Walmart Christmas shopping-GEEZ!

[danemodsandy]

C'mon, People...

...A low-price store attracts people who don't have much money.

Ya wanna rub elbows with elegantly dolled-up folks, ya need to go to Tiffany's.

 

[rapunzel]

...A low-price store attracts people who don't have much

I was actually thinking 'rich eccentric Americans'. I swear I spotted a Walton or two in those pictures. One of them looked suspiciously like Lindsay Lohan and there was definitely one with Britney in it.

 

[rapunzel]

Now, this puts a new spin on checking for freshness

Don't know what all the fuss is about. The guy obviously wants to make sure its not past the due by date.

Merry Christmas

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/986658/uk-police-hunt-supermarket-bottom-sniffer

 

[twinniefan]

Christmas shopping

Hi guys,
I don't know if this would help you at all,but I still operate what is called a Christmas Club savings account at my local Building Society, I have it set up so $20.00 per week is transferred from my main account into it and the funds are locked away until November 1 then the saved funds are available and I do all my Christmas shopping in November when the crowds are not usually so bad.
As for stores I am not sure what you do, actually a few years ago Walmart did try to get into Australia by taking over Woolworths, but there was a shareholder's revolt and it was canned, these days I think Walmart and Woolworths would be an ideal pair for each other they both seem to operate on the same principal crush all the other competitors by undercutting their prices until the little shops go broke and guess what there would only be Wolworths left(and Coles Myer also.)
Cheers.
Steve.

 

[spiceman1957]

I don't partially like shopping

at WalMart, especially on weekends, but the prices are lower, and if you can get through the mounds of rude people, the noise (I especially hate when I hear, ( "I need all cashiers to the front, I need all cashiers to the front")from some old hag with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth (for real) lol, just bite the bullet. As far as the noise, why don't they give their employees headsets, like Old Navy? As I have said in past threads, I try to smile and take kindly to the cashier, help with what I can to expedite the process and always say "thank you".

 

[rapunzel]

Walmart

Is still poised to come here. They haven't quite abandoned that idea yet. They may be waiting to see how well Costco will do before making their move. Our Big W stores are already Walmart lookalikes, albeit on a smaller scale.

 

[jaxsunst]

"Now, I had my camera phone with me, and I was really t

My brother and sister-in-law and I play a game called "Damn, Girl, No You Didn't". We snap pics of "interesting" people and send them via text to each other. The one with the worst one is the winner.

I am the current reigning champ with a pic I took at Universal Studios, Orlando. it was a woman that was pushing 400 pounds wearing tight shorts and a bikini top that was really nothing but a saggy boob hammock, and nothing else.

 

[danemodsandy]

Noisy Walmart A/V Departments

There is something that can help with the noise you encounter in an A/V department - the Feds. Many, many stores are in violation of OSHA noise standards, subjecting their employees to noise levels day after day that will eventually damage their hearing.

A complaint to the store's corporate office mentioning OSHA tends to get a response, I've found (don't even fool with store management; they couldn't care less as long as they're making their numbers). If it doesn't, contacting OSHA directly fixes the problem.

Stores may not give a rat's derriere about your hearing or that of their employees, but they care very much indeed about OSHA fines impacting their bottom line, to say nothing of the liability precedent that is set if they're fined for excessive noise - an employee who knows they've been found guilty of excessive noise has grounds for suit if their hearing is damaged. Radio Shack, formerly one of the worst noise offenders, now has policies in place about demonstration units, to protect customers' and employees' hearing, because of this.

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The way to Corporate America's heart is through its wallet, every time.

 

[richardc1983]

Do you guys not have online grocery shopping... I did my xmas food shop with Asda (walmart) and it was soo less stressful and they gave me a free box of chocolates too and £10 off!

 

[danemodsandy]

Richard:

Most cities in the U.S. are not laid out in a manner that makes efficient delivery possible. Our cities sprawl on and on for miles, with frequent traffic jams on the freeways due to one thing and another. There are some grocers offering limited service, but you have to be in a certain area of town. American cities are just too huge for grocers to make much of a profit delivering.

Next time you envy an American anything, remember you have things we don't, like this one. And you have some wonderful foods and snacks that we don't, like Branston pickle (YUMMM!), Lucozade, Cadbury's Flake bars, Atora (the real thing, not the veggie stuff that is all we're allowed here), Ribena, and OXO cubes.

 

[danemodsandy]

P.S., Richard:

You also have the best damn Cheddar cheese in the whole damn world.

And beans on toast, which I was introduced to by an expat friend here many years ago, and cannot get enough of. American readers note: Beans on toast is exactly what it sounds like. You heat up some Heinz beans (the U.S. vegetarian ones are closest to the Brit version), and make some dark toast, allowing it to cool slightly (if you don't, it goes all soggy under the beans). Butter the toast, and spoon hot beans over it. There are those who want grated cheese over the beans, but I'm not a fan, for all my fromageoholic tendencies. Just the noble essence of the bean is enough for me in this instance.

 

[jaxsunst]

and Crunchee bars!

 

[pushtorelease]

you don't have OXO cubes?

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

"you don't have OXO cubes?"

Technically we do, thought they're very hard to find. And they're made by some licensee for the American market, not the same as the British version. We're not allowed British beef products over here, and they're not keen on ours, either.

 

[sudsmaster]

There was a delivery service startup back in the dot boom days, called WebVan. I think it was HQ'd in the SF area. Apparently it got quite big very fast, hired a lot of people, got a lot of press, but never made a profit. Then it folded rather abruptly, presaging the dot bust.

Seems to me the major chains have cautiously dipped their toes into delivery services again. I'm getting spam emails from Safeway offering various discounts to try their service.

 

[danemodsandy]

Rich:

Delivery could be profitable in San Francisco proper, because it's relatively compact and has a grid system of streets. A lot of large cities in other places sprawl for forty or fifty miles, just too big to cover. One of the reasons I left Atlanta for Iowa was that the the Atlanta metro area is getting to be like L.A.

 

[polkanut]

My experience with Wal-Mart yesterday was actually somewhat serene by comparison. The store was full yes, but it wasn't loud, full of rude customers, and the clerk was quite pleasant, even if she did look a bit tired. I did quite an extensive bit of grocery shopping so I was there awhile, not just in and out.The aisles were wide open, not jammed full of merchandise, and the shelves were quite well stocked for 3:30 in the afternoon. Maybe I just got lucky.

 

[richardc1983]

mmmm beans on toast love it.... got to be really strong cheddar though!

Oh and I like ravioli on toast too.. .just a tin of ravioli and grated cheese on top.

Lovely!

 

[danemodsandy]

Funny...

...As much as I love beans on toast, I never did get used to the idea of cheese on them - can't abide milk in tea either. Now beans on toast and a nice strong cuppa with lots of sugar - that's something that'll get you through a dismal, rainy cold afternoon. If you can stay awake from being so warm and cosy inside, that is...

Which reminds me - time for lunch. Three guesses what it'll be.

 

[hunter]

the reason why delivery thingies tend not to work in USA...

....is that our businesses run VERY lean. American prices are among the lowest in the world, and there are reasons for that.

Hunter