Don’t buy peaches at Wal mart !!!

[GPW]

Shopping the other day at the WM , we saw the first peaches of the season ... $3.48/ lb. But they were so pretty , we bought a few... When we got home , every one was Rotten inside ... We’ll be bring them back today demanding a refund ... It’s enough of an insult to charge that much for common peaches , but to have them all BAD is just too much ... I just may stop shopping at Wal Mart for food entirely ... Their prices are no cheaper than anywhere else , and the quality is POOR ...

[Shadow Catcher]

We are fortunate to have a Cosco down the street from Wallmart where they pay their workers a living wage and have better quality. Your Peaches most likely did not come from the US and spent a lot of time from when they were picked.

[GPW]

SC, There’s a new Costco in town , we’ll have to check that out ... Thanks !!!

[GPW]

Took the rotten peaches back to the WM ... They were nice about it and refunded the money and even apologized I didn’t get to enjoy them ... The lady behind the counter remarking “ For 3.50/lb. you must have wanted those Peaches Bad!!! “

[eamarquardt]

Costco is GREAT. No comparison to WallyWorld. Then only problem is that "Wall Street" criticizes them for treating their employees well!

Costco's Dilemma: Be Kind To Its Workers, or Wall Street?

By ANN ZIMMERMAN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

When it comes to workers, companies can be accused of not paying enough -- or paying too much.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s parsimonious approach to employee compensation has made the world's largest retailer a frequent target of labor unions and even Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who has accused the Bentonville, Ark., chain of failing to offer its employees affordable health-care coverage.

In contrast, rival Costco Wholesale Corp. often is held up as a retailer that does it right, paying well and offering generous benefits.

But Costco's kind-hearted philosophy toward its 100,000 cashiers, shelf-stockers and other workers is drawing criticism from Wall Street. Some analysts and investors contend that the Issaquah, Wash., warehouse-club operator actually is too good to employees, with Costco shareholders suffering as a result.

"From the perspective of investors, Costco's benefits are overly generous," says Bill Dreher, retailing analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. "Public companies need to care for shareholders first. Costco runs its business like it is a private company."

Costco appears to pay a penalty for its largesse to workers. The company's shares trade at about 20 times projected per-share earnings for 2004, compared with about 24 for Wal-Mart. Mr. Dreher says the unusually high wages and benefits contribute to investor concerns that profit margins at Costco aren't as high as they should be.

Costco, which opened its first store in 1983 and now has 432 locations, disputes the contention that it takes care of workers at the expense of investors. "The last thing I want people to believe is that I don't care about the shareholder," says Jim Sinegal, Costco's president and chief executive since 1993, who owns about 3.2 million Costco shares valued at $118 million based on yesterday's price of $36.96, up 52 cents, in 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market trading. "But I happen to believe that in order to reward the shareholder in the long term, you have to please your customers and workers."

CLOCKING IN


Comparing some workplace statistics from Costco and Wal-Mart

Costco / Wal-Mart

Employees covered by company health insurance 82% 48%

Insurance-enrollment waiting periods (Full-time) 3 mos 6 mos

Insurance-enrollment waiting periods (Part-time) 6 mos 2 yrs

Portion of health-care premium paid by company 92% 66.60%

Employees who work part-time 43% 30%

Annual worker turnover rate 24% 50%

Source: the companies
Read more at faculty.washington.edu/janegf/costcovswalmart.html
OR online.wsj.com/article_email/SB108025917...3oJ2pan2IbauIm4.html

[GuitarPhotog]

Way too early in the season for stone fruit. Had to have been stored over the winter.

<Chas>

[wagondude]

I have always found the fruits at our Walmart to be of poor quality compared to the regular grocery stores. Even the not so pretty stuff at Aldi is better (cheaper too.

[Verna]

A recent survey of grocery stores had Walmart coming in dead last. Comments ranged from low quality fruit and veggies to sale items sold out, but replaced with more expensive items (bait & switch), to not enough registers open to quickly handle the shoppers. Even though a Walmart is a mile from my house, it is the last choice for my shopping.

[GPW]

Verna, I sure have to agree.... about ALL of the above ... I’d only been shopping for groceries there cause’ they had other things , like a auto and sporting goods section , clothes , computer stuff, garden center... More a convenience than good sense... Think , I’ll be shopping around more in the future , and Costco sure looks worth investigating but is about 20 mi. away ...

[Tom Kurth]

Walmart seems to practice the same thing politicians do--say aomething often enough and people are bound to believe it. I'm the grocery shopper in our home and no matter how often I see Walmart commercials claiming lower grocery prices, I am convinced I get better deals by buying at local stores that have the traditional three-week sale cycle. I just have to buy ahead and freeze meat products till I'm ready to use them. I rarely buy ready to eat products and cook almost everything from scratch so this might not be the same for everyone. The only thing I find I like better at the Walmart is a larger selection of meat varieties on an everyday basis.

Best,
Tom

[GPW]

We used to like WM because they handled the bigger sizes , but that’s all been done away with (the big “remodel” ) in favor of corporate profitability ...

I also saw (TV show) where WM takes out life insurance policies on their employees , where They (WM) are the beneficiaries , so that friendly old greeter at the door may be worth more to them Dead than alive ... That’s pretty GREEDY eh ???

[GPW]

The wife just commented that “WHEN" WM goes out of business , she hopes they don’t just abandon those big buildings everywhere... Enough of that already ...

[Fenlason]

Don't buy peaches at Walmart?

Don't buy anything at Walmart

I don't "trust" anything they sell.. but I definitely would not trust anything I would be putting in my body

[GerryS]

Don't worry, the only thing I'll buy from them is....wait...NOTHING. That company is evil, and I won't deal with them as long as there is any other choice....and that includes doing without if possible.

[Steve_Cox]

I have been Walmart free since October 2013, I will never go there again unless it is to protest unfair labor practices. I do not need the crap they sell.

As far as the peaches.... Mmmmm soft fuzzy, very absorbent peaches. Unless you eat organic peaches, you should have to wear a hazmat suit to eat commercial peaches. The workers that spray up to 50 different chemicals on your peach have to wear one.