Wal-Mart Lingo

[mustang84]

So, today I'm walking out of Wal-Mart, and one of the old lady greeters (excuse me, "associates") was standing over by the door when she whipped out her walkie-talkie. Then I heard her crow "Bill, have you taken your luxury yet?" Bill replied "Nah, not yet...probably in 'bout 'nother half hour."

Putting two and two together, I'm assuming Bill's "luxury" was his coffee break.

Who the hell calls coffee break "luxury"?

My Theory: Probably because it's a luxury to get away from the whining customers that park their carts at an angle in the middle of the main aisle and complain when the price that rings up on their packet of Wrigley's is $.05 higher than the advertised price.

Anyone else know of some Wal-Mart "lingo"?

[76ChevyTrucker]

Yeah, if I remember right a friend of mine (former Wal-Mart employee) said all the section checks that they call out aren't real.

[Dsuupr]

I just wish walmart would file bankruptcy and disappear. They are a cancer on our economy and society.

[Newbiewar]

I just wish walmart would file bankruptcy and disappear.  They are a cancer on our economy and society.

166631[/snapback]

well its the basic evolution of the retail business... sooner or later, walmart will push everyone out of business, then it will grow too large to carry everything, then the little guys come back...

look at kmart... walmart will be the same... some day

[Nick]

What's a Wal-Mart?

[regfootball]

walmarts here are so disgusting, but i admit i am forced to get some things there occasionally. of course, i live in the land of target. no lie, everywhere i've lived in this area, there's always been like 5 targets within 5-7 miles. and the corporate offices are here.

the store is clean at target. walmart you never know.

even so its ok if walmart stays in business i figure. keeps a lot of the riff raff out of my target.

Edited July 14, 2006 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

I travel farther to go to Target so I don't have to set foot in a Wal-Mart.

[Dsuupr]

I travel farther to go to Target so I don't have to set foot in a Wal-Mart.

166693[/snapback]

I'm with you. walmart attracts rude & trashy people.

[76ChevyTrucker]

the only reason I try to stay away from Wal Mart is because well.....the damned traffic related to getting in and out of there. Its too much of a hassle. Meanwhile my wife ALWAYS wants to go there (I try to stay away as much as possible).

[PurdueGuy]

Around here, all kinds of people go to wal-mart, not just trashy ones. Traffic & parking can be a bit of a pain, though.

What'll compete best with wal-mart is businesses that can do mass-customization well, and with a good image, at a competitive (though still a little higher) price. Wal-mart is the mass production version of retailing. Mass customization is the future...

[CSpec]

I've never been to a Walmart; I don't even know where one is around here...

[Sixty8panther]

Wal*Mart = Evil Empire

W*M CEO = Darth Vader

W*M store network = The Matrix

W*M low prices = The whoring out of our Great Contry

(relax, I'm only being serious)

[Robert Hall]

I try and avoid them...they are always so crowded.. I have about 6 Targets within 15 miles of me (3 are SuperTargets) and about the same # of Wal-Marts.

My mom,on the other hand, lives in rural Ohio and Wal-Mart is the only big store within 50 miles. My brother worked for them for 10 years, retiring at age 50 as a regional manager).

Edited July 14, 2006 by moltar

[Charger4U]

I didnt bother quoting anyone, but i can say that if walmart is so bad then why does evrybody shop there? obviously theres some convience, but just because walmart has the money to make things more convienent doesnt mean its wrong? my advice to the small buisnnesses is fix the problem- why would people shop at walmart and not Ma and Pa's Grocery, its because walmart has this and then grocery doesnt have this and on and on so, fix the problem, do as the succesful (walmart) do......i said the same thing to our local video rental (Black Hills Video) about Netflix, when i told her we have netflix now...

[american_revolution_2005]

We use our WalMart but it doesn't attract rude people. It does attract bratty kids who start screaming and yelling if they cant get something. I went to a Wal-Mart in Pontiac, Michigan when we stayed in Auburn Hills and a lot of the people were rude & trashy. I dont know why it was so different from ours. It might be the area though because our town isnt the biggest but I have been to others in Canada and they weren't like that. I dont know why they would turn out to have such different people visiting but maybe it could be because the US have many different alternatives that may be cheaper or more expensive.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

I hate Wal-Mart. Just flat out loathe it. The selection of goods at the local WMs are terrible.

I like Meijer, if you know anything about that chain. They sell decent stuff in there, although they are slowly becoming Walton-fied. Some of the clothes they sell are the same stuff you can buy at Goody's. As for Wal-Mart...I'd say they sell most stuff on par with a Dollar General Market.

[Satty]

Wal Mart=white trash, its that simple. I dont shop at Wal Mart for the same reason I dont drink Pabst Blue Ribbon, dont have a giant belt buckle or John Deere cap, dont have a 3rd gen Camaro and dont get off on "stock cars" turning left for 6 hours, I'm not a fan of the white trash culture, and thats what Wal-Mart welcomes.

[bowtie_dude]

We use our WalMart but it doesn't attract rude people. It does attract bratty kids who start screaming and yelling if they cant get something. I went to a Wal-Mart in Pontiac, Michigan when we stayed in Auburn Hills and a lot of the people were rude & trashy. I dont know why it was so different from ours. It might be the area though because our town isnt the biggest but I have been to others in Canada and they weren't like that. I dont know why they would turn out to have such different people visiting but maybe it could be because the US have many different alternatives that may be cheaper or more expensive.

166751[/snapback]

The Wal-marts in Lexington aren't bad at all, unless you happen there around the first of the month. We do 85% of our grocery shopping at the superstores because its just flat-out cheaper than Kroger's or Meijer, end of story.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Wal Mart=white trash, its that simple.  I dont shop at Wal Mart for the same reason I dont drink Pabst Blue Ribbon, dont have a giant belt buckle or John Deere cap, dont have a 3rd gen Camaro and dont get off on "stock cars" turning left for 6 hours, I'm not a fan of the white trash culture, and thats what Wal-Mart welcomes.

166761[/snapback]

I'd like to take Satty on a trip to Barbourville, Kentucky, drop him off in front of the Wal-Mart there. See how long he lasts.

[bowtie_dude]

I'd like to take Satty on a trip to Barbourville, Kentucky, drop him off in front of the Wal-Mart there. See how long he lasts.

166764[/snapback]

With 80% of the county population living on welfare, I'm sure it would be worth videotaping.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

With 80% of the county population living on welfare, I'm sure it would be worth videotaping. 

166765[/snapback]

I went there yesterday as a matter of fact, browsed around at the Yamaha dealer for a bit. I had to stop off to get gas, so I stopped at a station that was advertising it for about $2.69 a gallon. At first, I was a bit weary about it -- there was nothing but old beaten up Cavaliers, F150 pickups, and Escorts at the pumps. But I decided I wouldn't find it any cheaper so I pulled up to a pump.

I got about $20 bucks worth of gas and I went inside to pay for it. I swear, everyone in there was wearing a stained trucker cap or a wife beater or flip flops. A few of the women had Platinum Hairspray Hair-dos. It was a White Trash Bee-Hive so to speak.

[bowtie_dude]

I went there yesterday as a matter of fact, browsed around at the Yamaha dealer for a bit. I had to stop off to get gas, so I stopped at a station that was advertising it for about $2.69 a gallon. At first, I was a bit weary about it -- there was nothing but old beaten up Cavaliers, F150 pickups, and Escorts at the pumps. But I decided I wouldn't find it any cheaper so I pulled up to a pump.

I got about $20 bucks worth of gas and I went inside to pay for it. I swear, everyone in there was wearing a stained trucker cap or a wife beater or flip flops. A few of the women had Platinum Hairspray Hair-dos. It was a White Trash Bee-Hive so to speak.

166770[/snapback]

Did it have a big chicken out front?

[bowtie_dude]

But hey, don't get too generalizing, my wife is from Barbourville.

[deftonesfan867]

I shop there because of convience, never really notice any kind of trashy or rude people to much. Besides, most people in today's society ARE rude to begin with.

[daves87rs]

I shop at Wal-mart-but only when I have to...I use target ot Meijer's most of the time...

Though it appears that some of the basics end up cheaper tough...

Our WMs vary around here. In one about 5 miles away, it pretty good.

Try the WM about 10-11 miles away, and it gets pretty bad....

Can't explain it either. Strange.

[ShadowDog]

They are our company's main competitor in this region. They just completed a new facility that doubled their former size. Optioning to get into the grocery business, they began their operation with a bargain-basement fire sale pricing strategy to grab everyone's attention as the shoppers strolled in just to see what-was-what. General merchandise, home & garden and hardware departments were certainly better equipped with variety inventory that most consumers could appreciate; however, I test them from time-to-time against our operations, in order to find out if they have the most basic of products, and they've failed 7 times out of 10.

In their Grocery department, they combine a great deal of national-brand products with their own 'Made on the other side of the moon' private-labels. The quality difference is astonishing; however, it seems consumers are so brainwashed, they might as well eat dirt if Wal-mart packaged it for the right price. Our operation was zoned for much of their pricing. For example: staple dairy products were priced 2¢ cheaper than our regular price. I often must discuss a problem with a customer who is under the impression that Wal-mart has substantially cheaper prices. This was true during their grand re-opening period; however, week-by-week, they incrementally raise their pricing on the key, staple-needs products to the point that they are making more than we are on a regular priced item by volume because people are simply too stupid to recognize that they've been had.

To answer the earlier question...that's why people keep going to Wal-mart. Their recipe for success is to fish for the less-than attentive consumer. They will always fail at customer service and value..."always". As their direct competitor, our success has always come from doing what they don't: freshness in every day categories they don't even deal in, namely Bakery, Deli, Meat and Produce; customer services like phone-in, home delivery orders; well-trained, full-floor staffing to handle virtually any request; and specialized member-services with annual benefits (since our operations are a Co-operative where all profits are distributed to the member-shareholders based on a percentage of their annual purchases in all department categories).

Wal-mart takes care of the people who don't know how to take care of themselves...and don't know the difference. Honestly, the government should just send the welfare check to Wal-mart as a credit for those shopping there.

Edited July 14, 2006 by ShadowDog

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Did it have a big chicken out front?

166808[/snapback]

I don't think so. There was a laundromat attached.

But hey, don't get too generalizing, my wife is from Barbourville. 

Don't worry. I'm not saying that everyone from there is like that. White trash is everywhere you go. It's in Lexington, it's in New York. I don't think anyone here can name me one place in North America that doesn't have its share of white trash.

[trinacriabob]

Well, I admit I do go to Wal-Mart. I don't like it much, but I do go. You can't ignore that some items are priced way low...all the time. For example, oatmeal which is $ 4.19 at Safeway (Quaker Oats) is $ 1.64 (Great Values Wal Mart brand), and on and on. I sort of know ahead of time which handful of items I plan to buy so I can run.

Yes, indeed, it ain't the Safeway crowd at all. I am a little bit on the defense when I'm in a Wal-Mart as opposed to a more upscale store. Some of the help is nice, most are jaded. I wear the crappiest more torn jeans and t-shirt I can find to go in there.

Funny story: One fine day, I was driving between Montreal and Quebec City and I am in Cap-de-la-Madeleine (sp). I was at a Wal-Mart where they only spoke French. I was looking for the Perce rock - the one with the hole you see in the postcards. Turns out it was all the way out at the Atlantic coast...another 750 miles or so, so I settled on going as far as Quebec City. This lady looked like something out of the 70s, with feathered hair and glasses with the temple bars on the bottom instead of the top, and like she could have been Erin Brockovich's best buddy, but she was actually really nice...asking all her co-workers if they knew of the big rock I was talking about.

Does Target have groceries? If so, I may start to skip on Wal Mart.

Edited July 16, 2006 by trinacriabob

[Cory Wolfe]

<-- Walmart Shopper. I don't really care, quite frankly. It's convenient and I have drive a good 20 miles just to go to a Walmart. However... that's just for basic stuff. Clothes... electronics... certain car accessories will point me to somewhere else. The clothes there are so... white trash.

[FAPTurbo]

My city doesn't have a Wal-Mart, so people often sit in gridlock to go way out to the boonies to go there, burning up gas and time as they go.

Wal-Mart has tried on a couple of occasions to open a store here in VanCity, but to no avail. They even went so far as to proposing a new type of store that was green (not just paintwise)... it would recycle rainwater, have solar panels and a wind turbine for power, huge skylights to let daylight in, have a totally shaded parking lot, the store would be surrounded by native trees, and the parking lot would be smaller in size to encourage more people to use alternative means of transport, and it was located on a major bus route.

Rejected... ...

Not environmentally and ethically proper enough for us Vancouverites... "Big Box" stores here in Vancouver have one hell of a time moving in, and when they do, they often don't look like "Big Boxes".

Would I shop at Wal-Mart? Never have, and never will.

Edited July 15, 2006 by Captainbooyah

[Halo]

Wow, reading all this makes me embarrased to say it but i go to wal-mart...a lot. But the fact of wether you can blame me or not up to you. I live in a rural area (or i guess you could call it that) and actually handy stores are almost so rare you can safely guess they arent even there to begin with. However about 15-20 miles from my area is a pretty consideralble sized town called "Hazard" (no, as in not like the dukes of hazard). The place dont have too many good stores either (except a few small, cute ones that sell random nik-nacks you really dont need) but it does have a wal*mart.

Truth be told, the store I go to isn't all that bad. A lot of parking space (which can be found quite crowded at times, atmittingly), pretty good stuff selection, service is pretty good and they actually keep it clean. although i do agree with everyone else on the white-trash clothes problem, the baby stuff isn't really all that bad. I never pay enough attention to the people there to tell you anything particular about them, so dont ask. It's a pretty good store to go to, i guess (remember, there arent any other conveinent stores around and no one around here wants to go about 50 more miles to get to one) but most people usually drive there for groceries and the considerably cheaper gas there. so shut up, not everyone is so privaledged to have a big store selection like most of you seem to and not everyone has a whole lot of money to spend, some people go because its the only friggin' one they CAN go to. Any questions? no, didn't think so. Now sit down!

[Cory Wolfe]

Sounds like Brookville.

[ocnblu]

Didn't you guys have a bake sale to raise money for your police officer's salary a few months ago, Vipes?

[Turbojett]

eh. i don't really care about wally world. it's just another department/grocery store to me, I never saw what the big deal was. I usually go to Vons or Stater Bros. for groceries anyway, and the nearest Walmart, IIRC is in Irvine, and why would I go out there, when just down the street, there's a K-Mart in one direction, and a Target in the other?

The one that really sucks is Albertsons. So horribly overpriced, its not even funny ($3.50 for a Gallon of milk? No freakin' thank you). They took over Lucky about 6 years ago, and that really pissed me off because Lucky was pretty inexpensive.

Edited July 15, 2006 by Turbojett

[ShadowDog]

Rejected...  ...

167022[/snapback]

HA! I've always admired Vancouver's stance against Wally World. Maybe, one day, they'll actually win...and maybe they won't. In any case, enjoy the lack thereof.

[trinacriabob]

The one that really sucks is Albertsons. They took over Lucky about 6 years ago, and that really pissed me off because Lucky was pretty inexpensive.

167062[/snapback]

How quickly I forget. Lucky's was a great store and Albertson's does suck. It takes a killer sale for me to go into Albertson's. Funny thing is that I though Albertson's was restricted to the West, given that so many chains are regional. I walked into an Albertson's in Pensacola, FL (!) to pick up the local paper.

At any rate, Vons becomes Safeway in the northern part of the state. That's where I shop.

[Flybrian]

How quickly I forget.  Lucky's was a great store and Albertson's does suck.  It takes a killer sale for me to go into Albertson's.  Funny thing is that I though Albertson's was restricted to the West, given that so many chains are regional.  I walked into an Albertson's in Pensacola, FL (!) to pick up the local paper.

At any rate, Vons becomes Safeway in the northern part of the state.  That's where I shop.

167480[/snapback]

Albertsons is all over Florida as well and they generally suck. Their discount prices are based off having a Preferred Card and I simply don't want one. Publix is superior in virtually every single aspect.

[Robert Hall]

Albertsons is all over Florida as well and they generally suck. Their discount prices are based off having a Preferred Card and I simply don't want one. Publix is superior in virtually every single aspect.

167506[/snapback]

Albertsons has closed all their stores here in the Denver area.. it seems most of the big grocery chains here do the 'club card' thing... King Soopers (Kroger-owned) and Safeway are the dominant chains here, though I suspect Target and Wal-Mart (there are at least a 1/2 dozen Super Targets and Super Wal-Marts in the metro area) get a lot of grocery business...

[DetroitNut90]

My Walmart isn't that bad...it just attracts a different clientele than the Target and Kohl's across the street. It's good for basics that the local Giant/Food Lion/Safeway/Bi-Lo doesn't carry, but that's about it. Clothes shopping entails a visit to Kohl's. Walmart has one style of jeans, in one color, in about 7 different sizes (at least for men).

The best part about my Walmart is at the exit, there is a large sign of separate letters that reads "Thank You Fo Shoppin At Your Lau el Wal- art!" It's been like that for the past year or so.

[daves87rs]

The best part about my Walmart is at the exit, there is a large sign of separate letters that reads "Thank You Fo Shoppin At Your Lau el Wal- art!" It's been like that for the past year or so.

167688[/snapback]

:rotflmao:

That's worst than the spray painted "Wal-Mart Ballin'" on one of ours...

[trinacriabob]

What about Costco? Do you guys like it? I will buy tires there (just did on Friday) and I will buy individual electronics there, but nothing else. The thing that gets to me about Costco is how they don't have a quick check out line. Do you see the piled up shopping carts some people have? Geez, they can't be that big of baby factories that they buy that much.

[bobo]

I love Costco. I spend hundreds of dollars there every month, and I buy my gas there (filled up the Silverado there yesterday for $70 and the Lexus today for $50). A couple of months ago I bought an LCD TV from there, and I'm thinking of also getting a digital camera. And lately I've been eating dinner there a lot (chicken caesar salad, polish dog, yogurt, pizza).

As for Wal-mart, I shop there maybe once a month for stuff like mouthwash. Some of the stores are really dingy and filled with people I would not want to hang out with. Some stores are halfway decent.

[trinacriabob]

I like Costco, too. I don't see too much skank in there, generally. It's the long lines I don't like. I usually buy 1 or 2 items when I'm there.

Sidebar: I love Saturday AM at Costco when they have all the food samples. When I would go to Vancouver with friends over a weekend, we would always stop at the Costco in Bellingham WA and scarf on the "free" food...that would tide us over at the potential 1 hour border wait about 20 miles north of there.

[FAPTurbo]

Costco is where we do our major shopping. One reason we shop there is principal... a good amount of Costco stuff is NAFTA, even the Champion socks are made in Mexico. Another reason is the quality of the goods, which are hard to beat, and their return policy is totally awesome.

Finally, Costco is our ideal company. It's civically responsible in that it funds environmental projects, and other causes and also the CEO is one of the lowest paid in North America. He makes a little over 300K a year (millions in stock) and the employees are very highly and fairly paid.

[trinacriabob]

Costco is where we do our major shopping. One reason we shop there is principal... a good amount of Costco stuff is NAFTA, even the Champion socks are made in Mexico. Another reason is the quality of the goods, which are hard to beat, and their return policy is totally awesome.

Finally, Costco is our ideal company. It's civically responsible in that it funds environmental projects, and other causes and also the CEO is one of the lowest paid in North America. He makes a little over 300K a year (millions in stock) and the employees are very highly and fairly paid.

167792[/snapback]

Interesting info about the pay. Didn't know that.

I presume you shop at the one right before the Oak Street Bridge coming north from YVR. That's the only one I've seen in your fair city/area.

[scharmer05]

only reason I ever go to Walmart is if I can't find it at Target.

[Flybrian]

As for Wal-mart, I shop there maybe once a month for stuff like mouthwash.  Some of the stores are really dingy and filled with people I would not want to hang out with.

167786[/snapback]

Those stores sound like they would have an overabundance of mouthwash, soap, and other hygenie supplies.

[trinacriabob]

Those stores sound like they would have an overabundance of mouthwash, soap, and other hygenie supplies.

167974[/snapback]

You're funny, Flybry

[Robert Hall]

I've never tried a Costco..isn't a lot of their merchandise in bulk, though?

Not practical for me, buying for 1-2 people at most. Pretty much all my regular shopping I do at a local SuperTarget, though lately more groceries from Whole Foods (my g/f is really getting into organic stuff when we cook)..

[trinacriabob]

..isn't a lot of their merchandise in bulk, though?

Not practical for me, buying for 1-2 people at most

167986[/snapback]

Correct...and not much selection, either. It's not practical for me for the very same reason.