Fuck Wal Mart

[Sweetchuck]

... a blog by Sweetchuck:

Wal Mart.

I fucking hate Wal Mart.

I live in a rural area. You need a fucking canoe to get to my town. It's all goat paths for two hours driving until you finally hit a fucking highway.

I have three kids. I buy a lot of shit. The grocery stores near me suck. Everything is stale, expensive and the place closes early every day so when I have to shop, I go to Wal Mart in the next town. In fact, there are 3 of them within an hours drive from me since Wal Mart targets smallish sized towns to suck the fucking lifeblood out of them for the sake of sales.

Since the closest mall to me is 2.5 hours drive, I'm stuck buying a lot of my shit at one of those Wal Marts. Pulling into the parking lot gives me the first indication that I will be in a shitty mood for the next couple hours. No fucking spots where you wouldn't need to take a fucking cab to the store from. Finding a spot, I hike to the front door trying to not get run over by some fucking soccer mom in a minivan yacking on her fucking cell phone while she's wagon-training looking for a spot to park.

Get in the store and there it is. The screaming baby. Every fucking Wal Mart has at any given time a fucking screaming baby. Usually the parents are ignoring that kid while it throws a fucking tantrum. The old guy pushes a cart my way, we engage.

By 'we', it's me and my wife. She's miserable because I'm miserable, otherwise she'd be relatively content. I don't let her go herself, she'll come home with a truck load of shit we don't need.

Now I get sucked into the whole Wal Mart experience. Everything's cheap, the urge to stockpile stuff is strong, just like in that South Park episode. These plastic tumblers would be great for the deck, huh? "Let's get some, they're only .50 apiece. Look - 5lbs of ground beef, only $5. Kids like sloppy joe, stock up. How about a fan for the family room. Take the stuffiness out, only $12." After all's said and done, we have so much fucking shit, I can't fit it into the back of my full sized truck. My fucking 5yr old is riding home with a 12 pack of toilet paper in his lap. Total bill? A cool grand.

We get home and it takes us 2 fucking hours to unload all of this shit. Freezer is full and we have 20lbs of meat that still needs frozen. We're eating steak every day of the week, I guess.

Here's the good part. Those tumblers? Look great, right? After one load in the dishwasher, they fucking crack. Straight to the garbage. That ground beef? Go to make sloppy joe and the ground beef has all this weird shredded rubber material in it. There's $20 down the tubes, straight in the rubbish. That fan? Stops running after a week. To the dump.

Store brand almonds, rancid. Same with the store brand applesauce and frozen veggies - too many fucking stems.

Now I still shop there because I have to. Not much other choice, but I don't buy the generic stuff anymore or anything like fans or gadgets. It's all fucking garbage. Somewhere, some fucking eco-nazi group needs to get on this. Want to stop our landfills from overfilling? Stop Wal Mart from selling all the crap that they do which immediately winds up in one. I don't buy anything there that's not brand name or something I have had problems with - like paint. I bought some off-brand paint there to paint the kitchen. Just recently too, got sucked into the 'good deal' thing again. Took 3 fucking coats.

We don't buy meat or fruits and vegetables there, we drive to the big grocery store an hour and a half away for those, or get them in town. That is for now, until those places get sucked into the black hole of Wal Mart's quest to overpopulate our landfills.

Fuck Wal Mart.

[red states rule]

Sounds more like you do not like screaming kids - hardly the fault of Wal MArt. My store is open 24 hours and I go early in the morning to avoid crowds.

The workers are stocking, and I always get what I want and get out in about 30 minutes

I save alot of money and never had a problem with the quality of what I buy

My local Wal MArt employs about 500 people, and many other business have opened up around the Wal Mart

It has had a positive impact on the local economy, and has forced the other supermarkets to lower their prices

As I said, I love Wal Mart, and they do alot for woking people like myself to get more my money

[Trigg]

There's a Wal-mart in my town and I avoid it like the plague. I would rather spend my money locally than support a corporation that does nothing for MY community.

Save the coupons and you will be surprised how well you can do at your LOCAL market.

[red states rule]

There's a Wal-mart in my town and I avoid it like the plague. I would rather spend my money locally than support a corporation that does nothing for MY community.

Save the coupons and you will be surprised how well you can do at your LOCAL market.

I clip the coupons as well, and save even more at Wal Mart Trigg

[Sweetchuck]

There's a Wal-mart in my town and I avoid it like the plague. I would rather spend my money locally than support a corporation that does nothing for MY community.

Save the coupons and you will be surprised how well you can do at your LOCAL market.

That's a great point.

Lunch meats and prepared foods are always more expensive at the Wal Marts I've been in than local grocery store chains.

I don't buy anything at Wal Mart that isn't a staple. Brand name shit, Everything else is total fucking garbage that winds up in a landfill seconds after it's purchased.

Wal Mart is pure evil. A grand design implemented and controlled by al Quaida.

[Trigg]

That's a great point.

Lunch meats and prepared foods are always more expensive at the Wal Marts I've been in than local grocery store chains.

I don't buy anything at Wal Mart that isn't a staple. Brand name shit, Everything else is total fucking garbage that winds up in a landfill seconds after it's purchased.

Wal Mart is pure evil. A grand design implemented and controlled by al Quaida.

I wouldn't go that far lol.

I would suggest that if you live in a rural area you look to local farmers for your meat, it's much healthier anyway, since you KNOW where it comes from. Once you eliminate that from your grocery buying the grocery gets much cheaper.

Also......who needs brand name stuff????????? I am brand loyal to ONLY a few things

[Sweetchuck]

I wouldn't go that far lol.

I would suggest that if you live in a rural area you look to local farmers for your meat, it's much healthier anyway, since you KNOW where it comes from. Once you eliminate that from your grocery buying the grocery gets much cheaper.

Also......who needs brand name stuff????????? I am brand loyal to ONLY a few things

Yeah, I'm clearly kidding about the al Quaida comment.

I don't buy meat from Wal Mart except for brand name hot dogs or stuff like that, everything else is garbage. Same for the store brand stuff, most of it is junk. It isn't value if it's cheap and poor quality.

You even have to be careful with brand name stuff, Wal Mart may be buying low quality stuff that simply has a brand name on it.

I found out a long time ago to buy most of my clothes from a department store.

[Trigg]

Yeah, I'm clearly kidding about the al Quaida comment.

I don't buy meat from Wal Mart except for brand name hot dogs or stuff like that, everything else is garbage. Same for the store brand stuff, most of it is junk. It isn't value if it's cheap and poor quality.

You even have to be careful with brand name stuff, Wal Mart may be buying low quality stuff that simply has a brand name on it.

I found out a long time ago to buy most of my clothes from a department store.

As hubby says "they have a whole lot of nothing"

I live in BFE and seriously avoid Wal-Mart at all cost. I buy my meat locally and other essentials at the other local market. With coupons I spend about the same amount and it is worth the hassle to me.

If I need a toy or something right away I'll shop there other wise I avoid it. I agree they tend to have poor quality stuff.

[Sweetchuck]

As hubby says "they have a whole lot of nothing"

I live in BFE and seriously avoid Wal-Mart at all cost. I buy my meat locally and other essentials at the other local market. With coupons I spend about the same amount and it is worth the hassle to me.

If I need a toy or something right away I'll shop there other wise I avoid it. I agree they tend to have poor quality stuff.

What's "BFE"?

My neighbor used to use the term "bum fucked Egypt" - is that is?

:laugh2:

[Trigg]

What's "BFE"?

My neighbor used to use the term "bum fucked Egypt" - is that is?

:laugh2:

close enough....Bum Fuck Egypt..........equals the middle of nowhere.

[gabosaurus]

Sometimes you have to pay a price for living in BFE. If you in the boonies, you should be living off the land. Or something like that.
I never go to Wal Mart. I prefer Super Target. Mostly because Target doesn't have surly 80-year-old greeters.

Or you could be like my sister. She won't shop at malls or big box stores. She will pay extra to shop exclusively in her neighborhood. A lot of people who live in East Los Angeles and surrounding areas are like that. They closed a Wal Mart in that area a few years back.

[DragonStryk72]

... a blog by Sweetchuck:

I live in a rural area. You need a fucking canoe to get to my town. It's all goat paths for two hours driving until you finally hit a fucking highway.

The grocery stores near me suck. Everything is stale, expensive and the place closes early every day so when I have to shop, I go to Wal Mart in the next town. In fact, there are 3 of them within an hours drive from me since Wal Mart targets smallish sized towns to suck the fucking lifeblood out of them for the sake of sales.

Since the closest mall to me is 2.5 hours drive, I'm stuck buying a lot of my shit at one of those Wal Marts. Pulling into the parking lot gives me the first indication that I will be in a shitty mood for the next couple hours. No fucking spots where you wouldn't need to take a fucking cab to the store from. Finding a spot, I hike to the front door trying to not get run over by some fucking soccer mom in a minivan yacking on her fucking cell phone while she's wagon-training looking for a spot to park.

Get in the store and there it is. The screaming baby. Every fucking Wal Mart has at any given time a fucking screaming baby. Usually the parents are ignoring that kid while it throws a fucking tantrum. The old guy pushes a cart my way, we engage.

By 'we', it's me and my wife. She's miserable because I'm miserable, otherwise she'd be relatively content. I don't let her go herself, she'll come home with a truck load of shit we don't need.

Now I get sucked into the whole Wal Mart experience. Everything's cheap, the urge to stockpile stuff is strong, just like in that South Park episode. These plastic tumblers would be great for the deck, huh? "Let's get some, they're only .50 apiece. Look - 5lbs of ground beef, only $5. Kids like sloppy joe, stock up. How about a fan for the family room. Take the stuffiness out, only $12." After all's said and done, we have so much fucking shit, I can't fit it into the back of my full sized truck. My fucking 5yr old is riding home with a 12 pack of toilet paper in his lap. Total bill? A cool grand.

We get home and it takes us 2 fucking hours to unload all of this shit. Freezer is full and we have 20lbs of meat that still needs frozen. We're eating steak every day of the week, I guess.

Here's the good part. Those tumblers? Look great, right? After one load in the dishwasher, they fucking crack. Straight to the garbage. That ground beef? Go to make sloppy joe and the ground beef has all this weird shredded rubber material in it. There's $20 down the tubes, straight in the rubbish. That fan? Stops running after a week. To the dump.

Store brand almonds, rancid. Same with the store brand applesauce and frozen veggies - too many fucking stems.

Now I still shop there because I have to. Not much other choice, but I don't buy the generic stuff anymore or anything like fans or gadgets. It's all fucking garbage. Somewhere, some fucking eco-nazi group needs to get on this. Want to stop our landfills from overfilling? Stop Wal Mart from selling all the crap that they do which immediately winds up in one. I don't buy anything there that's not brand name or something I have had problems with - like paint. I bought some off-brand paint there to paint the kitchen. Just recently too, got sucked into the 'good deal' thing again. Took 3 fucking coats.

We don't buy meat or fruits and vegetables there, we drive to the big grocery store an hour and a half away for those, or get them in town. That is for now, until those places get sucked into the black hole of Wal Mart's quest to overpopulate our landfills.

Fuck Wal Mart.

Okay, look, I get that you're pissed, and had a rough run there, but let's look at the highlight points. You're pissed because your local supermarkets don't want your business, not really, because if they did, they'd stay open 24 hours or at least a bit later. The malls apparently do not want it either, or they would be closer to the area you live, but they don't, and that's another aggravation.

As to the blatant overbuying, it doesn't seem like your wife going with you along is really that much of a help, since you complained of a full truckload worth of stuff that you got that was nowhere near being on your list. Wal-Mart cannot be expected to understand the exact dimensions of your freezer. The advertisements are not specifically geared to your personal life, so you have to exercise self-control. There's a ton of stuff in Wal-Mart I could use, but I get a list, and I do not leave with a single item not on that list.

You pay for quality, that's the way it always is anywhere. Cheaper stuff is cheaper for a reason. As to the paint, it depends, did you use a primer? I'm not being a smartass, but if you painted a wall without laying down a good coat of primer first, then yeah, you're going to hit the problem of needing multiple coats.

Did you even need a fan? You can't go blaming the company because you just kept buying a ton of crap you knew going in you didn't need. With the cups, you need to check if they're dishwasher safe, but that's true with any dishes you buy, is you need to check them, especially if they're really cheap.

Overall, it's the way in which you shop that needs to change, not the local Wal-Mart. The fan could have easily been returned for a brand new one if it broke down, since Wal-Mart has a 90 day return policy with receipt, which you should be keeping anyway if you're racking up over a grand worth of stuff on a trip.

[KitchenKitten99]

Sometimes you have to pay a price for living in BFE. If you in the boonies, you should be living off the land. Or something like that. ...

Spoken like a true ignorant fool... :clap:

[Abbey Marie]

... a blog by Sweetchuck:
...



By 'we', it's me and my wife. She's miserable because I'm miserable, otherwise she'd be relatively content. I don't let her go herself, she'll come home with a truck load of shit we don't need.
...



Uhh, you don't "let her"? I suppose you could be jesting for the sake of a good story, though. :poke:

Other than that, and the overuse of a particular 4-letter word, I enjoyed the blog. Good stuff. :beer:

WalMart is the only place (store, restaurant, whatever) I've ever been in that had ZERO paper in a large, multi-stall bathroom. And I mean ZERO. Not even a single sheet of any kind of paper, in a bathroom with about 6-7 stalls. Don't they SELL the stuff a few aisles away? But they have the funds to station someone near the front door to say Hi to me. :rolleyes: (Btw, this was when we were on vacation and stocking the house for the week. We don't have a Walmart near home).

I'm not hatin' on WalMart, but we do intentionally shop at our small local stores quite often. Especially the little hardware store. And I rarely go to Target, either, which is in the area. The products and the clientele seem about the same to me as WalMart's.

[HogTrash]

... a blog by Sweetchuck:

Wal Mart.

I fucking hate Wal Mart.

I live in a rural area. You need a fucking canoe to get to my town. It's all goat paths for two hours driving until you finally hit a fucking highway.
Were you unaware of the disadvantages of living in the boonies when you moved there?

[country]

Were you unaware of the disadvantages of living in the boonies when you moved there?

We also live in BFE and live off the land as much as we can. We drive seventy miles once a month to the nearest walmart for staples, but most of our food comes from the garden [canned and/or frozen] or wild game and fish. Wouldn't have it any other way. Thats why we moved here.

[Mr. P]

We also live in BFE and live off the land as much as we can. We drive seventy miles once a month to the nearest walmart for staples, but most of our food comes from the garden [canned and/or frozen] or wild game and fish. Wouldn't have it any other way. Thats why we moved here.

Sounds great..I'm jealous. The only issue I have with BFE is access to emergency care. Lets face it, as we get older it's a consideration. On the other hand...I'd rather die at home than in some ER.

[HogTrash]

We also live in BFE and live off the land as much as we can. We drive seventy miles once a month to the nearest walmart for staples, but most of our food comes from the garden [canned and/or frozen] or wild game and fish. Wouldn't have it any other way. Thats why we moved here.Your lifestyle definately has it's disadvatages that just might well turn into advantages if the US should suffer an economical catastrophe.

I live in the city, but have been considering a major move to someplace where I might enjoy your advantages...Welcome aboard 'country'.

[Sweetchuck]

Uhh, you don't "let her"? I suppose you could be jesting for the sake of a good story, though. :poke:



No, I don't let her.

There are things she doesn't let me do either, so don't get the impression that I'm in a marriage without any quid pro quo.

Knowing what's worth pulling out pitchforks and lighting torches over and what's not is the key to a successful marriage.


Were you unaware of the disadvantages of living in the boonies when you moved there?

Fully aware.

Doesn't mean I can't bitch about the downside though.


Okay, look, I get that you're pissed, and had a rough run there, but let's look at the highlight points. You're pissed because your local supermarkets don't want your business, not really, because if they did, they'd stay open 24 hours or at least a bit later. The malls apparently do not want it either, or they would be closer to the area you live, but they don't, and that's another aggravation.

As to the blatant overbuying, it doesn't seem like your wife going with you along is really that much of a help, since you complained of a full truckload worth of stuff that you got that was nowhere near being on your list. Wal-Mart cannot be expected to understand the exact dimensions of your freezer. The advertisements are not specifically geared to your personal life, so you have to exercise self-control. There's a ton of stuff in Wal-Mart I could use, but I get a list, and I do not leave with a single item not on that list.

You pay for quality, that's the way it always is anywhere. Cheaper stuff is cheaper for a reason. As to the paint, it depends, did you use a primer? I'm not being a smartass, but if you painted a wall without laying down a good coat of primer first, then yeah, you're going to hit the problem of needing multiple coats.

Did you even need a fan? You can't go blaming the company because you just kept buying a ton of crap you knew going in you didn't need. With the cups, you need to check if they're dishwasher safe, but that's true with any dishes you buy, is you need to check them, especially if they're really cheap.

Overall, it's the way in which you shop that needs to change, not the local Wal-Mart. The fan could have easily been returned for a brand new one if it broke down, since Wal-Mart has a 90 day return policy with receipt, which you should be keeping anyway if you're racking up over a grand worth of stuff on a trip.

We have a "Wal Mart Return" pile, and it used to get big. That's what made us start thinking about weather or not we're really getting any value at spending so much there.

[darin]

psst...Sweetchuck -

http://www.debatepolicy.com/showpost.php?p=324788&postcount=16

[Sweetchuck]

psst...Sweetchuck -

http://www.debatepolicy.com/showpost.php?p=324788&postcount=16

Why would I use that function, my replies automatically condense into one reply whenever I post 3 of them.

:afro:

I'll check that fx out, it looks pretty nifty but the only obstacle that I see is that in this case (and other cases), I didn't realize I was replying 3 times until after I did.

[darin]

I'm the condense genie. :D

[krisy]

Were you unaware of the disadvantages of living in the boonies when you moved there?

I was wondering that too. There advantages and disadvantages to living anywhere. I would love to have some more space between our houses here,but can't stand the thought of driving a while to go to the store.

[krisy]

Sometimes you have to pay a price for living in BFE. If you in the boonies, you should be living off the land. Or something like that.
I never go to Wal Mart. I prefer Super Target. Mostly because Target doesn't have surly 80-year-old greeters.

Or you could be like my sister. She won't shop at malls or big box stores. She will pay extra to shop exclusively in her neighborhood. A lot of people who live in East Los Angeles and surrounding areas are like that. They closed a Wal Mart in that area a few years back.

I didn't know there were Super Targets. We have a regular Target here. It is a better shopping experience than wal Mart for sure. They have good prices too.

[Abbey Marie]

No, I don't let her.

There are things she doesn't let me do either, so don't get the impression that I'm in a marriage without any quid pro quo.

Knowing what's worth pulling out pitchforks and lighting torches over and what's not is the key to a successful marriage.
...


Now I'm curious; how long have you been married?

What I would argue is one key to a successful marriage is mutual respect; as evidenced in using a certain grace and kindness in dealing with the things you don't like about your spouse. Compromises and mutual sacrifices for the better of the marriage and family are cool; forbidding your spouse from doing things that are legal and not contrary to your vows, is not.

I would also point out that if you ended up spending $1,000 and came home with things you didn't really want or need, bringing her with you isn't apparently working too well for you. In fact, if you "let her" go alone, she might do a better job.

Anyway, as I said, I'm nitpicking. I liked the blog. :)

[krisy]

I was thinking about what we have purchased at Wal Mart and really haven't done too bad.

We bought an ac window unit there 2 years ago that is in great shape and still running. Most of my kids clothes,swimsuits have come from there and I have to say have held up well. My daughters room was painted with Wal Mart paint 5 years ago and is great shape(and believe me,she is had on her room). We have bought everything from furnace filters to Christmas decos there.no problem.

Funny thing,when my husband and I were first married(16 years in October),we bought several strands of Christmas lights from a discount store here called Big Lots. We still have most of the strands 16 years later. I guess you never know.

[Sweetchuck]

Now I'm curious; how long have you been married?

What I would argue is one key to a successful marriage is mutual respect; as evidenced in using a certain grace and kindness in dealing with the things you don't like about your spouse. Compromises and mutual sacrifices for the better of the marriage and family are cool; forbidding your spouse from doing things that are legal and not contrary to your vows, is not.

I would also point out that if you ended up spending $1,000 and came home with things you didn't really want or need, bringing her with you isn't apparently working too well for you. In fact, if you "let her" go alone, she might do a better job.

Anyway, as I said, I'm nitpicking. I liked the blog. :)

18 years.

... and counting.

And no, if she goes by herself, she'll come home with much more useless shit that will wind up in the storage shed. You have to understand the personalities here. I'm a practicalist. I do make buying mistakes but they're generally because I'm being too practical. Here's the difference, I learn from my mistakes in this respect, she doesn't. She's an impulse buyer. A comfort buyer - she buys stuff because she thinks it will make her happier when in fact it doesn't.

And she knows that, so she doesn't make a big deal about it - and that is the point I tried to make. There are lines she draws also that I know are for the better even though I might be in my rights to cross, but I don't.

You have to know where to pick your battles and that's a small secret to our success.

[Abbey Marie]

18 years.

... and counting.

And no, if she goes by herself, she'll come home with much more useless shit that will wind up in the storage shed. You have to understand the personalities here. I'm a practicalist. I do make buying mistakes but they're generally because I'm being too practical. Here's the difference, I learn from my mistakes in this respect, she doesn't. She's an impulse buyer. A comfort buyer - she buys stuff because she thinks it will make her happier when in fact it doesn't.

And she knows that, so she doesn't make a big deal about it - and that is the point I tried to make. There are lines she draws also that I know are for the better even though I might be in my rights to cross, but I don't.

You have to know where to pick your battles and that's a small secret to our success.

Congrats on the 18 years. :beer:

[Kathianne]

I didn't know there were Super Targets. We have a regular Target here. It is a better shopping experience than wal Mart for sure. They have good prices too.

I love Super Target for food and much of their kitchen accessories. Good prices and good quality.

I do my shopping in a variety of stores. I tend to buy meat, paper products, and frequently used produce at Costco. I also buy frequently used canned products there that I divide with friend, as my storage space is limited.

Smaller quantities of canned goods and produce I buy at Super Target or local grocer. Staples, i.e., flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, bread, etc., I tend towards Aldi's.

[jon_forward]

Its all about choices, crap is cheap for a reason be it a walmart target or whoever. learn from past mistakes, modify your buying habits and get on with it. me personally I would love to be in BFE, peaceful and quite

[krisy]

I love Super Target for food and much of their kitchen accessories. Good prices and good quality.

I do my shopping in a variety of stores. I tend to buy meat, paper products, and frequently used produce at Costco. I also buy frequently used canned products there that I divide with friend, as my storage space is limited.

Smaller quantities of canned goods and produce I buy at Super Target or local grocer. Staples, i.e., flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, bread, etc., I tend towards Aldi's.

I've been thinking about going back to Aldis for some things. Can't beat em on some of their prices. I won't buy meat there tho. I stick with Kroger for that. I would love to go to a butcher,but can't afford it.

[Sweetchuck]

Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud.

They're from Germany, the wealthiest guy in Germany owns (or used to) it.