Super-Walmart back on the table for Tunkhannock (Dickson City, Wyoming: budget, businesses)

[thecoalman]

I don't live in the area but have traveled it quite frequently through the years (e.g 5 or 6 times a week). The same arguments about killing the downtown area were put forth when they put the original Wal-Mart and the bypass in. The downtown has improved drastically since both of those developments, the by-pass itself was probably the single biggest factor.

Anyhow the normal routine for many of these folks living in the rural areas like this was to travel to Scranton or Wilkes-Barre to make their purchases and I imagine a lot of them still do that. If anything this will probably affect the grocery stores like Brick's but they have also weathered numerous other chain stores in the area through the years. Their single biggest attraction is convenience. Most of the other smaller stores are niche stores and won't be affected. Gay's has already survived the original Wal Mart store and I see no reason why that should continue.

You know why those prices are so low? Wal-Mart has an unfair advantage over the little guys with its suppliers. Wal-Mart could purchase a John Deere lawn mower and sell it for much less than Gay's could while still making a respectable profit margin.

That's part of the reason for their success but its not THE reason, the biggest reason for Wal Mart's success is their distribution system. As far as them purchasing cheaper that's the way business works, the more you buy the cheaper it is. Granted Wal Mart holds a big stick but its not much different than any other company buying in bulk.

FYI Wal-Mart doesn't sell John Deere as that would require a dealership, what they do sell is cheap consumer grade lawn care equipment. If you want the good equipment you'd have to visit a place like Gay's.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by MrKrabs

And with that, I'm bowing out of this thread before it becomes like the old days of the flame wars between ScranBarre and weluvpa...

Yes. I still have some fond memories of those old fights and all of the battle scars (i.e. temporary banishments, infractions, etc.) LOL! My "rap sheet" has over a half-dozen disciplinary actions levied against me. I haven't had any in a very long time because I try to do my best to be more politically correct now in everything I type, but I'm glad that Dan and I have agreed to disagree on some issues. We both don't like the mayor very much; that's something we find common ground on. I think he's too much of a Debbie Downer. He thinks my rose-colored glasses are too thick. We'll never see eye-to-eye, so we'll just have to co-exist as we are now. He and I both have our loyalists. When we would fight I noticed that both his and my reputations went zooming up---undoubtedly people were egging both of us on like Celebrity Death Match or something! LOL!

[The Commish]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

He thinks my rose-colored glasses are too thick.

We can all agree that they are at least rose-colored.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by The Commish

We can all agree that they are at least rose-colored.

Coming from an ambulance chaser!

[FightinPhils]

The Mountaineer: Last Word: Attacks on Wal-Mart unfair, almost always

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

The Mountaineer: Last Word: Attacks on Wal-Mart unfair, almost always

For what it's worth I could also cite dozens of articles that paint a much bleaker image of Wal-Mart beyond the bouncing smiley face of horror. Why is Wal-Mart always targeted moreso than many other big-box retailers? Generally speaking I'm just appalled at how little workers there earn in relation to what people here at Lowe's Home Improvement earn, for example. I'm only 21 and am earning $11/hr., which is the same as many middle-aged locals without college degrees are earning. I'm also only a customer service associate; there are still specialists, team leaders, department managers, zone managers, and store managers above me, all of whom earn much more than I do. Lowe's profit margins aren't nearly as high as those of Wal-Mart, so why are our employees paid so much better and have such a higher level of morale as a result? Wal-Mart seems to have forgotten a little thing called "customer service." A good way to motivate employees to go above and beyond the call of duty is to compensate them well enough so that they wish to reciprocate by bringing repeat business back to the store. At $11/hr. I'm very humbled and do my best to drive sales because I feel as if the company has some sort of respect for me by offering to pay me so handsomely. If I were earning $7.50/hr. as many folks at Wal-Mart do I probably wouldn't care less if a customer left unhappy. Lowe's offers great benefits plans, as does Wegman's, Target, and many other big-box retailers. Meanwhile employees of these very same stores have a portion of their paychecks deducted to help subsidize government assistance for Wal-Mart associates and their families. How could the largest retailer in the world justify paying their employees so much less than many other well-performing retail chains?

[FightinPhils]

Wal-Mart also has a distribution center locally in Tobyhanna....I've heard they start in the $14-15/hour range for basically unskilled warehouse work. That's not bad for this area. Seems a lot of the distribution centers around here are paying more in the $9/hour range.

[Chad2002]

I am by no means a Wal-Mart fan, but I think it could be good for Tunkhannock. Increase the tax base, more jobs -- even if they are retail they certainly will be greater in number than what's available at Mr. Z's or Bricks. The other plus is that Lowe's has had it's sights set on the existing Wal-Mart bldg in Tunk. once the supercenter is built. Lowe's will put Gay's in trouble however.

From my experience near Mansfield, once our WalMart went "super", it spelled the end of the other grocery store in town which remains vacant. Super Walmart's prices also went up afterward. Many products are cheaper at Wegmans in Elmira and Corning than they are at WalMart...even the neighboring towns' WalMarts seem to run a bit less on some identical items.

Someone also made a good point that rural residents are all ready shopping at super walmarts within range of Tunk., so this will really just cut down on their driving costs. I actually wonder how many "new" customers they will even gain or simply steal from Dickson City/W-B.

[memoriesbre]

Look, I don't care who is fighting about what is good and what is not good. All I know is that the prices are great and that's why I want a SuperWamart close to home. I will still shop at Gay's for the friendly service of course! Brick's is ok, but I only shopped there once. I usually shop at Thomas' Foodtown, but still the prices are a bit higher. Weis Market is ok, but I only shopped there maybe 2 times since moving to Tunkhannock.
If I can get great prices that will help my budget then I am in favor of it. If other people want to pay more for their groceries or other items then that's their choice.

[nkotb]

Wal-Mart food prices are high !!!!! Thomas' Mkt... chicken tenders $1.87 a pound --
Sirloin steak $3.99 a pound this is on an average but, consistently cheaper than the
'Mart' And, no one will put Gay's out of business, they even rerouted the by-pass so
Gay's could stay in their original location. And, I may be wrong but, I think the Gay
Family owns the property across from Wal-Mart. I have friends who fly rc airplanes in
that field, owned by Doug Gay.