Hopefully this abomination dissappears soon.

[Link]

It takes time for the older stores to sink into decrepitude of poor service.

I hope that doesn't happen.  It really is the best shopping experience around.

I like a lot about Wal-Mart but "best shopping experience" isn't one of them. They have a wide variety of stuff at cheap prices. That's about it. If you want a good shopping experience, go to Target or a frou frou grocery like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. You won't leave with the indellible stench of failure.

I meant in that middle of nowhere town not the entire planet.  There is no Whole Foods in BFE.

And Walmarts out in the middle of nowhere aren't just filled with the poors.  A lot of middle and some upper class people shop there because they have all the basics in one place at a reasonable price.  It is a very different dynamic than some urban Walmart's I've been in.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

It takes time for the older stores to sink into decrepitude of poor service.

I hope that doesn't happen.  It really is the best shopping experience around.

I like a lot about Wal-Mart but "best shopping experience" isn't one of them. They have a wide variety of stuff at cheap prices. That's about it. If you want a good shopping experience, go to Target or a frou frou grocery like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. You won't leave with the indellible stench of failure.

I meant in that middle of nowhere town not the entire planet.  There is no Whole Foods in BFE.

And Walmarts out in the middle of nowhere aren't just filled with the poors.  A lot of middle and some upper class people shop there because they have all the basics in one place at a reasonable price.  It is a very different dynamic than some urban Walmart's I've been in.

As a middle-classer who shops there, it is pretty much one stop shopping.   Even their produce and meats are continually improving in quality.  The only thing I don't buy there is fresh fish......but everything else there is good stuff....and I save a bundle.

[opebo]

As a middle-classer who shops there, it is pretty much one stop shopping.   Even their produce and meats are continually improving in quality.  The only thing I don't buy there is fresh fish......but everything else there is good stuff....and I save a bundle.

Hmm.. really?  When we used to buy chops and steaks there down at the farm (because that's about all there was around there), we really noticed a difference compare to when we'd grill at home and bought from a proper privately owned 'high end' butcher.  The WalMart meats were really just edible, pretty much as low quality as one could get.  Then again that was like 5-10 years ago!- I'm always so out-of-date about the USA nowadays.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

As a middle-classer who shops there, it is pretty much one stop shopping.   Even their produce and meats are continually improving in quality.  The only thing I don't buy there is fresh fish......but everything else there is good stuff....and I save a bundle.

Hmm.. really?  When we used to buy chops and steaks there down at the farm (because that's about all there was around there), we really noticed a difference compare to when we'd grill at home and bought from a proper privately owned 'high end' butcher.  The WalMart meats were really just edible, pretty much as low quality as one could get.  Then again that was like 5-10 years ago!- I'm always so out-of-date about the USA nowadays.

Nothing there is high end, but it's good.  As I mentioned, good fish needs to be bought elsewhere, as does a good and proper steak, but the rest is fine.  And yes, opebo in just the last half-dozen years they have improved dramatically.

[Indy Texas]

It takes time for the older stores to sink into decrepitude of poor service.

I hope that doesn't happen.  It really is the best shopping experience around.

I like a lot about Wal-Mart but "best shopping experience" isn't one of them. They have a wide variety of stuff at cheap prices. That's about it. If you want a good shopping experience, go to Target or a frou frou grocery like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. You won't leave with the indellible stench of failure.

I meant in that middle of nowhere town not the entire planet.  There is no Whole Foods in BFE.

And Walmarts out in the middle of nowhere aren't just filled with the poors.  A lot of middle and some upper class people shop there because they have all the basics in one place at a reasonable price.  It is a very different dynamic than some urban Walmart's I've been in.

As a middle-classer who shops there, it is pretty much one stop shopping.   Even their produce and meats are continually improving in quality.  The only thing I don't buy there is fresh fish......but everything else there is good stuff....and I save a bundle.

Not sure I'd agree with you there. In fact, in Texas, part of the reason Wal-Mart's grocery sales have lagged is because Hispanics often won't shop there because the fresh produce isn't up to their standards (the product at Fiesta, Aldi and Mas Club is better).

[DC Al Fine]

It takes time for the older stores to sink into decrepitude of poor service.

I hope that doesn't happen.  It really is the best shopping experience around.

I like a lot about Wal-Mart but "best shopping experience" isn't one of them. They have a wide variety of stuff at cheap prices. That's about it. If you want a good shopping experience, go to Target or a frou frou grocery like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. You won't leave with the indellible stench of failure.

I meant in that middle of nowhere town not the entire planet.  There is no Whole Foods in BFE.

And Walmarts out in the middle of nowhere aren't just filled with the poors.  A lot of middle and some upper class people shop there because they have all the basics in one place at a reasonable price.  It is a very different dynamic than some urban Walmart's I've been in.

As a middle-classer who shops there, it is pretty much one stop shopping.   Even their produce and meats are continually improving in quality.  The only thing I don't buy there is fresh fish......but everything else there is good stuff....and I save a bundle.

Not sure I'd agree with you there. In fact, in Texas, part of the reason Wal-Mart's grocery sales have lagged is because Hispanics often won't shop there because the fresh produce isn't up to their standards (the product at Fiesta, Aldi and Mas Club is better).

It's all relative. Wal-Mart can improve from a 2 to a 5 and still be below the Hispanic place's 8.

[pbrower2a]

I wish they'd put one up near me. There's not a Wal-Mart anywhere in or even close to the 240 loop. It's a pain in the butt driving all the way out to the burbs to get cheap groceries. Most of the time, I'm too lazy and pay extra for the convenience of Kroger. Wal-Mart seems to have a phobia about cities. And it's not just about the logistics of density because that's not much of problem in my hometown. There are two Targets near me, both generic single story big boxes with acres of parking. And it's not about avoiding bad areas, because they have stores in neighborhoods that I would avoid.

Wal*Mart doesn't like urban settings. Rural and suburban? Of course. Big cities have high wages and high real estate costs, so don't expect Wal*Mart to locate itself in Midtown Manhattan where free-spenders appear. It has found itself capable of meeting favored demographics (blue-collar, non-union workers) who see only prices and distrust places with the word "dollar" in them. It can't compete with Cartier, Tiffany, or Neiman-Marcus because its information technology works for a mass market but not for economic elites whose choices are more capricious.  It dislikes the low end of retail that attracts shoplifters and hot-check writers. I'm not saying that all urban dwellers are thieves, but enough are that they cut into profits and increase costs.

Wal*Mart has expanded into every niche that can fit it.