has a lot of Buy 1 get one free specials each week and you can buy just one of the item and get it for 1/2 price. That would be less than WM's prices. I dearch the ads each week and only buy specials to make the week's menu from.

I've compared WM's prices with Kroger, Ingals, Publix etc. and most of their food items are either the same or 1 or 2 cents different-some higher and some lower. Dollar stores have much better prices on laundry products, personal care like soap, shampoo, etc, and paper products. Sometimes the specials at drug stores like Wallgreens, etc. are great for cereals, paper products, and soaps products of all kind.

[hobbit709]

12. I know people that Walmart would be upscale shopping on their budget.

[doc03]

14. The only time I shop at WalMart is when I can't find something anywhere else n/t

[DemocraticWing]

17. There are two closer grocery stores to me than Walmart.

One is employee owned, and the other is (unionized) Kroger. So I have little use for Walmart for food or anything I can get at those stores. For anything else, I'm willing to buy at Walmart after considering its competitors in terms of store location, price, quality, and yes, how they treat their workers...so I got there maybe twice a year.

My biggest problem with Walmart, after the way they treat their workers, is their expectation to be a one-stop-shop for everything you need. There's no harm in buying *some* things at Walmart, but doing all your shopping in one consolidated place is bad for the economy. In a lot of rural areas, Walmart has killed the rest of the economy and people are forced to go there for everything.

[exboyfil]

18. We have employee owned HyVee

It is a bit more expensive, but a much better shopping experience.

[Egnever]

22. Because they sell garbage

The vast majority of what they sell is poor quality garbage that will break in a month of use.

Every time I walk into that place I wonder who makes the decisions of what to put on the shelves.

[Drahthaardogs]

25. their food is disgusting

Meat injected with saline to up the weight and shitty produce. Its cheap shit not a bargain price on the good stiff

[madokie]

26. You can go past the local walmart and the parking lot is a long way from

having as many cars in it as it used to have a few years ago. I think many of us on the internet have had an effect on that too by bringing to everyone who have at least two brain cells to rub togethers attention that the company is not good for America. Walmart the American welfare queen.

[SamKnause]

27. When you start paying your employees

a living wage, maybe your customers will return.

[Earth_First]

28. That doesn't even make sense to me...

Firstly, this past winter was one of the warmest winter patterns for half of the country and the record cold and snow for the second half generally produces an uptick in spending prior to winter storms.

What it amounts to is folks are fed up.

Fed up with shifty merchandise whose employees are treated like shit from a company that creates more government assistance need and dodges more taxes than any single corporation. Period.

How long did they expect the gravy train to roll on before a biscuit wheel fell off and it derailed?

Good riddance.

We have options.

It's clear to me that people are exercising their options.

Good on them!

Solidarity. Equality. Unity.

[Demo_Chris]

29. I shop at a LOT of different Walmarts, a new one every week...

For the last year or so they have been an every worsening disaster or empty shelves and buried employees. In the last month or so, however, I have noticed a marked change. Yes, they are still fighting that issue, but it's noticeably better than it was. Which is good for me personally, as Walmart is the only reliably decent store in many of the towns I visit.

[Samantha]

30. I have NEVER purchased a single item from Walmart -- and I never will

I had to walk into one once because my best friend insisted. I just looked at the people working there, and I didn't buy any merchandise. I just can't reward the owners of a commercial establishment who haul in so much money by underpaying the people who work in their stores and who short-shift the American taxpayer by asking them to provide for the shortfall. I certainly have no problem with giving people foodstamps - I do have a problem with employers who put their personnel in the position of having to use them.

Sam