Mary Jo Melone doesn't like WM very much:
Shopping at Wal-Mart can be such a disorienting experience that I have no idea if I saved money. I am considering this a fact-finding mission. For this Wal-Mart Supercenter is supposed to be a new and improved Wal-Mart breed, half as big as these monsters usually are.It seems some letter writers disagree:It's hard to believe that a corporation known for hiring illegal aliens, keeping out unions and driving under hometown businesses cares at all what we think. But as much as we shop at Wal-Mart stores, we're not crazy about them. The company's most successful supercenter is in Pinellas Park. The rest of Tampa Bay is carpeted with Wal-Marts, supercenters, and their cousins, Sam's Clubs. Still, we rebel.
Mary Jo Melone's bashing of Wal-Mart is not only biased, it is filled with gross inaccuracies. Her statement, "The motor oil and baby clothes, the canned goods and the eggs, all mashed together" is wrong. Items are grouped logically and nothing is "mashed together."She states, "I have no idea if I saved money." She did, but it appears that she is not an aware shopper.
She quotes Dr. Tom Dawson of Citrus County: "Why do they insist on forcing themselves even though people don't want them?" If people did not want them, they would not be packed with shoppers both day and night.
For those who think that we don't need more Wal-Marts, they should try shopping at the one in Pinellas Park. There are so many customers that the place is packed day and night and it is difficult to find a parking place in their "endless" (per Ms. Melone) parking. I would welcome another Wal-Mart in the area.
Ms. Melone seems to have missed the whole point of our American way of capitalism. Business success comes from offering people what they want at the best price. Wal-Mart is certainly a model of business success.
No, I am not an employee of Wal-Mart and I have no financial interest in its operation. I am merely an occasional customer.
Posted by Kevin on June, 2 2004 at 08:31 AM
