Why not Wal mart? (Atlanta, Alpharetta: credit card, neighbourhoods, buying)

[CollegeStudentinAtl]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

I don't think so at all. I live not too far from Walmart on Howell Mill and we go there, Publix, and Kroger. They are all in the same general area. Target at Atlantic Station isn't too far either.

Most of the people I know shop at Walmart more than Target. I go to Target more mostly because they have quicker lines. Walmart lines take longer to get through than it takes me to shop.

That is actually my nearest walmart. I live in Atlantic station and rarely use the target over there. I would ditch target and go to Wal mart for some reason. I do not know I guess it just a preference.

I really like that Wal mart but it doesn't have much food items to chose from. But i did set a budget of 50.00 to get little snacks/food and got more than what I had expected to get with 50.00.

But when i tell Atlanta natives, I am going to Wal mart. They will be like ewww! You do not want to go to Publix or Target?. Target is right there why not there?

[SAAN]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I go to Target mostly because my nearest Walmart--Ashford-Dunwoody, is without a doubt the worst Walmart in the history of the chain. Target's are generally better run, but Walmart (except the one already mentioned) usually has more home improvement type stuff. I'm not sure who the Walmart on AD caters to, at least the one on Peachtree Industrial has a tremendous produce department even while they suck on everything else.

I work by this Walmart and its one of the better Walmarts to me. Go to Panola Rd or Gresham Rd Walmart and Ashford-Dunwoody one will seem much better in comparison.

[RandyWatson13]

I hate wal-mart...they treat people like crap, customers like rats and used to be 100% made in the USA and now is 100% made in China. Sam Walton passed and his kin who were already billionaires got greedy and sold out America for China.

**** Wal-Mart...

[ATLTJL]

You have to understand that Target was much more aggressive than Walmart at getting into urban areas. The Walmarts on PIB and Chamblee Tucker and the one on Howell Mill are relatively new. The Targets on North Druid Hills and the 2 story one on Peachtree have been there for a bit longer. Target really was much better at targeting the intown shopper than Walmart for a long time in Atlanta.

The other thing to consider is that Walmart tends to target lower income customers than Target. I'm not saying those are the only people who shop there, but that is their target. People in the areas you are talking about tend to have a little more money, so naturally they prefer Target.

Personally, I find myself at Walmart more often than I would like because they are open 24 hours. Even the ITP ones close at midnight, which is 2 hours later than Target. So they are much more convenient.

It's also much easier to get in and out of Target. It seems like every time I go to a Walmart there are people there with tons of kids, the shelves are a wreck, and if I'm not stuck behind someone who can't figure out how to use the self checkouts, then I'm behind someone who barely speaks English trying to figure out what they are and are not allowed to purchase using WIC or food stamps.

So it's largely dependent on who you roll with. Most people are willing to pay a tad more to shop in a clean store where they can get in and out quickly. Then you'll find others who are willing to put up with more inconvenience to pay less, or to shop at a store that has more convenient operating hours.

OTP, you'll find a little Walmart resentment because they were notorious for building huge stores and then changing locations to even bigger stores when they wanted to open Super Walmarts. This left more than a few gigantic empty stores that are either now empty, Goodwill stores, or ethnic supermarkets.

Even though I go to Walmart from time to time, I think the store is generally more poorly run than Target and the people who shop there are a lot grosser. Just my experience.

[CollegeStudentinAtl]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

You have to understand that Target was much more aggressive than Walmart at getting into urban areas. The Walmarts on PIB and Chamblee Tucker and the one on Howell Mill are relatively new. The Targets on North Druid Hills and the 2 story one on Peachtree have been there for a bit longer. Target really was much better at targeting the intown shopper than Walmart for a long time in Atlanta.

The other thing to consider is that Walmart tends to target lower income customers than Target. I'm not saying those are the only people who shop there, but that is their target. People in the areas you are talking about tend to have a little more money, so naturally they prefer Target.

Personally, I find myself at Walmart more often than I would like because they are open 24 hours. Even the ITP ones close at midnight, which is 2 hours later than Target. So they are much more convenient.

It's also much easier to get in and out of Target. It seems like every time I go to a Walmart there are people there with tons of kids, the shelves are a wreck, and if I'm not stuck behind someone who can't figure out how to use the self checkouts, then I'm behind someone who barely speaks English trying to figure out what they are and are not allowed to purchase using WIC or food stamps.

So it's largely dependent on who you roll with. Most people are willing to pay a tad more to shop in a clean store where they can get in and out quickly. Then you'll find others who are willing to put up with more inconvenience to pay less, or to shop at a store that has more convenient operating hours.

OTP, you'll find a little Walmart resentment because they were notorious for building huge stores and then changing locations to even bigger stores when they wanted to open Super Walmarts. This left more than a few gigantic empty stores that are either now empty, Goodwill stores, or ethnic supermarkets.

Even though I go to Walmart from time to time, I think the store is generally more poorly run than Target and the people who shop there are a lot grosser. Just my experience.

o wow! thanks for the insight. I notice that too! Thanks for your input. See I would think that Wal Mart would be so popular becuase it is cheaper than Taget.

I thought the Wal mart on howell mill was close to Buckhead/Midtown, looked nice and was in a prime location. I was so surprised to find the crowd that was in it. I mean nothing against the crowd but I would have thought it was be the Buckhead/Midtown crowd. But i was wrong.

[AcidSnake]

I know that another poster on here made the same the complaint so I will simply co-sign onto it: Wal-Mart's checkout line waiting time sucks!!!

Every Wal-Mart I go to has the same issue. They have like 50 checkout lanes and only 5 of them are even staffed half the time!!!(Yes it's hyperbole, but I simply despise inconvenience!!!)

Why can't some of these perpetually unused lanes be replaced by computerized self-checkout machines like there are at some select Kroger's and Publix's? How un-freemarket-y is it for a customer who is on a limited time-schedule to be held hostage to the ineptitude of store managers and vice managers to properly staff their checkout lines?

I know that there are some middle to low-income areas that Wal-Mart serves where customers are absolutely allergic to utilizing modern technology. But for those of us customers who are willing to cut out the middleman(the cashier) and go for the convenience of a self-checkout lane, would it really hurt for Wal-Mart to eliminate 1 or 2 manned checkout lanes and replace them with the unmanned devices? Would such a procedure be truly that painful?

At least with Target their store managers and assistant managers are usually more attentive to the checkout lanes and most of the time will make sure that they are staffed appropriately to get ring up the customers in a timely fashion.

Wal-Mart, please get a friggin' clue already!!!

[ATLTJL]

Walmarts are like nasty people magnets.

You can build one in Beverly Hills, the upper East Side, or Buckingham Palace. Nasty people are going to find it an flock to it.

It's a phenomenon that has puzzled physicists for decades!!!!

It's also why communities tend to fight so hard against having a Walmart in their neighborhood.

Of course, some are naturally worse than others. For example, the Walmart on Windward Parkway in Alpharetta is quite nice, but you will still see lots of shoppers there that make you wonder, "How far did you commute to come to Walmart?????"

AcidSnake, I once had an experience at a 24 hour Walmart where I was buying a basket full of groceries after my shift at work. It was like 1am when I was finished, and ONLY the self checkout lanes were open. I wasn't about to scan and bag my own groceries because I don't know how to look up produce codes and things like that. So I went up to the person manning the self checkouts and said, "You see that big bag of groceries? Unless you get someone to operate a cash register and help me out, I'm leaving it there for you guys to put every item back on the shelves. Which do you think would be faster?" So she opened a line for me. I know it was a total jerk move on my part, but I felt like I was being treated as a second class citizen just because I was shopping during the late hours. I have had many occasions where I have simply left my items at the fronts of the store after seeing the lines. At some point you figure out how much your time is worth, but there will always be people willing to wait to save money. Walmart is very savvy and it's all capitalism. If they ever decide they are losing more money than they are making with this approach, it will change. Until then, no amount of complaining will matter.

[ecuresident]

Agree with ATLTJL, but want to add that this is the case in a lot of the bigger established cities. Philadelphia only has 1 walmart in the city. One way Walmart keeps the prices down is by opening in suburbs as the real estate there is cheaper and Walmart stores are typically very big. In Texas that is not a problem as there is so much land. But something Walmart has been doing recently is making their stores smaller, decreasing the number of brands and thus opening more stores in the city as it is not as expensive. They have also (without a lot of people noticing) raised their prices almost equal, and in some cases higher than Target (there was recently several magazine articles about this). You are more likely to find families there who are going to do a lot of shopping there instead of singles buying for just one person. Regarding the quality of the stores I think you just have to look at the surrounding demographics- the ones in the suburbs (Marietta, Alpharetta, etc) are a lot nicer than the ones in the city.

[ericsonga]

I haven't stepped a foot into Wal-Mart in at least 5 years. There are many more options that are much more worthy of my time and money.

The only good thing I can say is that I like the fact they are opening several Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets around Gwinnett. In several of the cases, they are actually renovating and repurposing empty big box stores.

[jpatlanta]

Originally Posted by CollegeStudentinAtl

I thought the Wal mart on howell mill was close to Buckhead/Midtown, looked nice and was in a prime location. I was so surprised to find the crowd that was in it. I mean nothing against the crowd but I would have thought it was be the Buckhead/Midtown crowd. But i was wrong.

As others have said having Walmart in an area brings similar traffic to what one finds outside a crackhouse/methlab. They are hardly competing with Wholefoods for traffic. I don't know one person who would be seen dead in any Walmart and all would always go to Target instead if they needed some chinese made junk. In Atlanta most nicer neighbourhoods do all they can to not let this trash company open up one of their stores as they know its a surefire way to ruin an area.

This is why generally Walmarts are built/do well out in the exurbs with customers from the local trailer parks who are not so picky about their local stores

I also think its long term its not a good idea to eat the crap food they sell but thats a different conversation.