More Nefarious Walmart Behavior Surfaces

[liberalmike27]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/10/technology/10radio....

These tags are just another Orwellian intrusion into our lives. Stemming theft is really the best reason they could honestly name for adding these tags, but they also allow for someone with the right equipment driving by your house and being able to "see" every product in your house. While this isn't an altogether terrible thing, it is kind of creepy.


Besides the privacy concerns, this is just another way that Walmart abuses just about everyone around them, arguably except the customer, which often comes just a little bit later, when their absolute monopoly is in place. Another anti-supplier practice that they demand, employ, or more accurately exact from suppliers it they don't pay for anything until around 80% of the lot provided is paid for, and this of course puts the competition in even more dire straits, since they generally are billed immediately for everything. Suppliers, particularly the largest of them, should stop this practice with Walmart, and in effect, go on strike agaions them to make them observe the same terms as everyone. We could hope that the Congress would make a law that requires all suppliers to offer the same benefits to all companies they deal with, rather than allow this monopoly these added advantages, but perhaps this is just too much to expect.


As customers we should reduce our purchases from them as much as possible. With each purchase we make,we condone the way they mistreat their empolyees, making them work off the clock, subtracting overtime from their checks, not allowing collective bargaioning, taking out dead peasants insurance naming themselves as beneficiary, not paying them a living wage, while they destroy jobs that pay more. I understand this may be difficult for some, and you may not be able to completely wean yourself from Walmart, but even if you can just go to another store part of the time, you are registering you discontent with them, and you should. And let us not forget the most recent slap in the face of American workers, hiring imported labor, who are now suing them. Also they have 80% male upper-level managers, so add sexism to their crimes ladies.


With $250 Billion in sales each year, why not just make a few changes, and treat your own employees well. You could use the money you spend on your own image makeover to do that with. I'm sure most of them will just spend the money back through your store, and you'd get it back anyway. This employer has taken the number one employer slot in 15 states now, and it is time for them to buck up and realize their responsibility to their own. Try doing the right thing, you can afford it.

[dofus]

1. I have not shopped at WalMart in years.

Nearly everyone has a choice, even if it means driving a little farther, or even paying a little more money for stuff.

[LittleApple81]

3. Sorry, some towns are really WalMart towns. The other

business already died.

[ima_sinnic]

2. link doesn't work?

your points are excellent! however, not really sure what you mean by "Another anti-supplier practice that they demand . . . is they don't pay for anything until around 80% of the lot provided is paid for" ??

[BlueEyedSon]

4. And search of the NYT site does not find the article

hmmmm

[liberalmike27]

5. Clarification

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/10/technology/10radio.html

Link was under technology, and article about smart-tags, which allow for easier scannings. The sort of broadcast the signal of what the product is, and it is really to help them stop theft, but makes one a little uncomfortable.

What I meant was that it is hard for the poorest to go to a more expensive place, and many who are a bit more well-off, like my nieces for instance, already don't necessarily go there. When you are scraping by, it is hard to go buy something that is more costly, which can only be realized if you are in the position. For those, I'd encourage at least cutting back a bit, and trying to find similarly priced items elsewhere, which is entirely possible these days.

As far as what they do to suppliers, they have to provide the product, and until a certain percentage that is around 80 are purchased by customers, Walmart won't pay them. Of course most suppliers can't afford to not have the business of Walmart to sell to, so they are almost forced to comply. You also have the problem of smaller groceries not getting that same consignment deal, as they don't have the buying power, which creates a more positive cash-flow situation for Walmart that is reality for one, and allows them to keep the money on the books longer, as well as other advantages I'm sure I haven't though of, not the least of which is other businesses have to pay upfront, which creates higher prices for them.

There is a lot to not like about Walmart, and if I was talking to the board I'd just recommend (to them laughing, I'm sure) that they just treat there employees well. It wouldn't take much, a couple of dollars an hour more, health care, perhaps full-time employment and maybe sharing a bit of the insurance with their families instead of just capitalizing on buying insurance on them, and then keeping the money. Rarely does anyone, even the wealthy, do things that are wrong without them knowing it, which makes the behavior even worse.

You vote with shopping, and that is the truth these days.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. The Borg isn't alone in that.

I ran into it as an ATT vendor years ago. Pay what they like when they like, and if you don't like it, go peddle your stuff somewhere else. A few other large companies pull the same nonsense, mainly because they can get away with it.

I was talking to a VP of marketing for a major vendor to the Borg a while back. Wal-Mart even tells you what packaging to use, so it fits properly into the display they've designed. Then, likely as not, they'll put their generic right next to it anyway. But, if 20% of your sales is through the Borg, you suck it up. Might even lose money on sales to them, but you have to keep your product available to the public.

Traditionally, vendors bill with 30, 60, 90 day payment provisions. But, most larger companies have found out that they don't have to pay on time or pay a penalty since vendors are hungry enough to suck it up. Not paying until the merchandise has left the shelves, which the Borg is now doing, is a new one and can easily put a lot of the little guys out of business. They are scum.

I don't know if the Borg pulls this with everyone. P&G, J&J and a couple of others are big enough to pull their own weight with retailers and have threatened to empty the shelves of some who tried to jerk them around.

[duvinnie]

7. I stopped shopping

at Walmart last year and hope never to go back again. Its a creepy place,
soul-less, and knowing about their abuse of labor its actually easy to boycott.