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Old 04-15-2015, 02:34 PM
 
77,737 posts, read 59,870,178 times
Reputation: 49125

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophiasmommy View Post
No business, especially with a team of 6 and 7 figure attorneys on retainer closes down for 6 months of repairs without first getting building permits, this does not happen. Please explain this. Thanks
I explained this to you previously but you seemed to blow it off so let me try again.

What if they discovered something in a couple of their store designs that is potentially dangerous like sprinklers or mold etc?

You'd shut down immediately and THEN worry about permits etc. That's why I gave the plane example, if there is a possible defect that caused a crash they might ground and inspect the entire fleet. They don't keep flying them for months while they get around to doing the inspections.

Oh, and what exactly do you think a bunch of 7-figure lawyers on retainer would say to you if you wanted to keep operating those walmarts with a known public hazard because you didn't want to lose some operating revenue? Think really hard on that answer.

 
Old 04-15-2015, 02:46 PM
 
Location: Stasis
15,823 posts, read 12,394,169 times
Reputation: 8599
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathguy View Post
You'd shut down immediately and THEN worry about permits etc. That's why I gave the plane example, if there is a possible defect that caused a crash they might ground and inspect the entire fleet. They don't keep flying them for months while they get around to doing the inspections.
Airlines don't ground their fleet for vague & secret structural problems. It's all out in the open.
 
Old 04-15-2015, 03:09 PM
 
Location: Old Mother Idaho
29,175 posts, read 22,157,994 times
Reputation: 23792
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTerri View Post
I'm not talking about the time spent obtaining the land or the permits or dealing with the hearings. I'm talking actual construction time. 6 months is a long time to close a profitable store. It is odd that all of the stores are having the exact same issue at the exact same time.
The length of time a store is closed depends on many factors. It's not at all odd that 6 months is the expected time frame, especially when it comes to plumbing.

The problems might not lie with WalMart at all- if a big store is connected to a sewer mainline that is 60 years older than the store, the sold pipe may be undersized or prone to failure. If that's the case, the mainline may have to be torn up for blocks and could easily take 9 months before it's all repaired.

A similar failure of a mainline here in my home town uncovered an entire subdivision had this problem. It took well over a year for the city to replace it all. In our case, the pipe was bad when it was brand new and first laid.

Buying bad pipe can happen to any contractor. Were all the closed stores built by the same construction company? That's a very likely possibility, as all WalMarts have very similar floor plans and construction. In fact, a contractor could have deliberately purchased cheaper pipe, just to improve his profit margin.

If one store's plumbing suddenly failed, the WalMart managers may have closed the others preemptively, to take care of the same problem in other stores that were built by the same outfit.

It may have been a flaw in the corporate blueprints. Architects often overlook plumbing access, and after a concrete floor is poured, fixtures and stocked, tearing a line up under the floor could easily require 6 months to put it all back to normal again.

I don't see any conspiracy here. All the instances I mentioned have happened many times.
 
Old 04-15-2015, 03:17 PM
 
26,646 posts, read 13,585,354 times
Reputation: 19104
Quote:
Originally Posted by banjomike View Post
The length of time a store is closed depends on many factors. It's not at all odd that 6 months is the expected time frame, especially when it comes to plumbing.

The problems might not lie with WalMart at all- if a big store is connected to a sewer mainline that is 60 years older than the store, the sold pipe may be undersized or prone to failure. If that's the case, the mainline may have to be torn up for blocks and could easily take 9 months before it's all repaired.

A similar failure of a mainline here in my home town uncovered an entire subdivision had this problem. It took well over a year for the city to replace it all. In our case, the pipe was bad when it was brand new and first laid.
Did the entire subdivision have to move for the year it took for the city to replace the mainline?

Quote:
Buying bad pipe can happen to any contractor. Were all the closed stores built by the same construction company? That's a very likely possibility, as all WalMarts have very similar floor plans and construction. In fact, a contractor could have deliberately purchased cheaper pipe, just to improve his profit margin.
Some of the stores were built in the 80's, some in the 90's and some in the 2000's. They were in different parts of the country as well.

Quote:
If one store's plumbing suddenly failed, the WalMart managers may have closed the others preemptively, to take care of the same problem in other stores that were built by the same outfit.
None of the stores report any plumbing failures. The employees and customers report that corporate showed up and told them they would be closing in five hours. That's what happened at all of the stores on the same day.

Quote:
It may have been a flaw in the corporate blueprints. Architects often overlook plumbing access, and after a concrete floor is poured, fixtures and stocked, tearing a line up under the floor could easily require 6 months to put it all back to normal again.
Maybe but you'd think they would have caught a flaw that was built into buildings dating back to the 80's by the time the last Walmart involved was remodeled (2007).

Quote:
I don't see any conspiracy here. All the instances I mentioned have happened many times.
I didn't say anything about this being a "conspiracy". What's so offensive about questioning odd circumstances?
 
Old 04-15-2015, 03:26 PM
 
77,737 posts, read 59,870,178 times
Reputation: 49125
Quote:
Originally Posted by katzpaw View Post
Airlines don't ground their fleet for vague & secret structural problems. It's all out in the open.
It's an example of a safety issue causing an immediate, unplanned reaction.

It was not trying to make claims about transparency between a federally regulated (heavily) industry and one that sells boxes of wheat thins, saline solution and ugly clothing.

Thankfully you at least didn't point out to us that it was a bad example because Walmarts don't fly.
 
Old 04-15-2015, 04:15 PM
 
Location: A Yankee in northeast TN
15,958 posts, read 20,916,161 times
Reputation: 43157
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathguy View Post
I explained this to you previously but you seemed to blow it off so let me try again.

What if they discovered something in a couple of their store designs that is potentially dangerous like sprinklers or mold etc?

You'd shut down immediately and THEN worry about permits etc. That's why I gave the plane example, if there is a possible defect that caused a crash they might ground and inspect the entire fleet. They don't keep flying them for months while they get around to doing the inspections.

Oh, and what exactly do you think a bunch of 7-figure lawyers on retainer would say to you if you wanted to keep operating those walmarts with a known public hazard because you didn't want to lose some operating revenue? Think really hard on that answer.
It's very unlikely Walmart would have built ONLY 5-6 stores to this 'flawed design', especially as those locations appear to have been built at widely different locations over a period of decades.
 
Old 04-15-2015, 04:31 PM
 
Location: exit 0
5,289 posts, read 4,352,331 times
Reputation: 7020
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sophiasmommy View Post
Okay, fair enough, but lemme ask you: why does this not interest you, with all of the odd points that have been brought up and confirmed? At the very least, it is an odd story.
Maybe because I have been involved in the corporate end of companies like this. (Note I said like this, not this one) They do things like this for many reasons and most reasons are rather boring.

Perhaps they are going to do a remodel that involves extensive re-plumbing. Maybe they are adding equipment to their delis or meat or produce departments. Perhaps they used the same contractor or subcontractor that used inferior products and all must be brought up to date and/or code. Maybe they are rolling out some new programs and people need to be retrained. Maybe, maybe, maybe...

There are many reasons that this could be happening. I don't work there, I don't shop there, hence it doesn't effect me. I'm sure those that have a need to know know. I don't have that need to know so I really don't care. Curiosity over other people's business just isn't is my wheelhouse.

It really is that simple.
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Old 04-15-2015, 04:31 PM
 
42,732 posts, read 29,724,419 times
Reputation: 14345
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTerri View Post

None of the stores report any plumbing failures. The employees and customers report that corporate showed up and told them they would be closing in five hours. That's what happened at all of the stores on the same day.
YOU don't know that. A handful of employees and customers don't know what was reported to the home office.

A decision was made at the corporate office, with said decision to take effect immediately. The customers aren't required to be notified at all. The employees were given two-months paid leave, and would be given the opportunity to work at other stores as such positions became available. Some employees would also get severance pay at the end of the paid leave if they qualified and so desired. The paid leave means that no notice was required.
 
Old 04-15-2015, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Midwest
38,496 posts, read 25,671,762 times
Reputation: 10789
Quote:
Originally Posted by katzpaw View Post
Airlines don't ground their fleet for vague & secret structural problems. It's all out in the open.
Good point. Walmart is not forthcoming to the public about these "plumbing issues." What is up with that?
 
Old 04-15-2015, 04:52 PM
 
42,732 posts, read 29,724,419 times
Reputation: 14345
Quote:
Originally Posted by jojajn View Post
Good point. Walmart is not forthcoming to the public about these "plumbing issues." What is up with that?
Hmmm, I dunno. World's largest corporation, that gets sued on a daily basis, keeping structural/maintenance problems confidential... Hmm....what could they be thinking?
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