Posted on 02/18/2015 10:09:06 AM PST by Citizen Zed
For Walmart, the dip in its customer satisfaction ratings could spell more trouble ahead. Retailers, after all, are at the whim of the consumer, who is typically looking for a mix of good prices, selection and customer service. If a retailer starts to fail on those fronts, it can end up in what ACSI director David VanAmburg calls "a deadly cycle." On top of that, Walmart's well-publicized struggles with calls from employees for higher pay and benefits may be taking a toll.
"They are not as dominant on the price side as they were, and the quality still isn't there," VanAmburg told CBS Moneywatch. "They haven't stepped up their game on that side, so we are seeing a lot of dissatisfaction by comparison."
Walmart, meanwhile, has been criticized by activists and employees for its low wages, which have prompted embarrassing episodes such as company stores holding food drives for their own workers. It doesn't look very good for the nation's biggest private employer when its workers have to rely on handouts and government aid to make ends meet.
Conversely, the top-rated speciality retail store, Costco, has benefited from a few trends, including its relatively high pay for retail workers and access to benefits, with Bloomberg BusinessWeek calling it the "happiest company in the world."
(Excerpt) Read more at wctv.tv ...
I believe in most state the EBT card is a debit card. So, they SHOULD be able to. The cash control system would have to designate between eligible and ineligible purchases for that purpose. I am not sure Costco is going to do that.
I know that they have a specific register for my Health Care Account card in the eyeglass department. That one is a visa debit card.
If I tell you that a garbage dump smells and you can’t wait to get out ... you’ll probably try to tell someone that “it’s all in their head” ... LOL ...
I worked at a bank.
EBT cards and Welfare cards were topped off the first of the month. The line at the ATM on the first of the month was deep early in the AM.
“They hire absolute MISFITS to work in that place and those workers there could care less about the customer.”
They don’t seem to care about their employer either. The last two times I bought items from the garden department, the checkers missed one or two fairly expensive items each time. I told them and they scanned the missed items, but I could see that they didn’t give a hoot.
I suspect you can. You can at BJ's. I remember a few years back, there was some change in the law that thrust EBT users upon them. As a frequent BJ's shopper, I can tell you that BJ's is probably doing better overall due to government largesse. If you ever see a cart full of name brand food and no sale items, dollars to donuts the person will be paying with food stamps.
I suspect you can. You can at BJ's. I remember a few years back, there was some change in the law that thrust EBT users upon them. As a frequent BJ's shopper, I can tell you that BJ's is probably doing better overall due to government largesse. If you ever see a cart full of name brand food and no sale items, dollars to donuts the person will be paying with food stamps.
“Walmart’s basic protection from unions is the stupidity of their workers that they hire ... :-) ...”
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I haven’t been inside a Walmart in years and don’t know anyone who works there but I don’t knock people who work for a living. It’s the people who are on the dole that annoy me.
Wait a few more days. With the ports closing up on the West Coast, their inventory is going to start coming up short.
In 30 days, their shelves will have big holes in them.
Yes you can.
I shop at Target for items and Wally World for food.
I use them [Costco] for my business. I get a cash refund every year that pretty much pays for the membership. I think this year I went over by about $10 because I bought a couple of high ticket items (some air conditioners and a generator.)
I shopped at Walton’s 5&10 years ago as a kid. Met Sam and his wife.
Then he bought out some bankrupt BEN FRANKLIN stores and reorganized as WALMART.
He paid a better wage than the starvation wages the local CHICKEN growing monopoly in this area was paying and they lost lots of employees to Walmart.
So the CHICKEN MEN started importing legal Mexicans into this area to work for their starvation wages.
Now the children of those Mexicans are now working at WALMART and the chicken men have brought in Marshall Islanders, Hmong tribesmen, and now AFRICAN immigrants.
We went from a lily white area to a multicultural area all because Sam Walton paid better money.
if it had not been for SAM, we would still be a poverty infested backwater in the NW corner of Hillbilly land.
I agree, it’s an extremely unpleasant experience. And you’re right, they sacrifice quality on “their stuff”. The way I get around that, is that I never get their stuff. I’ll only pick up a couple of items here or there, which is “name-brand” and that I know is quality, in and of itself, from another manufacturer. And the fact that it is SEALED is important, too, considering the kind of people who work there.
You can just get their loss-leaders and take Walmart’s money that way, on name-brand stuff — and NEVER EVER buy a grocery cart of stuff from Walmart “just because you’re there”. I would never reward Walmart that way.
Walmart’s net profit margin is almost twice Costco’s.
This sounds like a hit piece paid for by George Soros and the Gates family.
Wow. There are DEFINITELY different levels of Wal Marts. Location is everything, I guess. I go to mine a couple times a week, never a bad experience, always find what I need. The ‘Equate’ brand that is WM’s private brand is fine in a lot of instances, such as their version of Benedryl ($1 cheaper per box, same dang thing). I normally use the self checkout, but when I do use a checker I get prompt, courteous service. It can get dicey during the holidays, but not that bad. As far as hiring ‘misfits’ I’m GLAD to see those people. A lot of them just want a chance at work, and wouldn’t be employable elsewhere. Some have obvious handicaps (like the kid who has a cochlear inplant, and is a tad slow), or the hugely obese one, etc. But I think to myself, at LEAST they’re working, and who am I to judge? Considering we are on one income at the moment, my budget doesn’t allow me to be PC. I divide my shopping between WalMart and Winco. Winco has a MUCH better produce/meat section, groceries in general. WM is better for paper goods, personal items, etc.
You got a point there ... so even if they are misfits and idiots ... I’ll give them that one! ... :-) ...
What I don’t like is hoofing it to the back of the store to buy something they normally have and they don’t have it.
If you look at the "garbage pile" outside their purchasing office of vendors that have gone bankrupt ... you'll be amazed at the number of them and the size of some of them.
Selling to Wal*Mart is like getting a first free dose of nose candy from the local salesman. Man (they say) it feels good ... but in the end ... you're DEAD!
Wal*Mart premise is a house of cards, they base their savings on volume and use that volume to get discounts from manufacturers to maintain Wal*Mart's market share with consumers. At first when Sam ran it, everything was "American made" ... remember that? Well now see if you can find something you want that is made in America at Wal*Mart. Why? Because the local manufacturers in America cannot handle the profit losses of working with Wal*Mart ... so the Wal*Mart purchasing crowd turns to China and the third world. Where they don't pay their manufacturing employees. Wal*Mart simply supports the poor labor and environmental practices of our international competitors. The money you spend at Wal*Mart is appreciated by the Chinese as they build their new submarines and weapons.
Seeing Wal*Mart fail would be cheered by many ... not politically, but because they lost their jobs trying to work with Wal*Mart that only cares about the discounts from their suppliers ...NOT THE QUALITY!!!
(Unless you've experienced this first-hand, you haven't got a clue what Wal*Mart is "about.")
I’ll guarantee you that what “I” am saying is not a Soros-hit-piece ... it is THAT BAD from just my own personal observations.
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