Wal-Mart plants make me cry

[Judy and Dave G]

Hello all

I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon. I needed 6 more purple wave plants. Well
they had 4 of those 6 foot high rolling carts with 6 shelves on them just
loaded with wave plants. But none of them were marked as to which wave they
were. No big surprise.

Here's the problem. Everyone of the plants in that garden center that
wasn't dead, was almost dead. Most were dead. Why? Because they had not
been watered. For God's sake. Water, that's all. I cannot believe that
there is no one that works at the WalMart garden center that does not
realize that plants NEED water to survive. How very, very sad.

Someone had noted last year on these newsgroups that Wal Mart does not pay
for all the flowers that are there. They only pay for what sells. And if
something dies, the supplier takes it back, or pitches it, but Wal Mart does
not have to pay.

What a crock. It was apparent that the plants were healthy before they died
of thirst.

What a sad, sad waste.

Judy

[Timothy]

On Sun, 27 Apr 2003 21:29:12 -0400, Judy and Dave G wrote:

> Hello all
>
> I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon. I needed 6 more purple wave plants.
> Well they had 4 of those 6 foot high rolling carts with 6 shelves on
> them just loaded with wave plants. But none of them were marked as to
> which wave they were. No big surprise.
>
> Here's the problem. Everyone of the plants in that garden center that
> wasn't dead, was almost dead. Most were dead. Why? Because they had
> not been watered. For God's sake. Water, that's all. I cannot believe
> that there is no one that works at the WalMart garden center that does
> not realize that plants NEED water to survive. How very, very sad.
>
> Someone had noted last year on these newsgroups that Wal Mart does not
> pay for all the flowers that are there. They only pay for what sells.
> And if something dies, the supplier takes it back, or pitches it, but
> Wal Mart does not have to pay.
>
> What a crock. It was apparent that the plants were healthy before they
> died of thirst.
> What a sad, sad waste.


Judy I tend to have to agree with you. Wal-Mart is a sad, sad place.
Besides their plant abuse, they have help to destroy the small businesses
that used to supply these same goods. I'm finding it much harder to hand
over my money to these mega box stores who seem to care less about their
customer service with each passing day. I implore you or any other reader
of this, to support your local businesses. The 10 or 20 percent more you
might spend at a local business will support your local economy, not to
mention the customer support that you'll recieve.


--
http://yard-works.netfirms.com

[Kevin Miller]

Problem is "local business" customer service isn't much better, if
better at all...(unless you get the owner to help and even then the
local HWI down my street the owner couldn't care less when you walk
in)


On Mon, 28 Apr 2003 03:00:55 GMT, "Timothy"
> wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Apr 2003 21:29:12 -0400, Judy and Dave G wrote:
>
>> Hello all
>>
>> I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon. I needed 6 more purple wave plants.
>> Well they had 4 of those 6 foot high rolling carts with 6 shelves on
>> them just loaded with wave plants. But none of them were marked as to
>> which wave they were. No big surprise.
>>
>> Here's the problem. Everyone of the plants in that garden center that
>> wasn't dead, was almost dead. Most were dead. Why? Because they had
>> not been watered. For God's sake. Water, that's all. I cannot believe
>> that there is no one that works at the WalMart garden center that does
>> not realize that plants NEED water to survive. How very, very sad.
>>
>> Someone had noted last year on these newsgroups that Wal Mart does not
>> pay for all the flowers that are there. They only pay for what sells.
>> And if something dies, the supplier takes it back, or pitches it, but
>> Wal Mart does not have to pay.
>>
>> What a crock. It was apparent that the plants were healthy before they
>> died of thirst.
>> What a sad, sad waste.
>
>
>Judy I tend to have to agree with you. Wal-Mart is a sad, sad place.
>Besides their plant abuse, they have help to destroy the small businesses
>that used to supply these same goods. I'm finding it much harder to hand
>over my money to these mega box stores who seem to care less about their
>customer service with each passing day. I implore you or any other reader
>of this, to support your local businesses. The 10 or 20 percent more you
>might spend at a local business will support your local economy, not to
>mention the customer support that you'll recieve.

[paghat]

In article >, "Timothy"
> wrote:

> On Sun, 27 Apr 2003 21:29:12 -0400, Judy and Dave G wrote:
>
> > Hello all
> >
> > I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon. I needed 6 more purple wave plants.
> > Well they had 4 of those 6 foot high rolling carts with 6 shelves on
> > them just loaded with wave plants. But none of them were marked as to
> > which wave they were. No big surprise.
> >
> > Here's the problem. Everyone of the plants in that garden center that
> > wasn't dead, was almost dead. Most were dead. Why? Because they had
> > not been watered. For God's sake. Water, that's all. I cannot believe
> > that there is no one that works at the WalMart garden center that does
> > not realize that plants NEED water to survive. How very, very sad.
> >
> > Someone had noted last year on these newsgroups that Wal Mart does not
> > pay for all the flowers that are there. They only pay for what sells.
> > And if something dies, the supplier takes it back, or pitches it, but
> > Wal Mart does not have to pay.
> >
> > What a crock. It was apparent that the plants were healthy before they
> > died of thirst.
> > What a sad, sad waste.
>
>
> Judy I tend to have to agree with you. Wal-Mart is a sad, sad place.
> Besides their plant abuse, they have help to destroy the small businesses
> that used to supply these same goods. I'm finding it much harder to hand
> over my money to these mega box stores who seem to care less about their
> customer service with each passing day. I implore you or any other reader
> of this, to support your local businesses. The 10 or 20 percent more you
> might spend at a local business will support your local economy, not to
> mention the customer support that you'll recieve.


Products are not actually cheaper if they're merely more cheaply made. I
close-to-never shop at WalMart, & went many years never even setting foot
inside one, though in the last year or so I've been a couple of times,
leaving each time with nothing. The first time was when I needed a wrought
iron stand for a terrarium & the stand in an independent shop seemed just
a little expensive. Someone said the same stand cost less than half as
much at WalMart, so I decided, oh hell, I hate to support that store, but
paying half as much for that stand would be nice. So I drove over to a
WalMart only to discover that what looked superficially like wrought iron
FELT like wobbly aluminum that had been painted black! So I went back to
the independent dealer & got a far sturdier & much prettier stand, which
given the quality suddenly seemed very affordable after all.

On the other hand, being a small independent shop isn't a very convincing
excuse to overcharge. The choice is often between getting jackshit cheapy
stuff at WalMart on sale, or get a well-made reliable product from an
independent store for a bit more. But when the independent store is itself
full of jackshit cheap crapola, & the owners whine that Walmart is putting
THEM out of business, it's hard to feel sorry for them.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

[junkyardcat]

"Judy and Dave G" > wrote in message
...
> Hello all
>
> I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon. I needed 6 more purple wave plants.
Well
> they had 4 of those 6 foot high rolling carts with 6 shelves on them just
> loaded with wave plants. But none of them were marked as to which wave
they
> were. No big surprise.
>
> Here's the problem. Everyone of the plants in that garden center that
> wasn't dead, was almost dead. Most were dead. Why? Because they had not
> been watered. For God's sake. Water, that's all. I cannot believe that
> there is no one that works at the WalMart garden center that does not
> realize that plants NEED water to survive. How very, very sad.
>
> Someone had noted last year on these newsgroups that Wal Mart does not pay
> for all the flowers that are there. They only pay for what sells. And if
> something dies, the supplier takes it back, or pitches it, but Wal Mart
does
> not have to pay.
>
> What a crock. It was apparent that the plants were healthy before they
died
> of thirst.
>
> What a sad, sad waste.
>
> Judy

Oh honey...don't get me started on Wal-Mart and their plants!! I posted a
message about them several weeks ago because I was so outraged at the way
they treat their plants:( Everytime I go there, I cry. I thought about
complaining to the corporate office, but they probably don't give a crap. I
think they need somebody that knows what the hell they're doing to work in
that department. Thought about applying there myself...I guarantee very few
of their plants would die if I were in charge! From now on, when I go there,
I'm gonna grab the water hose and start watering their plants for them...and
make a big production out of it! Maybe that'll embarass them...probably
not...

Angie

[Tom Randy]

On Mon, 28 Apr 2003 15:22:44 -0400, Vox Humana wrote:


> "Judy and Dave G" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hello all
>>
>> I was at Wal-Mart this afternoon. I needed 6 more purple wave plants.
> Well
>> they had 4 of those 6 foot high rolling carts with 6 shelves on them
>> just loaded with wave plants. But none of them were marked as to which
>> wave
> they
>> were. No big surprise.
>>
>> Here's the problem. Everyone of the plants in that garden center that
>> wasn't dead, was almost dead. Most were dead. Why? Because they had
>> not been watered. For God's sake. Water, that's all. I cannot believe
>> that there is no one that works at the WalMart garden center that does
>> not realize that plants NEED water to survive. How very, very sad.
>
> It isn't a phenomena limited to Wal-Mart. In my area Lowe's, Home Depot,
> and K-Mart all have the same problem. I am hesitant to buy any plants at
> these stores unless they are just unloading them off the truck when I
> arrive. Even if the plants you get aren't wilted when you buy them, god
> only knows how many times they wilted while they were on the racks. I am
> fortunate that I live near a couple of large producers of perennials so I
> can get really healthy plants at about the same price the big box stores
> sell their wilted plants. I always wonder how much they pay for the
> plants because they must have an enormous loss due to failure to water.


And if no one says anything to the managers of these stores nothing will
ever be done about any of this. OPEN YOUR MOUTHS.At least you can say you
did YOUR part.

[animaux]

On Tue, 29 Apr 2003 13:22:39 GMT, "Vox Humana" > wrote:


>Manager? You're lucky to find an open check-out stand or an employee who
>doesn't run when s/he sees you headed their way.
>

I guess that's a regional problem or condition. Down here in Texas the Walmart
employees are very helpful, kind and willing. The only problem with Walmart is
the amount of people shopping in them!

They are being sued for sex discrimination. We'll see how it plays out.

[animaux]

On Wed, 30 Apr 2003 00:27:47 -0500, "B & J" > wrote:


>The same is true where we live in Arkansas. The hardest thing to find within
>a block of the store is a parking space.
>
>The plants are well cared for, but it's often difficult to find something
>specific such as Mexican heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia) because they do
>little advertising. I have a friend who works in the garden center and
>complained to him earlier because I could not find blueberry plants in the
>area. He told me they had come into WalMart and sold out the same day. He
>promised to give me a call when the heather arrived. The turnover in the
>plant section is incredible. Unless I go to the center every other day, I
>miss things I want.
>
>I have only met one person working in the local WalMart store with an
>attitude problem, and she is no longer working at the store - had nothing to
>do with that. It may be a regional thing, but I have nothing but praise for
>the local workers. They go out of their way to be courteous and helpful.
>
>The sex discrimination suit may be a problem. I know a number of the
>management people here, and all of them are men. That may be a regional
>thing, too.....
>
>John
>

Yes, I believe the southern states have far better manners than other states.
At least that's been my experience having grown up in New York City and moved to
Texas ten years ago.

There are many factors in place when making a woman manager. I do know stock
prices have not fallen after they announced this lawsuit. My local store has a
female manager, asst. manager, and front manager. We'll see. If they did
discriminate, they should be punished store by store, but not the whole
corporation. With three thousand stores in the States, alone, it's bound to
offend someone.

Victoria

[JWB]

"Timothy" > wrote in message

> Judy I tend to have to agree with you. Wal-Mart is a sad, sad place.
> Besides their plant abuse, they have help to destroy the small businesses
> that used to supply these same goods. I'm finding it much harder to hand
> over my money to these mega box stores who seem to care less about their
> customer service with each passing day. I implore you or any other reader
> of this, to support your local businesses. The 10 or 20 percent more you
> might spend at a local business will support your local economy, not to
> mention the customer support that you'll recieve.

I agree, but my "local businesses" have to stay open later than 6pm to get
my business. I'm stunned at the amount of local businesses that close shop
at 5:30 or so and then whine that Walmart and Home Depot kill them. Well,
duh...

That said, I don't buy plants at Walmart - it's just too sad to look at.

JWB

[Judy and Dave G]

As a follow up to this thread.

I was at WalMart (again looking at their plants because the truck was still
in the parking lot!) and overheard 2 clerks in the garden dept. I had asked
the price on some of the Bonnie vegetable plants and the one clerk was
showing me the hand printed price list. The other clerk came up to her and
said she had been asking Bonnie for printed price lists and they never
brought them. Well the other clerk said "Yeah, well, they don't seem to
care about anything except watering. And we just don't have time."

So, it appears the suppliers are getting tired of having to write off for
bad care.

Judy

"JWB" > wrote in message
...
> "Timothy" > wrote in message
>
> > Judy I tend to have to agree with you. Wal-Mart is a sad, sad place.
> > Besides their plant abuse, they have help to destroy the small
businesses
> > that used to supply these same goods. I'm finding it much harder to hand
> > over my money to these mega box stores who seem to care less about their
> > customer service with each passing day. I implore you or any other
reader
> > of this, to support your local businesses. The 10 or 20 percent more you
> > might spend at a local business will support your local economy, not to
> > mention the customer support that you'll recieve.
>
> I agree, but my "local businesses" have to stay open later than 6pm to get
> my business. I'm stunned at the amount of local businesses that close shop
> at 5:30 or so and then whine that Walmart and Home Depot kill them. Well,
> duh...
>
> That said, I don't buy plants at Walmart - it's just too sad to look at.
>
> JWB
>
>