Oh, Walmart. What happened between us? I remember the halcyon days of living in small towns and planning – planning!- a trip to your mecca of inexpensive household goods.
Those were the days. Days when you actually did price match the competitors. Days when I could find anything I might need on your shelves. Days when I was totally, completely loyal and didn’t even stop at the local grocery for an emergency loaf of bread.
When did that change?
I first felt the rumblings of discord when I had to train your cashiers at the checkout to match competitor’s prices. ”Press 2 for the reason code,” I’d gently coach, patiently walking them through the transaction. I didn’t mind, really, as long as I got my grapes for 99 cents a pound. I understood. You were busy, too busy to train your employees properly. I was happy to help.
One day I realized I had stood in line for a longer time than I had spent shopping. I think the bloom was off the rose then. But still, I hoped. I came back, always faithful, always returning. You returned my loyalty by dropping prices on the pasta by ten cents a box. Things were looking up.
It was good for a while. Then I started hearing stories. People hated you and I rushed to your defense. I watched “The High Price of Low Cost” and got mad at the filmmakers. It was so obviously propaganda! I read the stories of protests and boycotts. I wasn’t going to be swayed, I would stay true!
But then the meat. Oh, that’s when the tide changed. You started prepackaging your meat in vacuum sealed containers, the kind that are pumped full of carbon monoxide to keep things looking fresh even when bacteria had spoiled things past the point of human consumption. I’m sorry, that was too far. And so I began to stray. I started buying my meat elsewhere.
And that’s when I noticed how overpriced your produce was. Not only that, it was poor quality. Soon I was skipping the perimeter, buying my peripherals elsewhere. I still stopped by once a week or so for the basics. Oh, Walmart, you were still the core of my pantry. Except that often, as in every trip, I would leave without completing my shopping list because you were out of one or five basic staples. That was annoying.
I bought the kids a drawerful of Garanimals that barely lasted a season. I discovered Sears sold clearanced clothes cheaper, and guaranteed them through the KidVantage program. So many things I bought for my home fell apart. The MainStays ironing board. The GV food storage containers. The HomeTrends lamp that fell apart a month later. Why, oh why, did you desert me, durable goods?
I started finding lower prices by deal matching Target and CVS. And moved to a larger town, a town where double coupons existed. I found store brands that had better ingredients than the GV line. Still, I’d return, always hoping. Hoping to find the salsa actually on the shelf. Hoping to find that you’d reconsidered and beefed up the craft section again.
What pushed me into the arms of your competitors? Your remodel. Oh, that remodel was awful. It took months. And then, when the new fresh store was unveiled? None of my favorite brands remained on your shelf. The sandwich bags I’d been buying for 10 years? Gone. The salsa we all loved? Gone. Not only had you cut the products I loved, but you revamped your Great Value line into the most unattractive packaging, ever. I still bought the cans, but I felt cheapened. And when I found out that the store across the street had canned corn for half the price? I didn’t look back.
I promise I’ll stop by and visit every now and then, for old time’s sake. But you’ve really let yourself go, and I’m afraid I’m with HEB and Target now. Don’t worry about me. I’ve never been happier.
I posted this recently on MomHouston, the blogging page for the Houston Chronicle and it really touched a nerve. There are 170+ comments so far. I know it’s hard to comment over there, so I’m reopening comments here for anyone who has something to say but doesn’t want to register for an account and jump through all those hoops.
If your reading this for the first time, won’t you take my Walmart challenge?
Alicia (1)
Amanda (1)
Angie @ Bigbearswife (1)
Birdie (1)
christy (1)
Dawn (1)
Grandma Margie (1)
Jennifer (1)
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That is one of the things I am most looking forward to when I move from hicksville – more options. I only have two now, Walmart and the “gourmet” grocery store, if I don’t want to drive 20 miles one way.
I wandered every single aisle of Target a few weeks ago when I was killing time waiting for an open house to finish at home. While some things were definitely more expensive, other things were equal and a lot of the UP brand was even cheaper than Walmart’s GV line. We have no Super Targets will full grocery lines, but for dry goods, household goods, etc. I’m very much looking forward to Target stock ups.
GV brand food doesn’t even TASTE good. I got some GV cottage cheese and it has no flavor at all, except a vague processed-cheese taste. The selection of other stuff is dismal. Even for things I would consider pretty standard grocery fare, I never know if I’ll find them there. Oh, if only the grocery store within walking distance of my house didn’t happen to be Wal-Mart! I’d rather go to ANY other grocery store. I have to drive about a mile to a mile and a half to get to any other store, and I usually do so without even blinking, ’cause Wal-Mart SUCKS.
I still by spaghetti sauce there. Their GV tastes good, doesn’t have sugar in it, and is cheaper per oz. than buying canned tomatoes. It’s great to keep in the pantry for emergencies. Also their brown rice is the cheapest I’ve seen. Those are about the only two items I’m still WalMart loyal on. Oops, I also like the GV pineapple chipotle salsa to pour over pork in the crockpot. That’s tasty and I haven’t seen that flavor in other brands.
Otherwise, Walmart? Meh.
We still do all our shopping at Walmart because we have no other choice. We have one other grocery here in town which is at least twice the price on everything. The next nearest store is 20 minutes away in the next town.
Our nearest Target is an hour away. How I wish they were closer!
I still shop at Walmart for a lot of things just because it is still where I can find some of the “safe” foods for cheapest. With our allergies, that is a BIG deal! However, I have noticed that after the big remodel, the GV stuff that used to be sugar-free and/or corn-syrup-free no longer is. We are buying more and more elsewhere. With a brand new Super Target and at least two other groceries stores here now, there is getting to be plenty of elsewhere to shop.
You know, I’ve never really understood America’s love affair with Walmart. Maybe that’s because the area where I live has always had other great retailers. Some of them are locally owned but still have very competitive prices. I’d hate to have Walmart as the only option!
Over here, our supermarket chain “Asda” was bought out by Walmart. The prices are good, but I don’t buy meat there. I’m very fussy about my meat.
I didn’t know about the carbon monoxide issue. That’s horrid. Thanks for the information. It confirms my feeling that it’s worth paying extra for meat, even if that means I have to bulk it out with lentils.
I’ll stick with getting the ‘BOGOF’*
toilet rolls and washing up liquid from Asda and get my meat from a good butcher.
(*buy one get one free)
um cottage cheese really has no taste, it’s like tofu.(imo)
I feel the same way!! Unfortunatly my sister-in-law is a Wal-Mart store manager, so I have to keep my feelings to my self. She lives and breathes Wal-Mart and will defend them to the death. My husband is a Sears store manager, so I also get all my clothes there! Especially for the kids, you just can’t beat their clearance prices. Make sure you check out all their clearance when you go. They have great clearance on all their items.
This is funny because I’ve just about given up on Target. Several times I’ve gone in looking for something, and stomped off huffing, “Their target demographic is bubble-headed sweater girls!” The last time was two weeks ago when I was looking for diaper pins. They had an enormous picture of colored diaper pins by the (disposable) diapers, but they didn’t actually sell diaper pins at all.
Oh, same here, I had to get diaper pins from Babies R Us. Even Toys R Us didn’t have them! Target has a better toy section than WalMart, IMO.
Correction, BTW – I went to WalMart this very weekend (oh, Big Blue, I just can’t quit you!) to buy a bunch of spaghetti sauce, and they changed their formula. Their spaghetti sauce now has sugar AND soybean oil in it. Blech. And the next best brand without GMO ingredients and sugar cost more than the HEB store brand. So that’s one more thing to scratch off my list of WalMart products.
“I went to WalMart this very weekend (oh, Big Blue, I just can’t quit you!) to buy a bunch of spaghetti sauce, and they changed their formula.”
Yep! That’s exactly the problem we have been having! When Walmart changed to the mega-ugly packaging, they ruined a LOT of the recipes that went inside that ugly packaging.
They have added sugar or corn syrup into several previously safe foods and we have started shopping more elsewhere.
I only thought to check because of your comment, Birdie!
You’ve inspired my own Walmart rant.
Tom, real, fresh cottage cheese is tasty, with a tang and creamy sweetness. Mmmm…
Milihemama – welcome to the Walmart avoiders club. You’re in good company. I think it’s been 10 or so years since I quit Walmart and I’ve been able to get awesome deals that stretch our quarters. You can do it too!
There are fewer and fewer items I will buy at Wally-World, mainly cat food, treats, litter etc because they sell the same brands as our local Kroger and Target stores, but always for significantly less. I buy socks and sheets there too, TP/PT, razors, toothpaste, & other hygiene items, but I don’t buy any (human) food there at all. The last 3 times I was lazy enough to buy milk at Wally (the only 3 times I bought milk there since moving out of my MIL’s home) it went bad two or three days before the posted *sell by* date. The first time I didn’t think anything of it, because with my chronic pain & fatigue driving from Wally, past my home, all the way to Kroger, and then back home-more than a little bit of backtracking on a major state highway-seemed like more than I could handle at the time, and I opted for the *convenience* Wally offered me. The second time, it had been long enough since that first time that the possibility of the milk spoiling early didn’t really occur to me. The third (and very last) time I bought Wally’s milk, it was a deliberate decision, a *test* of sorts. Wally failed, and I dumped that grocery center like a bad boyfriend!
Like some others here, living in a really rural area, we have little choice. Another factor is shopping with 6 kids. You want to get everything in one place and not go to 2 or 3 stores. But I don’t like Walmart. I am upset with the change from “made in the USA” to “made in China”, and the fact that they have removed the craft department in order to expand electronics stinks!
I hear you Nadja. Walmart is better than IGA.
Wal-Mart is still the cheapest place for plastic bins and other basic storage items, but there’s little else I like about it.
I’ve gone there quite a few times for basic stuff like soda or a certain kind of spaghetti sauce only to discover the wanted items are out of stock – and this, in a large city that boasts four freakin’ Wal-Marts.
I prefer Safeway. Prices are generally the same, or better, and the aisles and registers are often less crowded.
We have “Randall’s” here, which is run by Safeway. Oh they are proud of themselves – hands down the most expensive place to shop (well, aside from Whole Foods.) For example their Kraft mayo runs a dollar more than other stores.
Here, the most expensive place tends to be Sobey’s. They spend a lot on atmosphere. Safeway is a far cheaper alternative.
The absolute, hands-down cheapest place to buy food here is either Superstore or the farmers’ market. I hate Superstore. Hate it. It’s as crowded as Wal-Mart, the lines are just as long, and shoppers must bag their own groceries. I buy bulk items there, and bread, but that’s about it.
(The Walmart and the Superstore are located on adjacent lots, and Safeway is a few blocks further. Sobey’s is close by as well.)
I have never seen double coupons, though. I hear about them all the time on the net, but every coupon I come across is stamped with a ‘not valid with any other coupon/offer’ note.
The double coupon is a store policy, not a coupon manufacturer. The store I shop at the most – HEB – doesn’t double but our Kroger does.
Bravo! It was as if I wrote the article myself.
Oh my goodness!!!! I’d say this topic has really struck a nerve. Amazing comments.
I must say, I do agree, and to me the hardest part is the standing in line. I just don’t have the time. Generally I shop at HEB, I LOVE THEM, but sometimes I do go to walmart, but definitely not as often as I used to.
I am right there with you. Up to the beginning of the year I lived in Houston and hardly ever stepped foot into WalMart. I was a big Super Target, Randall’s, and Kroger’s shopper for groceries. I went to Walgreen’s and CVS for HBA and other items. I moved after my lay off and now surrounded by WalMarts and more WalMarts. I have a regular Target and only Walgreen’s in my town. Luckily I was able to figure out Walgreen’s better and still get my HBA deals. Target is for the deals on food that is better than WalMart and household items as well. I have two stores that double but one doesn’t allow doubling on sales items nor internet coupons. The other one I am finally figuring out and they have a higher double amount but still sometimes the price is higher than Wal-Mart. I think I will continue to study the ads there because I am not a Wal-Mart fan by any means. Plus I have found myself getting a lot of pantry items and meat at Aldi lately. Your article was exactly how I feel about Wal-Mart. By the way I can no longer buy meat there after what you said.
I followed ABC’s story about your breakup with Walmart and was just exploring. I agree with you 900% on breaking up with Walmart, I’ve gone through the breakup with them this year as well. I would rather pay 10¢ more so I don’t have to shop at Walmart, wait in their lines, deal with the rude cashiers that work there and the quality of their food. I would never buy meat there ( it never looked fresh) their GV brand always seems so cheap and bad for you I never purchased those (unless it was the only choice) so I said why am I shopping here when I’m only getting about 10% of the items on my list. I wrote my local store as well as HQ about my store (how dirty it was, the lines, rude cashiers etc, I told them “everything speaks” and it starts with management) and saw no response so as of today my breakup with Walmart has been successful (with the few exceptions where I run there for makeup or craft items) but great job on the site. I look forward to exploring more.
I’ve stopped shopping at Walmart except for Gain detergent ($5.48-$6.58 smaller size) and Palmolive dishwasher detergent ($2.97) because I have to carry my own bags to a cart after the cashier literally throws things into the bags (I’ve complained, nothing changed–they must still be making too much money to care) and because where I live the nearest Walmart to my house (2 stores within 10 miles)has too much volume; I’d rather pay $5 more for my groceries at the area Food Lion and Krogers where they will pack your stuff and take it to your car for you. As soon as I buy my next dishwasher detergent (Kroger brand)and clothes detergent (different brands, they all do the same as far as I’m concerned) You can have WalMart!
Always good to read when people look around and weigh their options. Every day we vote with our dollars!
I am so happy you have come over to H.E.B.
I actually used to be a manager at Walmart.
Now I am very happy managing at H.E.B. for the past 5 years. If you ever need some great ideas for dinner let me know. If ya send me your address I would love to send you a book that I have made up, it has the past 2 years of Showtime recipes in it. The recipes are designed with savings in mind. Nothing beats great service and great prices!
I could not agree more with your viewpoint. I do all my shopping at HEB now. They have the best and freshest products and their customer service cannot be beat! HEB is such a superstar among retailers and is setting a new standard, in my opinion. HEB has overall lower prices than Walmart any day! Keep up the good work!
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