I'm in a love/hate relationship with...

I'm in a love/hate relationship with Wal-mart. For years, I have hated the fact that this store crushes down on the local mom & pop shops and takes over small towns.

Back when Andrew and I lived in Grover Beach, CA there was a Wal-mart with a great photo processing center. I would only go there for my one hour photos...this was years ago when one hour processing wasn't all that common and was more expensive elsewhere. Plus the Wal-mart photo center only makes you pay for the photos that turned out. I would have some blurry pics or bad shots from using a Film camera (back then) and would not have to keep those shots or pay for them. Of course now, in 2009 I have a digital camera, and online photo ordering to where I can select which photos I want, and pick them up at my local, one-hour photo center at Walgreen's. I don't go to Wal-mart any longer for the photos. I was basically trying to boycott Wal-marts for the past 10 years, and only shop there on a needed basis, such as the use of the Photo center. Wal-greens is my photo center now and I no longer needed Wal-mart.

When we lived in Cincinnati, Ohio there was a "Supercenter" being built right in front of our Apartment Complex. It was such an eyesore! It was being built the entire year that we lived in Ohio. The road to our place was constantly bothered by construction hazards and blocking our main road for a while. This made me HATE Wal-mart even more. By the time the Supercenter was going to finally open, Andrew and I had moved away and over to Missouri.

So here we are living in Missouri for the past 3 years and the Wal-mart here is 24 hours open. It is yet another crappy Wal-mart to which I prefer to shop elsewhere. ONLY it was convenient being open at 12:08 at night. I would be driving home from work and I would need some more bread or something random for the next day. I fell for the 24 hour convenience and would only shop there when other places were closed... and I just need to drop in for a few items.

I still hated shopping there. Since the Wal-mart is open "24 hours" the customers who shop around midnight... it is an obstacle to shop around the staff unpacking inventory and restocking shelves. It is so annoying to shop there at the wee hours of the night. The aisles are cluttered up and easily trip happy over wood pallets and cardboard piles!


So I really do hate Wal-mart...BUT I love Wal-mart at the same time. It is a love hate relationship I have for the store. I loved it for the photo-center, I loved it for open 24 hours and I hate it for being The Wal-Mart that squashes and puts other businesses out of business. I hate Wal-mart for the unpleasant shopping experiences in the midnight hour. And I hate that their pharmacy is not 24 hours inside a 24 hour store!

MY DILEMMA: A Supercenter Wal-mart has it's grand opening TODAY here in Manchester, MO. DO I GO TO IT? I can finally see what a super Walmart is all about? and poke around... take it all in? Maybe there will be free stuff and drawings to take part in, by shopping on their grand opening day? OR! DO I BOYCOTT & NOT SHOP THE SUPERCENTER? I know I will eventually shop there, might as well be on the grand opening day? I do need some more bread...I just don't want to kill any local stores who will go out of business because of this Supercenter/ ONE STOP SHOP opening in town.

Quoted from the Wal-mart site in an artical about the local location having it's grand opening:

"Approximately 175 new positions were created as a result of the relocation. More than 75 of the store’s associates have worked for Walmart for more than 10 years, including ten associates who have worked at the store since its original opening in 1988. Community Organizations Benefit from Grand-Opening Grants As part of Walmart’s commitment to the communities in which it operates, $27,000 in grants from the Walmart Foundation will be presented during the grand-opening celebration. Eight local non-profit organizations will each receive grants to support programs that serve the community including: Mid East Area Agency on Aging, City of Manchester, Circle of Concern, St. Oouis Community College, Parkway School District, St. Louis County Canine, Manchester Shop with a Cop, American Legion Fund..."

It is a half hour till the grand opening at 8am today. Do I love it or hate it? Do I shop or not shop? Kara is sleeping, so I will wait for her to wake, then I have to also go over to the YMCA for my workout class...so maybe I will shop there on grand opening day, but just not at the 8 o'clock hour of craziness! I am not that much in love with the store to be apart of the Grand opening ceremonies. I'll think about it...and check it out later today, after my workout. Kara and I will explore the new world this after noon.