Posted on 10/27/2009 7:19:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- It seems like only days ago that Wal-Mart was the most evil company on the planet.
The list of accusations: It locked workers in stores overnight and ignored overtime rules; it didn't give health-care benefits to a lot of workers; and its execs dreaded union organizers so much they actually shut down a store to avoid letting the labor guys in the front door.
Equality for women employees? Forget about it. That was for East Coast, Hillary-loving wimps, or Wegman's, to worry about. And then there was the part about alleged sweatshops in China. (Sam Walton, back in the day, personally hired toddlers. Right?) And let's not forget the decimation of Main Street, USA.
To be honest, even long-time Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) admirers had to admit that some of this was true. The company was a bit evil.
But that was then. Now the masses don't seem all that concerned about the biggest retailer in America stomping us all like the aliens did in Independence Day.
Let's go to the numbers. If you did a database search, which my colleague Marilyn Adamo kindly conducted for me, there were some 47 stories in 2006 with the words "evil" within ten words of a "Wal-Mart" mention. So far in 2009: only two. Of all stories with at least two mentions of Wal-Mart, there were more than 14,000 in 2006 and just under 5,000 this year.
This ain't a scientific study, by any stretch, but the numbers seem to show that the heat has been turned down. The obvious explanation is that Wall Street, proving they could be much more evil than Wal-Mart could ever be, has provided ground cover for America's second-largest company (after Exxon Mobil).
But as with anything, it's far more complicated than that.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Liberals like Wal Mart now bc they’re for amnesty for illegals, single payer healthcare...
Liberals still hate WalMart because:
1. they are a capitalist company, and
2. they make profits.
They just figured out that when the bash WalMart they are bashing a friend of the poor and middle class and the poor and middle class see them for what they are (ie rich elitists).
Where else would one shop? I just sent a huge box of snacks to my daughter in Seattle, because she couldn’t buy economy-size packages of trail mix, roasted peanuts, and granola bars in any of the available stores there.
Mexi Mart
Meijer stores are my preference.
....I sure love it when I go to WalMart and get my $4.00 drug prescription filled.
I stopped shopping at WalMart when they pulled their ads from Glenn Beck in response to liberal protests.
Do you have any “white” stores to recommend? /sarc
Liberals are turning towards Walmart because Walmart is turning towards the liberals. Walmart is an innovator in “Green” technology in stores and business practices. Walmart has instigated cut rate generic perscription plan that provides drugs at socialized prices and they are incorporating gay/lesbian friendly policies while donating to all the “politically correct” causes.
www.peopleofwalmart.com
I never thought Wal-Mart was “evil”, just “icky”. I didn’t start shopping there until they got self service lines. The service in the regular lines was so slow that every single time I went into a walmart I ended up leaving my item (usually only one) at the checkout and finding it somewhere else, due to the incredibly slow lines.
I never did hate Wal Mart.
no, it’s because WalMart has been strategically sucking-up to Democrats and Environmentalists ever since the tea leaves from the 2006 election became visible. The media has backed off of them as a result.
i don’t know about anyone else but i am getting away from walmart for my groceries....i used to buy the walmart generic brands at a nice savings but the last few monthes they have changed all of the generic packaging to look alike and at the same time drastically raised the prices. in most cases i have found the generic items priced just below and in some cases eve higher than the brand names. this past week we shopped at aldi’s and saved at least 25.00 i think walmart has figured they sucked enough of us in to the low prices that now that they raised them most would just be content to continue shopping there.....
I will stick with famiy dollar or target myself
grocery wars are like that, you have to watch prices all the time.
Nothing like borrowing money from the people whose products you're purchasing...the proverbial “dog chasing his tail” comes to mind...
Forrest Gump said it best...”Stupid is as stupid does.”
Word hasn’t got to my wife, she still hates Walmart. It’s off limits for us.
The real “hatred” of WalMart started once they entered the grocery business. Most retail stores are non-union except (for some reason) groceries. When WalMart competed with KMart, Target or the “Mom and Pop” stores, their competition wasn’t unionized so the unions and their pet Dems really didn’t care much.
I don’t hate Wal-Mart, but I did quit shopping there when they stopped selling guns and ammunition in my area because of pressure from the liberal anti-gun Nazis. That, and it’s crowded, dirty, and I stand out as a minority when I go there.
Liberals hate walmart also because they hate the idea of the average person being able to afford to consume more and differently than they “approve” of.
Let’s see if they change their tune following the foreseen conservative backlash in ‘10 and ‘12.
I get that at my local grocery store.
I have no objection to a private company using green technology or offering cheaper prescription drugs: that is what capitalist companies do. They innovate to attract customers (heck, lower prescription prices fits the corporate model perfectly).
I personally don’t like their adopting liberal policies or contributing to ‘liberal’ causes but, again they are a private company.
What I don’t like is the government attacking them and strong arming them to toe the liberal line. But that is not WalMart’s problem, that is ours. WalMart is just responding to real environmental pressures.
For later.
Our local Walmart changed over its interior. It’s a much more pleasant place to shop with wide aisles and no clutter. Very bright too.
I don’t go there regularly to shop for groceries but I do pickup a few things when I need to go get some stuff from automotive or ammo.
Hardstarboard said, ...it’s crowded, dirty, and I stand out as a minority when I go there.
Hardstarboard, care to share the location of the Wally you described? If you don’t want to name the town, how about the state?
There are two Wal*Marts in my town. Both are bright, welcoming, clean and well maintained. And the minorities who shop there are, well, minorities.
In addition, I’ve visited Wal*Marts all over the US. A few have been a little below average. But I have never visited one like Hardstarboard described. So, got a location?
I have almost stopped shopping at Wal-Mart. Since the big remodel they did at out store at least 1/3 of the products that used to be on the shelves are gone. The choice of brands and sizes are gone. The Mexican label shows isle side more often than not. The other products get chintzier and less reliable. Sure they take returns but when every trip required at least one thing to take back because of defects, it get’s maddening. And don’t ask an employee any question....I have heard their morning ra-ra cult employee cheer leading indoctrination meet in the back room they have. Makes me glad I don’t work there.
BUMP!
Wally was the innovator. All the rest just followed along due to Wally’s competition.
Thank goodness for $4 generics at Wally. Saves me bucks every month.
Wally ping.
*** I didn’t start shopping there until they got self service lines. ***
I tried the self service lines and they didn’t work. They were very rarely used except for people with one or two items.
Our Walmart finally jerked them out. Now they still need to hve more checkouts open.
I NEVER had a problem when I shopped at Walton’s 5 & Dime in Bentonvile back in the late 1950’s!
WalMART PING!!!!!!!!!
I lost my ping list -— so please let me know if you want on or off the list, or if you remember anyone who is missing. Thanks!
As I’ve said before, if I avoided every store that gets bashed on FR, the only place I could shop would be the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store.
I have actually been in one of those type WalMarts -— it was in Dover, DE. I hated it and avoided it as much as possible.
Then I went with a friend to a WalMart in Milford, DE and I changed my mind about shopping in WalMart.
I like target a lot better than walmart.
And Best Buy has great new stores. I mourned the closure of compusa but Best Buy seems to be picking up.
Walmarts make me crazy, something about the way the stores are laid out is just nutty. And too much stuff in the shelves.
Then Walmart should start a $3 program so my grocery can match their price.
Sounds like what happened to the Wal-Mart here after the remodel. Store looks really nice, but the selection went completely down the tubes. One of the employees told me that they have had their hours cut back since the remodel; don’t know if that’s related or not. I do most of my grocery shopping at the other grocery in town anyway, but they’ve cut so much stuff back at Wal-Mart that I have to go online or out of town to find things.
Sure, lots of stores have it now. But they were perfectly satisfied to keep screwing people before Walmart came out with a program to save people money.
I’d have to nominate the Las Cruces, NM store. I’ve not been there for a few years but it fit that description at my last visit. My city’s WMs are clean, bright, busy, and visited by me about every three weeks. My problem isn’t with the store/layout/stocking, it just seems that many of its shoppers lack common courtesy or have a diminished awareness of others.
By far the best ammo prices around.
They can keep all of their chinese crap though.
I only have experiences with one Target store, and none were very good. Just like my experience with WalMart, I’m sure that one store is probably not indicative of all Targets, however the nearest one to me now is 50+ miles away and so I have not been in one in more than 6 years.
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