[Vision2020] Wal-Mart Supercenter Opposition

[Donovan Arnold]

Robbie,

This email will probably shock my liberal cohorts, but I am all in favor of  
a Wal-Mart Super Center. In fact, I am looking forward to it and I am 
waiting in great anticipation for it to be built.

I do not buy most the arguments against Wal-Mart. All of them really turn 
out to be untrue or could be applied to any chain store. Wal-Mart does not 
wipe out small mom and pop stores, it wipes out other chains like K-Mart,  
Shop-Co, and Walgreens. I find the stuff sold by local merchants is not the 
same stuff Wal-Mart offers. Wal_mart does not sell quality shoes, quality 
vacuums, quality furniture, quality clothes, or quality anything really. It 
sells cheap generic plastic stuff made in mass quantity. It sells stuff you 
do not want to invest heavily in or cannot afford to invest heavily in. If I 
am looking for an eloquent watch, I do not go to Wal_mart. If I am looking 
for a watch to take camping, I go to Wal_Mart. If I want a white t-shirt, 
and only got $6, I go to Wal-Mart. If I have $50 and I am looking for a nice 
warm quality sweater I do not go to Wal-Mart.

I probably will not frequent the Super Center, just go once in a while, 
especially if the other Wal-Mart here stays around. But I reap the benefits 
if it forces the large companies like Hastings, Les Schwab, and Office Depot 
to lower their prices. But my biggest hope is that it will force Win-Co to 
start taking debt cards. I have to go to other stores when I am out and 
about because I do not carry cash or checks on me. If they took debt cards, 
or credit cards, like all other stores in the 21st century, that would save 
me some money. I would imagine if the Super Center sells food for less than 
Win-Co, it would steal business if it also took debt cards. But other than 
this, I am happy with the way the way things are with WinCo and Walmart in 
Moscow.

Finally, people complain about what Wal-Mart pays their employees. If this 
is the case, they should be pleased with the opening of Wal-Mart in Pullman 
which has a higher minimum wage. If places that service the poor service 
Wal-Mart employees more frequently than others it could just as likely be 
that Wal-Mart is more likely to higher the disabled and those not other wise 
employable. Which can say something just as good about the company as bad. I 
know that Wal-Mart does hire a large number of people with disabilities. But 
I also think it also only does it for image rather than providing them with 
quality jobs.

There are many things that Wal-Mart needs to change about their behavior, as 
do all businesses. One of them, is as Saundra Lund pointed out, Wal-Mart is  
often out of stock on regular items. This will be a big negative in a 
grocery store when people like to eat the same things every week.  That is 
why I stopped buying food from this Wal_Mart. I got tired of the same food 
not being there. So I just quiet food shopping there. I like to eat the same 
things. If a store only has my can of soda every other time, I am not going 
to go there, I will go to the other store that always has it when I shop, 
even if it is a little more.

Take Care,

Donovan J Arnold

>From: "Storla, Robbie" <calebsomeone at yahoo.com>
>To: Tim Lohrmann <timlohr at yahoo.com>, vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart Supercenter Opposition
>Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 00:39:59 -0800 (PST)
>
>I would like to take a moment to introduce my self and let you know that i 
>am currently a Wal-Mart Associate...  I respect everyones views on this 
>issue and really don't know where I stand on it.  But I would like some 
>input from people as to why people are for or against the supercenter going 
>into Pullman.  Granted everything that I have been told is that we will 
>continue to operate stores in Lewiston and Moscow if the super center goes 
>into Pullman.  My views on it is why wouldn't people want it, to be able to 
>do all there shopping at one stop instead of going to one or more stop to 
>complete shopping that could be done in one store.  and wouldn't it mean 
>some pretty good tax money to the city of Pullman?
>
>Are people against the Super Center because of its location or simply 
>because it is walmart?
>
>I would also like to draw your attention to a web site that has been very 
>informative to me.  www.walmartfacts.com
>
>thanks for listening to me and i look forward to hearing from you.  please 
>excuse the spelling and grammer, it is late at night. :)
>
>Robbie
>
>
>
>Regards,
>
>Robbie E. K. Storla
>
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>
>
>
>
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