[There You Go Again]

Yea, I used to work for GE Appliances. In the old days, we could go to the mom and pop stores and say, "Here is our microwave and this is how much it is...screw you!" Then Wal Mart comes along and says, "Hey GE Appliances, you WILL make a microwave that WILL have these 10 features...and you WILL sell it for this $X amount of dollars....if you choose not to do this...you WILL NOT have any microwaves on our store shelves...." Needless to say, big bad GE Appliances listened to the bigger and badder Wal Mart. What stupid people don't understand is, Wal Mart is one of the biggest consumer advocates out there....far better "consumer advocate" than these $250,000 a year hacks who head up these bogus "consumer advocate" groups....I still wonder where they get their money....unlike WalMart, I am sure some how the taxpayer is paying for these anti-free market "consumer advocate" groups.

[Gabz]

Can't argue with your logic.

The problem is WalMart does sell GE appliances....of course it is all just cheap-made-in-china-crap-because-that-is-all-WalMart-sells...........or that is according to the talking points of the WlMart haters.

[Radix]

Wal-Mart lost my pictures from a Carribean vacation, irreplaceable pictures.......

After a few weeks of my calling they summoned me to say that they found my film. I went to the store, got my "Free pictures" and opened up an envelope full of nothing but empty ruined negatives. I threw the BS envelope back on the counter, and left that store vowing to never let a monolithic anything get a piece of something so precious to me.

I went shortly after that depressing fiasco to a Ritz Camera Shop and purchased a new hi-tech digital camera. No more development problems for me.

The clerk at Ritz was excellent, the service and all was spectacular, and the camera that I bought was something that has improved the quality of my life immensely. (I like pictures.)

You will never duplicate that sort of thing at a Wal-Mart.

I am not sure which I despise more, Wal-Mart or the Unions. I suppose that I'll just wait and see who survives the war, and then I'll choose sides. Personally, I hope that they both lose.

[jwpjr]

re: Yea, I used to work for GE Appliances

My grandfather was a factory rep (traveling salesman!) for GE way back in the early 1920's. His territory was in the panhandle of Florida. After he got off the road he managed the appliance department of an upscale jewelry store in Tampa. He has been dead for over 50 years now, but I can still recall him ranting and raving about how the major appliance business was going to hell in a hand basket. Little did he know. It really bummed him that a customer would come into his store and take up an hour of his time learning about the latest appliance, then go buy it someplace else for $20 less. He was certainly prophetic in his frequent assertions that the day was coming when competition meant 'cost' and nothing else.

I know this is little dissertation is not really on subject, but I have fond memories of his tales about traveling Florida in the boom times of the 20's!