Wal-Mart shouldnt carry specialty store goods (lawnmowers, sewing machines, water softeners, dishwashers, larger furniture, pools, etc).
if a manufacturers has to create something blatantly inferior just to sell at Wal-Mart, they shouldn't.
eventually it will get to the point that the manufacturer cannot produce anything other than the cheap wal-mart crap version (since there would be no other outlets), which cant be repaired at all. only thrown away.
plus, by carrying "knock off" specialty store goods, wal-mart drives these specialty stores out of business. once the specialty stores are gone, they'll set their sights higher up on the food chain. remember those small scale computer stores that actually fix the products they sell? those will be gone. grocery stores? those will be gone. corner stores? gone too (or bought out and renamed "Mini Wal-Mart").
in a small community, a wal-mart kills off the competition slowly. to the point where there is just wal-mart, some restaurants, and some kind of factory. wait, not even a factory. it closes down because that company has to move production overseas to cut costs and meet wal-mart's price demand. then wal-mart leaves because the only people in the community with income are those working at wal-mart.
wal-mart is a parasite. but a parasite we're hooked on. kicking the habbit will bring pain and sacrifice, but we'll come out better for it. either wal-mart has to change, or wal-mart has to go.
on another note, i was once a wal-mart employee. its a tough life. having to give 4 to 5 week notice for any time you want off, being told the policies and then being told to do things contrary to them (and then being scolded for either going against policy or following it), being treated like crap by people who smile and tell you you're the most important person. and then they tell you you're being paid a top-notch rate and have lots of room for improvement meanwhile people there for 4 years still havent been upgraded to full time, then the full time people still have to get welfare from the government so they can affoard food and a place to live. only the managers could affoard to have their own home.
i left when my requests for safety improvements in the stock fridge and freezer went ignored(its a scary thing when you realize that you could be buried in a fridge or freezer for an entire shift before anyone would find you, possibly longer if they weren't stocking that stuff that night). they still ignored it even after a worker's comp incident. let me tell you, milk crates stacked a dozen high are mighty tipsy. and mighty cold when they're on top of you. luckily i could reach my cell phone after working at it for an unknown length of time, or i really would have been there all shift.
in a way, a call center is better, because they don't disguise the fact that you're temporary, unimportant, and in a crap job.
so in conclusion, this article tells it like it is. i think i'll print the entire thing out and read it whenever i feel the need to go shopping. boo wal-mart.
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Wal-Mart shouldnt carry specialty store goods (lawnmowers, sewing machines, water softeners, dishwashers, larger furniture, pools, etc). if a manufacturers has to create something blatantly inferior just to sell at Wal-Mart, they shouldn't. eventually it will get to the point that the manufacturer cannot produce anything other than the cheap wal-mart crap version (since there would be no other outlets), which cant be repaired at all. only thrown away. plus, by carrying "knock off" specialty store goods, wal-mart drives these specialty stores out of business. once the specialty stores are gone, they'll set their sights higher up on the food chain. remember those small scale computer stores that actually fix the products they sell? those will be gone. grocery stores? those will be gone. corner stores? gone too (or bought out and renamed "Mini Wal-Mart"). in a small community, a wal-mart kills off the competition slowly. to the point where there is just wal-mart, some restaurants, and some kind of factory. wait, not even a factory. it closes down because that company has to move production overseas to cut costs and meet wal-mart's price demand. then wal-mart leaves because the only people in the community with income are those working at wal-mart. wal-mart is a parasite. but a parasite we're hooked on. kicking the habbit will bring pain and sacrifice, but we'll come out better for it. either wal-mart has to change, or wal-mart has to go. on another note, i was once a wal-mart employee. its a tough life. having to give 4 to 5 week notice for any time you want off, being told the policies and then being told to do things contrary to them (and then being scolded for either going against policy or following it), being treated like crap by people who smile and tell you you're the most important person. and then they tell you you're being paid a top-notch rate and have lots of room for improvement meanwhile people there for 4 years still havent been upgraded to full time, then the full time people still have to get welfare from the government so they can affoard food and a place to live. only the managers could affoard to have their own home. i left when my requests for safety improvements in the stock fridge and freezer went ignored(its a scary thing when you realize that you could be buried in a fridge or freezer for an entire shift before anyone would find you, possibly longer if they weren't stocking that stuff that night). they still ignored it even after a worker's comp incident. let me tell you, milk crates stacked a dozen high are mighty tipsy. and mighty cold when they're on top of you. luckily i could reach my cell phone after working at it for an unknown length of time, or i really would have been there all shift. in a way, a call center is better, because they don't disguise the fact that you're temporary, unimportant, and in a crap job. so in conclusion, this article tells it like it is. i think i'll print the entire thing out and read it whenever i feel the need to go shopping. boo wal-mart.