Sunday, November 25, 2007

I got angry and stopped shopping at Walmart...

In July, a super Walmart opened in our city, the older, smaller, and quite adequate for the size of our city Walmart closed.  The fact is our city isnt big enough to support the new store and everything we have now. Plus there is a Menards going in, we already have a Lowes, and a smaller  Do-It-Center (the kind of place where they actually know what they are talking about and can special order you something if you need it.) I think something has to give, my guess is it will be one of the other grocery stores, possibly the one that shared the old Walmart building. And the Do-It-Center.

While this all annoyed me, the other sad fact is our town needed the new jobs that came with the expanded Walmart. We have had two major employers leave in the last few years.  I figured I would still frequent Walmart for some items, and then I went in. We have no fabric department in our Walmart. None. No fabric, no thread, no zippers, no bias tape. Pretty much nothing. I went in for yarn. Guess what? the good selection of well priced yarns? gone. there is a tiny selection of funfur yarns and that is it. No solid colors, nothing you can do more than make a novelty scarf or furry flip flops with, a pathetic selection.  All the adult crafting items are gone. Nothing left but "kiddie crafts" 

They have an entire aisle of sewing machines. Now why on earth would I want to buy a sewing machine from a store where there is quite conceivably, not a single employee who knows how to use one, and cant answer a single question about them. I wouldn't.

I have heard a couple reasons why there is no fabric department. It doesn't fit with their "new image." OR that they had too big a hassle with the employees who covered the frabric department employees breaks, being unhappy they didnt get the same extra pay for covering the fabric department as  the fabric department employees got. (I'm thinking the jump in pay scale to work in the fabric department cant be that great, and so the people covering fabric are quibbling over a dime possibly?) I'm not impressed.

And I'm still really annoyed. So I stopped shopping at Walmart. My problem now is I need a pair of jeans, guess where I bought my current favorite pair? That's right. Walmart. I hate every pair Target and Kmart have to offer and I'm not paying $40 or more on a pair of jeans. I'm just not. I know, you get what you pay for. but I cant justify $40 for a pair of jeans when I can pay $20 and be happy. And have $20 for gas or groceries.

 I'm still angry. I don't even want to go into their parking lot. Much less the store. Do you suppose if I wish on the evening star  some really comfortable jeans will just fall out of the sky?

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4 comments:

  1. Absolutely hate all things Walmart as well. It's been four years since I've given them a dime. But for jeans, sometimes I get really lucky at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Granted, you'd have to be in a bit of an adventurous mood to look though all they have but I've gotten plenty of jeans on clearance for $10 - $15, name brand, with nothing wrong with them. It's hard for me to spend more than $25 on a pair of jeans.

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  2. I boycotted Target for a bit - but then realized I was hurting myself more than them :( I wish you luck in your search for jeans. I hope my Walmart never becomes a Super Walmart - I like my fabric department!

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  3. Unfortunately TJ and Marshalls are both In the next big cities both 45 minutes or more away, and in opposite directions. I'm not unwilling to look those places but currently I'm unwilling to drive that far just to shop. I was having lunch with a friend I haven't seen in 2 years yesterday right near Marshall's too. but the visit was so much more important.

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  4. I shop mostly at target now, my one real complaint about target is the clothes. I' like tshirts, and I hate the ones with the extra lycra, because they cling across the bust, and really, no one but me needs to know what the lace pattern on my bra is. (And Bras.. I got my current favs at walmart too. :P ) As far as I have heard they are phasing out all fabric departments eventually, But as they go from regular store to Super they are dumping they then, the others will be a slower phase out. Its frusterating, since they carry a good selection of reasonably priced fabric. And I'm reasonably sure all Sam and all his kids had something their mother had probably sewed for them growing up. My kids have plenty of things we have made from Walmart fabric, blankets and pillowcases and the like, especially the Disney fabrics you dont see elsewhere.I guess I should count us lucky to have a JoAnn's.

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