Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats • Hacker News Board

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#321

Post by specialist » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 1:59 PM UTC

eloff wrote: post #308

emodendroket wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you really though? They do the same third-party seller thing as Amazon.

It's not third party sellers, it's comingling inventory from third party sellers. That breaks the reviews / reputation as a way to check, and it means if there's even one bad egg, even if I buy from Amazon itself, I can still get the wrong product.

It seems to me Amazon's comingling is bad for competition. Players on their platform, not between Amazon and others.

Have any of the regulators taken note?

I've been reading Congress' anti-trust research and reports. Haven't seen this called out yet.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#322

Post by galgalesh » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:02 PM UTC

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,…

When I visited the US, I went to Walmart just to see how bad it was. I visited the "sick and dead fish" aisle. Incomprehensible how that's even allowed, but ok.

This is more subjective, but in every country I go to, I visit a "cheap supermarket chain store" and look at the people working there. Do they look happy? Do they look healthy? Do they look tired? Switzerland was amazing on that front.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#323

Post by varsketiz » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:03 PM UTC

Scoundreller wrote: post #222

raverbashing wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Self-checkout? Best invention of the 2000's

Sorta. Took them a while to turn it off criminal mode. Wasn’t long ago you had to bag an item before you could scan the next. But I have more than 1 hand. Sometimes multiple people. French ones still run in criminal mode.

What is criminal mode?

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#324

Post by galgalesh » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:06 PM UTC

rsuelzer wrote: post #152

I avoid Walmart because of their absolutely terrible treatment of their employees, the fact the have failed to provide decent wages or benefits for their workers, drove a race to the bottom in retail and did this almost entirely to the benefit of five children who were lucky to be born with the last name Walton and are now the richest family in America. The corporation is seared in my mind as the ugliest side of Amer…

When I visit other countries, I always visit the Cheapest supermarkets, just to see the people working there. Zwitserland was amazing: happy, healthy people who clearly loved their job. The US much less so.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#325

Post by jvolkman » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:12 PM UTC

ericbarrett wrote: post #320

cgriswald wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dislike Walmart rather intensely but I know if I order a new Kitchen Aid mixer from them I’m going to get a new Kitchen Aid mixer. Ask me how I know the same isn’t true of Amazon. No matter how good your delivery logistics, it’s not “nailing it” if I get the wrong thing fast.

I’ve commented on this before—you kind of don’t. It will be a true KitchenAid brand, of course. But the actual machine may be compromised. Walmart places intense pressure on their suppliers and often sells Walmart-only SKUs made of inferior parts and materials. I bought rope there (in a physical store) a few months ago, for tying down furniture in a truck. Got home, cut the rope, it was a foam core with braiding arou…

Maybe you just bought floating rope? There are a bunch of floating rope products that advertise foam cores.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#326

Post by mikelward » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:16 PM UTC

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,…

I went to a Walmart Supercenter this week to try to buy clothes and groceries. No carts or hand baskets available. One employee reprimanding another employee right in front of customers. No bags for produce. Underwear was in a locked cabinet. I pressed the button but nobody came to help. Grumpy attendant at the self checkout.

It's no wonder that people who can afford to shop elsewhere do.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#327

Post by frankish » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:19 PM UTC

rsuelzer wrote: post #152

I avoid Walmart because of their absolutely terrible treatment of their employees, the fact the have failed to provide decent wages or benefits for their workers, drove a race to the bottom in retail and did this almost entirely to the benefit of five children who were lucky to be born with the last name Walton and are now the richest family in America. The corporation is seared in my mind as the ugliest side of Amer…

To your point, Dan Price recently posted some related stats and perspective:

> Minimum wage

> Costco: $16

> Walmart: $11

>

> Average pay

> Costco: $24

> Walmart: $15

>

> Employees on food stamps (subsidized by you)

> Costco: Virtually none

> Walmart: More than any other company

>

> Founder net worth

> Costco: not a billionaire

> Walmart: $220+ billion; up $30 billion in the pandemic

>

> Both companies have similar business models and charge the same low prices. One decided to treat its employees like humans and forgo enormous profits, and the other one took the opposite track.

>

> Business is about choices.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#328

Post by lostapathy » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #147

bushbaba wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet I don’t use them. I use Etsy. I use chewy. I use other niche e-commerce but I never use Walmart online. They can’t just replicate Amazon they have to be better than Amazon.

They are better than Amazon. You can filter search results on Walmart so that you don’t see third party reseller Aliexpress garbage and only stuff sourced by Walmart themselves. Last I checked, Amazon had removed that option as of maybe a decade ago, and they commingle inventory so they do not assure me of any supply chain integrity. And they are more expensive for any dense, heavy, especially liquid products.

Does that filtering on Walmart’s website actually work, though? It’s broken half the time I try it.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#329

Post by dylan604 » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:27 PM UTC

wishinghand wrote: post #265

dylan604 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a customer visiting any store (not just Walmart), it is rather frustrating to need assistance from an employee but unable to find one until you find a gaggle of them all "hanging out". I have no idea what they are doing. They could be talking about unions, they could be talking about the weather, or they could all have just completed assiting the movement of a heavy item require 4 "teammates". Either way, it is no…

I don’t know why any of those three possibilities qualifies as a “bad look”. They’re working humans with needs, just like anyone else. It’d be like saying it’s a bad look whenever a few programmers are at a computer. What could they be doing?

Why would you even try to compare coders to customer service oriented jobs? No computer coding company has ever had a slogan similar to "We're here to help". Every big box retailer promotes their employees being there to assist their customers. That's why the all wear the same color blue shirts, orange aprons, etc so that they are easily identifiable to customers looking for assistance. That's their job, at least part of the job.

Re: Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

#330

Post by dylan604 » Sat, Jun 05, 2021, 2:31 PM UTC

taurath wrote: post #272

dylan604 wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a customer visiting any store (not just Walmart), it is rather frustrating to need assistance from an employee but unable to find one until you find a gaggle of them all "hanging out". I have no idea what they are doing. They could be talking about unions, they could be talking about the weather, or they could all have just completed assiting the movement of a heavy item require 4 "teammates". Either way, it is no…

Having worked retail stores, you really underestimate how little time you have as any individual to get your shit done and also help customers. That gaggle may be them deciding how to make the store look right with only 4 people when normally it’d take 8. If you want good customer service go somewhere they dont cut corners on staffing while paying the heroes that have to do 3 people’s jobs minimum wage.

>That gaggle may be them deciding

Then take that gaggle to the back in a meeting room so that it's not visible to the customers.

>If you want good customer service go somewhere they dont cut corners

Where does this exist? I'm free this weekend. I'll see about taking a visit to this magical fairy land you speak. /s Seriously though, what public facing retail store doesn't cut corners on staffing or any other aspect? I need to expand my list of stores not on the "disgusted with" list