I been noticing Dollar Generals has been popping up everywhere.

[Flint1979]

In the Great Lakes region I think Meijer is a better store than Walmart. And in areas of Michigan Meijer dominates Walmart and does a better job. They have a much better grocery department as Meijer is a grocery store first and then a department store where Walmart is a department store that knew nothing about the grocery business like Meijer did. If I have a choice between the two I pick Meijer every single time but if I have to settle for a Walmart that's ok too. And I feel like I'm supporting the economy of my home state by shopping at Meijer as well.

[Max Rockatansky]

In the Great Lakes region I think Meijer is a better store than Walmart. And in areas of Michigan Meijer dominates Walmart and does a better job. They have a much better grocery department as Meijer is a grocery store first and then a department store where Walmart is a department store that knew nothing about the grocery business like Meijer did. If I have a choice between the two I pick Meijer every single time but if I have to settle for a Walmart that's ok too. And I feel like I'm supporting the economy of my home state by shopping at Meijer as well.

Meijer always struck me as a less abrasive super Walmart.  They definitely had more of a middle income draw in Michigan than Walmart did. 

[Flint1979]

In the Great Lakes region I think Meijer is a better store than Walmart. And in areas of Michigan Meijer dominates Walmart and does a better job. They have a much better grocery department as Meijer is a grocery store first and then a department store where Walmart is a department store that knew nothing about the grocery business like Meijer did. If I have a choice between the two I pick Meijer every single time but if I have to settle for a Walmart that's ok too. And I feel like I'm supporting the economy of my home state by shopping at Meijer as well.

Meijer always struck me as a less abrasive super Walmart.  They definitely had more of a middle income draw in Michigan than Walmart did.

They indeed became well established in Michigan. I think about half their locations are in the state and they have locations in the U.P. now too.

[Life in Paradise]

In the Great Lakes region I think Meijer is a better store than Walmart. And in areas of Michigan Meijer dominates Walmart and does a better job. They have a much better grocery department as Meijer is a grocery store first and then a department store where Walmart is a department store that knew nothing about the grocery business like Meijer did. If I have a choice between the two I pick Meijer every single time but if I have to settle for a Walmart that's ok too. And I feel like I'm supporting the economy of my home state by shopping at Meijer as well.

Meijer always struck me as a less abrasive super Walmart.  They definitely had more of a middle income draw in Michigan than Walmart did.

They indeed became well established in Michigan. I think about half their locations are in the state and they have locations in the U.P. now too.

I prefer Meijer as well.  I will drive 15 minutes to go to the local Meijer rather than drive 5 minutes to the nearby Walmart.  I've been so disappointed that Meijer bought land to put a store in my town, but after five plus years has never turned the first shovel of dirt, and I'm expecting that they never will now.  They would sure take business from my neighborhood Super Walmart.

[hbelkins]

Even in locations where Walmart has a presence, new DGs have been opening. I think this is to draw the "avoid the crowds" shoppers. It's easier to stop at a DG after work, run in and get a couple of items that you need, and run out, than it is to go to Walmart and navigate the parking lot and traverse a bigger store for a handful of things that may be far-flung.

I have been using WM's online ordering with great frequency lately. It helps save me a trip to find out that the item I need is out of stock.

[doorknob60]

Am I really the only one who doesn't really have much of an issue with shopping at Walmart? I don't give a shit about whether there are one-way gates at the store entrances or whether there are security cameras above me. If someone wants to see my receipt, whatever. It takes like 5 seconds of my time.

Sure, their huge size does make it kind of difficult to find stuff on occasion if it's an unfamiliar location, but I find their lower prices worth it.

For me it depends a lot on the location. I used to live in Meridian, and the location nearest to me (on Overland next to Roaring Springs) was not too bad. Parking lot wasn't bad, easy to get in and out, not too crowded, and was always clean and well stocked. The one on Ten Mile and McMillan is even better. I shopped at Walmart a lot when I lived there.

But now I live in Boise, and the only Supercenter in Boise proper (and the only Walmart convenient to my house), near Overland/Cole, is a zoo. The parking lot sucks, traffic in the area sucks since it's next to Lowes, Costco, a movie theater, and a bunch of other stuff. It's always busy, and you're more likely to run into empty or disorganized shelves. Though that's gotten better recently, it was pretty bad during peak Covid. I much prefer shopping at Albertsons or Fred Meyer (they're also closer to be fair). Even if it means paying a bit more.

And if I want to save money, I can drive the other direction and go to Winco, which is also a more pleasant experience than Walmart IMO, and is even cheaper for most items. For general merch, Target is also an option, but the traffic and crowd situation there is just as bad as Walmart. Wish they would open another one.

[Bruce]

I've got three Walmarts in my area that range from decent to house of horrors, from furthest and closest to I-5. Definitely prefer to take my business elsewhere, but there are times where it's handy and more affordable.

I normally go for Costco (decent employee treatment and good service, but crowded), Winco (employee-owned and open 24/7, but selection can be lacking), or Fred Meyer (unionized but pricey) before dipping into my second-tier stores for non-food goods.

[Road Hog]

I don't want to get too deep into Walmart stuff, but they've made strides in employee pay and work conditions over the last 20 years or so. The new management is more attuned to middle-of-the-road social stances. The money of progressive thinkers is the same color as the money of full-blown thumpers.

[CtrlAltDel]

On a professional level as someone who has worked in Loss Prevention for 20 years it's hard to shop at Walmart.  They do basically all the wrong things for theft deterrence and try to sell through their inventory shrink.  It's hard for me to walk through a store and not see things I've been trained to see as being bad for two decades.  Granted it generally works out for Walmart, all the same why would I subject myself to having to shop within their security theater hell scape if I didn't have to?

I've never noticed any particular elements of Walmart's theft deterrence except for those relatively new gates at the entrance to the store. What are the sorts of things that you, as a professional, have noticed?

[Scott5114]

I don't want to get too deep into Walmart stuff, but they've made strides in employee pay and work conditions over the last 20 years or so. The new management is more attuned to middle-of-the-road social stances. The money of progressive thinkers is the same color as the money of full-blown thumpers.

The time I went to a Walmart for the first time after a well-publicized company-wide pay increase was shocking. I've never had so many Walmart employees trying to be helpful.

Of course, with inflation that pay rise has basically eroded, so they went back to situation normal since then. But it's kind of remarkable how much nicer people are when you actually pay them to be.

[Big John]

I've never noticed any particular elements of Walmart's theft deterrence except for those relatively new gates at the entrance to the store. What are the sorts of things that you, as a professional, have noticed?

The Walmart by me had removed those gates.

[formulanone]

I don't want to get too deep into Walmart stuff, but they've made strides in employee pay and work conditions over the last 20 years or so. The new management is more attuned to middle-of-the-road social stances. The money of progressive thinkers is the same color as the money of full-blown thumpers.

The time I went to a Walmart for the first time after a well-publicized company-wide pay increase was shocking. I've never had so many Walmart employees trying to be helpful.

Of course, with inflation that pay rise has basically eroded, so they went back to situation normal since then. But it's kind of remarkable how much nicer people are when you actually pay them to be.

Job security also increases morale. Businesses are more likely to keep employees rather than making them feel like they're next to be fired for little slip-ups or budget cuts. Employees then feel more confident and not worry about where their next few paychecks might come from.

On the other hand, sometimes that desperation leads to a few lower-quality applicants, so the yin and yang of employment continues...

[Scott5114]

Of course, at my last employer, longer-term employees had a target on their back, since they had X years of annual raises and it would be cheaper to replace them with a brand-new employee who would only earn base pay. So the more experienced employees would get in trouble for every little thing that the newer employees were allowed to get away with. (I once got in trouble for using the coin counter too many times.)

[crt08]

Yeah the Dollar Generals always used to be in the strip malls, often right next to a Family Dollar in fact. However, in the last 15 years I started noticing DG opening new stand alone locations and vacating the strip malls.

In the last five years the remote location DGs are popping up here every few miles. My town has around 7 locations now, whereas 10 years ago I think we had one. I can go about 3 miles from my house in either direction and there is a DG. To me they are kind of convenient, but I don't find the pricing to be all that amazing.

Family Dollar on the other hand has not been expanding much at all. They are still in the strip malls here and have only opened one new stand alone location in my area within the past 10 years or so.

[SectorZ]

I've never noticed any particular elements of Walmart's theft deterrence except for those relatively new gates at the entrance to the store. What are the sorts of things that you, as a professional, have noticed?

The Walmart by me had removed those gates.

I'd bet enough money that a very unhappy fire chief was responsible for that. They are not fans of things that slow egress out of a building and/or slow theirs into one.

[crt08]

My local Walmarts have removed the gates as well.

[LM117]

^^ Speaking of the fire chief, a Dollar General near me recently reopened after being shut down by a fire marshal for nearly 2 weeks. While the store was closed, a sign was stuck on the door that said "Closed for maintenance". It wasn't until I called the other day and asked if they had reopened yet that I was told that a fire marshal came in, shut them down, and told them they had a certain amount of days to get their shit together or the store would close for good. I suspect a customer finally got fed up and reported it.

The only thing that surprised me was that it didn't happen a hell of a lot sooner. The store was constantly cluttered, and half the aisles were blocked with packed carts (why use a stock room when you can just use the floor?). The manager, who was hired not that long ago, doesn't give a shit, just like her numerous predecessors (I've lost count), so she'll probably be shown the door soon, if she hasn't already.

[hbelkins]

^^ Speaking of the fire chief, a Dollar General near me recently reopened after being shut down by a fire marshal for nearly 2 weeks. While the store was closed, a sign was stuck on the door that said "Closed for maintenance". It wasn't until I called the other day and asked if they had reopened yet that I was told that a fire marshal came in, shut them down, and told them they had a certain amount of days to get their shit together or the store would close for good. I suspect a customer finally got fed up and reported it.

The only thing that surprised me was that it didn't happen a hell of a lot sooner. The store was constantly cluttered, and half the aisles were blocked with packed carts (why use a stock room when you can just use the floor?). The manager, who was hired not that long ago, doesn't give a shit, just like her numerous predecessors (I've lost count), so she'll probably be shown the door soon, if she hasn't already.

Packed carts on the floor are a staple of most all Dollar Generals.

[abefroman329]

Of course, they'll probably be replaced by something even worse for our society.

Like Amazon.  Or...Super Dollar Generals.

[CtrlAltDel]

Of course, they'll probably be replaced by something even worse for our society.

Like Amazon.  Or...Super Dollar Generals.

Dollar Archdukes?

[Scott5114]

In coastal towns, they should be Dollar Admirals instead.

[abefroman329]

I just assumed it was "General" as in "General Store," not the military rank.

[kalvado]

In coastal towns, they should be Dollar Admirals instead.

Dollar POTUS sounds great.

[Road Hog]

In coastal towns, they should be Dollar Admirals instead.

The USMC has generals.

[CtrlAltDel]

I just assumed it was "General" as in "General Store," not the military rank.

That was the thought behind my joke.