I Hate Walmart: My High Cost To Get Low Prices

I Hate Walmart - picture of shopping cart in grocery aisle

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A few months ago, I signed up for the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa card in order to get the sign up bonus.  The deal was this: spend $2000 in three months and earn $800 in flights or $500 in gift cards.  I had originally planned on using the rewards for flights.  However, I determined after the fact that we weren’t going to use the flights after all.  Silly me.  Still, it wasn’t that big of a deal.  I knew that I could turn my points in for gift cards and was excited to see what options would be available.

Unfortunately, most of the gift cards were for places I didn’t want to spend money.  Kohl’s, Best Buy, and Sears were a few of the options available.  The rest of the gift card choices were for restaurants and other places that I don’t patronize.  I didn’t really need anything from a department store and the last thing I wanted was $500 worth of restaurant gift cards.  I decided to do the most boring thing possible and turn in my points for $500 in Walmart gift cards.  Then I could just use them to buy groceries and throw my allotted grocery money for that month toward my mortgage prepayment.

Yep, I Hate Walmart

Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?  Unfortunately, I have come to realize that I FUCKING HATE WALMART! I hate to use such harsh language, but I’m not sure that anything else would be appropriate.

Seriously, I hate Walmart. My local Walmart has at least 20 lanes and at any given time only 4 or 5 of them will be open.  The result is that there are huge ass lines of people waiting to buy their crap.  So running in to get a loaf of bread or gallon of milk is almost completely out of the question.  I have to walk through the whole friggin’ store to get anywhere near the milk anyway.  Stopping in to pick up a few things could easily turn into a 40 minute ordeal at my local Wal-Hell and I am rarely in the mood to stand there and wait that long.

Does your local Walmart have any windows?  Mine doesn’t have a single window, and the result is that you can never tell what time it is.  The fluorescent lights make everyone there look like crap and half of the people there are wearing pajamas anyways.  The employees look miserable….and I don’t blame them.  Just going to Walmart makes me miserable – which is one more reason I hate Walmart.

I Really Miss Kroger

Now that I’ve again come to realize that I hate Walmart, I long for the days when I can go back to my beloved Kroger.  I have about $200 in Walmart gift cards and I’m tempted to just spend it on a stockpile of toilet paper or paper towels or something…..just to get it over with.  What’s crazy is that Walmart food prices are much cheaper than the other grocery stores I shop at.  Unfortunately, shopping there makes me miserable and I have recently determined that it just isn’t worth it.  Ruining my whole day to pay 50 cents less for a box of cereal just isn’t my thing.  I’m cheap, but I’m not that cheap.

Do you shop at Walmart?  If so, how do you feel about it? Did I mention that I hate Walmart? OK, cool…fire away in the comments below!

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173 Comments

  1. I don’t share your visceral hatred for Wal-Mart, but I still don’t shop there. I find the Wal-Mart generic brand of food to be terrible compared to other generics. And I find the clientele to be sketchy, to put it nicely. So I prefer to spend a few extra dollars a month to shop elsewhere.

    1. I don’t blame you! I do the same thing! Kroger is only slightly more expensive in my area.

      1. I hate Walmart. We only shop there if we must mainly because the ruin small businesses because I mean you can just go To Walmart.
        I went there to get my ears pierced But first day the we’re doing inventory, second day there was a new girl who we asked to buy THE EAR PIERCEING “KIT” all we got were the earrings and the things to put in the freaking gun. I mean she shouldn’t even be working in that department new and by herself.

    2. “sketchy” – you are too kind!
      But seriously, we save enough through price matching fresh produce to justify dealing with the headaches.

      And Holly, the extra walking is good for you! lol

      1. fresh produce at wal-mart? LOL

    3. O God I Hate WalMart TOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Reading this has caused me to have a surge of love for the commissary, and I didn’t know such a thing was possible!

    I don’t hate Wal-Mart, but I honestly spend very little time there. Perhaps the two are related!

  3. I hate Wal-Mart too! I almost never shop there but got some of our blinds there because they are so dang cheap. Unfortunately, one of the sliding glass door blinds was bent and unusable. It was easy to return, but trying to find a store that carried them (and had them in stock) was an absolute pain in the ass. I avoid Wal-Mart at all costs!

    1. I call it Hell-Mart and honestly believe this to be true. I Hate shopping at Hell-Mart but I do because our Kroger doesn’t double coupons anymore so I price match. Hell-Mart is the most skank place and as of today I can guarantee that store to have some not so bright cashiers and CSMs. Sorry to vent but I jsut left there and it took over an hour to check out with price matching and coupons…. Absolutely RIDICULOUS!

      1. Megan Fulwood says:

        I currently work at Hell-Mart as a cashier because I am 21, in college, and finding a job in general is very difficult. I am basically stuck there. I can agree that when looking back at a Hell-Mart shopping experience it seems as though the cashiers are the blame for the long lines and terrible service. Even the customer service managers don’t seem to have a clue what they’re doing. But I can assure all of the Hell-Mart haters of the world that the problem is the management. There is absolutely no coordination between the various managers. There’s also quite a few tiers of managers that I don’t even think the management comprehends. The result is that there are about 50-75 people walking around in the store that all give us lower tier employees (cashier/CSMs) different tasks and different rules and procedures. Cashiers and customer service managers are given all of the responsibility of taking care of the customers and given none of the tools to do it with. When problems arise with coupons and refunds and all that kind of stuff it’s because there is no exact protocol for how to handle it. We can only take one customer at a time and try and figure out how to work with the system the best we can. As for the long lines.. just think about whether or not you would want to come to work consistently at such a terrible place.. the lines are there because the employees are not. Cashiers call out two and three a day and it’s only to be expected. Hell-Mart does not pay well which deprives the employees of any incentive to show up on crowded weekends when they’re going to be treated as less than humans by management and customers alike. Hell-Mart also does not hire an adequate number of employees because they pinch pennies so that the upper level management can take extra long vacations come Christmas time. I suggest staying away from the place at all cost. Pay the extra $30 on your grocery bill to shop at another store- avoid the stress- and don’t support a company that doesn’t give a shit about any person that steps foot into their establishment.

        1. My heart goes out to wal mart employees. Every time I used to go there I had difficulty with something that in any other place would not occur.I go to king soopers and use double coupons with a shoppers card.Costco too.I don’t understand how people save money at wal mart.I never have.I live in Denver so maybe it’s just because of endless options.The price of anything is the amount of life you had to exchange for it.Wal mart owes me 3 years.

  4. Can you use the Walmart Gift Cards to buy gift cards for somewhere you WOULD like to shop? Just a thought.

    I hate Walmart, too. And what I don’t understand is that when I am forced to go there, the prices don’t even really seem that spectacular. Totally not worth a miserable experience unless it’s going to be insanely cheap.

    1. Do they sell gift cards? I have never seen them there, except for the Wal-mart gift cards by the register.

      1. Christina says:

        Another option is to sell your gift cards on Craigslist or eBay. If you offer a $100 gift card for $90, you are likely to find a buyer. You’ll lose about $20 but save yourself a lot of frustration. Additionally, the time saved could be spent working on a side project to earn extra income (i.e. profitable hobby), reading more financial tips online, or reorganizing your closet… all of which would be infinitely more entertaining than an afternoon at Wal-Hell!

    1. I have actually heard of that website before. Might be worth checking out!

  5. I wonder about Mrs. Pop’s point to use them to buy gift cards to somewhere else maybe. That said, I am with you on your hatred. It sucks because the food prices are cheaper and know that we can save a good bit of money vs. going to one of the other chains. My wife went shopping there last week and out of the 42 lanes they had 2 were open. She had to wait in line nearly 20 minutes. Good thing it was her, because I am MUCH less patient. 🙂

    1. That is how our Walmart is. It’s always packed no matter what time, day or night. And why have 25 lanes and only have two open? It seems crazy to me!

  6. For funny. :-). We shop there, out of necessity at the moment, given our debt situation. It’s definitely not my favorite, but I just try and keep in mind the $$ I’m saving when I’m there. 🙂

    1. It is cheap on some things!!! I don’t blame you for shopping there if you can stand it!

    2. I’ve comparison shopped and haven’t found a significant difference. Winco, on the other hand…awesome!

  7. I don’t like Walmart. Target all the way for me!

    I signed up for the Southwest card last year too. I used most of my points on flights to Vegas for me and my friends, and the used some extra that I had built up for Lowes gift cards! 🙂

  8. Our nearby WalMart is the exact same way. They have good prices but we stay away from it simply because you’re looking at a 20 minute wait in line, no matter what time of day or how many / how few things you have. I complain about them not having any self-serve checkouts, but at the same time I figure that they’re aware of the limitations of the majority of their customer base.

    1. LOL, probably. Our Wal-mart just got a self check out section. We’ll see how it goes!

  9. We also hate Wal-Mart. Their business practices are horrid. When Sam was alive, he did everything he could to buy from American companies, and now his kids are running the show, looking for the cheapest deal there is, which is always China.

    This is a subject about which I am very passionate, and could go on for a very long time. Their prices are not all that much better, they do have a price match guarantee but I would rather pay a little more and shop somewhere else. A company that puts American companies out of business isn’t someone I want to do business with.

    I agree with Mrs. PoP’s comment to try to purchase other gift cards using your Wal-Mart gift card. I believe PlasticJungle.com takes a portion of your card as a commission of sorts, so you wouldn’t get the full dollar amount toward another card.

  10. I don’t particularly like them but they were cheap and everywhere when I was in the US so we used them. I liked Safeway better on the West coast but we had to get a club card to get decent prices and we weren’t willing to lose 30 min for a card application at every supermarket so Walmart had low prices without the membership.

  11. We don’t live near a Walmart (that I know of) but we used to live near one and my husband used to work for walmart.com so would get a discount card for 15% off any purchase which I thought was awesome until I went to the store. It was so crowded and, like you said, long lines for checkout, that refused to go back, discount be damned.

    One thing I can suggest is why don’t you use the gift card to buy xmass/holiday presents on walmart.com so you don’t have to step foot in there again?

    1. That’s a good idea! Actually, Les Mis just came out on video and I was going to go there tonight to see if they had it. That purchase alone would probably eat up $20-$30!

  12. I have a local Wal-mart that I literally drive past on my way home from work – it’s always a trade-off as to whether I want to stop there or go out of my way to stop somewhere else. I did make the mistake of stopping there for ONE ITEM on my way home on the first of the month once – aka Welfare Day. What a nightmare. I have found, though, that if I go early-early in the morning, it’s not nearly as hideous (though still a little scuzzy).

    Can you use your gift cards on Walmart .com? Not for groceries, of course, but other stuff. I think they do free, or at least cheap, shipping sometimes.

    1. I probably could. I just don’t need anything =/ Like someone said above, maybe I will save them to buy Christmas presents.

  13. We almost always do grocery shopping at Walmart. I just can’t bring myself to pay the higher prices at other stores and it doesn’t make us miserable. We realize the other stores are nicer but we don’t want to pay for it.

    1. I have been to your Walmart, Lance!!! I dropped my camera in the sand in PCB and had to buy another one.

      1. They put a new one next to Pier Park at the end you’re staying at this time. It just opened a week or so ago, so I don’t know how crowded it is. The old Walmart (the one I shop at for now) is CRAZY during spring break right now! Beer magicians and all… no joke!

  14. I feels like walmart employees could easily be mistaken for identically dresses zombies… I think about the book “Nickled and Dimed” everytome I walk into a walmart.

    1. I feel sorry for the people who work there. Maybe some of them like it but I can’t help but think it would be a miserable job.

      1. NorthEncantoGirl says:

        I agree. Sometimes I do find myself at Walmart, but I always feel a little scuzzy and a little complicit in something unseemly when I do go.

        I read a book, where the author spent time working in a Walmart, and detailed the misery. The people there often can’t afford to shop there.

        I believe in frugality, but not at the expense of other people.

  15. ouch! you really do HATE Walmart.. I`ve only seen Walmart on Tv-shows and films, and even I can understand the miserable scenery. I guess if you can`t use the remaining gift card to buy new ones other places, you should just do some serious bulk shopping once and for all, and just get rid of the money, by bying as you said, toilet paper, and types of food that can last for a really long time. Just plan ahead, and then you might get done sooner!

  16. I don’t hate Walmart, but they are my last resort. I live in a small town and my shopping choices are limited. We have a Marsh, a Krogers, an Aldis and Walmart. Marsh’s prices are too high and Aldi’s selection is limited. I can often beat Walmart’s prices by using double coupons at Krogers. But sometimes, I just have to go to Walmart. I have found that going at 6 a.m. is the answer, No crowds and employees will actually help.

    1. That’s what I do, go to Walmart in the off hours. In my case I go at 9 or 10pm. I only go to Walmart if I need quite a few toiletries or generic medicines or other items like housewares, etc, then I do my grocery shopping at the same time. I don’t like the way Walmart treats their employees (pay so low they can hardly afford healthcare) and I don’t find their prices to be that great. I do better at Aldi and if I can’t find it at Aldi, Kroger’s sale prices are not that much more than Walmart’s prices.

      1. I really need to go to Aldi. We have one in town but I always forget about it!!!

  17. anonymous says:

    I love Wal Mart. They help me live a better quality of life. I get my prescriptions filled there for only $10 for a 90 days supply. I get my eyes examined there for only $45 and I can buy a good pair of frames for only $38. Do you know or even realize what other places would charge me for these needed services? Meds are meds. The optometrist uses top line ophthalmic, computerized equipment!
    By your saying that you hate Wal Mart, in essence you are stating you are an elitist. You hate poor people. You criticize people because they are wearing their pajamas to Wal Mart? Maybe that’s all the clothes they have. Or you are calling them smelly? Go fuck yourself lady! Who the heck do you think you are? Wal Mart makes living for some people, mostly the lower classes, possible. Wal Mart gives employment to those that other elite corporations would never hire. Wal Mart is always there to help those who have lost everything in a hurricane, fire, flood or other disaster.

    GO FUCK YOURSELF, YOU NASTY, NASTY BITCH!!!!
    You are actually complaining that you spent $2000 and got a $500 gift card to Wal Mart you hated the experience. Do you even understand how preposterous you sound????

    1. How preposterous I sound? Please reread what you just wrote.

      Walmart treats its employees terribly. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2003-02-09-wal-mart-cov2_x.htm
      Most of Walmart’s employees are on Medicaid because Walmart doesn’t provide adequate health insurance for the people it employs. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/01/walmart-health-care-policy-medicaid-obamacare_n_2220152.html

      And speaking from personal experience, I worked at Walmart when I was in high school. The store closed at 10:00 p.m. and we had to stay and straighten shelves until the store was back to good condition- usually until about 11:00 p.m. Anyways, they only paid us until 10:00 resulting in countless hours of unpaid work. Every single day they did this and refused to pay anyone after 10:00 p.m. even though we all worked much later than that. A few years later, there was a class action lawsuit over the issue that I didn’t take part in.

      Walmart is as greedy and corrupt as they come. I have every right to despise them. I do think it’s great that they provide you with low cost prescriptions but unfortunately that is one of the very few things they do that is positive.

      1. I’ve been working for hell mart for 9 years. The only reason I’m still there is because there’s no where else to go in this town .. that company doesn’t give a crap about it’s customers or employees. I have seen alot of things over the past years & it’s getting worse

        1. Ugh, I’m sorry to hear that! Yes, it totally sucks! I hope they at least give you a discount or something!

          1. I get discounts on general merchandise but, new employees don’t. Many benefits have been done away with. We recently got our hours cut, when associates leave they aren’t replaced but, are expected to pick up the slack with less hours. I was brought to the place of hating that company two years ago. I got really sick and ended up on the floor on the front end of the store. It was early am no one saw me there. I drug myself up off the floor & saw a manager. I left & ended up in the hospital. When i got out, i brought in my drs note. I was told that drs notes don’t count for anything and how my leaving early inconvenienced them.i was written up

          2. Geez, that’s insane! I honestly don’t understand how much a profitable company can be so cheap with its employees. I think they would probably employ slaves if it were legally allowed.

    2. Zoinks! Somebody woke up with a case of the crabbies…

    3. I love how you’re the only one on here who was too chicken shit to post your real name. I’m sure it’s easy to hide behind your computer screen and say such nasty things that you would probably not have the balls to say in person.
      Like Holy said, it’s nice that you’re able to get eye examinations and prescriptions there for a low cost. It’s also nice for other people who shop there, so they can get low priced prescriptions and also be able to use their food stamps to buy lots of low priced food so they have money left over to pay for their iPhones, acrylic nails and weaves. Goodness, no wonder they have to shop in pajamas.

      1. NorthEncantoGirl says:

        Oh, Sharon, I was with you till that last part, which came seriously close to stereotyping/profiling.

        Yes people with SNAP benefits shop at Walmart, but they also shop other places. I bet you’d be surprised at the aggregate demographics of the SNAP user.

        I say this only because the rest of your post was well taken–you didn’t have to trash people you seem to feel are beneath you to do it.

        Just sayin’

  18. Wow Anon, you must have some deep seated issues to be that nasty to the writer.

    I dont at all think that refusing to shop at Walmart is elitism or hating poor people. I dont shop at Walmart because the people I know that work there can barely afford to pay bills on what they make. Walmart’s strategy is enter a town with prices that drive everyone else out of business and then raise them when customers have no option. By shopping somewhere else that pays their employees decently, I know that the employees are getting paid, have benefits, and Im keeping that company around.

    And as for Walmart helping those who lost everything in a disaster, I have never heard that. I have however heard of them price gouging people (doubling prices on water, food, and first aid goods) who dont have anywhere else to go during a disaster.

  19. I feel the exact same way!! I drive into the parking lot and I can already feel myself getting anxious- I feel like my blood pressure spikes just by walking in the freaking door!

    1. It also makes me anxious and in an instant bad mood. I have a million things to do and instead I’m just standing in a line for 20 minutes!!!

    2. Same here. When I used to shop at Junk-Mart,that was always guaranteed to be THE most stressful part of my day. Ugh…overcrowded,filthy,junky things for sale,rude people&the list goes on. Hard not to get frazzled,by all that,at once.

  20. I feel your pain. I’m lucky to live in a town with employee-owned grocery stores, so that’s where I tend to shop. The last time I set foot in a Walmart was 4 years ago!!!

  21. That’s crazy that didn’t have it for some place like Target…now that’s a store I love. I haven’t shopped at a walmart in years. They don’t have anything (I don’t think) anywhere near me in Cali. No one wants them. lol!

  22. Walmart on the weekends=Crazy Lines
    Walmart on a Tuesday morning= No Lines
    Walmart on customer Service= Bad Experience
    Walmart on prices = Good Experience.
    This sums it up nicely and I avoid a lot of stress. I would stockpile half on paper towels and half on Laundry Detergent to get the most bang for you buck.

    1. Our closest Target is about 20 minutes away….not really worth the drive unfortunately =/

  23. I completely agree with the long lines and only using up a few of the lanes that they have available. I have even gone into walmart at like midnight where there are long lines and only one lane open, it just drives me nuts.

    1. My local Walmart is packed no matter what time of the day or night!

  24. I would have used the points on flights… It is a better value proposition than Wal-Mart and Southwest is getting ready to start flying to Caribbean (Airtran routes) and possibly Hawaii in the next couple years… Of course the real value with the southwest card is to get that and the business one (also 50K points) and spend a bit more and end up with the companion pass then that $1600 in flights ($800 from each card) really becomes $3200 in free flights!

    1. Ohhhh…..is southwest really going to fly to the Caribbean? I’ll keep that in mind!

  25. I never had problems with walmart. I don’t shop there often, but when I do I never had to deal with long lines. Probably because where I live, there are 2 walmarts within 5 miles. I buy toilet papers and cleaning supplies, etc. there since it’s a lot cheaper. I’m sorry you had such terrible experience there, but personally I never had any problem.

    1. Sam Walton says:

      What makes you think anyone gives a fuck what you think?

      1. I think you would be surprised at how little I care what anyone thinks =)

        1. Apparently someone cares. They took the time to read & post….

  26. I don’t frequent Wal-Mart anymore since I moved, but when I used to go I would go super early since the one I went to was a 24-hour one. I would do a lot of cardboard obstacle courses since that’s when they stock up, but it was less rowdy and shorter lines. Going there during normal hours is exactly how you described it, f-bomb and all. 🙂

  27. Don’t hate Walmart, but rarely buy food and usually only buy nonperishable goods like toilet paper from there. Here in Texas, we have a an HEB. Hands down light years better than Walmart and arguably Kroger and all the other national chains out there. Their prices even beat Costco when it comes to meats. It’s also closer to home, so there’s really no reason for me to shop anywhere else other than buying the annual supply of toilet paper and dog food from Sam’s Club.

  28. I have never understood why they have 20+ lanes any only a small sample of them are open. It makes it such a crappy experience to get stuff from there. I don’t shop there much, only to get oil and oil filters for my car. I hate every time I step foot in that store and that is why I am patron of Target. It is cleaner, people are nicer, and the store is nicer. These things make me nicer when I get out. Two thumbs down for Walmart.

  29. We also dislike Wal-Mart but sometimes it’s hard to beat their prices.

    We have turned away from buying produce and meat from Wal-mart. It’s just not as good. We go to Sprouts and Target.

    A tip we find useful is going there really late at night like Friday after 9 pm or Saturday at 11 pm.

    1. LeRainDrop says:

      The ONE time in my life I went to a Walmart was around 11 p.m. on a Friday. I had to buy a pair of gardening gloves before Habitat for Humanity the next morning. Anyhow, I roamed around the store forever trying to find the right area for these gloves and/or an employee. It took such a long time to find an employee and then he spoke NO English (despite wearing a smock that said something like “How Can I Help You?”). I ended up using my high school Spanish to try to describe what I was looking for and mission finally accomplished. FWIW, this was in outside Charlotte, North Carolina.

  30. I don’t care for Walmart or their business practices. Quite a few communities are petioning to not have them come to their city.

  31. My favourite thing about Walmart is the website People Of Walmart.

    I do shop there occasionaly but I find their food to be as expensive and the meat to be more expensive than the discount grocery store next door. They seem to appeal to people who eat unhealthy processed foods and who don’t like to cook. Everything is ready to eat. All you have to do is open a can or microwave or just rip open the foil and start chowing down. I did just buy a very good $60.00 vacuum there and I was thrilled with the price and the way it performs.

    Target has just come to Canada and I understand they have more reasonable prices than Walmart. Can’t wait until one opens in my city.

    1. That website is hilarious~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  32. Melinda Gonzalez says:

    I think the F word is totally appropriate when describing Wal-Mart. I am biased as I worked there five years.

    Just a little advice, you can check out at the garden center (which usually has no lines), and also the jewelry counter (if it isn’t busy and you only have a few items).

  33. I’d need a Xanax drip just to navigate the parking lot. No thank you. I’ll stick to Target and Woodmans.

      1. After reading your post, I realized I may be lucky enough we do not have Walmart in our area. I have heard so much about the low price and great savings in Walmart but their nearest store is half an hour away from us so I would rather go to Target for my groceries.

    1. Here,here! I could’nt agree more! Long live Target&please die off,Junk-Mart! (:

  34. Holly, I f-ing hate walmart too. I won’t go to ours for anything. I hate seeing people in sweatpants in public, so I pretty much can’t walk into that building without getting sick to my stomach.

    I’ve heard that American Express can downgrade your credit from shopping at wallyworld, because they relate it to a sign that you’re facing budget cutbacks.

    1. LOL, are you serious? That’s sad…and funny.

  35. Oh damn, I’m laughing my a$$ off. You are so dead on and I hate them too! What I hate the most )aside from the people in pajamas) you find a product you like and it’s reasonably priced. Three month’s later it’s gone, never to return. Buttheads! Strangely enough, we keep shopping there! BTW, my other option locally is Roses, they make WalMart look like a Macy’s.

  36. This post made me laugh. I think my wife shares the same sentiment. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to shop at walmart much but the one in our town is new and it quite nice. They seem to stay nice for a little while before they get dirty. We just had a small rebellion in our town when they announced a new ‘urban walmart’ in our downtown historic district (looks like the rebellion worked and they won’t be building).

    1. Sam Walton says:

      You also may be a filthy cunt, but I don’t mind.

      1. Hey Sam!

        I just wanted to stop by and say that YOU’RE AWESOME. Keep that positive attitude and you’ll go far.

  37. “stockpile of toilet paper or paper towels or something” DO ITTE! Also things like cat litter, pet-food, etc.

    Alternatively, walmart giftcards make great gifts for new parents and for low-income older relatives who need basic necessities.

    Walmart wasn’t so bad in terms of shopping experience, but Super Walmart is a PITA. We’re willing to pay the extra money to save time using Target (and our local grocery store).

    1. Ours is a Super Wal-mart!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s huge and packed with the masses at all hours of the day and night. Ugh.

  38. When I was growing up in Maine, WalMart was all I knew. At 18 I moved to California and discovered Target and LOVED it! lol… I think the reason I don’t like walmart is just because I don’t like being around the people that shop there and the people that work there look so miserable. Who wants to be in that kind of atmosphere??

    I once went to a comedy show for Anjela Johnson and the comedy act she had just before she came out made a comparison between the two – Wal Mart smells like welfare and bad choices… Target smells like popcorn and good choices. lol 😛

    1. LOL Yikes. Offensive yet funny at the same time =)

      1. NorthEncantoGirl says:

        Yeah, I frequent Target too–but often Target is nothing more or less than better marketing and PR. They don’t treat their employees much better, most of their stuff is sourced from China as well–but the perception of the consumer and their positioning themselves as the antiWalmart has paid off for them in spades.

        That said, my housemate purchased two pair of shoes from Target that both died within less than four months. That’s simply not acceptable. I do find a lot of their housewares and clothes/shoes better designed, but their durability is lacking.

        Both stores make me feel as though I’m compromising my values; one only marginally more than the other.

  39. The gift cards don’t expire so there’s not a huge penalty to just letting them sit… and you could get most of your cash back selling them on Ebay or some gift card website.

  40. That said, while there are no Walmarts near NY where I live now, I’ve mostly only had good experiences with them. Then again, I don’t really shop at the crowded hours and valued the convenience of being able to get everything in one place and at the cheapest prices more than I did not being inside Walmart…

  41. You should sell those gift cards on eBay Holly. I cash my points in for Home Depot gift cards and I can generally get $48 – $49 for a $50 card. I don’t know why people waste their time to save a $1, but they do.

    1. I can’t believe that people would go through that to save a dollar either! It does all add up, though!

  42. Justin@TheFrugalPath says:

    I’m with you Holly. Walmart is the worst place to shop for anything. People are rude, smell and don’t know to use one side of an isle (hey lets stand in the middle and take up the whole thing).
    We prefer Meijer. Their sale prices are on par with Walmart and the ones in my area still double coupons. Kroger is our second option.

    1. I love Meijer!!! I wish it was closer. I usually don’t want to make the 20 minute drive with the kids in tow.

      1. Justin@TheFrugalPath says:

        I couldn’t imagine not having a Meijer nearby. We’ve got 6 or so within 15 miles.

    2. That is how the Junk-Mart here is,too…way overcrowded&peolple just stand ther,mid-aisle,chatting,staring into space,etc. Junky,overcrowded,dirty&super stressful. I now shop elsewhere. Sure,it’s 90 miles out of my way,but well worth it. Better quality of items and people,not so crowded with junk&people&actually clean! (:

  43. I could not agree with your more about the vileness of Walmart. I haven’t been in years and years. For me it was always an issue of pushing out smaller businesses – and choking local suppliers to death. And in terms of their international suppliers – demanding prices so low that you can’t imagine employee rights are respected – anywhere in the world.

    I feel pretty lucky to live in a city where I have a bunch of other options. (All of which are easier to access then Walmart – come to think of it – there aren’t any in the down-town area.)

    1. Lucky you! I’m pretty sure that the local Walmart has led to the demise of several small businesses in my community. They just couldn’t compete.

  44. We have not one, but 3 Walmarts close to where we live. I know, I know, nothing says you live on the wrong side of the tracks like a plethora of Walmarts to choose from. 🙂

    Here’s the thing, though: two of them are definitely so-so, but the third one is the best place on earth to shop. Seriously. Their produce is better than at Whole Foods. I have never been there without at least one person packing out fresh stuff and taking out the bad stuff. Constantly. And those folks are as friendly and helpful as the best Starbucks. The store is clean, very well lit and (I don’t know how they do it) their aisles are not as claustrophobic as the other two. They have self-checkout tills so I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes. It’s right next to the Costco we frequent and I’ve slowly migrated my Costco purchases over to this particular store. Never thought that would happen.

    My conclusion is a lot depends on the manager of a particular store.

    1. My Walmart produce section sucks. Its only redeeming quality is that it usually has pomengranates and Kroger sometimes doesn’t.

  45. I have never been to Walmart, but I have seen all those forward emails with pictures of people at Walmart and so i”m kind of happy I haven’t been there after that.

  46. Having limited lanes open is one of Walmart’s standard practices. They know that people will wait in the lines so this means less cashiers for them to pay. Seriously.

    Also lack of windows is similar to being in a Casino. They want you to lose track of time. To have to walk all the way through the store to get one thing so you’re more likely to pick up other items as you’re walking.

    Thankfully there aren’t any Walmarts (allowed) in NYC so I very rarely go to one.

    1. Haha, I believe it! I’m sure it’s all part of their master plan =/

  47. Walmart as a company has a lot of terrible business practices and treats it’s employees horribly. That’s enough to keep me away.

    1. I watched the movie ‘Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” and vowed NEVER to shop at or support Wal-Mart. Their low prices are on the backs of every last one of us all over the world. They have incredibly corrupt business practices. From that movie, I was most impressed by a well-spoken, polite young Chinese woman who appealed to us directly, and I paraphrase but it’s close: “Honorable American consumer, please remember the Chinese worker when you get your low prices.” When Wal-Mart decides to build a factory in China or South America, they drive out all competition for the workers, who are then forced to work there or starve. And they treat those workers very badly indeed. I do recommend this movie to anyone who wants to know more about Wal-Mart. YOu can see the whole movie on Youtube and other sites. Another recent VERY well-researched book on this is The Wal-Mart Effect : How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It’s Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman. Wal-Mart is changing the world for the WORSE, and it’s not at all clear we can ever recover from their damaging effects.

      1. We saw that documentary and another one that was similar. I haven’t read that book though. I will have to check it out!

        1. NorthEncantoGirl says:

          You know though–Fishman was pretty agnostic re Walmart; he admitted up front, early on in the book that he did shop there.

          What I got from it (and I admit I read it a long time ago) was that Walmart was second to none in moving markets. That is actually a neutral statement–markets can be moved for good or ill. Someone, Fishman I think, wrote about how Walmart alone effectively ended the practice of selling deodorant in boxes–they didn’t want to pay for the paper in shipping, and they could store more product without the boxes. The manufactures made the change, not just for Walmart, but for all other retailers as well. Walmart saved money, true, but the savings to the environment in terms of ending paper waste is real too.

          I just think that with great power comes great responsibility. Walmart is capable of moving markets and labor relations for good. Too often they choose not to. That is regrettable.

  48. My local Kroger went out of business. How I miss that store!

    1. I would be devastated if that happened to me. I am a Kroger supershopper. My bank is even in Kroger. I love that place =)

  49. Mr. Bonner says:

    I couldn’t agree more with your view of Walmart and I REALLY like that Southwest CC too! I’m not sure why they say you can only get $800 worth of flights (60pts/dollar) when the recent flight I booked used <52pts/dollar when it was all said and done. Also, I've used points from this CC to buy Amazon gift cards when they went on sale for 8000pts for a $100 Amazon gift card. If you hold off a while you might catch a deal on redeeming those points for a retailer you like.

    1. I already redeemed my points and have the Walmart gift cards in hand =/

  50. Wow, what more could I say to add to this list of comments. I loathe Walmart and would never go there if there was anywhere else within an hour radius that sold things like vacuums and office supplies. I don’t think it makes me an elitist because I like for the cashier to at least act kind of happy that I chose to shop there. I have worked at Walmart as a wage employee and as an optometrist. WalMart is there to make as much money as possible while squeezing every ounce out of the employee. Quality and service take a complete back seat to cheapness. If this is what you want, then great, but don’t expect Walmart to care if your glasses fall apart after 2 months or if you have some undetected eye disease because you chose not to pay extra for the dilation that would have been included in a routine exam elsewhere. As an employer, I think employees should be valued, not treated as a renewable resource. As a professional, I don’t agree with a big corporation telling me how I should treat patients (high volume, limited service, cheap). As a shopper, I can generally find what I am looking for at a regular grocery store for just as good of a price most of the time. It takes some work, but it can be done. As for the things I have to buy at Walmart. I’ll just grit my teeth and get through it.

    1. Quite an array of comments here, huh? Walmart seems to stir up quite a reaction in people. I agree that they suck in so many ways. It’s hard to know where to start.

  51. I find Wal Mart overwhelming. They are huge and I can never find anything!

  52. hahaha. I find the Walmart in the US vs Canada much different so I can’t really compare but we don’t shop there often. It’s out of the way for us and like someone else said way too big, totally overwhelming. Unless there’s an amazing sale we tend to avoid it as well. Like someone else said buy giftcards! Or sell yours online??

  53. Good post! At the risk of subjecting myself to a public slamming here (haha), I will say that I am actually a big fan of Wal-Mart.

    I grew up in Arkansas 30 miles south of their HQ’s, and the Walton family funded the business college and honors college I graduated from, as well as were responsible for doing a lot of improvements in the area sponsoring parks, stadiums, museums, etc. They even gave me a full scholarship to study abroad in Spain!

    In my experience, it is truly hard to beat the value prices that Wal Mart delivers. I find that I can get about 30% more there for my money, and I honestly find their quality to be fine. My grandfather even says that their produce is fresher than he’s ever experienced. I am also a big fan of their Great Value product line as well!

    The lines are definitely a headache and the people can be scary (both the customers and people working there), but I happily trade that for the savings they provide. Just my 2 cents…

    Having said this, I can totally understand and respect why people hate them, so to each their own! 🙂

    1. Sam Walton says:

      Why don’t you eat shit you stupid motherfucker?

      1. My heart goes out to wal mart employees. Every time I used to go there I had difficulty with something that in any other place would not occur.I go to king soopers and use double coupons with a shoppers card.Costco too.I don’t understand how people save money at wal mart.I never have.I live in Denver so maybe it’s just because of endless options.The price of anything is the amount of life you had to exchange for it.Wal mart owes me 3 years.

  54. I’m with you Holly. I do not like the shopping experience at Wal-mart. “Let’s open another register” said no one at Wal-mart ever!

  55. While living in CA I hated shopping at Walmart. There were just toooooo many people there. I much preferred Target. Now that I am in Wisconsin, I don’t mind it so much, and rarely have to wait in line. I still miss Target though.

  56. I definitely hate Walmart, but sometimes the prices are just too good to avoid it. I always avoid that store on weekends, but going in the evening on, say, a Wednesday is a bit better. The lines are smaller and they are better stocked.

  57. Hey Holly, you can actually buy Amazon.com gift cards at Best Buy! I did the exact same deal as you with another CC and got $500 in best buy gift cards. Obviously, BB is a ripoff so I just went in to BBand bought 10 $50 amazon kindle cards which can be used just like a regular amazon.com card 🙂

    Btw, added you to my blog roll, thanks for the e-mail list 🙂

    1. I’ll keep that in mind…although I probably wouldn’t want $500 worth of Amazon gift cards. That’s a whole lot of Kindle books! haha

      1. You don’t have to use it on kindle books! You can use it on ALL amazon.com purchases 🙂

  58. What about using the gift card online? Just shop walmart.com.

    1. If your intention is to avoid the actual store because it is unpleasant, then the online store would be a potential alternative. If you avoid Wal-Mart because it engages in such awful practices worldwide that are harmful to the entire world, then the online store still supports those worldwide practices and that worldwide harm.

      I did try shopping the online store once, when I received a WalMart gift card (WHY!?!) and had a pretty awful experience. I was sent — and billed — for TWO of the item that I had purchased. I returned one and never did get the refund, although I tried for awhile. I just so much hated dealing with WalMart that I finally gave up.

      Why are people so enamored of gift cards?? CASH is so very much nicer and easier to use, and never expires. Gift cards are a huge rip-off that people eagerly embrace (did you know that a large percentage of them are never redeemed and the companies just keep the money) and I have never understood the enthusiasm. I love Clark Howard’s cash-instead-of-gift-card printable certificate: http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/shopping-retail/clarks-no-giftcard-gift-certificate/nTdqq/

    2. sorry to hear that anne. i bought online twice from them had zero problems. anyhow, it sounds like it would be a 1 time thing for holly. also, at least for me dealing with selling gift cards (as soo many suggested) would be a major pain…

  59. If we don’t shop other stores Walmart will be the only one left. I believe that is their goal to become the only choice then they can raise prices and we are stuck. Am I a fan of Walmart. Not really. But I do go there every now and then. Would I be sad if they were to go away? Nope.

  60. I also hate Walmart. Luckily, I have to go out of my way to get there…and can’t understand the concept of having 3 or 4 registers going when they’re busy. But all the stores seem to be doing that these days.
    Then don’t get me started on self checkout….oh but I’m here. Shouldn’t we get a discount for working for the store. Because I’m checking myself out, doesn’t that mean the company is saving money on man power….yeah, self checkout gets me. I do use self checkout but I think I should get a store discount.

  61. I abhor Walmart. I was an employee there for a year and a half, and now have them to thank for my arthritis! I’m not joking…I worked in the shoe department and jewelry department. They would never schedule more than one person many nights that I worked, so many times we would work alone trying to do shoe freight, and run the jewelry department, too. I started at $7.30 an hour. Yes, I’m one of those poor people some of you have referred to. I have a son I am raising alone, and a mother I care for, too. How would anyone be able to support a family of 3 on wages so low? Some of the assistant managers mentioned they made over $60,000 a year. However, I noticed that many of the supervisors under them (and all of us lowly employees) were made to do the manual labor. Most of the managers are like talking heads, seriously. I have other complaints- cutting hours after inventory, because they found our store lost money due to shrink- i.e. shoplifting. They had cut security/ asset protection back to save money, but at a company meeting told us that we were all responsible for shrink. ??? They have a policy that you are to call asset protection when you see shoppers stealing, and we did. Policy stated that we were NOT to interfere. They have hideous polices, and insurance and benefits. It changed my outlook on consumption, working there. If anyone wants to defend them for their low prices, please consider that at what cost to others. I don’t mean to sound like a bleeding heart, but that is like getting your stuff from a sweat shop. Do you justify getting cheap deals in exchange for workers getting low wages? That’s how they can afford to do it. The millions of employees that don’t make enough to feed their families- it came out of our paychecks, not management’s.

  62. I don’t mind walmart at all, although I hate the line ups and try to avoid it during busy times I actually find it a little comforting that it is always open. But, I get the sentiment 🙂 I live in Canada so we don’t have many stores that are open as late other than walmart. We recently got Target which I love but the prices are higher and the merchandise far more tempting, I think I could easily spend ton’s of money in Target.

  63. I had a brief work experience at Walmart. I worked nights making the donuts, I made more money that way. I really hated it, the way the employees were treated, Plus all the food that was thrown away, rather than donating to a soup kitchen or animal shelter. Shopping carts stacked high with cartons of eggs which would be close to sell by date, bananas that had started to speckle, the donuts I dumped every night. Employees were not allowed to eat them. Yea right! Every night I would see so much food, dog food, nitd seed, go to the dumpster. Why not let the rmployers have it or buy it at a reduced price. The joke of matching price, they always carryed different brands, if it was a vegetable, they would pull the product and say they ran out. For most people this was a second job. A .lot of people could not make it working one job. I was so happy when I gave my notice.
    BUT what really did it was when I read in Forbes that Sam Walton’s heirs were worth 93 billon, yea BILLION dollars!! That did it for me. They don’t pay their employees a decent hourly wage, give them good insurance, if they were lucky(?) enough to work 40 hour and entitled to insurance , just so Sam could line his pockets. Nope, they will not get another penny from me! And I tell everyone how much the heirs are worth. Make them think before they give those greedy SOB’s any more money!

  64. I live in a teeny tiny town in Ohio and we have the “neighborhood” Wal Mart, the one with the green sign instead of blue. IT SUCKS!!! Such cheap merchandise. I feel gross in there.

  65. natalie nichols says:

    I used to spend all of my money at Walmart, but I got tired of being treated so badly EVERY TIME I shopped there. I have had several cashiers pretend to scan my coupons, losing me somewhere from .50 to $28. That last time I spent 45 minutes at customer service to get my money back. I hate that they don’t ever have enough people at the registers. I have to wait in line for at least 10 minutes even in the “Express Lane.” I’ve had cashiers roll their eyes at me when I gave them coupons. I had a special situation where I didn’t have enough money in my account to cover my purchase and I didn’t have my other card, which was so embarrassing (especially because I really needed diapers), but to make it worse the cashier came over and started ripping stuff out of the cart and throwing it on the floor because she was so pissed off about it. It was extremely humiliating. The final straw… I went in with my son, who was only 2 days old. I needed newborn diapers. JUST newborn diapers. I waited in line (in the express lane) for 15 minutes with a SCREAMING newborn. He was starving. He was turning purple. It was so awful. Finally I got up to the register and put my 2 items on the counter. The cashier was about to ring my things up when out of nowhere, one of his buddies, an employee mind you, comes up and cuts right in front of me, pushes my items aside and puts his down on the counter. While my newborn screams his face off. The cashier started ringing him up. I was SO FURIOUS. I mean, I was an emotional mess anyway because, you know, I just had a baby 2 days ago and he really wants a boob. I just said, “are you serious?” and I left the diapers and walked out.
    What really tells me something important about Walmart is that I wrote them a letter describing this entire situation, explaining how much I spend there, and how it affected my desire to shop there, and they never. even. responded. So, please excuse my language, but F%&* Walmart. I HATE them and I will avoid giving them MY hard-earned money at ALL costs.

    1. I agree,mostly terrible employees! But who can blame them for having attitude,working THERE? In Hell. Yes,fuck Junk-Mart! I too,refuse to give them my money. I am now traveling 90 miles out of my way to avoid it&so I can actually get quality items,quality service,a cleaner store to shop in,to shop among people with a little class&hygiene&just a better overall experience.I want Wal-Mart to go away,SO fucking much! But Wal-Mart,IMO,is much like a disease,though…infectious,nothing good about it&hard to get rid of.

  66. Exceptional things here. We are quite contented to visit your write-up. Thanks using this program . looking forward to contact you. Might you you should decline me a email?

  67. you’re such a bitch. walmart is the bomb. i fill my carts up often cuz the price is so unbelievable. ya’ll are just snobs, and don’t know a good value when you see one.

    1. Oh, I am totally a bitch. Glad we agree on something.

    2. Sam Walton says:

      Hey Lulu, I sense that you are a fat Wal-Mart whore, waddling through the bon-bon isle, wearing your floral mumu.

    3. Junk-Mart is disgusting&of very low-class…which I suspect YOU are,also&why you love it,soooooo much. BTW, “Good value” means you get your moneys worth&you just can’t do that,at Junk-Mart. You get way less,than your moneys worth. OK,I’m done…you can go back to oinking out on Ho-Hos,scratching your fat ass,staring blindly at The Jerry Springer Show&not shopping better. Bye! (:

  68. Sadly, local city leaders in Frederick, Maryland sold their souls to the “Devil from Bentonville” by allowing them to add a THIRD store in town. I’m sure that these local politicians will regret their decision come Election Day this November.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=mdA-XEsKQpQ

    I never liked Wal-Mart anyway.

    1. A third store? How on earth did they convince city residents that that is necessary?

      1. They only listened to the sneaky landlords that owned the old, abandoned Frederick Towne Mall (along with “planted people” from Wal-Mart), convincing them to approve construction of a THIRD store. I’m sick of multiple stores from “Sam”.

        The Mayor and the City Aldermen did not listen to the general public’s ideas/suggestions for other stores/businesses. The Aldermen voted unanimously for this ill-conceived plan.

        Ironically, the Mayor was a former small business owner (who is not a native of Frederick, Maryland) and supported “Frederick Small Business Week” prior to his “love affair” with Wal-Mart. This will have a negative impact on competitors and small/regional businesses in Frederick.

        These politicians will regret their idiotic, ill-conceived decision during the City election this November.

        A piece of my childhood (the old mall) will be gone. 🙁

  69. Sam Walton says:

    I don’t really hate Wal-Mart son much, I hate the blacks and mexicans that infest the place like a den of roaches. Filthy, filthy non-whites, they make me vomit.

  70. Sam Walton says:

    On second thought, I do hate Wal-Mart as much as I hate their filthy clientele. It’s the useless pieces of shi# that work there. Low life pieces of trash, they can’t get a decent job because they are human filth. Yeah, I really hope they all die a terrible death.

  71. Little late here… Found this in my search to see if I was alone in my hatred for this place. Future reference- why not shop online (walmart.com) to spend money from gift cards? No lines, no aholes, and no reason to punch anyone. Gift cards from walmart can also be used at sams club.

  72. I also hate Junk-Mart! I cannot stand shopping there so much,I have taken upon myself,to travel 90 miles out of my way,just to avoid shopping there. Junk-Mart…that is what Wal mart is,always has been&I suspect,always will be. Sure,I like a low price,just like the next person.But at Junk-Mart,it is no real bargain,you get what you pay for…cheap junk. Plus,they are dirty. Both in cleanliness&the way they force stores worth shopping at,out of the area. They let people bring pets into the store. How disgusting&unsanitary! A health violation,if I ever saw one. Also,the way they overwork&underpay their employees,is awful. That cheap,low-class,filthy,junky store,has got to be gotten rid of,somehow,altogether! Not one good thing about it,IMO. Go. Away. WalMart.

  73. Wow, for a financial blog this post seems awfully classless and classist!

    Put me down on the Love it list. Kroger is at least 25% higher. Walmart has everything I need under one roof. No extra stops for paint, blinds, toys, etc..

    Our has skylights, never waited more than 5 minutes to check out. Even has a selfcheckout. Who the hell drinks “milk” anyway and who cares it is the back of the store. I’m sure someone has told you that milk is for cows not humans.

    To all my Walmart employee friends — We love you, you always joke with me and put a smile on my face. You even recommend other stores for my needs.

  74. Go ahead and pay an extra $30 to shop someplace else? Are you out of your fricken mind? How many people can afford to pay extra just to go someplace else. And by the way, any place you go they will do the exact same thing. Welcome to Capitalism, where everyone is out to steal your money.

  75. I honestly feel the same way about the size of Wal-Mart and stuff gets moved around- A LOT! Kroger is my #1 choice. I just recently moved into an area that only has a Wal-Mart. If I want to drive extra it’s an expensive Food City or Ingles. At first, I thought- OK Wal-Mart. I grew up going to them all the time. After I started shopping there for food- it became misery. I have just learned to embrace it. I just sucked it up. I wish I had your gift cards to make the shopping experience better! I also think that is something to be grateful for. So many people only have the choice of Wal-Mart with only $100 cash to feed a family for a week. I have found that going early on Saturday morning is a really good idea. If you can go at that time or just during the week (daytime) instead of weekends is a plus. I’d choose that over paying out actual money at Kroger. I’ve noticed there’s not any windows but never really thought about it. They do have windows in the ceilings of some Wally Worlds. I’ve noticed the people- some look good, some don’t. That’s not any of my business though. I’m just there to shop. I do think you made a wise decision on the gift cards rather than a boring one. You’re blessed and made a smart move.

  76. What a whiny limousine liberal snob.

    “Damn WalMart and all those peasants!”.

  77. Oh my God, I f-ing hate Walmart too! I would recommend hanging on to those gift cards until Christmas or birthdays roll around.

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