Arkansas Blog

If only the government(state and federal) would follow Wal-Mart's policy about gifting(bribes) what a better place this would be.

Sounds like the only roadblock is not being able to sell a 850,000 dollar home. How is that Walmart's fault? She broke the company rules, didn't like it and sued. They countersued and exposed her as an adulter.

She knew the Walmart culture, yet tried to threaten it? Everyone knows you don't fuck your co-workers, unless you are married to them.

Cool. Just the other night I read an old Playboy article on Bentonville ("God and Satan" ... 1997, I think).

"the second question people ask you when they meet you is 'What church do you belong to?' And trust me, there's a wrong answer")

And this is different from Little Rock how?

And she wants us to feel sorry for her? blah

Bells, I've lived in Little Rock for all but about 5 of my 30 years, and I've never been asked what church I belong to unless I mention it first, as in, "I'm about to head out to go to church." Might just be generational. Or maybe I just hang out with a lot of Jewish people.

So, a few weeks ago I had a hankering for some greasy chicken, so I popped into Popeyes on Markham in LR. I got my grub, proceeded to a table to read the paper and eat. Along comes an elderly chap with a biscuit hat (large foam rubber biscuit not unlike a cheese head). He plops directly across from me and proceeds to chat me up.

First question: what church do you go to? I told him I'm "home churched", but he didn't understand that answer, so I told him I don't go to church. "Oh, you should! You should go to one of those non-denominational churches like Fellowship" I told him they preach hate, and I'm not going to go there....

Then he started talking politics. He said that we should vote everyone out of Congress yada yada. Now, I was raised not to be rude, especially to my elders. But, I was just about to lose my lunch talking religion and politics with a self-invited biscuit head. He finally left and moved along to the next victim. Turns out, he works for the place, probably the owner.

Word to the wise...if you want greasy chicken and find your way to Popeye's, use the drive through.

This is only remotely if at all related to this story: I saw something on TV last night that I thought was cool but have since developed faux outrage over it

To keep spammers from signing up for a million free email accounts or other internet sevice, they make you type in a word or some letters and numbers that appear distorted in a little graphic to verify that you are a real live person and not a spammer's computer. Computers can't read distorted text but people can.

Internet outfits are scanning thousands and thousands of old books and using OCR software to convert to text, but, not all of the words from these old books can be read by computers because they are distorted, faded or use old fonts. Instead of hiring people to do the work of identifying some of these words they are adding images of the unidentifiable words from these books to those little graphics. The first word in the graphic is for verification purposes, but, the second, unknown word is only there for you to identify for them.for free!

Sam Walton would be proud. It's outrageous...but cool.

I saw the same guy with the biscuit on his head at Popeyes on Markham!! He had another table cornered and I was glad he didn't get over to mine. And now I'm really, really glad.

He probably had a bible, pistol and autographed picture of Sarah Palin concealed in that big biscuit.

Stating for the world to see that I'd like to have sex with this beautiful woman probably doesn't help a damn thing. But that's about all that pops in my head when I look at this thread. There...I had to scroll up and look at her again. Whew.....

Wal-Mart is sick and is the perfect example of how sick America has become. When you combine the worship of money, always winning, and God.....bad things happen. Review the 8 years of George W. Bush...it's Wal-Mart without the work ethic. As I see it there are 2 probable outcomes in our future. Either Wal-Mart will prove it's not too big to fail or Wal-Mart will own the world. Sorry...had to scroll up again.....

Once again this is a story of greed, not sex. The sex was just thrown in to get people off track. If doctors would work a little sex into the story as they told you bad news with the word terminal mixed in, it would sure make dying a lot easier. If Jell-o was sexier, they'd sell a lot more of it. (scrolling up again)

Wonder if Julie Roehm has seen the Appalachian mountains from the veiled opening of a dewy tent pitched under whatever kind of giant trees they grow in Appalachia? Wal-Mart is running a sale on pup tents and Pop Tarts all this week.......scroll baby scroll....

Another Bentonville story. My son has two adopted Chinese daughters in addition to two adopted American daughters and worked for a number of years as a Wallyworld vendor in B'ville. He was actually approached on the street by someone who asked him why he adopted a Chinese daughter. He was house-looking at the time and decided to settle in Fayetteville which is somewhat (relatively) more cosmopolitan.

The whole area, beneath the WM veneer is still a series of red-neck towns.

Walton let go his first Chief Executive for doing the secretary. Difference between then and now is that it wasn't officially announced under Sam. It should be etched in stone up there somewhere
about the pen/company inkwell. And that "not even a cup of coffee" rule is absolute. I knew one
$100K yr gal several years ago let go for having lunch in Calif while on vacation with a vendor rep.
She told one of her subs and the next day it was goodbye. She did get a better paying job from a vendor with whom she had been doing business for WM.

It's a very Scorpio company thus it's vindictive, secretive, and espionage plays a role in corporate culture. Delaware incorporation date Oct 31, 1969.

Seems every CEO leaves a stamp or legacy. Previously Glass left with them with the churchianity
stamp. They certainly didn't get it from the Waltons or their original hires. Glass reportedly donated $20 million to Benny Hinn Ministries. That should get him into heaven.

.

The biscuit hat guy is ". . . probably the owner."
Nah. I doubt it. Probably just some POOR (literally) old guy who was both starved and starved for contact -- not that I'd be happy to be in his sights. More and more fast food places are hiring the elderly, sometimes the VERY elderly, to work their busy hours. Most of these folks are sweet. And very hardworking, to the extent that I want to grab their 20-something manager by the throat and ask, "Don't any of those young'uns carrying on like fools back there know what a mop is for?"
Anyway, one day, you'll go back to one of these places and Miss Mary or Mr. John won't be around. You ask and you really don't want to hear the answer.
It's so very sad that they had to work to keep body and soul together, and meds purchased and taxes and insurance paid, right up until their last day on this earthly plain.

I've been saying it for 15 years. Save your hometown; boycott Walsmart.

Now Louie it's save beautiful,independent women-Boycott WalMart.

OK, pardon my confusion but she gets fired "In 2006, after Wal-Mart fired Roehm at least in part for accepting a Nobu 57 sushi dinner from Draftfcb, the ad agency she'd recently awarded the retailer's $580 million account" and "CEO Scott for (buys) discounted yachts and a diamond ring from a Wal-Mart partner" (What happened to him?)

Bentonville sounds like Salt Lake City to me. I'm just saying...

"Mike couldn't find a job locally and considered bagging groceries"

Oh, the horror of having to consider bagging groceries!

Overall though, Wal-Mart behaved worse than Roehm.

Close but no cigar jrb. In Salt Lake City there are no Cokes, coffee or tea. But, there's plenty of sex. Mormons love sex more than Republicons on the Appalachian Trail.

In Salt Lake City there are no tobacco products. In Vendorville you will find the WORLD'S LARGEST DISTRIBUTOR OF TOBACCO products with a big W in its name.

Looking at the picture of Ms. Roehm, seated in front of the window looking out at the pool with two young pugilists ready to bash the sh#t out of each other as a back drop, I can't keep from thinking about that scene in Harold and Maude. You know, the one where Harold's mom is in the parlor talking with a mother/daughter she's trying to impress upon what a wonderful young man Harold is while he goes about setting himself on fire, in full view of these guests, outside the window! (Or was he hanging himself?)

Of course you're right eLwood. They also don't serve liquor by the drink in those little bottles you get on the airplanes or 3.2 beer in their microbreweries. I can't confirm the "sex" statistics out there but they've been known to take on a wife or two, or three, or four, or........

--Dang, she is sin-worthy! Why hasnt this been an HBO movie, underwritten by Target?

--You can SORTA get them airline sized drinks from Wal Mart..Macadoodles Liquor just over the Missouri line...maybe it's an urban legend but I heard the owner was a wal mart exec who took his early retirement and started this here booze bazaar. One of the most entertaining liquor stores I ever visited!

Down here in SArk the tertiary urban fabric destruction stage by Wal Mart has started. After building it's own building and moving out of the enclosed mall, turning it into the depressed 25-30% occupancy sales environment the mall had turned the downtown into when it was built, Wal Mart has driven enough competitors out of business to begin the monopoly phase of its business model.

KMart has bankrupted and moved away, most clothes, moderate jewelery and department stores have closed, many hardware and notions stores like Woolco and Sterlings are just small town remembrances, almost all bookstores are gone and only boutique niche stores and local hardware stores affiliated with chains compete. Wal Mart hasn't sufficiently expanded to confront Home Depot. Now they are working on the local grocery store competitorss offering a wider variety of items and some lower prices by mass purchasing and controlling their own distribution.

But while the grocery areas are competing and offering larger variety and lower prices, where the monopoly or near monopoly is established the variety of products has severely shrunken and prices are not as low where there is no competition.

I think there is a backlash coming against Wal Mart in the areas where the monopoly or near monopoly exists. The distaste for shopping there because of parking and large numbers of shoppers is already universal and their business model has not addressed that problem. When you can't find what you want or it costs as much as the one competitor they have run out of business, and the WlaMart is causing the major automobile traffic congestion in the city or town, some people will start to awaken to the to the catastrophe WalMart has been to their town, or city.

As for Bentonville, the town,the retirerees and it's industry have built the town they wanted and they have received what they deserved, although the concept of Bentonville and the residents trying to live under a Mormon dominated government and infrastructure (like Salt Lake City) makes me chuckle.

As for " . . . the second question people ask you when they meet you is 'What church do you belong to?' . . . " Who cares? I have no desire to visit Bentonville, much less be incarcerated there.

>>But while the grocery areas are competing and offering larger variety and lower prices, where the monopoly or near monopoly is established the variety of products has severely shrunken and prices are not as low where there is no competition.<<

That is not true up heah in Walmart country dotto. In fact they are the ONLY place with a good dark chocolate selection. We would shop at our local, employee-owned Harps but they have few of the things we buy regularly like organic soy milk, fat free beef Kosher franks, lamb, mangoes, Omega-3 eggs. Walmart has all of that. Produce is better quality at Harps but choices are very limited. However, Wally stocks organic spinach, lettuces, carrots, and fruits. Harps does not.

Still scrolling up.....

competition? if you have more than we have you are lucky. we have a walmart suckycenter and one other grocery store, which delivers and doesn't use gases to package its meat. I dont believe our WM has all the organic choices that elwood describes either.

the other grocery store, which has been in bidness here since Hector was a pup, also has this fascinating concept yet to hit walmart called having more than two damned checkout lanes open at all times even on Saturday nights. Good Lord.

I lived in LR for several years and nobody ever asked where we went to church. Moved to russellville and it was the FIRST question everybody asked. Dont live there any more, but thats not the reason. wanted to be closer to family.

Maybe that blonde lady could rent out a few rooms, you know, open up a boardinghouse. anything but sacking groceries!!! Oh dear me! I guess for some reason companies arent real eager to hire her and her passel of attorneys, although far be it from ME to defend walmart.

I bet DBI would drive up there and take a room for weekends. so would I, if I could stay in the pool all day long without them chirren whacking each other with giant plastic baseball bats. Things like that tend to get all over my last nerve now that my chirren are grown up. as a matter of fact, I didnt like whacking with blunt objects back then either.

1. WMT is not a monopoly unless you live in one horse/stoplight town and if you do, you wouldn't have anything if you didn't have the WMT. You can live in a big city or it's suburbs and never have to go to a WMT. Compare that to the oil companies. You're buying from about one of five suppliers. If you don't like that, tough shit.

2. The story about the Macadoodles owner being a former WMT exec isn't an "urban legend." It's true. WMT threatened to sue him for copying the Neighborhood Market format. (WMt is about as quick draw with it's lawyers as the Scientologists.)

3. While at WMT, this woman accepted kick backs and slept with a direct report. (Note she does not dispute this.) What did she expect to happen?

4. That being said, she's a brilliant marketing person but WMT should have never brought her on. She specializes in edgy commercials which is fine but if WMT didn't want that, they shouldn't have brought her on. That's their fault. They knew what they were getting and they didn't support her. I'm glad it's (seemingly) working out for her.

Early on in my career as a buyer for Dillard's the young lady who was in the next cubicle over from me had an ongoing discussion alternating with Mom and Dad over a couple of days. I knew that her Dad was the CFO of Walmart.

The gist of the conversation was, Dad had done pretty well with Walmart and they lived in the same area as the Walton's and Momma wanted a new car. She went out and traded the family's Chevy Impala, sold some of her Walmart stock and traded up to a big ole red honk-in Lincoln Town car. This just undid Dad! And the annual Walmart picnic was coming up in a couple of days!

Upshot of the story, whenever the family left the house, it was in Dads old pickup truck that was about as old as Mr. Walton's.

I'd bet that the odds are not good that any incoming Wal-Mart vendor moving into NW Arkansas will be making an offer on Julie's house anytime soon if he knows what's good for him.

". . . WMT is not a monopoly unless you live in one horse/stoplight town and if you do, you wouldn't have anything if you didn't have the WMT. . . ." NWASooner

It's evident 1) you have never lived in a smaller community (20,000 to 26,000); 2) you are definitely a WalMart alcolyte or employee. We had multiple independent clothing and department stores, two competing discount department stores, etc. The WalMart business model has been successful at eliminating this competition thus establishing a near monopoly and sometime in specialty areas (a true monopoly).

However, as I posted, as WalMart adapts to it's near monopoly advantage, the reduction of choices and saving will not play with WalmArt customers driven by lower prices and variety of choices, since the convenience shopping model can not be sold due to WalMart necessary congestion problems.

So enjoy your lifestyle in the Fay-Spring-Rog-tonville strip city. You'll always be able to enjoy your Walart worshipping lifestyle. The rest of us will thank God that the northern carpetbaggers are in NWA and look forward to a more diversified and less congested community and region.

Tina,

I hope you get more choices in your grocery stores.

Big "L",

I understand the problem. When I need prosciutto, romano-pecorino cheese, mortadella, pancetta, brie etc. I have usually only three choices: 1) Grit my teeth and take a 21:00 (9:00 PM) trip to Walmart and accept the lower quality deli product and cheeses; 2) Ask the Brookshire's deli to add a small quantity on their next restocking; 3) Order those specialized deli products or spice online Here's one site CLIK, I got it as a gadget for my sidebar. {<:

The variety of WMart's products has remained +/-, but the quality of WMart's of the last prosciutto and fontina I bought for Braciole o Fettine di Manzo Farcite was poor.

If WMT destorys supposedly superior small town businesses, how has Harp's in Northwest Arkansas stayed in business so long?