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Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

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Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#31

Post by Red_Leaves_Flyy »

handrous wrote: post #22
Red_Leaves_Flyy wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The staff are miserable because the pay is shit, and they’re likely collecting or eligible for welfare. The customers treat them like shit. The shit that happens in and around Walmart’s is soul destroying. If Walmart started treating their staff like Costco we’d see a lot happier staff, and pay less taxes on entitlements.

Yeah, I didn't intend that as a slight against the employees. It's just another thing that makes shopping there unpleasant. I don't expect that employees at a store like that put on a bunch of fake-happiness for my sake, but Wal-Mart's give off strong "I hate this shit" vibes that I don't get other places. I don't blame them (the employees) for it, though.

I agree, but would Walmart paying their staff like Costco to help them have some happiness in their life be enough to get customers like us in their stores?

There’s still the whole, all very poor people shop there dynamic that isn’t going away unless someone can undercut Walmart significantly.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#32

Post by nine_k »

mike_d wrote: post #23
handrous wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Observations about the nearest Wal-Mart: 1) All the employees look sad, all he time. 2) They've obviously carefully tuned their check out staffing so that the lines are always long. This is such a constant that it has to be intentional, and they're doing a good job of it. 3) Sometimes they attempt to check receipts at exit. I don't get that at any other non-membership store. 4) All the shoppers look sad. 5) It's the…

Longer lines and things like the occasional light bulb burned out psychologically made people think they were getting a better deal. The store is just like a Vegas casino, every last thing has been thought out and everything is A/B tested down to a regional and sometimes city basis.

I suppose that the long lines go next to aisles with some last-minute stuff like candy, chewing gum, small toys, etc, which the bored people in the line have to see and may feel a craving to grab. If not them, then their children who experience boredom more acutely.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#33

Post by crznp »

mike_d wrote: post #23
handrous wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Observations about the nearest Wal-Mart: 1) All the employees look sad, all he time. 2) They've obviously carefully tuned their check out staffing so that the lines are always long. This is such a constant that it has to be intentional, and they're doing a good job of it. 3) Sometimes they attempt to check receipts at exit. I don't get that at any other non-membership store. 4) All the shoppers look sad. 5) It's the…

Longer lines and things like the occasional light bulb burned out psychologically made people think they were getting a better deal. The store is just like a Vegas casino, every last thing has been thought out and everything is A/B tested down to a regional and sometimes city basis.

I believe it, but what were they trying to optimize?

If all of their changes are focused on near-term bottom line, is it really surprising if that comes at the expense of customer/employee satisfaction and brand reputation?

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#34

Post by pengaru »

handrous wrote: post #12
mc32 wrote: post #2

I think Wal*Mart has an image problem. I’ve gone into their stores. Their stock assortment isn’t bad compared to the competition. In fact, aside from Whole Foods on the organic/bio side of things, they measure up very well and better compared to their competition. They are more of a hypermart where you can do one stop shopping ala Carrefour. The issues I see are: very drab color palette. Working class shoppers. Sure,…

Observations about the nearest Wal-Mart: 1) All the employees look sad, all he time. 2) They've obviously carefully tuned their check out staffing so that the lines are always long. This is such a constant that it has to be intentional, and they're doing a good job of it. 3) Sometimes they attempt to check receipts at exit. I don't get that at any other non-membership store. 4) All the shoppers look sad. 5) It's the…

Most of what you're observing is simply a reflection of the area demographics.

It's similar to visiting a small town DMV.

Your description of gambling machines reminds me of my last visit back home in IL, after they legalized gambling. It's very jarring to walk past locals glued to video slot machines at 9AM in a gas station. It's depressing as hell, I'm sure the walmarts have cashed in on the action too but I didn't visit one while there.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#35

Post by wjamesg »

HideousKojima wrote: post #3
mc32 wrote: post #2

I think Wal*Mart has an image problem. I’ve gone into their stores. Their stock assortment isn’t bad compared to the competition. In fact, aside from Whole Foods on the organic/bio side of things, they measure up very well and better compared to their competition. They are more of a hypermart where you can do one stop shopping ala Carrefour. The issues I see are: very drab color palette. Working class shoppers. Sure,…

>They could likely address this by having a second more upscale brand. That's kinda what Sam's Club is, though Sam's is competing against Costco

I wouldn’t say Sam’s Club is upscale…at all

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#36

Post by ApolloFortyNine »

Red_Leaves_Flyy wrote: post #16

I want someone , *anyone*, to knock Amazon down. So here’s some free advice to Walmart. Consider Walmart’s weaknesses and how other companies address them. - manually stocked shelves Consider Costco’s model of placing pallets of product on the floor. Most Walmart’s have the vertical space to go up. Obviously redesigning their store experience is expensive and difficult with a stagnating industry and a lot of staff th…

>In years past it made sense to force customers to walk through the entire store to do some annoying task. These days? I pay more, sometimes a lot, to not have to enter a store, or speak to underpaid and overworked staff there. Punch some new doors on the side of the the building, put in a few reefer fridges, some more shelves, and have the in house developers crank out a contactless pickup web app. Include

A lot of walmarts now actually have this automated pickup machine [1]. It's honestly kinda cool. The grocery pickup they'll bring out to your car for free too, unfortunately sometimes I've had to wait 10 minutes though, so it's not as breezy as I'd prefer.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71pgd-LzzXc

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#37

Post by yumraj »

partiallypro wrote: post #29
Red_Leaves_Flyy wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The staff are miserable because the pay is shit, and they’re likely collecting or eligible for welfare. The customers treat them like shit. The shit that happens in and around Walmart’s is soul destroying. If Walmart started treating their staff like Costco we’d see a lot happier staff, and pay less taxes on entitlements.

The Walmarts around me pay ~$15/hr which isn't much less than Costco.

One thing I've noted in general is Costco employees are much younger on average than Walmart employees.

I almost never find an old employee at Costco, while at Walmart most of them are old or middle aged.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#39

Post by mc32 »

grillvogel wrote: post #26
mc32 wrote: post #2

I think Wal*Mart has an image problem. I’ve gone into their stores. Their stock assortment isn’t bad compared to the competition. In fact, aside from Whole Foods on the organic/bio side of things, they measure up very well and better compared to their competition. They are more of a hypermart where you can do one stop shopping ala Carrefour. The issues I see are: very drab color palette. Working class shoppers. Sure,…

maybe i'm weird but i actually prefer the vibe at walmart to the pseudo upscale feel of stores like target. at walmart you know what youre getting, theres no pretense that you are there for any other reason than cheap crap. people of all economic backgrounds are all there just to get the best deals.

Thing is the vibe part I see but quality wise, they’re on par with others. It’s not Dollar store crap.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#40

Post by kbelder »

grillvogel wrote: post #26
mc32 wrote: post #2

I think Wal*Mart has an image problem. I’ve gone into their stores. Their stock assortment isn’t bad compared to the competition. In fact, aside from Whole Foods on the organic/bio side of things, they measure up very well and better compared to their competition. They are more of a hypermart where you can do one stop shopping ala Carrefour. The issues I see are: very drab color palette. Working class shoppers. Sure,…

maybe i'm weird but i actually prefer the vibe at walmart to the pseudo upscale feel of stores like target. at walmart you know what youre getting, theres no pretense that you are there for any other reason than cheap crap. people of all economic backgrounds are all there just to get the best deals.

I agree. Target is much more annoying; just as bottom-of-the-barrel, but they depend on pretending they're not.
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