More Reasons to Avoid Walmart

[Jemima]

A friend sent this to me and I nearly went into shock, but I guess these things must really happen. The worst experiences I've had involve rude customers and some rather strange employees, nothing new at all in the retail world.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6RzcvFLPg1A?version=3I

[iris lily]

oh thanks for this Walmart thread. Where IS that Sticky, anyway? Walmart bashing is one of the predictable things on this board.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like the store. In fact, I was in one last weekend and turned around and left without even going down an aisle, I was creeped out by the vibe.

[Alan]

I'd forgotten about the People of Walmart website. Last year I checked it out thoroughly, just to see if any of my relatives showed up. Maybe it's time to do it again.

[poetry_writer]

oh thanks for this Walmart thread. Where IS that Sticky, anyway? Walmart bashing is one of the predictable things on this board.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like the store. In fact, I was in one last weekend and turned around and left without even going down an aisle, I was creeped out by the vibe.

Creeped out by the vibe?

[poetry_writer]

A friend sent this to me and I nearly went into shock, but I guess these things must really happen. The worst experiences I've had involve rude customers and some rather strange employees, nothing new at all in the retail world.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6RzcvFLPg1A?version=3I

Obviously whoever shot this video only shops on Halloween

[Mrs-M]

That is great! Thanks for it.

[Jemima]

Obviously whoever shot this video only shops on Halloween

I hadn't thought of that, and you're probably right. But still, half naked in public on ANY day?

[puglogic]

I don't shop Walmart because of their ethics. (And yeah, it's a little bit of a weird impersonal vibe for me as well, but I could get over that if I believed in them) I don't see many of those types around here -- in fact, wherever they live, I imagine they dress that way no matter where they shop {shrug}

[CathyA]

Good Lord! What state is this in?
LOL ......"Wearing Spandex is a privilege, not a right".
I'm afraid I'd have to find a different store to shop in..........

Is this for real??

[Alan]

Good Lord! What state is this in?
LOL ......"Wearing Spandex is a privilege, not a right".
I'm afraid I'd have to find a different store to shop in..........

Is this for real??
Those are images from the People of Walmart site, www.peopleofwalmart.com (http://www.peopleofwalmart.com)
It was a big deal when the site first debuted, getting lots of attention. Now, I think lots of the pictures are staged, just to get onto the site.

[creaker]

I'd forgotten about the People of Walmart website. Last year I checked it out thoroughly, just to see if any of my relatives showed up. Maybe it's time to do it again.

The person at 1:40 in the video is a friend. Thoughtful, educated person. But he's very unique in the way he dresses :-)

[CathyA]

I was wondering if some of it was staged. I'm in a pretty conservative area, so I haven't seen too many of the extremes. (But I have seen lots of blubber hanging out of clothes). haha

[loosechickens]

Well, at this point, maybe some of them are staged, (and some, at least, of the ones on this YouTube video seem to have been taken around Halloween), but honestly, I've been in WalMarts in all parts of this country, and have seen in real life folks much like this. You don't see a whole store full of them, but most every visit to a WalMart can yield at least one sight that you could send in to the peopleofwalmart site. I tend to think that the ability to live in denial has a lot to do with it in many cases......they look in the mirror and "truthiness" of reality looks back at them......and sometimes people just run in to do errands in whatever they had on at home, which is often pajamas, etc.

sometimes it's just, unfortunately, the face of obese poverty.....sometimes it's just eccentric or even mentally ill people, and sometimes, I think, it's just the fond hope when you look in the mirror that the outfit you have on is o.k. WalMart surely brings in through their doors a cross section of America, perhaps tending to the less affluent ones, but still......those folks really are out there, because with my own eyes, I've seen plenty who would have fit well on the peopleofwalmart site.

"oh would that we could see ourselves as others see us".....comes to mind. Mostly when somebody sends me those peopleofwalmart emails, it just makes me sad. Because all of those people are someone's mother, or sister, or son or brother, and they are human beings, yet being made objects of ridicule. And sometimes it seems like the more obese they are, the more ridicule, and most really overweight people I've known are already suffering enough from other peoples' opinions......

But.....it's like a train wreck....you're appalled, you hate to see it, yet there we are, watching them....me included. ;-(

[Bronxboy]

Those are images from the People of Walmart site, www.peopleofwalmart.com (http://www.peopleofwalmart.com)
It was a big deal when the site first debuted, getting lots of attention. Now, I think lots of the pictures are staged, just to get onto the site.

My daughter showed me the site, it's one of her favorites. I have to agree on the staged part, or at least people showing up figuring they'll get on the web.

[iris lily]

Creeped out by the vibe?

Normally I hate Walmart which piles its wares to the ceiling. Kmart doesn't do that, neither does Target. That makes me feel claustrophobic.

So this particular store with its crap piled to the ceiling is an old store in a poor neighborhood and its not shiney and new. The finishes are old and worn. The people aren't pretty. I just didn't like it.

Now, I go to the thrift stores a lot and see the same old worn finishes and etc but it's a THRIFT store where things are old and used. I don't mind that. I don't mind the mothball smell, either--it's part of the deal.

I mind it for a store that sells new stuff.

[reader99]

The WalMart near me is clean, not stacked to the ceiling, and recently reorganized for wider aisles. I shop there regularly because the things I need are noticably less expensive there, and that really matters at this point in my life. I get my prescriptions and my glasses there too. There is occasionally eccentric behavior or appearance, but it's not up to me to judge, since I can't possibly have all the information about what prompts people to act the way they do.

[Gina]

The person at 1:40 in the video is a friend. Thoughtful, educated person. But he's very unique in the way he dresses :-)

Good for him! I'm so tired of the 'cookie-cutter', 'gotta look a certain way' mentality.

There is more than one way to be in the world - tall, short, obese, skeletal, grundgy biker, or perfect barbie type. Embrace individual freedom.

As to Walmart, I've only been in one once. I found it too overwhelming and left.

[poetry_writer]

I also shop at Wal mart and have family members who work there. Its a terribly difficult job, low paying, but they do an excellent job. They will tell you that so many customers are rude and obnoxious. I simply cant afford to shop for groceries at other stores. There is only one other locally owned grocery store in my area and many of the items are twice the price of Wal Mart.

[Bronxboy]

The WalMart near me is clean, not stacked to the ceiling, and recently reorganized for wider aisles.
The Walmart nearest where I work is similar, and quite comfortable to shop in. Two others that are semi-close to home are VERY disorganized and overcrowded, and have stacked merchandise that cuts off sightlines.

[Jemima]

I also shop at Wal mart and have family members who work there. Its a terribly difficult job, low paying, but they do an excellent job. They will tell you that so many customers are rude and obnoxious. I simply cant afford to shop for groceries at other stores. There is only one other locally owned grocery store in my area and many of the items are twice the price of Wal Mart.

I worked at Walmart one Christmas season and I agree that it's a really tough job. In fact, I ended up quitting before Christmas because I was getting really bad pain in my legs from the concrete floors. The people who hired me also failed to mention that working the ladies' dressing room included answering the store phone, and I have a near-pathological hatred of phones. (I had originally applied for a shipping and receiving job at night. No idea why they offered me dressing room duty instead.)

I'm certainly not saying that people shouldn't shop at Walmart. I do so myself when I have a shopping list of items that range from cup hooks to hair dye to gardening supplies because it's such a pain otherwise to go from store to store to get everything on the list. They will probably be seeing more of me now that Walmart has reinstated their sewing department.

[HappyHiker]

I'm a Walmart avoider because I don't like the atmosphere--it makes me nervous to be in that store for some reason--the vibes are freaky. And the goods I've bought there have been shoddy--if low-priced. For instance, the Egyptian cotton sheets had a hole in them..and they just weren't that soft for the supposed high thread count...low price coupled with cheap quality that doesn't last or is blemished, makes for a bad bargain in my mind. I'd rather pay a bit for more for better quality--and have a more pleasant shopping ambience.

[redfox]

The person at 1:40 in the video is a friend. Thoughtful, educated person. But he's very unique in the way he dresses :-)

Thank goodness there are people who don't give a hoot about looking " presentable".