Sales in the form of price roll backs happen at Wal-Mart all the time. Their regular prices for groceries are fifteen percent below that of area supermarkets. Maybe the lines are long because people flock there for the value. I find the self-checkout a handy way to beat the long lines. People who bash Wal-Mart come across as snobs.
I didn’t “bash” Walmart, just stated the reasons I don’t shop there. I’m a Target customer, clean store, short lines, great sales, and I get 5% off with their card.
When insomnia forces me to get up at 3 in the morning and do something, I often end up at one of the 24 hour Wal-Marts. If I am in a reflective mood, I cannot help but be amazed at a massive store virtually empty of customers but lit up like noon and staffed and stuffed full of merchandise awaiting my approval. In such a moment I am forced to realize that I am experiencing one of the marvels of modern American life, laid out for me and other ordinary people.Take that, Marx and Lenin, you big dopes!
Wal-Mart has its faults, but its disciplined and cost-paring business model forced its suppliers and competing retailers to become better, squeezing out so much cost and inefficiency that the entire US economy experienced a jump in productivity and wealth. Economists also calculate that Wal-Mart makes it possible for household budgets to go further, thus combatting poverty through cheaper food and goods.
In sum, count me among Wal-Mart's fans and defenders.