Who shops at Wal-Mart?

[H]

Most complain about, but who shops there? Let take a poll!

There is no "other" option because you either do or you don’t. Please elaborate below.

 

[Downtown]

*guilty*
I do. Occasionally. And Sam's Club often. When you need bakewear or socks, they're just the cheapest.

 

[Richmond Jake]

I do, but let me explain why. Wife and I own and operate a small rural convenience store. We buy most of our goods from a wholesaler but sometimes we are required to buy larger quantities than we can store. So we buy Wally's lost leaders and resell them. Pisses me off that they sell things for less than I can get them wholesale!!!

p.s. I hate the place with a passion.

 

[Mud Princess]

Never been inside a Wal-Mart. A conscious decision.

 

[Repo Man]

I shop there somewhet frequently (once a month or so). It is the only large store within 15 miles of where I live. It is on my way home from work, and damn it is cheap! I prefer Target, but I don't care to drive 15 miles just to get a few things.

I don't like the impact that Wal Mart has on small towns, but you have to take the good and the bad in a free-market economy. Yeah, I kind of feel bad when Joe's Paint Store goed under, but if a person on a tight budget has to choose between paying 25 bucks for a can of paint or 15 bucks for that same can at Wal Mart, how can you blame the consumer for wanting to save money?

I go to Wal Mart for things like towels, cleaning supplies, personal hygene products, fish food and aquarium equipment, auto supplies. I save a good deal of money buying these items from Wal Mart.

 

[nerudite]

I have comparison shopped at walmart a few times, but I can usually get something of better quality for a similar price elsewhere. I looked at walmart for a tv last christmas and found a real brand (not some bizarre named knockoff like Walmart had) for the same price at an electronics store. I have never actually purchased anything in a walmart.

 

[BKM]

Nope. Don't like their stores' designs (ugly minimalist megaboxes), the "cultural orientation" (rural, conservative south), their labor policies, or, frankly, their selection of goods. There are still other options.

I am a snob, so I shop at Target (tahr-zhay) instead.. Nicer stores, better goods, but probably still some of the same "issues."

 

[michaelskis]

OK OK... We all hate wal-mart because of what they have done to many of there towns. I know that as a person who loves the idea of new urbanism... I hate them. But they are every where now. As it is, we have 3 of them around us. One super center and two normal stores. I will confess, I shop there, on more than one occasion a month. I look at it like this, until one of us comes up with an idea to eliminate them, maybe we should find a way to incorporate them. The one that I go to, is a block from residential, has about 30 or so other businesses that share a parking lot, and it is an a mixed use area. This one is a little different than the others that I have seen. It has a Red and White Sign on the building, and the sign in front, is smaller than normal, and shared with all the other businesses in the square.

Fact is, stores like wal-mart are going to haunt us, until we can show them the evils that they do, and work with them to create a good alternate.

 

[jmf]

I voted I don't.

I used to, very occassionly, when I lived in community which had already been eroded by Wal-mart - there was no other place to buy socks and undies! Since I moved though I haven't even set foot in a Wal-mart. A new one opened about a 10 minute drive from my house this winter but still haven't even been in the parking lot. Some relatives came froma bout 2 hours away to go shopping at the new Wal-mart and they were surprised that it was so expensive and had little selection. I don't think they will bother coming so far just to go to Wal-mart again.

 

[Tranplanner]

Yes, but...

I only shop at Walmart because I can actually walk there. I prefer Zellers (Canadian discount retailer), but for some reason there are none convenient to me. I only shop at Walmart maybe once every couple of months - I tend to buy my household supplies at my grocery store. I find that, at least in Canada, Walmart isn't really that much cheaper than the competition.

 

[Trail Nazi]

Since moving to this horrible area of the country, (which btw does not have that many mom and pop shops since everything is a big box development on every corner that they allow commercial uses) I have not been a frequent shopper since Target is closest. They do have some better prices on things and since I will be down to one income in the next few weeks after the wee one is born, I have to watch the budget.

I do really like Sam's because they have the best prices on meat, pineapples, laundry detergent, papertowels, etc. Just don't ever work for the Wal-Mart corporation because they work you like a dog.

 

[Seabishop]

I shop there once in a while but I don't like it. Usually my wife drags me. Maybe I'm a brainwashed planner but its very depressing to me. I sulk through there and look at everything and everyone negatively under the bright lights. There is something about being in a big box under flourescent lights for an hour that just deadens the senses. It reminds me of when I worked at a discount department store and just wanted to run screaming out the automatic doors and never come back.

I go to Target more often especially for large scale gift buying. Its hard to do last minute Christmas shopping at a dozen different independent businesses. You can't avoid chains sometimes. Where can I find a family owned business to buy towels or dishracks, or even clothes? I can walk to a good local hardware store though where the 80 year old owner can help you directly.

 

[Planderella]

I cut down on the amount of times I would go to Walmart to about once every 2 months or so. I prefer Target. However, there are times when I would rather pay more for personal goods at the drug or grocery store if it means I don't have to circle the parking lot like a vulture and stand in line for a half hour.

 

[Habanero]

Yup, I have. I don't now just due to how far away it is from my house. Target is right down the street and they're much cleaner. Either one I shop I always leave the stores thinking "I never want kids that act like that kid".

 

[pete-rock]

Voted in the affirmative.

Wal-Mart's good for getting cheap (in all ways) clothes for my three kids.

When I shop there, I don't lament the fact that I shop there; I lament the PREDATORY CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM THAT CANNIBALIZES SMALL BUSINESS AND FORCES ME, THE CONSUMER, TO ACCEPT THAT REALITY!!!

There. That feels better.

 

[pete-rock]

BTW, I like Target much better.

 

[Downtown]

BTW, I like Target much better.

Agreed. We'll hit Walmart maybe once every month or two, but target is where we go for gift wrapping, pajamas, birthday presents for rob's little cousin's, etc.

You can't beat Sam's though for dog food and paper towels.

 

[Repo Man]

I also love Sam's Club and I usually go there about once every two months, usually to stock up on frozen seafood and chicken type products.

As for Wal Mart, there are a lot of things that I would never consider buying there including music, electronics, clothes, and food. The only reason I regulalry shop there is because it is close to my home. I think that Wal Mart stores are messy and disorganized and the employees are extremely slow and don't give a crap about customer service. I would prefer not to shop there because of those reasons, not because I think that Wal Mart is evil. I think that Target is always clean and organized and the employees are actually helpful

.

 

[donk]

I purposely and consciuosly avoid shopping at wal~mart. I can count and remember all of the times and things I have purchased from wal~mart.

That being said, when I was down in the states last month for a job interview I stopped in one and bought a disposable camera to take pictures of their parking lot. The images will be used against them when tehy try to place their big box hell here next year.

The last time before that I bought anything at a wal~mart was 3 years ago when I realized I needed a note book before going to the airport. It is in Dieppe and very easy to access.

Before that was 2 years prior, when I bought some dishes for my house. Thgey had just opened in Fredericton and everyone was telling me about teh good prices and good selection.

Before that was 2 years prior, on a camping trip in the states and we needed a tarp and a few other items.

 

[H]

I have, but I don’t.

I put “I don’t”, just like because you’ve had a beer, it does not make you an alcoholic.

However, I used to shop there a lot. So I guess I am recovering.

One day at a time, one day at a time.

And for all of those using Target, “THAT IS THE GATEWAY DRUG, MAN”!!

Wow, I need coffee….

*yes I know I put up the poll and answering is like laughing at you own joke, but I cant help it

 

[Queen B]

Go there once a week, it is habit because there are no other places to go. I didn't know it was evil until I heard it here. I don't like buying groceries there with my garden pesticide ( just an example).
I justify my spending there because in some way it helps my daughter that works at the Corporate offices.

 

[plannerkat]

Very rarely, or less than 5 times per year. I always feel very evolved when I go to the one closest to my house. Who knew there were so many inbred people in north Florida?

 

[Mastiff]

Wal-Mart is just a great place to pick up chicks...

 

[Zoning Goddess]

I go there all the time because it is a block from work, and I can get darn near everything in one trip. Where else can you get a bottle of wine, 2 kids' birthday presents, hamster bedding, and a football in the same place? Maybe K-Mart, I guess.

But I do not buy clothes at Wal-Mart because other than jeans, they don't carry short-people clothes. I go to the mall for clothing.

 

[H]

Wal-Mart is just a great place to pick up chicks...

In college it WAS. We used to go there to kill an afternoon, play in the toy/camping/pet section and see girls form class which usually to, “so are you going to see that band at that bar tonight?”

It worked.

 

[giff57]

I don't like the impact that Wal Mart has on small towns, but you have to take the good and the bad in a free-market economy.

Yeah, thats what I'm talking about!

 

[Planderella]

If it wasn't Walmart, it would be some other corporate giant that we'd be hating. I didn't grow up in the era of Main Street and Mom & Pop shops so I don't have a personal experience or appreciation for them.

 

[Habanero]

My small down back home doesn't have a Wal-mart, you have to go to another tiny little town that does about 20-30 minutes away on crazy curvy streets. It's a tiny store though, not one of the bigger super-walmarts.

 

[gkmo62u]

Of course I shop there. Easy, convenient, excellent selection of goods and mechandise.

But, alas, I do like Target much better. I shop there too.

 

[Mastiff]

In college it WAS. We used to go there to kill an afternoon, play in the toy/camping/pet section and see girls form class which usually to, “so are you going to see that band at that bar tonight?”

It worked.

Yeah, but are you a member of the... erm, real "Sam's Club"?

 

[jordanb]

I, of course, don't. I have a very different perspective on Walmart than most people, I think, because my father is a UFCW representitive and I've had many talks with him about the company. Now, I'm trying to finish this post duing my lunch hour so I'm going to just run things off quckly, I'm sure you can references in google if you want them.

First of all, repo-man, ours is not a free-market economy. If it were we'd be buying everything, including dipers, newspapers, and caskets from the Standard Stuff conglomerate which owns everything and controls everything. We have a heavily regulated economy because a leaze-fare economy is horribly unstable and will always result in a few plutocrats gaining control in short order.

Second of all, Walmart is not just about being more 'efficient', they degrade the quality of life of their employees, their suppliers, and eventually, their customers.

Predatory pricing is illegal because it's an abbrigation of market principles. If you're Joes Hardware Shop in Smallsville, ID, and the richest company on earth has decided that they'd like to see you out of buisness, do you think that if you fail it's resultant from your inability to "adapt", or is it because the deck was stacked against you? Locally owned shops whose profits go back into the community are thus run out of buisness and replaced by a big box that pays its employees as little as possible.

About employees: Walmart's health care plan has premiums too high for their almost-minimum-wage employees to afford. So those employees have no insurance. What happens when they get sick? They have to go to the emergency care ward at a hospital (which legally can't refuse payment), or they are paid for by public assistance (free clinic, etc). If the hospital has to eat the cost, they have to raise care costs for everyone else to cover it, which means everyone else's health care costs go up. If public assistance pays for it, everyone else feels it in their taxes. Also, if the employee misses much work, they'll be fired, which'll mean they'll end up on the dole.

When Walmart goes up against a union shop, even a big one against which they can't use illegal tatics like predatory pricing, they can still undercut them because they don't have to worry about heath care or benifits for their employees. So the competitor turns to the union and says, if you don't give we'll have to shut down the stores which are in competition with Walmart, or we'll go out of buisness. Walmart is only more efficient if you consider taking care of employees to be an inefficency.

Often when the trucks arrive at a supplier's warehouse, they have to queue up because arrival times are not determinalistic. Walmart will refuse to do buisness with a company if their trucks ever have to wait for more than some (short) specified time. So when the Walmart truck shows up, it always goes to the front of the queue. No supplier can afford to be dropped by Walmart. I recall a specific incident that I heard about a bit ago, where Walmart ordered some huge shipment of Campbell's soup (I could have the specifics wrong). When the order came due Walmart said that they didn't want them anymore, and told the Campbell that if they sued for breech of contract they'd quit doing buisness with them. So Cambell had to dump all of the soup, which will eventually raise costs to the competitors as Walmart could refuse to pay more.

That's another thing, Walmart often makes suppliers open their books for an "audit" by Walmart's accountants. They cut out all of the "waste" in the budget and then offer them a price commensuate with the new budget. Of course, they consider union labor and factories in countries that don't commit human rights abuses to be "waste". They've moved their purchasing department to China and are the the main importer of Chinese goods, and one of the main forces in the exportation of jobs to China.

Anyhow, this is way past the end of my lunch hour, I've been working on this post in bursts between doing real work, and I've wasted too much time on it now. This isn't a comprehensive list of greviences against Walmart at all, but it's something to think about next time you go in for some "low low prices."

 

[H]

Yeah, but are you a member of the... erm, real "Sam's Club"?

Unfortunately, no. But that is an impressive accomplishment to any that are.

 

[H]

...Second of all, Walmart is not just about being more 'efficient', they degrade the quality of life of their employees...

Yes, my favorite story on this is that I knew a girl who worked at a Wal-Mart and they would only let her work 38 or 39 hours a week to avoid Full-Time status. She claims this was ‘typical’ in that particular store. Which brings up the question of how often is this really happening? What is this doing to the economical situation of the employees?

This particular girl lived in a small town (I met her during college) and she claimed there was absolutely nowhere else around to get another job. Wal-Mart had run all the other stores down.

(and yes, I have said this before in another post)

 

[Planderella]

Yes, my favorite story on this is that I knew a girl who worked at a Wal-Mart and they would only let her work 38 or 39 hours a week to avoid Full-Time status. She claims this was ‘typical’ in that particular store. Which brings up the question of how often is this really happening? What is this doing to the economical situation of the employees?

That happened to me while I worked at Eckerd Drugs during my undergrad years. I was hired as part time but typically put in more hours just to make ends meet. After several months of working almost full time, the company technically had to classify me as full time, but the store managers found a loophole and eventually reduced my hours. I had to rely on my mother for health care benefits.

 

[BKM]

This reminds me of a great DERFCITY cartoon a while ago that showed a big sign with a price counter moving downward. In the back room, where the customers's can't see it, there were two more counters: One for profits, and one for employees' wages. You can guess the direction of these counters


Well, Karl Marx and his ilk may have been horrible in their PROSCRIPTIONS for society. But, more and more I think he had some good DESCRIPTIVE ideas. And, one of his points is that the "petty bourgeoisie" would inevitably disappear.

To play Devil's Advocate, I am going to directly quote someone from the Urbanphoto.org who pointed out the problems with nostalgia for the good ol' days:

"I also question the notion that chains are irresponsible corporate citizens. For many North Americans, their first job was to don a uniform and serve fries at a local McDonald's. Hiring wasn't biased, and when you were an unemployed teenager in the midst of a lazy summer, you were glad to have the job. By contrast, the local stores had hiring preferences for their own children or 'family friends'. Despite their charm, many small town independent retailers are bastions of narrow-mindedness and unwelcoming, locally-bred xenophobia. Service attitudes vary between customers whether they are family friends and townsfolk or if they are 'outsiders'. Cronyism of this nature was eliminated by chain retailers. At the same time, in a retailing environment without small-town trust, completely alien concepts such as quality control and overall customer satisfaction were introduced and legally upheld. In some cases, where I am completely at the mercy of a retailer's 'technical expertise', I would not think twice about going to an independent. If I had brake work to be done on my car (if I had a car), I would most likely have it done at a Midas or Meineke as opposed to a local mechanic where price and workmanship expectations are totally unknown."

Leonard Machtier

 

[giff57]

I, of course, don't. I have a very different perspective on Walmart than most people, I think, because my father is a UFCW representitive and I've had many talks with him about the company. Now, I'm trying to finish this post duing my lunch hour so I'm going to just run things off quckly, I'm sure you can references in google if you want them.

First of all, repo-man, ours is not a free-market economy. If it were we'd be buying everything, including dipers, newspapers, and caskets from the Standard Stuff conglomerate which owns everything and controls everything. We have a heavily regulated economy because a leaze-fare economy is horribly unstable and will always result in a few plutocrats gaining control in short order.

Second of all, Walmart is not just about being more 'efficient', they degrade the quality of life of their employees, their suppliers, and eventually, their customers.

Predatory pricing is illegal because it's an abbrigation of market principles. If you're Joes Hardware Shop in Smallsville, ID, and the richest company on earth has decided that they'd like to see you out of buisness, do you think that if you fail it's resultant from your inability to "adapt", or is it because the deck was stacked against you? Locally owned shops whose profits go back into the community are thus run out of buisness and replaced by a big box that pays its employees as little as possible.

So every company in America should agree on what to charge so Joe and Martha are insured a good living?


About employees: Walmart's health care plan has premiums too high for their almost-minimum-wage employees to afford. So those employees have no insurance. What happens when they get sick? They have to go to the emergency care ward at a hospital (which legally can't refuse payment), or they are paid for by public assistance (free clinic, etc). If the hospital has to eat the cost, they have to raise care costs for everyone else to cover it, which means everyone else's health care costs go up. If public assistance pays for it, everyone else feels it in their taxes. Also, if the employee misses much work, they'll be fired, which'll mean they'll end up on the dole.


The city I run had our Health insurance premiums increase 30% this year. Run that out five years and every employer in the counrty will fit the above



When Walmart goes up against a union shop, even a big one against which they can't use illegal tatics like predatory pricing, they can still undercut them because they don't have to worry about heath care or benifits for their employees. So the competitor turns to the union and says, if you don't give we'll have to shut down the stores which are in competition with Walmart, or we'll go out of buisness. Walmart is only more efficient if you consider taking care of employees to be an inefficency.


I don't understand this point at all


Often when the trucks arrive at a supplier's warehouse, they have to queue up because arrival times are not determinalistic. Walmart will refuse to do buisness with a company if their trucks ever have to wait for more than some (short) specified time. So when the Walmart truck shows up, it always goes to the front of the queue. No supplier can afford to be dropped by Walmart. I recall a specific incident that I heard about a bit ago, where Walmart ordered some huge shipment of Campbell's soup (I could have the specifics wrong). When the order came due Walmart said that they didn't want them anymore, and told the Campbell that if they sued for breech of contract they'd quit doing buisness with them. So Cambell had to dump all of the soup, which will eventually raise costs to the competitors as Walmart could refuse to pay more.

I would like a source for that point. Common sense tells me that, 1. The huge conglomerate that owns Campbells could negotiate with Walmart. 2. They would not "dump" the soup, they would just sell it to someone else. 3. If I'm Walmart, It just makes sense to unload my trucks first, they are my trucks and I lose money when they sit.

That's another thing, Walmart often makes suppliers open their books for an "audit" by Walmart's accountants. They cut out all of the "waste" in the budget and then offer them a price commensuate with the new budget. Of course, they consider union labor and factories in countries that don't commit human rights abuses to be "waste". They've moved their purchasing department to China and are the the main importer of Chinese goods, and one of the main forces in the exportation of jobs to China.

This point like several others only flies if the supplier "Has" to sell to Walmart. If I am a manufacturer and I am making a small profit, and Wally come knocking and offers a price where I cannot profit, I just say see ya. and make my small profit. If the supplier chooses to "open his books", thats his problem.

Anyhow, this is way past the end of my lunch hour, I've been working on this post in bursts between doing real work, and I've wasted too much time on it now. This isn't a comprehensive list of greviences against Walmart at all, but it's something to think about next time you go in for some "low low prices." [/QUOTE ]

 

[giff57]

And don't get me started on how elitist it is to tell the lower income folks not to shop at their favorite store.

 

[Cardinal]

I prefer Target or even Shopko (a Wisconsin company), but Wal-Mart is what is in town. I'll go there for garden mulch, cheap picture frames, the pharmacy, and similar things. Any kind of clothing, bedding, kitchen goods (other than baking sheets), and other things where quality is important, I am usually at Kohls or more upscale. Just my middle-class egotism showing through, I guess.

 

[Trail Nazi]

But I do not buy clothes at Wal-Mart because other than jeans, they don't carry short-people clothes. I go to the mall for clothing.

There is always the kid's section! (Just kidding )

 

[Mud Princess]

And don't get me started on how elitist it is to tell the lower income folks not to shop at their favorite store.

No one's telling them to. The question was, do YOU shop there?


I for one was glad to see jordanb's post. I would guess that Wal-Mart is not the only one engaging in some of these practices, but it certainly is the largest.

 

[PlannerGirl]

i hate wal mart with a passion

im a Target shopper myself

heck i donno where the closest Wal Mart is, must be out in Fairfax Co some where.

 

[Repo Man]

First of all, repo-man, ours is not a free-market economy. If it were we'd be buying everything, including dipers, newspapers, and caskets from the Standard Stuff conglomerate which owns everything and controls everything. We have a heavily regulated economy because a leaze-fare economy is horribly unstable and will always result in a few plutocrats gaining control in short order.

I was refering to free market in a general sense and I knew that someone was going to be nitpicky about this and make the "this isn't a free market economy" statement. What I am getting at is that Wal Mart has just as much right to come into a City as a locally owned clothing shop. As much as I dislike lots and lots of things about Wal Mart, if they can come into a community and offer conveinent and cheap shopping and the local business can't, too bad. Yeah, it is unfair that Wal Mart has such tremendous buying power that there is no way that locals can compete, but life is not fair.

Also, why is it ok for Target to move into a community, but not Wal Mart. Target has similarly priced items and in some instances has a grocery store just like Wal Mart. Is it because everyone likes Target and it is considered "hip?" I am guessing that employees are paid around the same and the average cashier probably doesn't have health care either.

 

[el Guapo]

Used to be a man could get porn, trashy music and handguns at wallyworld. Damn do gooders.

 

[donk]

Here are a few of my takes/observations on wal~mart.

1) They have exclusivity deals with many suppliers. One example is a product called "no frizz". It is used in sewing and knitting to seal threads. Once wal mart enters the market area no other store can carry the product.

2) All Terra boots. A medium sized company in NFLD that makes work boots, started out supplying to many stores then wal mart asked them to supply them.. The orders were/ are huge, they had to stop supplying others or lose walmart, they chose walmart.

While both of these companies chose to do buisness with walmart, I bet they did not really have a choice in the manner in which teh business was carried out.

What do you think will happen to these companies, and their workers, if walmart says your prices are too high see you later?

3) My mother shops at walmert ( to buy no frizz) she was explaining what a PITA it is when you are in line with one or two items and someone in front of you is doing a grocery shopping. No fast lanes.

On shopping in general, what do you buy (other than groceries/toiletries) that you need to go to the same store every week to shop? I must have missed that day in class.

 

[kms]

I shop there for house paint. It's Sherwin Williams, but $15 less per gallon. I'll go there as a last resort. Target is my choice otherwise.

My sister is a department manager at Walmart and makes about $16/hr. They treat her well, even though she didn't really submit to the brainwashing attempts.

Did anyone ever read the Wamart Sucks web site? It had a section to comment on individual stores, and it turned into a place where employees would comment on each other. I was surprised at the viciousness. Last I heard, the site was down.

 

[PlannerByDay]

I have shopped at wal-mart but haven't stepped foot in one in several years. When I have shopped there it was because that is where my dad asked me to go to get some things. He lives in a small lake michigan community and it was the only place where I could get what he needed.

SO, I have shopped there but not by choice. Personally I don't care for it and ALWAYS TRY to support the locally owned businesses including resturants and bars, regardless of having to pay a little more.

 

[biscuit]

Did anyone ever read the Wamart Sucks web site?

Yes. I thought it was informative (although biased) and funny. Unfortunately the site has been shut down - legal action you know. I for one am not a Wal-Mart hater, but I'm not a fan either. I just think that there has to be a better place for people to beat their screaming children than the frozen food section of a Super Wal-Mart.


One reason I'm not a Wal-Mart fan.

A few years ago Wal-Mart announced that they were going to build a new Super Wal-Mart in Clemson, SC (there are two other stores within a 15 minute drive in each direction). The site that they planned to build on was on a two lane road, zoned mixed-use commercial/residential and borders several single family detached neighborhoods, one of which my sister lives in. The neighborhood and citizens groups were not happy to hear this and begain raising hell with city hall who took their concerns to Wal-Mart. A company spokesperson responded that Wal-Mart wanted to be a good neighbor and would not move into a community where it was not wanted. However, when the city rejected Wal-Mart's application, the company turned around and sued the city and a couple of conservation groups who opposed them and then said that they expected the city to pay for almost all new infrastructure at the site. The city eventually won the court battle and Wal-Mart's image has been tarnished with many in the community.

 

[plannerkat]

In other Wal-Mart news, last night our CIty Council turned down a request by the local Wally World attorney to rezone a trailer park for commercial use, specifically a supercenter, thus displacing a few hundred low-income people. I'm sure the residents will get screwed by someone else, considering the park has been sold, but it's still so nice when the elected officials have a conscience!

 

[PlannerGirl]

Ok i will admit when i lived in NC i went to Wal-Mart just to see the...wild life

The people who went there were down right amazing/scary. Im not sure where they came from but I was not sure some where human

bad I know but true

 

[Seabishop]

... Personally I don't care for it and ALWAYS TRY to support the locally owned businesses including resturants and bars, regardless of having to pay a little more.

The price difference doesn't usually make me want to go to chains either. I'm not rich but saving 20 cents on a box of popsicles just isn't worth abandoning an otherwise convenient local business. On a larger item I can see shopping around more. In reality though, most people including myself go to whatever is near the house.