Another grocery chain bites the dust

[jmirawm]

hmmmmmmm

Well I live about 45 minutes from Wal-mart headquarters in Arkansas. People would be shocked at the headquarters. IT is very low key. The original building. I'll take a pic sometime when I am up there. <p> They are a benfactor to KIPP: KIPP is a network of free open-enrollment college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. At KIPP, there are no shortcuts: outstanding educators, more time in school, a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum, and a strong culture of achievement and support help our students make significant academic gains and continue to excel in high school and college. <p> I think that a lot of people may just be a bit Jealous of the success of Wal-mart. The family is really a nice group of folks. AND SAM, Well I dont think you could have found a more down to earth man. He drove a old pick-up for years. And once when he was asked why he didn't buy a new one. He was quoted as saying: Why, this one is fine. Our Wal-marts here are very clean. I think that Wal-Mart has good marketing strategies. Take for instance not having the cost of printing advertising circulars. Bring in the competitors ad, We will match it. <p>I dont know, I just dont get all the Wal Mart bashing that goes on. Its a place to buy things, They have reasonable prices. The workers aren't leaving, So there must be something good for them there. The customers aren't leaving. And Wal Mart is still building more stores. So they are getting something right. <p>I found some pictures of Animals (zebra, tiger, elephant, giraffe) 27 x 16. These were 20 bucks each. At Kohls the same exact pictures 12 x 6 were 49 bucks each. <p>Funny this comes up. Two nights ago in a chatroom, some people started Wal-mart bashing and there were several people who worked at wal mart and spoke up about how well they were treated as employees. <P>I really think Wal-Mart is getting bad press, Because that is what the press likes to do. Everyone loves an underdog, and Wal Mart is the big bad bully. I'll continue to shop there as long as I get good prices. **climbs down off soap box**

 

[tolivac]

Wal-Mart does do a LOT of prime time Network TV adveretising-they buy lots of time on the networks.Their little smiley "charactor" is very well known.What they save by not printing ciculars is used for the TV advertising.I wish the WM owners would tour some of their stores-maybe they would have them cleaned up.There is a store in virginia I went into ONCE and never returned-its was VERY dirty-rude employees,mechandise cluttering the asiles-creating a fire-safety hazard.I thought another company now owns Wal-Mart.I thought "Sam" sold it to someone else.The Sams club stores are very clean and nice though.Like some other members here-I cheered when Target moved into town-VERY nice,clean and well organized store.And even HELPFUL employees.

 

[laundromat]

winn dixie

I will truly miss WD.I have been a faithfull customer since I moved here to Florida.I take advantage of their biweekly buy one get one free and bimonthly buy one get two free specials.They were the first store here I shopped and found my favorite coffee beans(8 0'Clock and Bokar)and many other fine products no one else carries including ghetto mart.I hate that place.The first thing I would see when I entered there would be the missing childrens photos.I used the mens room there once and what I saw going on there reminded me of the missing and abducted childrens photos in the entrance.No wonder they have it posted,most of them must be abducted from their stores.

 

[cleanteamofny]

I'm sorry, but I must put my 2 cents in!

Wal-Mart does and always put Mom and Pops stores out of business because, they can buy in bulk and can pass the savings to the customers.

In retail, most distributors will have a minimum for the store owners to buy per-se 200 pieces or more when in fact mom and pops may only afford to buy 50 pieces of the same item and if they don't buy the minimum that the distributors sells, they may not sell to them. And if they(M&P's) do buy the minimum, they may not be able to sell all the pieces and in reality, they are over stocked with worthless goods if they don't sell all of it. So in reality, distributors will cater to those who can buy the most and bring them a higher profit, while at the same time contributing to put the strong noose around the neck mom and pops because they can not sell the same amount of goods matching the low prices of the big bad super stores causing them to go into bankruptcy and shut their doors!

Remember, the food chain is getting smaller and then they start to eating their young....

 

[magic clean]

Winn Dixie reorganization plans

Winn Dixie will be around for a while. Hopefully, they'll sort things out and be all the better for it. The link has other interesting WD information too.

http://www.winn-dixie.com/company/reorganization/press_releases.asp

 

[jasonl]

customer service

Actual experiences
ME: "Excuse me, where I can I find the detergent?"
WD employee: The detergent is on isle 10.
Me: Thank you

ME: "Excuse me, where I can I find the detergent?"
WM employee looks the other way
Me: Excuse me!
WM emp: What?
Me: Where can I find the detergent
WM emp looks annoyed and then goes "It's over there" and points vaguely to the location and then walks away.

Checking out:
WD cashier: "How are you today?", checks out groceries, "That will be $10.52", money exchange, "Thank you" and I leave.

WM cashier looks at me funny, slowly checks the items, pushes the total key on the register and WAITS for me to hand over the money. Then stares at me like she's pissed because I didn't just look at the screen for the total.

From what I can hear, WalMart cashiers and employees are worked hard. Long hours, minimal pay. If there's no one in a certain cashier's line, the cashier gets in trouble for not bringing in a customer.

Correction on Sam Walton, after he died, the company changed execs and that's when it went to crap.

At least it's not a Shell station where the girl behind the counter is talking on her CELL PHONE "yeah, uh huh, yeah, i heard what she said, yeah girl...." and then imagine the same treatment from the Walmart cashier.

 

[kenmore1978]

Chapter 11 vs Chapter 7

When I saw the original announcement, it didn't say which kind of bankruptcy it was, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions that it was the liquidation kind of bankruptcy. But it wouldn't be the first time that a company re-organizes, comes out of bankruptcy, but ends up going back into bankruptcy and getting liquidated the second time around, witness Montgomery Ward.

 

[jasonl]

Winn-Dixie is still with us

Right. Chap. 11 means their reorganising, not going all the way out of business.

So all is not lost.

Fortunately the WD by me isn't anywhere a near a Ghetto Mart so I don't think they're in much danger.

 

[DADoES]

WM Experience

Interesting. I've been asked "Can I help you find something?" numerous times by WM employees who are doing stocking when I've been there in the wee-morning hours. The cashiers are generally pleasant, ask "How are you this morning?" or say "Have a good morning, sir."

I did chew out a girlie once when irritation built up because the cashiers always grab my stuff and start scanning before I can get up to the register display, which is always turned *away* from the customer approach. She was quite shocked.

Me: "Every time I come here you people grab my stuff and start scanning it before I can get up to the register to follow on the display!"

Casher, doing shocked pearl-clutch: "I always do that???"

 

[jasonl]

You mean, they talked to you?

Whoa. Where is this WM? The Twilight Zone? I've yet to see one like that. Of course, this is New Orleans we're talking about.

 

[Cybrvanr]

We lost our W-D on the west end of town a few years ago when the K-Mart was expanded into it's space. One of my friends worked as a meat cutter there for years. He liked the place a lot, and they had good benefits. He also got to know many of the regular customers that came in the store. Not just because I had a friend working there, but I can say that the W-D here really had nice cuts of meat. That was the place to go before a cookout for a good steak or other tasty meat...W-D's slogan "We're the Beef People" was the truth!

I agree with you all totally with the Wal-Mart syndrome that's invaded many towns. My neighbor bought all sorts of stuff from the hardware department to fix up his new home...paint, ceiling fans, etc. Well, he got the low price he paid for, and the quality to go along with it! The paint is peeling off the house just 3 years after he put it on. All the ceiling fans and other small appliances broke. The rugs that he's put down are all dingy and are threadbare...The place looks like a wreck, and I feel really bad for him putting all the effort he did into fixing the place up to have everything malfunction and mess up!

Now, if you go to a Wal-Mart here in Richmond VA, expect it to be an all night affair. I walked around the store on a wild goose chase the other night trying to find some simple green. Every employee I talked to either couldn't speak english, or would send me to an incorrect location. Checkout is terrible, and takes a minimum of 30 minutes, and you face clerks with the worst attitudes at the regesters. I never see the same people there working there more than once, so their turnover must be extremely high!

I've basically stopped going there, A trip to Wal-Mart is a bad experience I choose not to deal with!!!

Wal-Mart really went down the crapper when Sam Walton died and the company went public. Instead of being a nice friendly place, they were changed by money hungry stock brokers looking to make a quick buck off of keeping stock prices good.

 

[tolivac]

Food lions

I think what actually killed WD in my area and Piggly-Wiggly,Harris Teeter-was Food Lion.They are very aggressive in building new stores in an area to choke out and smother their competition.The corner PW is then overwhelmed by the new Food Lion built next to it.And FL VERY aggresive print and TV radio advertising.At this point I have no choice but to shop at the Food Lion-(unless I want to go the the nasty Wally-World place).
It is too bad Sam Walton Died-If only he could "see" his stores now-would make him turn in his grave!

 

[appnut]

Maybe it's a "Texas thang", but I too, like glenn, have very good results from Wally World. People are always willing to help. This past Sun., I couldn't find syrup. I finally had to ask an associate, all I had to do was wait cuz she was directing another customer and she knew where the items were right off the top of her head. And I do like their meat. They have some unusual things I can't even think of finding at HEB.

Wally World probably put the last nail in the coffin for our Albertsons, which had been struggling for years. It wasn't wally world that killed many of our home grown hardware stores tho, it was Lowes. If Lowes has what I need that's fine, but if I have to special order something, like an appliance model they don't normally carry, it costs an extra fortune. I will go to Sears.

All in all, for my SMSA area, Wally World and HEB compliment each other as does Wally & Lowes. It's all I have to opt. for. The small appliance stores went bye bye back when Wards started Electric Ave.

 

[jasonl]

The end of customer service

Tonight I HAD to go to WM to pick up some cajun sausage for my mom that you can't get anywhere else. So I go in there and it's the usual ghetto. Went up to checkout. She checks my one item before I could get on the side where I can watch the screen. She turns the little screen around so I can see the total and then just stares at me waiting for my money. Now this girl really played me because if I would've just stood there and waited for her to say something, it would've just made me look stupid. And when I did the transaction and got my change, which she dropped and didn't pick it up for me, I didn't get so much as a simple "Thank you" or anything. In fact, when she was done with me, she turned away from me and started talking with the cashier next to her. This girl truly made me look like a fool. She made it look like I was a jerk because I got in her line. Now let's not get started on the lady "guarding" the door who was sitting on a bench and yapping on a cell phone. Heck I could've rolled a big TV out of there and she probably wouldn't have even notices.

I'm glad they're nice at the ones in Texas because the ones here aren't. You won't get even a "hi" out of any of the peeps that work at WM here.

WM sux. Go out of business.

 

[DADoES]

Oh man, that's a shame. I was @ WM last night @ 12:30 AM. I had two separate orders, myself (gift card & cash) and the grandmother (credit card). The cashier did start scanning my stuff VDQ (very damn quick), but the credit card display shows a history of the last five items or so. Anyway, she was pleasant enough, and even thanked me and/or said "good night" or whatever. No sighs of exasperation or rolling of eyes about dealing with two transactions. There wasn't anybody on guard-duty. The parking lot had even been cleaned up of stray carts.

 

[retromom]

Sorry Walmart

Wow Jason. You really have a bad WM. Although I don't really care for WM (I am a Target person), the employees at our Brenham store are really nice. Mr. Fred, in the garden department, never fails to greet me and chat about growing vegetables. Doris (also in garden dept.) always calls me by my name and we talk about her grandchildren and my children.

My transactions are usually pretty simple, and I hardly ever ask anyone for help. I NEVER buy food there, nor do I ever ever go shopping there on weekends. I also enter and check out in the garden department (hence the familiarity with Mr. Fred and Doris).

I will go to WM if I can't find the item anywhere else in town (like a trampoline for my daughter). I'm more for convenience and ambience rather than saving a few cents.

If I were you Jason, I would NEVER go to that WM again. I would also call or e-mail the manager (or someone even higher up on their food chain) to tell them how sorry the hired help is, and that you plan on shopping elsewhere. It may not do any good, but at least you'll get it off your chest. Then again, you may just start the ball rolling to better service.

 

[jasonl]

Right, and the reason I went there was to get some andouille sausage (cajun style sausage) that you can't get at WD or anywhere else. Otherwise, I never set foot in that place. I am gonna call the manager tomorrow and complain, like I have before, but nothing improves anyway. It's the same ghetto mart it's always been.

 

[magic clean]

get the manager on the phone!!

I'm not shy about getting the store manager on the phone for a rant or a rave. Many store receipts have the store phone number and Wal Mart lists the managers name. My experience has been that they are always interested in what their customer has to say. I've been told its rare when anyone calls to compliment. So they like to hear that too.

At any store, I try to remember to thank the clerk by name, no matter how indifferent. That seems to brighten some sour faces. Jason, we've got 3 WalMart Supercenter within a 5 mile radius. Two are quite nice; clean stores and friendly people. The other one has a tendency to be rather rough and unpleasant.

Of course, you can just vote with your wallet and choose not to shop. Can we talk about J.C. Penney?

 

[DADoES]

Much as I don't want to do so in deference of JasonL, I have to report that it happened again! I was @ WM in the wee-morning, and the cashier by her own initiative asked "How are you doing this morning?" and said "Thanks." (And no, this is not at the WM where the WO-65 was fetched, I have to agree that one looks like a GhettoMart.)