tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post1272698688615921734..comments2024-03-21T03:21:18.080-04:00Comments on Sad City Hartford: Sad City Hartford Guide to WalmartJumper McKayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00841003792575367125noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-26162966377510245582012-11-27T17:25:55.435-05:002012-11-27T17:25:55.435-05:00Manchester is just as bad as Hartford - aisles are...Manchester is just as bad as Hartford - aisles are impassable, merchandise strewn all over the place, with no staff straightening it up. Parking lot is just as bad and so are the check-out lines. I've never had my receipt checked on the way out, or seen anyone else have theirs checked. If I go to Walmart I go to East Windsor, Avon or Wethersfield. I agree with Amy B. - merchandise can be different, according to buyer preferences, but management should be oversee stores the same way throughout the company.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-57193753605527037982012-11-27T09:43:05.223-05:002012-11-27T09:43:05.223-05:00I used to live near the Walmart in Hartford, and a...I used to live near the Walmart in Hartford, and always hated going there. You don't feel safe in the parking lot, even with the rent-a-cop cruising around. The store is an unorganized mess, and I agree with the post, the receipt check does appear to be racially biased. On the other side of that the express checkout staff were always nice and polite enough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-53262361443051014382011-12-15T11:18:32.652-05:002011-12-15T11:18:32.652-05:00The problem is that the Walmart in Hartford has be...The problem is that the Walmart in Hartford has become a giant BODEGA...don't make excuses...I'm Puerto Rican, but I don't everything that Goya makes. I don't buy anytyhing from the "ethnic" section because it's bad for my health...for the most part. <br /><br />I've seen customer service look at this lady from the neighborhood give her this "she did not buy this pair of earrings" look as she was claiming to return it. She looked back at me and my girlfriend as though were in agreement, when I didn't give a damn nor did she. It's pretty obvious the area where Walmart is located used to be near two Projects so the people from those Projects live there...come on, let's not kid ourselves, people from the projects steal, right?..<br /><br />Aanyways, I only went to this damn store because my girlfriend wanted to get something really quick. <br /><br />As for the racial undertones...who cares, I could care less if they ARE exploiting races...they're not better than the Bodegas on the Corners of the city of Hartford who exploit their own people(well Dominicans don't REALLY get along with Puerto Ricans) by selling overpriced, outdated shit food that no one in their right mind would consume unless under the influence of beer or some marijuana high.<br /><br />God even the Cashiers are a pain the ass, but that's their job. As for the stocking, yeah, it's pretty damn messy, but damn if the one over in Wethersfield is JUST as messy as the one in Hartford if not WORSE...maybe it was patronized by Hartfordites, right? there was no WalMart in Hartford at the time so I figured. The Hartfordites, for the most part, don't have the most pleasant attitudes themselves so they don't expect any functional person greeting them as they might see it as someone who's soft..or hell the person doing the greeting doesn't want to be seen as soft. They used to have a disabled person greeting people and checking the receipts...do they check receipts over in Avon. it was never checked in Wethersfield.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-58267612882515072132011-11-18T20:00:12.877-05:002011-11-18T20:00:12.877-05:00I previously lived just minutes from the Hartford ...I previously lived just minutes from the Hartford Walmart, and will assert the article is absolutely true, including seeing minorities asked to show receipts. I (a white guy) was never asked to produce my receipt. I went as far as to not accept a bag for my purchase and walk out of the store without being asked about the product I carried out. The majority of the time, I would frequent the Walmart in Cromwell, because it was close to my parent's home and much cleaner, better stocked, and had friendlier personnel. The prices were the same, by the way, but the experience in Hartford was usually depressing......sad city that it is.TimCote7https://www.blogger.com/profile/15749440259187586501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-20456187834793765952011-11-16T09:16:09.087-05:002011-11-16T09:16:09.087-05:00My experience at the Hartford Walmart has been tha...My experience at the Hartford Walmart has been that it's totally random if your receipt gets checked. I've never found it to be a racial thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-34522323755395407422011-11-15T09:56:58.404-05:002011-11-15T09:56:58.404-05:00I only frequent the Hartford Walmart as it is only...I only frequent the Hartford Walmart as it is only a five minute drive if you are enough of a hard ass to disobey the no crossing from Sisson the Flatbush signs -- also I don't have to run the risk of them being out of Sunny D -- but have had a different experience with the greeters.<br /><br />I haven't seen them stop anyone in awhile but have been stopped once myself and my wife and mom were stopped once when they were carrying a small bag and receipt as a black guy was simultaneously setting off the alarm as he carried a tv out the front. <br /><br />My guess is they are supposed to stop x amount of people an hour and just pick the most innocuous looking people to meet the quota, which actually has resulted in reverse racism in the Hartford store.<br /><br />I also think you were generous by saying they stock the shelves. It is my experience that they stock the isles. They make it so one cart can go down one side at a time, so if you see someone coming you need to switch to the other side, but wait, they usually put the piles just close enough that you think you can get through but can't really so you either jam the cart through or back out and detour through the shampoo isle. Good times, cannot wait to see what they roll out for Black Friday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-23907468762883082682011-11-15T08:41:05.802-05:002011-11-15T08:41:05.802-05:00Ms. Bergquist,
The reason the operation of each ...Ms. Bergquist, <br /><br />The reason the operation of each store differs, is based solely on employees and management. IF the employees don't care, and the Management doesn't either, then you get different results. I see this all the time at fast food chains across the country as I travel for work. The store policies are the same (The corporation sets them), but enforcement is left at the discretion of management.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-91404032429888489722011-11-15T07:38:42.780-05:002011-11-15T07:38:42.780-05:00Did the Girl Scouts notice the cookies on the shel...Did the Girl Scouts notice the cookies on the shelves of WalMart that the corporation has made no attempt to disguise? Almost exact copies. No shame.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-63058472816393293262011-11-14T15:25:55.853-05:002011-11-14T15:25:55.853-05:00Do people make the community, or does the communit...Do people make the community, or does the community make the people? Or what?<br /><br />Amy B. makes sense.Li'l Em-Kelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-55842238817141797922011-11-14T14:08:22.786-05:002011-11-14T14:08:22.786-05:00An interesting post. I shop at both of these stor...An interesting post. I shop at both of these stores, but the Hartford one much more often because it’s near my house and the grocery store I usually go to (Stop & Shop on New Park). <br /><br />I will give it to you that operationally, the Avon store wins hands down. The store is staffed adequately, seems better organized/cleaner, and it’s easier to park in their parking lot because the carts don’t seem to be everywhere- all points you mention. <br /><br />However, the info you bring up related to the product mix at the different stores is that way for a reason. Wal-Mart is known for being a data driven company and they use that data for their decisions on what to sell at each store and where to place it within the store.<br /><br />I can promise you that they have data that shows that grape flavored soda is a big seller at the Hartford store, hence they place it by the front door. However, it is not always featured as you walk in the front door as you state by the picture. They regularly rotate those displays between food and toys, etc. They also have data for the Avon store that says they will be able to sell those t-shirts with outdoor animal stuff on them. They probably have those same shirts in the Wal-Mart in Vermont where my parents live. When I lived in Greensboro, NC, which has a large African American and Hispanic population, the Super Wal-Mart there had large varieties of Central and Latin American food options because that local population wanted it and purchased it.<br /><br />I don’t know that you can fault Wal-Mart for providing product options that are based on ethnography and cultural preferences. They are providing what the customer segment for that specific store wants. If those items didn’t sell, they’d just replace them with whatever else their data told them they needed to sell.<br /><br />Do I wish that my Hartford Wal-Mart was cleaner/better organized and that I could spend a reasonable amount of time in line rather than my child’s entire second year on this planet checking out? Heck yes. All of Wal-Mart’s stores should be run operationally the same way, regardless of where they are located and who the clientele is. But the product mix? You can’t fault Wal-Mart for following their data and providing customers with what they want to buy.<br /><br />I'm curious about one thing, did you notice if like items were priced the same at both stores, or did they have different pricing schemes?AmyBergquisthttp://www.greaterhartfordrealestateblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-55386320062028770612011-11-14T13:24:31.885-05:002011-11-14T13:24:31.885-05:00I'm glad I clicked your "very sensitive t...I'm glad I clicked your "very sensitive topic" link. I don't think anything has ever made me laugh as much as that article about OFC did.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2654104652793036364.post-76982006435972049122011-11-14T09:07:54.863-05:002011-11-14T09:07:54.863-05:00I was having a conversation with a friend from Har...I was having a conversation with a friend from Hartford as we shopped in the Avon walmart yesterday. Very funny. The other difference, the auto repair section...you can find almost anything in the Hartford store, but the simple headlight bulb we wanted to replace wasn't in the Avon store. Apparently Avon folks bring their cars to the Dealer for such things! Oh yeah, we also bought cookies from the girls scouts in the cookie outfits!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com