- Multinationals -

STIFFING THE DISTRIBUTOR, BY STIFFING THE STAFF

In Reply to: apprehension about buying a vacuum or a PC posted by Mike Bacon on July 18, 1997 at 04:35:48:

: : That is great! We need less Wal-Marts. The chain claims to be helping the environment -- they even took on a specialist from the University of Virginia to aid in greening their operations. Yeh, tell that to the wildlife where their store sits now, or to the trees withering because of fumes from the manufacture of their junk products.

: I doubt that Wal-Mart is hurting the environment as severely as claimed.
: Discount stores are beneficial to those of us who definitely are not rich.
: What I fault Wal-Mart and Kmart for is that many of the boxes their
: appliances and delicate electronics are in are damaged, which raises my
: apprehension about buying a vacuum or a PC. I point this out to employees
: and their supervisors, and I either get a shrug of the shoulders or excuses
: to the max. And their CDs' are carelessly stocked and not properly
: arranged by artist. The main stores and restrooms are often dirty, well
: to tie this all up, their service sucks!!! There doesn't need to be less
: of these stores, but there does need to be a massive overhaul. Instead of
: just verbally promising service and satisfaction, they need to act on it.

FIRST: A WAL-MART UPDATE.
WE HEAR THEY WILL APPEAL THE REJECTION OF THEIR PROPOSED POWER CENTRE BY CITY COUNCIL TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT. CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THEIR GROUNDS WILL BE: OTHER THAN SOME PLATITUDES ABOUT FREE ENTERPRISE . ALL CITY COUNCIL DID WAS TO SUPPORT ITS OFFICIAL PLAN, THE DOCUMENT THAT ACTS AS THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT GUIDE. WAL-MART'S DEVELOPERS WANTED TO BUILD ON NON-COMMERCIAL LAND (HEY, IT'S CHEAPER!) IN A COMMUNITY WHERE THE VACANCY RATES FOR EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IS ABOUT 15% AND THERE IS UNDEVELOPED LAND AVAILABLE - PROPERLY ZONED.
ANYWAYY, RE THE PREVIOUS WRITER'S CONCERNS: FIRST, YOU PAY PEANUTS YOU GET MONKEYS (OLD ONTARIO EMPLOYMENT HOMILY); SECOND: IF STUFF IS CHEAP THEY HAVE TO CUT CORNERS SOMEWHERE, WHETHER ITS BY STIFFING THER PRODUCERS (AND WE WON'T EVEN MENTION SWEAT SHOPS), BY STIFFING THE DISTRIBUTOR, BY STIFFING THE STAFF (ALWAYS LOW WAGES...)OR BY STIFFING THE CUSTOMER. THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE, THOUGH, BETWEEN THE EL CHEAPO CRAP STORES AND THE OVER-PRICED RIP-OFF STORES (MANY LOCATED, ADMITTEDLY IN DOWNTOWNS). CHANCES ARE, THE LONGER YOU HAVE PATRONIZED STORE, THE BETTER YOUR SERVICE. IF NOT, WHY ARE YOU STILL GOING THERE?

Follow Ups:

None.