Enough with the WalMart Bashing

Anyone but me get aggravated at all the WalMart bashing?

We shop there. A lot. When we lived in WV it was our ONLY option in our small town aside from an overpriced grocery store. I always thought that if we moved, and I had another option, I wouldn't shop there anymore. EVERYONE loves to tell you how awful WalMart is. How terrible they treat their employees. And about the little children working in sweatshops to make this lovely turtleneck for us spoiled Americans. So, I thought I would stand on a higher moral ground if we ever moved where there were more options.

People LOVE to talk about all the OTHER people that shop at WalMart. How they have rat tails and mullets, drive around in scooters, smell, drool, and pick their nose. I always kind of wonder how people know this stuff if they don't shop at WalMart and if they do shop at WalMart if they wonder what other people are saying about them when they get back home. It is an interesting quandary.

So, here I am. A stone's throw from Meijer, SuperTarget, Marsh, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Aldi's and various small markets. I have tried them all. Do you want to know where we shop? We drive OUT OF OUR WAY, to shop at the WalMart.

I have shopped every single one of the above stores. They are, in a word, EXPENSIVE!

SuperTarget, Whole Foods, Marsh and Kroger would require a loan to buy two weeks of groceries. Super Target has lots of cute little tins for their spices, LOTS of convenience foods and a teeny tiny meat department. I cook from scratch. I bake. Super Target does NOT fit that. Whole Foods is neat. People around here call it Whole Paycheck. The cashiers stone you if you don't bring reusable bags and they glare at you for using deodorant. Marsh and Kroger are OK on sale stuff but they make their money up charging twice as much for other staples. Trader Joe's is a whole lot of fun. We love going there and buying a couple snacks and some funky cheeses. It's mostly imported items. Kind of fun for a party or a snack night but I can't imagine buying two weeks worth of that stuff. They have some fun simmering sauces but seriously, I could make the same thing for a WHOLE lot less.

Meijer is a bit more competitive. However, in a price to price direct comparison, they lose. And I can't see spending my husband's hard earned money unnecessarily. Why? Why would I pay more for the same product? It is like throwing money in the toilet. So what? So I can say, "I don't shop at WalMart." So I can laugh at the people that do?

I hate to tell you WalMart bashers this, I've seen mullets, nose pickers, smelly scooter riders and lousy customer service at SuperTarget, Meijer, Marsh, Kroger, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods (admittedly it was the cashier who was smelly...deodorant isn't "green") and Aldi's. Have you ever tried to return anything to Target. My Word! Why don't they just fingerprint us and be done with it.

Frankly, times are tough for a lot of people. Anything that takes the sting out of that is welcome in my book. We're doing a lot better than we have in a long time. That doesn't mean, though, that I am comfortable spending more for the same stuff. And I do see the moral dilemma of doing business with a company when you are not comfortable with their practices. I really do. I applaud you. I can't really afford to shop on my principles at the moment, but if you can, that is great.

HOWEVER, please leave your "moral superiority" at the door. Please stop telling me how awful WalMart is. Please stop making fun of the people that shop there. Because if you don't, and you are complaining about how you can't afford to go on vacation, how it "must be nice" to afford to go to Disney every couple of years or the beach or camping, cabins and weekenders, I'm going to tell you how exactly, we afford those things. It's called a budget. And shopping smarter. That bag of sugar you were complaining costing you $3 was $1.87 at my WalMart. Oh, those $1.99 eggs? $.88 for me. Your $3.59 milk? I paid $2.49.

And I will gladly defer to my "couponing", sale shopping friends. They will hit 3 or 4 stores in a day and get the best deals on everything. I applaud them their diligence! They will save more money than me for sure! I choose not to spend that kind of time nor do I have that level of commitment. I would if I had to, though. I certainly don't put them down or make fun of their system for shopping and the places they chose to do business. You go girls!

You'll find me every other week at WalMart. I'll be in line behind the scooter-lady who is buying cigarettes from the guy in the mullet. These are my people.