[EDIT: please read the post always learning in conjunction with this one. Some of the stuff said here and in the comments after is inappropriate and/or handled poorly. this is left as a lasting memorial of what you might NOT want to do.
had some lunch with friends yesterday afternoon. For some reason the conversation turned toward WAL-MART
that's never a good thing, in my opinion. Because Walmart is the scourge of the planet.
I openly expressed my dislike for the big blue and white superstore of tacky and I think they might have been offended slightly. Because next thing I knew, we were debating the pros/cons of walmart (guess which side i was on?)... in the middle of that one of the friends told me i should write a post on it. I guess this isn't something I could post on my church website. We'd become the "church that hates walmart"... i can just see it in the paper, right there next to pat robertson's wicked comments about ariel sharon, and TV networks, and all the other stuff pat robertson hates.
So i've been thinking about this for the last 12 hours or so. Is my hate for walmart justified? Or does it well-up out of my tendency to exaggerate and ruffle feathers. After serious reflection I'm convinced that yeah, my hate for walmart is genuine AND justified. Here's why...
1. going there is a nightmare of an experience.
stuff all over in the aisles. dodging stray carts rolling around all over the parking lot. fighting off all those aggressive walmart die-hards who will run you and your kids over to get the last $12 dvd player that they've been plotting to get since combing over the bulk-mail ads the entire week previous. Oh and then the checkout lines... they are always SO long, but they have 100 of them that always remained closed--if you ask me it's a deliberate form of humiliation "we could open more lines but we WON'T" Its the stuff of brainwashing, driving your self-worth so low that you start to believe that you DESERVE to stand in these ridiculously long lines. All part of their strategy to take over the world.
2. stuff you've never heard of.
so while i'm getting run over by the crazy lady diving in the aisles after the last $12 dvd player, i look at the box she's now tucking under her coat like some football at risk of getting stripped from her hands. "QUANTAXX"? What it the world is that? I look again... yup! QUANTAXX is the brand she's buying! I don't believe in brand loyalty, but really where did this thing come from?? My hunch is this, that they've got some sweatshop down in arkansas of poor preschool children that they are forcing to assemble consumer electronics... since all the kids is this sweatshop are deprived of nutrition and education, they scrawl out the few letters they've been allowed to learn on the press that makes the labels for the DVD players and Ta-da! you've just created QUANTAXX!
QUANTAXX-are they a reliable company? YOU'LL never know! are they semi-moral in their business practices? Human Rights Watch has never heard of them! Will it be compatible with my existing home-electronics equipment? not sure, but if not, power-converters are on a "roll back" in aisle 437.
3. their pricing strategies are a little dirty... and geared toward world domination.
pricing stuff at or below cost to "draw you in" to their head-spinning land of discount chaos, they undercut any respectable retailer. I don't think the government should intervene here or anything, but i think consumers should think more about it. when you buy something at walmart you are making a decision for the future of the world... will i help the world become a cheaper-and simultaneously a TACKIER place? Or will i fork out the extra $1.75 for the dustbuster and make an investment to keep the world on a slightly classier plane?
Every time someone buys something at walmart, realize what is being done, you are rewarding them and penalizing another... more than that with every purchase you are making our world "wal-mart-ier" keep it up and pretty soon the whole planet will be a big blue and white catastrophe. Is that what you want???
The next time you are in dire need of paper towels or that new Will Ferrell movie, think these things over, think about the world you'd like to leave for your kids and your grandkids... then bite the bullet, and pay a little more for the investment in the future of mankind.
13 comments:
My biggest fear in the following post is to offend the author, since I know every great hate story comes starts in the heart of the author...(hehe, see, I was listening...)
I would like to simply ask: What if you couldn't afford to go to Target for their hip and trendy style? What if Target wouldn't give you a job because you weren't smart enough, or organized enough to make sure all the isles were kept in perfect shape? Or the carts all kept in the cart corral?
What if Walmart is beautiful because it's giving access to the American Dream (heck even going as far to say an "equal opportunity") to people who aren't rich enough or educated enough to have that access before?
Can they afford to buy sony dvd players? Nope. Should they be able to buy ANY dvd player? That would sure be nice (not that it's their RIGHT, but I'm sure they deserve a nice dvd movie distraction as much as I do....).
Walmart is a mess. The parking lot's a mess. The people working the registers are slow and not very smart. The brands are off brands and the merchandise is too cheap. That's exactly why I love it. It's attracting it's target audience, and repelling those who want something fancier. I'd say it's doing what it sets out to do....
(again, I'm not offended by this post, and mean to hurt no feelings...just stating an alternate point of view....you know how I love discussion!)
wow....a post unlike anything i've seen from you =P.
Anyway...I agree with in some way. I'm not the biggest fan of walmart. I can never find what i want there because they have so many aisles of everything, yet nothing. I wouldnt's necessarily say that i is tacky, because they sell some of the same stuff that you buy at other stores, but it being way underpriced is what i find odd. And the fact that some things are way underpriced and other things are the normal or overpriced. If they advertise low prices, thats what everything should be.
And not to be too mean, but some of the people who work at walmart tend to get on my nerves too. Over half the people who work there are seniors and when they stand by the door to greet you, most of the time they just pass you buy, they also have this atitude that makes them look like the hate the world.
And the third reason i dislike wal-mart, is because they have been accused (and some walmarts have been found guilty) of discrimination and "fraud". What i mean to say is, they have discriminated against who to hire, and as far as fraud goes ( i use that word cause i couldnt find a better one) they have found that walmart at times doesnt give what they are supposed to when they run those "charities"
anyway...ive ranted...i feel better now =)
RESPECTING walmart is one thing, ENJOYING it (loving it, thinking its beautiful, yadayadayada) is another....
i dig the controversy.
and thanks for adding to the rant tylor. good stuff :)
Now on to you Mr. Christenson... (though i almost hear a little of mrs. christenson here, especially in the apologetic tone-mr. c. usually offends me daily w/o apologizing :)) i'd be interested to know how many people shop at walmart because they can't afford to shop anywhere else. (if you are reading this and in that situation, consider yourself excused from my accusation, but for the rest of you...) The prices aren't THAT much cheaper, just cheap enough to make you feel like you're being thrifty... maybe even lessening the weight of guilt that comes with those materialistic splurges, "it only cost me $30, that's not so bad, right???" And if that's not the case, I'd bet that most others shop there for another materialistic reason, because to save a buck on something there means they can spend that buck somewhere else on some other thing to tickle their fancy.
And my point is, think about the bigger picture not just "oh, neat-o, i have an extra dollar to buy a lottery ticket!" because for every buck you save, you are spending lots of $$ on the big blue and white monstrosity, supporting its values/philosophy and FINANCING its ploy to take over the world (and to make us all wear blue aprons)
And about this alleged benevolence you so eloquently imagined... need i remind you that the 5 co-owners of walmart, by that i mean largest share holders (family heirs), are all individually tied (a five-way tie) for 10th on the forbes RICHEST people in the world list?!?!? They can't be spreading too much of the "love" around, otherwise they wouldn't top the list year after year.
And the hiring of people who are said, "slow", is that benevolence or exploitation? I know a bunch of little starving indonesian kids work all day in american factories... and these employers are not only nice enough to give them jobs but they even pay them a whopping $0.02 a day (i'm so angry that they removed the "cents" key from the keyboard... saying $0.02 isn't nearly as effective) You could argue that what walmart does is WORSE than those who discriminate against the not-so-smart and not-so-organized, because they take advantage of them. If that's not true, then walmart should start paying them what the "smart and organized" target workers make and then you'll shut me up. It's a business decision for them.
one other economic issue. About attracting target audiences (that's a great pun) and repelling we "fancy" people (that's not a pun, just a really funny statement-a garrett calling himself 'fancy')... that works fine in our suburban milieu of choice and options. But if you are now talking about a smaller town, it's not like walmart is a welcomed addition, it TAKES OVER. It makes everything else unsustainable, so the only choice is to patronize their mess. Now is that their right in a capitalistic society? Absolutely!
See, I'm not appealing to zoning boards or city governments but to SENSIBLE people... take accountability for what your spending means on a grander scale- beyond the way it directly affects you. walmart is tacky... unfriendly... they sell crap, I hate it for ALL of those reasons... yet, those were my light-hearted quips. Deeper than that, they are a company built on exploitation and domination...
if you don't believe me, just keep spending your cash there and see how long it takes until we're all wearing those blue aprons... and our faces are removed and replaced with the same freaky "rollback" smiley face (i've heard that the walmart execs are VERY interested in the french "face transplant" lady for this VERY reason!)
Bob, i love you for your ability to look at a situation differently, and usually you can show me something new, but this time I'm not feelin' it.
no offense was taken, and only a little is being offered here. anyone else want to weigh-in? walmart, the benevolent helper of the downtrodden? or massive corporate exploiter poised to take over the world?
So, I should pay a whole $2 more at Kroger for my protein bars just because Kroger figures they have you cornered and you won't want to make an extra trip somewhere else for you protein bars? I should reward Kroger for their craftiness? Hmmm....
Hmmm....I guess mostly this one comes down be me being surprised by your hatred of something based on people. (you haven't said it in so many words, but that's what's behind things like a disorganized store, slow lines, low prices, and most other things you complained about). You're usually the one bringing me down from the "ranting about people" ledge, not the other way around. I'm wondering how you can separate "people" from "corporation" on issues like these....and to imply that Walmart is bad for giving low-income or challenged people jobs is beyond me....So, they just shouldn't work? That would be better? I can't think of another company that would take a risk to employ these people. I think it's great.
I also don't but any of your argument about the "Walmart is taking over small communities and the world" issue. If you really thought this you wouldn't shop at ANY megastore (Kmart, Meijer, Costco, Kroger etc) and would bitch about them at the same intensity as you do about Walmart...They ALL are putting small businesses out of business, whenever they open up anywhere. That's just the way of our economy. It's a new, megasized marketplace.
I guess I don't get where the anger comes from on this one. But mostly, I'm stunned that you can't see that it's actually PEOPLE that you're jumping all over, not some faceless nameless organization. I'm surprised I don't see more grace in the process...
the previous comment about beginning and ending so apologetically wasn't code words to tell you to be mean to me... ouch. I must've done something to deserve it i guess.
i'm confused on the "people" angle. Especially the accusation that i'm somehow talking bad about "people" when i bash walmart. When i look at walmart i see a very big, rich company... it's hard to get beyond that when there are 5 of the 14 richest people in the world all making their money from IT. my intentions (overt and latent) have been to talk about a company, not to somehow persecute people. So it sounds like our concerns are different.
and i am far from convinced that the reason their parking lot is a mess and their store is also is because they hire people without the physical or mental capacity to make things better.
In fact the "mess" is part of their business plan (which is why i attack them and not other "big box" retailers in the same way) Sam Walton believed that most of retail waste happened in repositioning product. So walmart has a philosophy, plop it and leave it. And the reason they do it ISN'T because they want to be able to hire those who would be otherwise unemployable, but it's profit. they can make more money off you if they don't clean up their parking lot, if they leave piles of stuff in the aisles and don't hire too many cashiers to complete your purchase (and more can be made if they pay them "just enough"). That stuff is all overhead, overhead eats profit. Look into it, I'm not making this up! Their business plan is to give you bad service so they can make more money off you. The low prices are supposed to make you not care so much.
But thanks for the "beautifully angry" :) reminder to be gracious where people are involved. As I mentioned this has not been my focus. I've been talking about a corporation, you've had an eye on the grass roots. To your credit, surely there are some people who benefit from employment at walmart... even though I question the motives (and integrity) of the company who has hired them. I'm glad there are some good things coming out of it. And I'm also sure that walmart makes it slightly easier for some parents to feed and clothe their families. Again, I'm glad someone is benefitting other than the walton family.
But what are the benefits and what are the costs involved? since the people on the top keep getting richer, it HAS to be true that someone is losing... that's basic economics.
So let me rephrase my accusation against walmart... they are a big nasty catastrophe of civilization who unwittingly provides a noble service for some people.
there... any chance we can be friends now? PLEAAASEEE?
I am confused by the intensity of your feelings regarding Walmart. I can understand if you just didn't really like it there and choose not to go there. But it seems like it's more than that when you say it's "the scourge of the planet".
I feel like Walmart is actually one of the few companies that tries to carry morality into it's aisles. Some hate it for that, but I think in a world that undervalues morals, it's refreshing. They choose not to carry explicit magazines, the morning-after pill and music with vulgur content.
They also make a stand in hiring mentally challenged people and senior citizen. This is applaudable since most of society wishes they would just stay home. But Walmart says to them that they are valued and gives them validity in our world. (i've had great experiences with the seniors too at the door, they are so friendly and proud to be useful) These are the people that Jesus loves in the Bible that the world looks away from so often.
every action consists of motive and consequence.
while some of you point to noble "consequences" that I'm not terribly interested in arguing with, i'm pointing to MOTIVES. If you think walmart hires seniors and mentally-challenged people because it really cares about people, that's your perrogative. I see a much nobler motive beneath all this... maximizing profit and satisfying their constituency.
One other thing, for those who intentionally shop at walmart because they believe in its ideology, i can't fault you. keep on shoppin'
But i'm betting walmart is NOT a top retailer because people love its ideology... they love its prices... which enables them to buy more stuff.
my rant is actually less about walmart and more about our desire to buy lots of stuff at low prices without thinking about what is being sown...
if you are "thinking" shopper and are deliberate... rock on. Don't expect me to join you in those cluttered aisles though...
let me add this. I probably shop at many places which are also questionable. i don't claim to be a saintly shopper... but i know stuff about walmart, so i'm acting on what i know... feel free to do the same.
i knew i was passionate about walmart. Had no idea there were so many others. please, new voices, keep weighing in!
oh yeah, one other thing... the original post was written to be slightly humorous. sorry my sense of humor is lacking... but please read it (or RE-READ it) with a forced chuckle, maybe it'll make more sense
sorry...again! :)
i thought you were encouraging me to really tell you what I thought, rather than trying to sugar-coat it....my intent was just to try and get to the core of what I saw as the issue, not to offend.
I guess I would say this. If your problem is with big corporations trying to make huge profits while screwing people over, then why aren't you angry at all of American businesses?
EVERY company is trying to make huge profits by cutting costs, and 'just getting by'. There are SOOOO many companies that have these horrible attributes, yet no good ones (which I think walmart has) while making a zillion on it.
Is it better to get price gouged ($4 coffee anyone?) than get things too cheap????
sorry again if you took offense....none intended.
your words were a little sharp bob, but i took no lasting offense to them. don't worry. i was trying again to sound light and funny about this stuff, i guess that didn't come across again, i should give up on humor! Glad to hear both sides are "offense clear"
so you really think they do all those things out of benevolent heart? Maybe i'm way off and that well could be, but i think those things all have one effect when the intention is quite another. I believe walmart hires seniors and the developmentally disabled because they are a cheaper source of labor. They've shown themselves to be cheapskates with wages... i assume this is more of the same. You think differently huh?
Same is true with their so called "morality" i think it's b/c they see what happens when you cross the religious right. To say they are moral because of their stances on a few things is shaky for me. That'd be like saying disney is a moral company b/c they made the narnia movies... christians spend a lot of money, they are a great market force. if you can make them believe you are on their side, you stand to gain, A LOT.
so i guess i question their heart on this issue...
but really my initial complaint IS as shallow as saying i really can't stand the experience of shopping there, which is a huge reason i avoid it. it gives me headaches...although i tend to want to avoid sam's club for all these other reasons :)
I just had to post because this was getting so long that I didn't care to read anymore.
This all starts with the system called capitalism vs. everything else.
What makes Walmart "special" is that they are aggressive capitalists. What does that mean? It means, they realize they need to supply goods at the LOWEST price possible in order to SURVIVE. They wouldn't act like this if they were resting on their accomplishments.
Do they do things "nasty"... I guess you're entitled (and I mean entitled - it's America) to that opinion. Capitalists focus on reduction of waste, maximizing efficiency (stable jobs), and specialization of labor (more jobs to different levels of people). I'm really lost as to the problem...
If you look back at our nation's short history, you'll see we're not only very capitalistic (except the 60's), but also very generous. The cool part is it doesn't matter where you start... it really doesn't! And WalMart is just the type of place were you can start out bagging groceries and move into management...
I'm not saying the US is a super shiny star by any stretch, but I'm not sure what other type of government God would have in mind on earth. We utilize the resources he provided, we provide valuable goods and services and we look after the poor.
Heaven - totally different ballgame.
P.S. I guess we could try to the Jewish setup of every 7 years of jubilee and debt cancellation, but I'm not sure the banking system could handle the chopping sound! :D
P.S.S. I don't shop there either... except to buy an opening day DVD on the cheap!
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