We Did It!

[Melanie]

A blue law

Well, since the proper term is blue law , I guess this implies I may be hanging out in KMart too much (which isn't the case).

I still believe the OP was referring to alcohol sales.

[Ian]

What are Bluelight laws?

I think the OP actually meant Bluelight law, meaning restrictive alcohol sales, presumably on Sundays. She mentioned her friend was in line before 12am, but didn't get to the checkout until after 12am so she couldn't purchase alcohol since it was Sunday already.

Mel's got it right ... down South, there are many areas where you can't buy alcohol of any kind on Sunday.

Trust me ... I learned that the hard way visiting my friend at 'Bama back in the day.

[ncscgirl2005]

My closest Wal-Mart just updated its look by putting in wood floors. It looks way more upscale than any Wal-Mart has a right to. It's aesthetically pleasing. Now the other Wal-Mart, across town, pretty much fits the mold according to the OP's description. I will not willfully shop at that store.

Ironically, the Wal-Mart I was referring to did the same thing in the early part of 2007 but it didn't help the store any. It's kinda like when a product's packaging changes but the product remains unchanged. On the product it will say: New Look, Same Great Taste! (or something to that effect). That's how I feel about what they did to the Walmart. They gave it a new look but didn't try to correct any of the ongoing problems within the store!

[ncscgirl2005]

We don't have Wal*Marts here!

As a side note, I was so proud of myself the other day when I went to Target and spent only $10.36! And that was for the 5 items I had gone in for! (Well, I went in for 4 items and got one on Christmas clearance LOL)

My sister-in-law lives in Queens and they don't have a Walmart either. She loves to come down here so she can shop at Walmart but she was disappointed at Thanksgiving when I wouldn't take her there! DH took her but even he waited in the car. Way to Go Baby!

When I go in Target, I have the opposite shopping experience. I actually spend less than I would at Walmart because I am able to just go in there and pick out what I need.

[DizNee143]

i barely shop at walmart..i only go there when my friends want to go and i just go along for the ride...or to get oil filters and oil for my fiances truck..since it seems they are the only ones that carry his oil filter and oil..other than that i am a target junkie!! now that store i LOVE!!

[ncscgirl2005]

What are Bluelight laws?

A blue law is a law designed to enforce morals. Not the "Thou shall not kill" kind, but more like "Businesses cannot be open on Sunday" kind. Usually, they prohibit or restrict hours of operation on Sundays or certain holidays, prevent the sale of alcohol on Sundays, etc.

(Supposedly, when I was a baby, my parents talked a retailer into violating blue laws for them - he could sell them dog food for the family pet, but not diapers or a fuse for the fusebox, since both were prohibited sale items on a Sunday.)

Since I'm the OP let me clear up what I meant.
I meant to say blue laws but I guess I spend too much time in K-Mart too (practically lived there anytime we went to visit my Auntie) because bluelight came out. Sorry for the confusion. But then again, according to DD who finds it hilarious, I tend to type faster than I think.

Here it means that in certain parts of the county (and other parts of the state) we cannot buy non-grocery items before a certain time on Sundays. Alcohol is never sold on Sundays in stores (boy was that a shocker when I got a taste for a beer one Sunday afternoon shortly after moving to this state). You can only get the essentials. Some stores even go as far as roping off parts of the stores to keep shoppers away from non-grocery items.

My friend was last-minute Christmas shopping. She got to the store at about 10:30 and had a mix of grocery and non-grocery items. At approx. 11:25 she stood in line (only 3 lines were open) only to get to the actual checkout counter and the gentleman told her that he doesn't do grocery items in that line; she needs to go to the other line in the grocery side. So she goes over to that line, waits for a while, and once she gets to the checkout.....BAM it's after midnight and the cashier tells her that she cannot buy anything non-grocery. The cashier begins pulling things out of her cart and throwing them on the checkout counter behind her. My friend is very upset and asks to speak to a manager. Low and behold, the cashier IS THE MANAGER. They get into an argument and the manager tells her that the law is the law and she is not going to break the law for anyone. The manager then WALKS away from the register, throws her hands up, and says very loudly "I'm not dealing with this <expletive that rhymes with fit>" and refuses to come back to the register. By now, all the other customers are in an uproar because they have been waiting too and cannot get their items. My friend leaves everything there and immediately calls me from the parking lot. And like a loving friend, what do I say?.........."Told You So"!

[mjaclyn]

Our local Wal-Mart is absolutely disgusting. I never EVER go in there unless it is a dire emergency. I prefer to shop at local grocery stores or Target - LOVE Target!

[c&d]

I have a funny story to tell about Wal Mart. I've only been to it once and that was plenty for me. The store was dirty and really messy.

Anyway my aunt is up visiting from MD for the holidays and a WalMart ad comes on about Ipods and the condensed version is the mother says I didn't know you could buy Ipods at WalMart. My aunt looks at me and says, how could she not know that. She was completely shocked that this women didn't know that and how could she possibly not know that. I looked at her and said up here we're pretty much all Target shoppers, our nearest WalMart is about 15 miles away. For the rest of the visit we laughed every time the Ipod commerical came on and it came on a lot.

[wdw_bound]

I drive past two Wal-Marts to get to Target. DH jokes that if I don't visit at least once a week and spend my usual minimum ($75), the store manager will send me a get-well card.

Our Walmarts are just plain creepy and dirty. I will say, though, I've been to one in Orlando (somewhere near Calypso Bay) and it was very different. However, it was clear it catered to international tourists as the whole wall by the entryway was stacked high with Heinz Beans and Orange squash.

To the OP - our town just reduced blue laws a few years ago. I remember it was very confusing, as not even all grocery items were allowed, and yet other sometimes bizarro things like batteries and engine parts were. Glad that's over with!

[ncscgirl2005]

It might be shocking to you guys ... but I haven't shopped in a WalMart for at least 3 years.

There is honestly NO amount of cost savings that can force me to go to WalMart. EVER.

Wow! That's impressive. I told DH that if we can make it through this holiday season then we can make it forever!

I will say that Wal-Mart managed to fuel my dislike for them when I saw a Bratz doll my daughter wanted at Target for $19.95 and Wal-Mart was selling it online for $10.00 ?? How does that happen? I always compare prices online even if I don't shop at a particular store just to make sure what I am purchasing is worth it.

[ncscgirl2005]

I have a funny story to tell about Wal Mart. I've only been to it once and that was plenty for me. The store was dirty and really messy.

Anyway my aunt is up visiting from MD for the holidays and a WalMart ad comes on about Ipods and the condensed version is the mother says I didn't know you could buy Ipods at WalMart. My aunt looks at me and says, how could she not know that. She was completely shocked that this women didn't know that and how could she possibly not know that. I looked at her and said up here we're pretty much all Target shoppers, our nearest WalMart is about 15 miles away. For the rest of the visit we laughed every time the Ipod commerical came on and it came on a lot.

LOL! What did your mom think they sold "like stuff for walls?"

Just kidding. Anybody that watched the first season of The Simple Life with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie (yes, that was once my guilty viewing pleasure) a few years back will be able to relate to that.

[RenDuran]

I've been anti-Walmart for at least 10 years. The "deals" just aren't worth slugging my way through crowds of brain-dead shoppers. Plus, my husband is a union guy, and Walmart is extremely anti-union.

[MsMin]

For years the Walmart was so much better than K-mart, in fact we no longer have Kmarts here. They were as you describe and Walmart was a better place to shop and still is. I rarely have more than one person in line in front of me but I do use the self check out when I don't have alcohol. I prefer to watch the prices that way.
I made the mistake of going to a Walmart in Baltimore when my son moved up there. Getting things like shower curtains etc. and it was just as everyone describes here very nasty and disorganized, messy etc. So I've seen what the bad ones look like.
We have blue laws here but only for alcohol. But Walmart lets you purchase liquor up until 2am and then on Sunday you can buy beer @ noon. New Orleans doesn't have these laws so it does take some adjusting to them.
I do like the fact that it's open 24 hours and if you have an emergency like run out of printer ink at 3am it's available.
I do think it destroys the "mom and pop" retailers and I agree that it's bad for that and another thing that some don't realize is that their products are often specially pkg'd for them. I know they have the same labels on some coffees but it's a cheaper grade so they can sell it cheaper so often you get what you pay for.
I'm not real impressed w/ our target.
This Christmas I managed to avoid Best Buy. Didn't purchase a single thing. Bought a lot online @ amazon and Target and swore I wouldn't use Target next year b/c they canceled some orders 5 days before Christmas and others took much longer to ship than stated.

[Ian]

I saw a segment on 60 Minutes this past weekend that didn't directly relate to Wal-Mart, but it definitely had some lessons in there about "Wal-Mart Economics" ...

The story was about the Geek Squad. For those of you not familiar with them, they're a company that will come out to your house and handle any techincal issues you may have for you. For example, they'll set up your new PC, troubleshoot computer issues, set up your HDTV, set the clock on your VCR ... whatever you need.

But the story was about how they were founded. Basically, without going into too much detail, they were saying that since America has become a country where bottom line shopping is the norm, companies have essentially done away with any kind of real customer service to help keep prices low.

Basically, companies feel that Americans shop based solely on price and, therefore, getting the sale is the important thing and ... well ... keeping people as loyal customers isn't a big deal. So they've basically abandoned all pretense of providing or caring about good customer service in favor of outsourcing everything to the cheapest place they can find.

So basically Geek Squad formed to fill the void. Although the ironic thing is, most Americans don't realize that they're actually spending MORE to buy a cheap product and then pay Geek Squad to set it up for them than if they just paid a reasonable price for the item in the first place.

Honestly, the whole story was kinda scary. It got me thinking ... how far can this go?? I mean don't companies just get to the point where they can't cut costs any further? Then what?

The dark side of capitalism, huh?

[alphamommy]

Congrats on avoiding Walmart. I've managed to stay away for almost 2 years (but I may have to break the rule to get the newest Eagles CD).

A friend of mine has a cousin who is a VP at a major packaged food producer. The cousin told my friend a story about Walmart's attempt to "extort" the food producer into selling them products for WAY under the cost to make them. When the food company refused, Walmart supposedly sent samples of the products they wanted to some foreign company, and paid them to duplicate it for the low price.

The bottom line is, many of the "name brand" products sold at Walmart are likely knock-offs that may or may not measure up to the actual product. I'm not sure how they get away with this (given copyright laws), but that's the story I got.

I love Target, and do my grocery shopping at either Meijer's or Krogers.

Tammy

[Disney Doll]

Good for you! We've been boycotting Wal-Mart for a few years now for all the reasons you described and more. We don't miss it at all. I drive past a Wal-Mart Super Center and a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market to buy my groceries at a local place. I may end up paying a tad more, but it's worth it to me to feel good about what I support with my money. My loyalty can't be bought by the lowest bidder.

[Ian]

I may end up paying a tad more, but it's worth it to me to feel good about what I support with my money. My loyalty can't be bought by the lowest bidder.

Good for you! I feel the exact same way ...

If more Americans did, half the problems people spend their days complaining about wouldn't exist.

There's more to deciding what goods and services to purchase than just the price.

[conorsmom2000]

My Union husband bans me from going to Wal*Mart so I've honestly never stepped foot in one. Honestly, they aren't that close to me - the closest one is a good 30 minutes away.

Target, on the other hand, is only 15 minutes away.....

My county also has the Blue Laws, where most retail is closed on Sunday. You can purchase liquor, though, but after 12 pm....

[LCPZA]

I gave up on WalMart in December 2002 when my Dad died and my aunt came to town and told me a story. To make this story short.. my cousin is mentally and somewhat physically handicapped from a Drunk Driver.. she works for Walmart (slavemart) putting their brand of mens belt buckels, suspenders, and something else together and gets paid .25 cents an hour. They say the benefit of them getting to do this is better for them. It makes them feel good and it gives them Physical Therapy. My aunt wants her to leave from this job however because of her mental state she loves it and my aunt does not want to hurt her feelings.
Anyway it's not about the money- I agree that it is good for them however Walmart makes millions and as far as I am concerned they take advantage of these people SO for this reason I will NEVER SHOP AT WALMART AGAIN!!
I got a slavemart giftcard for xmas and had to re-gift it oh well the person I gave it to can use it more than I can.
The other reasons I have always hated this place was-DIrty-rude service-prices are never correct-unorganized-and at times I think they can be dangerous towards the last few hours when they put stock in the middle of the floors. One day someone will fall and get hurt and hit them with a big one!!

[ncscgirl2005]

I got a slavemart giftcard for xmas and had to re-gift it oh well the person I gave it to can use it more than I can.

My daughter has a $25 gift card from Wal-Mart that we have been trying to figure out how to get rid of without spending it. I could give it as a gift but it has the Bratz characters on it so adults are out of the question. I may eventually trade it for the cash and give her the loot. She'll like that better anyway since she like to brag that she has more money than her parents (and sometimes she's right! )