Big corporations are complex entities.
They look glossy on the outside but behind
that facade, there are all sorts of shady
secrets they try hard to keep hidden.
And the more the corporation has to interact
with the general public, the more frantic
it gets trying to keep the rotten underbelly
from being exposed.
With that ominous introduction, you probably
know what’s coming.
Walmart is in the title so obviously, we’re
going to look at 10 secrets Walmart doesn’t
want you to know.
Store-brand Supplements Are Not Worth It
Not the darkest secret in the bag nor is it
the biggest skeleton in the Walmart closet
but we’re just getting started here.
Now the thing about supplements is that unless
they’re prescribed by a doctor and come
from a reputable and trusted source, you should
really steer clear from them.
But some people find them hard to resist.
After all, taking a pill is always much easier
than stuffing one’s face with green veggies.
And if you are one of those people who just
can’t do without supplements, then the last
place you’d want to stock up on your precious
pills would be Walmart.
Especially their store-brand supplements.
Why?
Well, for one thing, the pills may not contain
as much of the beneficial ingredients as is
written on the package.
I mean it doesn’t take a genius to figure
this one out.
The supplements are cheaper than in other
stores and even cheaper than other brands
sold right next to it, so something is up.
And that’s what’s up.
The good stuff that’s supposed to benefit
your body is missing.
In other words, you could be just shovelling
down a bunch of placebos stuffed with flour
and sawdust.
So just because they’re cheap it doesn’t
mean you’re saving money.
Most likely you’d be throwing money down
the drain for something that will do you no
good at all.
Discrimination
Now we all know that discrimination in the
workplace is a serious problem.
And most large corporations do their best
to polish their public image and show that
this kind of behavior is not tolerated.
For years Google would go with “Do No Evil!”
It was a good motto until lawsuits piled up
against Google then they dropped it.
Walmart prefers to go with “Equal Opportunity
Employer.”
It sounds good and gives the brand a spotless
clean image.
But how true is that motto?
And is Walmart really an equal opportunity
employer?
Judging by the lawsuits, we’re going to
say no.
And it’s not just that thing about equal
opportunity either.
There’s been a slew of discrimination against
pregnant women, but it’s not just that.
It’s against women in general.
There are two decades worth of sexual harassment
lawsuits to take into consideration.
For years the company has swept under the
rug all complaints of sexual harassment that
employees had filed against their colleagues.
Instead of taking action and putting a stop
to the rampant problems, the company chose
to look the other way.
This has led many of the victims of such horrendous
behavior to either leave the job or bear it
silently.
Most of the job descriptions the company puts
out in its ads make it clear the job is male-oriented
and targeted towards men not women.
Avoid Walmart Organic Food
Organic groceries imply lack of antibiotics
and clean and healthy food to put on your
table.
Of course, this healthy food comes at a price.
Organic food is usually pricier than its non-organic
counterpart.
But if you can afford it, you won’t have
a problem with paying a little more.
Unless you’re shopping in Walmart that is.
Because then you’ll be paying a whole lot
more to get your organic food than you would
at other retail chains.
In general, the food section in Walmart is
its least appealing one.
In fact, you’d do yourself a big favor doing
your weekly grocery shopping at other places
such as Aldi or Trader Joe’s.
The low quality of the food items and the
price tags both make Walmart a bad choice.
And this problem is nowhere more obvious than
in the organic section.
A recent review of the major retail chains
has found that Walmart usually charges its
customers a lot more for organic food than
its competitors.
If you have the time you can check it for
yourself.
Just visit the websites of the retailers near
you and compare prices.
You’ll find that Walmart’s prices for
organic food are always higher than other
retailers.
No Background Checks
Every employer no matter how big or small
tries to vet new employees before hiring them.
This is especially true if the employee is
someone who will be interacting with the customers.
Background checks ensure that the staff has
no criminal records or violent past that might
put the public at risk.
It’s also a great policy to ensure the company
will not be liable for lawsuits if an employee
loses it with a customer.
Which makes it all the more puzzling that
Walmart will not follow that reasonable policy
of checking the background of their employees
before hiring them.
And since Walmart has a firearms section you
can begin to get the picture here.
What if a convicted felon started handling
firearms at Walmart?
And if you think this was a remote possibility,
then think again.
Someone once posted on Reddit, the social
platform, how Walmart had hired their convicted
brother to work in the hunting department.
Now the safety of everyone who enters the
store is at risk.
This includes not just the customers but also
the other employees who have no clue what
kind of person is handling firearms in the
hunting department.
And of course not having background checks
means Walmart might hire people previously
accused of sexual harassment in their previous
jobs, thus exacerbating their own sexual harassment
problems.
Online Prices
As with most businesses, Walmart usually tries
to attract customers by offering discounted
prices online.
You just go to their website and browse around.
You’ll find daily promotions and discounts
on several items and products.
As we said, this is a normal practice that
almost all retailers do.
And if you go to the store you will find the
same product being sold at a different price.
There’s no scam here.
Because the online prices change almost on
a daily basis, the various outlets of the
giant retailer don’t adjust their prices
to match those offered online.
So that’s where you come in.
Now Walmart’s policy is if the same product
has a lower price on a Walmart website you
will get that discounted price not the one
at the store.
So while shopping at Walmart make sure to
have your phone with you.
Enter the name of the product on the Walmart
website and see the price it offers.
If it’s less than the price at the store,
show the discounted price to the cashier and
they will adjust it on the spot.
Just remember that the product has to match
the item in the store.
Same name, brand, and size.
Harsh Work Conditions
We’ve all heard it before.
Giant companies benefiting from sweatshops
in poor countries where the work conditions
are abhorrent and the workers get treated
unfairly.
It has to do with cutting down the cost of
labor and increasing their profit margins.
Higher profits mean the shareholders are happy
and the top executives in the company get
enormous annual bonuses.
But what has Walmart got to do with this?
Well, apparently, everything.
You see, Walmart has someone else to please
besides the shareholders and the stock market.
And that is the customer.
The only way to please the retail customer
is to offer cheap prices.
Price wars are a common thing among retail
giants.
But how do you cut down costs and offer the
customer a good product at a low rate while
still showing good profit margins at the end
of the fiscal year?
Well, the answer is in the sweatshops that
use child labor in poor countries.
And it’s not that Walmart directly hires
these workers and subjects them to these subhuman
conditions.
But Walmart deals with the companies that
employ these people.
Even when the media exposes the harsh conditions
in these factories, you would think that Walmart
would stop working with them.
But that’s not what happens.
Since profit is the goal, the corporation
will not bother with things like workers rights
and fair pay as long as they happen thousands
of miles away.
Keep an Eye on Deep Discounts
There are two types of shoppers.
Those who drive to the nearest retailer with
or without a shopping list.
They go in there, grab a cart and start filling
it up with the stuff they need.
Then they head to the nearest checkout, pay,
and leave.
And there’s the other type of shoppers who
go prepared.
They check online and compare prices.
They know which days the retailer offers discounts
on groceries and when there’s a promotion
in the meat section.
That type of customer knows what they want,
when to buy it, and in many cases, how much
they will pay for it.
Now guess which type pays less and winds up
with the best deals?
The second customer of course.
Walmart and other retail giants rely on the
first type of customer to make a profit.
It’s true, Walmart offers discounts, but
these are mainly targeted at the second type
of customer.
The one who searches and compares, and decides
where to shop.
Even big discount events like Black Friday
shouldn’t be taken for granted.
In the days leading up to Black Friday keep
an eye on the prices of the items you want
to buy.
Then you’ll know if you’re really getting
them at a good discount on Black Friday or
if you’re being ripped off.
The Early Bird
You must have heard of the early bird adage.
Well, it’s more than an adage and it’s
not just that your mom was trying to get you
out of bed in time to catch the school bus.
And if you were wondering what kind of worm
you were supposed to catch as you hustled
bleary-eyed every morning to get to school
on time, well, Walmart has got the answer.
See, the retail giant tends to offer big discounts
on groceries early in the day then take them
down around noon.
These discounts are usually on food from the
previous day which hasn’t been sold and
would be returned unless you snag it first.
Bread from yesterday gets a hefty discount
before the bread is removed from the shelf.
So if you manage to make your way to the store
early in the morning, you’ll find most of
these food items sold at a great price.
And that is the worm that the early bird gets.
It’s a lot of savings on food.
Do you think that’s worth getting up early
for?
The Clearance Section
This is not exactly a secret, but most people
who spend hours shopping at Walmart go blissfully
unaware of its existence.
We’re talking of course about the clearance
section.
Now, every Walmart outlet has got one.
And they keep it out of the way as much as
possible.
That means you’ll need to do some digging
and walking around looking for it.
Or you could just ask the manager where they
keep their clearance section.
So why would you want to check them anyway?
Well, for the great discounts obviously.
These sections have everything the store has
failed to sell.
Instead of returning it or dumping it in one
of their stores, they keep these items piled
together in a secluded section.
You can find toys sold cheap or even electronics.
Keep in mind that not all outlets will keep
their heavily discounted items in one place.
You can find them on the lowest shelves for
example.
So you will need to literally dig deep and
bend over to reach those valuable items.
That’s the real takeaway here.
Don’t go shopping without a plan.
Be prepared to research and spend some time
looking for the best deals and big discounts.
Say No to Walmart Furniture
Who doesn’t love cheap stuff?
All along we’ve been focusing on how to
get the best deals and pay less to get more.
So what’s wrong with Walmart’s cheap stuff?
Well, nothing if you’re buying bread or
non-organic vegetables.
But if you’re buying durables such as furniture,
then you’d better shop around.
When it comes to furniture you don’t want
to go cheap.
This is not something you’ll be buying every
day, week, month, or even year.
You want your furniture to last until you
get tired of looking at it and replace it.
Walmart furniture has a knack for collapsing
when you least expect it to.
It’s as if that furniture had a mind of
its own, with no sense of loyalty.
The furniture tends to get bored with their
new owners quite quickly.
So just when you’re about to get used to
your new couch or chair or that quaint coffee
table with the weird colors, your brand new
furniture calls it a day and commits a treacherous
act of self-destruction.
So while the price seems great at the time,
as many have said before: you get what you
pay for.
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