"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Ed" wrote in message
...


Around here, WalMarts will match any price of any product advertised by
any
other store with exceptions of coupons or buy 1 get 1 free items. Most
of
the time they will match the "special card" prices also.
Ed

Will they send someone down the road to the real supermarket to bring you
back some edible lettuce? :-)



What's with some peoples obsession for wal-mart and produce? Not every
wal-mart is a supercenter that sells groceries, why not concentrate on the
items that they ALL sell?

"Ed" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
news
"Ed" wrote in message
...


K-Mart's coming back from chapter 11 with a vengeance. I think the
public's
going to be pleasantly surprised.

I still don't like their checkout system, but I have noticed that some
WalMarts are going the same way.
Ed



The checkouts here seem normal. What's up with the ones you've seen?

Finding one with a person to check you out. Each one of the
self-checkouts
means 3-6 less workers. And self-service is about all they have in
K-Marts.
Ed



I wonder if that also means 3 to 6 less people in line with
coupons/checks/not enuf money and sending things back etc. I kind of like em

"Jonathan Ball" wrote in message
link.net...
Harry Krause wrote:

Doug Kanter wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

Doug Kanter wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...


You're comparing tiny Switzerland to the United States? Now there's a
giggle for you. Besides, nearly half of the Swiss economy is based
upon
manufacturing.

From the CIA World Factbook - Switzerland: services 69.1%, industry

26.3%,

agriculture 4.6% (1998)
Industries: machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision

instruments

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (2001)
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/...s/sz.html#Econ



Probably right...but, sheesh, the CIA Handbook?


Quick & easy, as long as you don't need a ton of detail.

A ****load of people at the CIA have extremely boring jobs.




I didn't mean that...I meant trusting anything presented by the CIA.

Why wouldn't you trust them, particularly on something
as mundane as that? Are you admitting to be an
irrational conspiracy-believing twit?


I think there is a conspiracy here of illiterate people that can't read.

it says CIA FACTBOOK not HANDBOOK

jchaplain wrote:


Please spread this word around, it's for our own good.

Cheers!
Jeff

Let me be the first to say NO to Walmart. I will go and scream it at their
front door.

I will, however, continue to shop there.

Steve

I'm with Steve on this. Reason being is that Walmart is only one of
the many many companies in the US that do this.
I worked at General Electric Aircraft Engine supplier companies and
GE buyers are *******s the way they treat the suppliers. Are you not
going to fly or buy lightbulbs?
Its the whole republican support the corporation screw the working
guy thing that needs to be fought. Our jobs are going overseas because
our politicians have no interest in fighting corporations from sending
jobs overseas.


And just how are they supposed to accomplish this without interfering in
free market trade? The economy has become global, like it or not. Unless
you are in favor of total isolationism (which would be
counterproductive), you cannot force companies to not utilize foreign
labor, especially if they sell in foreign markets. Remember, for every
"protectionist" policy that our government might pass to "protect"
American workers, another foreign country can pass their own version to
counter ours. Do we want a piece of the world market? Then we have to
play nicely with the other kids.

As for republicans not caring about American jobs, who signed NAFTA?

Dave

Gould 0738 wrote:

Our jobs are going overseas because
our politicians have no interest in fighting corporations from sending
jobs overseas.



Our jobs are going overseas faster than they would have partially because
WALMART is so super aggressive in their buying. When they want to carry
toasters, for example, they invite all the major manufacturers of toasters down
to Arkansas and pit them against one another. During the last cost cutting
cycle, everybody who wanted to sell anyhing to WALMART *had* to go to China for
labor or lose out.

Welcome to free market 101. Competition is what sets prices.


WALMART doesn't tell a mfg that they *must* build in China- only that if they
can't meet or beat the price of those who do they are, effectively, out of
business starting next month.

They can always sell to Sears, Or any of the other thriving store
chains.



What will the next sacrifice be? Quality?

Probably. Quality is usually the first thing trimmed when further costs
reductions become impractical.


Or, when WALMART can no longer increase profits by forcing suppliers to cheaper
sources of labor, will WALMART raise prices? Will we soon be paying as much as
we used to pay for a US built, item but buying stuff from China instead?

That's the way the market works.



WALMART's vision for America is a place where a $9 an hour job, with no
benefits, is a *great* opportunity. They envision a country where obedient
workers volunteer
to work off the clock every week, and where all will shop a the "company
store."

In Walmart's world, there is no middle class. Unless $9 an hour, with a few
extra hours thrown in unpaid every week, is going to be the new "middle class."

The problem is that this "model" will not support continued consumption
of their store goods. $9 an hour people are not buying home theatre
systems, DVD's, big screen TV's, major appliances, electronic widgets
etc. If this truly becomes the new "middle class", then Wal-Mart is in
for a shock, and will be forced to cut prices further.


In Walmart's World, there are some opportunities for better income. If you're
willing to work 50-51 weeks a year, 12-18 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, you can
eventually rise to "store manager" and approach 6-figures a year. :-(

Welcome to retail. This is nothing new. Why treat it as such?


One of the great hypocrisies of the WalMart culture is the great emphasis on
quality "family" experiences. How many of the managers working 80 hours a week
or more have any quality time left to spend with the family? How many of the
people earing $9 an hour get to go home after work, rather than to the
second,part time job they need to pay basic living expenses?

So how many Wal-Mart managers do you know?

Dave

"Peter Pan" wrote in message
...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Ed" wrote in message
...


Around here, WalMarts will match any price of any product advertised
by
any
other store with exceptions of coupons or buy 1 get 1 free items.
Most
of
the time they will match the "special card" prices also.
Ed

Will they send someone down the road to the real supermarket to bring
you
back some edible lettuce? :-)



What's with some peoples obsession for wal-mart and produce? Not every
wal-mart is a supercenter that sells groceries, why not concentrate on the
items that they ALL sell?

I focus on groceries because that's what gets people in WM's door in many
cases. Speaking only for myself, I only buy two categories of goods EVERY
week: Food and gasoline. How often does one need clothing.

If the consumer gives all her grocery business to WM, she may be
unpleasantly surprised at some point in the future when the other grocers
vanish from the neighborhood. This is unlikely in larger markets, but
inevitable in smaller ones. Then, when you need to speak to an actual
butcher for advice on a special cut of meat, you'll instead get a typical WM
response from an associate: "I dunno....maybe one of them beefs over there
next to the chicken".

"Peter Pan" wrote in message
...


I wonder if that also means 3 to 6 less people in line with
coupons/checks/not enuf money and sending things back etc. I kind of like
em


There are solutions for that, other than machines. One of our local stores
has experimented with a no-nonsense cashier line during the busy late
afternoon hours when people are shopping on the way home from work. Rules:
No coupons, no paper checks, no food stamps, no price questions, no special
problems of any kind. If you disagree with the scanned price, the item's
removed from your order. You can take it to the customer service desk and
deal with it. And, cash only. Green cash money.

On a typical day, the line of customers was almost 100% men. No old ladies
ready to do battle with the current newspaper circular in their hands. I'm
not sure why the store stopped the experiment, although I suspect it was
because the scan error rate is already pretty much zero.

Contrast this with an interesting experience I had at WM one night around 11
PM. Two cashiers open, and I was #2 in line. Ahead of me, 4 women were
buying a huge load of groceries. One tried to pay with plastic, but it
wasn't approved. She opened her purse and pulled out a 3" thick stack of
credit cards held together with a rubber band. After trying 5-6 of them, one
of her friends began doing the same. All four women tried various cards, to
no avail. Some of the cards had just a few dollars on them, which surprised
the women as if they didn't own the cards and had no knowledge as to the
status of the accounts.

The line behind me had grown to about a dozen customers, as had the line at
the other cashier. Meanwhile, a guy paced back and forth watching the scene
and doing nothing. He turned out to be the manager, as I found out when I
suggested to the cashier that she call the manager. He wandered over,
looking disinterested. I suggested that he might want to open a 3rd register
himself because the lines were now so long that they reached back into the
merchandise aisles. His response: "Managers aren't supposed to operate the
registers". I walked away from my cart, leaving it in front of him. When I
drove by the entrance, the four credit card thieves were leaving without
their groceries.

A real store would've moved those women out of the line, and perhaps even
called the police. Not WM, though. As far as they're concerned, their
customers' time is worthless.

Fred Ziffel wrote:

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:21:17 GMT, Jonathan Ball
wrote:


Harry Krause wrote:


Jonathan Ball wrote:



Harry Krause wrote:



Jonathan Ball wrote:




Paul Schilter wrote:




Steve,
I understand your point and you're right, clothes and electronics are
very hard to buy American.

Why would it be important to do so?
Nativist/protectionist sentiment is a bad thing.


You don't think it important to have manufacturing capabilities?

No. Switzerland doesn't manufacture cars, aircraft,
ships, consumer electronics, or much of anything else.
The Swiss live enviable lives and lifestyles.



You're comparing tiny Switzerland to the United States?

Yes.


Now there's a
giggle for you. Besides, nearly half of the Swiss economy is based upon
manufacturing.

No, it isn't.


I don't know the exact percentages for manufacturing in your country,
but the Sears Craftsman Heavy-Duty heat gun that I have sitting in
front of me was manufactured in Switzerland. It is a very high
quality product.

Doubtless. The things they do manufacture generally
tend to be very high quality. I have a spinning reel
that I inherited from my grandfather over 30 years ago,
and I think it probably was 20-30 years old when I got
it from him. It's excellent.

It doesn't mean Switzerland is primarily a
manufacturing economy. They aren't. They are
primarily a service economy. Services account directly
for twice as much of their GDP as does manufacturing,
and the bulk of what is counted as "manufacturing" is
actually services.


Nothing wrong with Switzerland, but I wish it was made in the USA,
like everything used to be.

That's stupid thinking. Why do you really care where
it's made? Borders are arbitrary. For things that are
made in the U.S., do you care that they're made in your
state? For things that are made in your state, do you
care that they're made in your county?

We used to make very high quality products too.

We still do. We make those things where we have some
comparative advantage. Increasingly, the things we
make are not tangible. That doesn't make them any less
valuable.

We don't make much of anything anymore, and we are
becoming poorer because of it.

No.

Doug Kanter wrote:

If the consumer gives all her grocery business to WM, she may be
unpleasantly surprised at some point in the future when the other grocers
vanish from the neighborhood.

This already happened, in the 1940s and 50s, when the supermarket killed
off many neighborhood markets, butchers, etc. Not new.

Think: King Canute.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Peter Pan" wrote in message
...


I wonder if that also means 3 to 6 less people in line with
coupons/checks/not enuf money and sending things back etc. I kind of
like
em


There are solutions for that, other than machines. One of our local stores
has experimented with a no-nonsense cashier line during the busy late
afternoon hours when people are shopping on the way home from work. Rules:
No coupons, no paper checks, no food stamps, no price questions, no
special
problems of any kind. If you disagree with the scanned price, the item's
removed from your order. You can take it to the customer service desk and
deal with it. And, cash only. Green cash money.

On a typical day, the line of customers was almost 100% men. No old ladies
ready to do battle with the current newspaper circular in their hands. I'm
not sure why the store stopped the experiment, although I suspect it was
because the scan error rate is already pretty much zero.

Contrast this with an interesting experience I had at WM one night around
11
PM. Two cashiers open, and I was #2 in line. Ahead of me, 4 women were
buying a huge load of groceries. One tried to pay with plastic, but it
wasn't approved. She opened her purse and pulled out a 3" thick stack of
credit cards held together with a rubber band. After trying 5-6 of them,
one
of her friends began doing the same. All four women tried various cards,
to
no avail. Some of the cards had just a few dollars on them, which
surprised
the women as if they didn't own the cards and had no knowledge as to the
status of the accounts.

The line behind me had grown to about a dozen customers, as had the line
at
the other cashier. Meanwhile, a guy paced back and forth watching the
scene
and doing nothing. He turned out to be the manager, as I found out when I
suggested to the cashier that she call the manager. He wandered over,
looking disinterested. I suggested that he might want to open a 3rd
register
himself because the lines were now so long that they reached back into the
merchandise aisles. His response: "Managers aren't supposed to operate the
registers". I walked away from my cart, leaving it in front of him. When I
drove by the entrance, the four credit card thieves were leaving without
their groceries.

A real store would've moved those women out of the line, and perhaps even
called the police. Not WM, though. As far as they're concerned, their
customers' time is worthless.

I see, the customer screws up and that is the stores fault. Granted the
manager should have opened another register if possible. (they would have at
the W-Ms around here) The people that work at Wal-Mart as well as all of the
other stores are just people, subject to the same weaknesses and strengths
as everyone else, they sometimes make mistakes in judgment.
Why do some people get $200.00 worth of groceries when they only have $50.00
on them, and then pick and choose the things to be put back while the
cashier has to void out each item?
Jack Cassidy