SoWalMart Grand Oening Wednesday June 15th, 2011

[cabythesea]

On line shopping is great if you have a computer, access to the internet and good credit. I hope all of you Walmart haters, after spending significant time bashing those who may have no choice but to shop at a Walmart, thank your lucky stars for being as fortunate as you are. Obviously, no trees were cut down to build the house you live in...

[LuciferSam]

For me, ink cartridges are not a good choice for online purchase. I almost never use my printer, but sometimes in an emergency, i need it immediately. I don't even know if my printer works right now or if it even has fresh cartridges. I save money by almost never using my printer and never buying cartridges, but when I need it, I need it now. It's also nice to know that if I need a new printer at moments notice I can have one back home in minutes even a midnight. It's like that way with a lot of odds and ends. I like to buy them when I need them and at moments notice. That's my approach and I'm staying with it. Big ticket items like computers, audio equipment, cameras, ceiling fans, I buy online. There is no way I'm going to spend time ordering hundreds of small items online and tracking them. This walmart I am sure wil save me many hours a week and free up time for me to be more productive with various projects and such. A few trees is a small price to pay IMO. It will greatly reduce the stress level. Sorry do-gooders, that's just how it is.

[beachmouse]

On a related note, we ended up in the new Destin Big Lots next to Best Buy today just to see if it was as utterly mediocre as the one in Ft. Walton was, and were actually pleasantly surprised. Yes, still a lot of no-name goods and utter junk in there, but a fair number of brand names products there, including a medium-sized shelf stable grocery section where the prices seemed pretty good. (Just check for package integrity and that the expiration date is far enough out s you'll use it before that passes.)

They also had a big display of Serta mattresses- not sure if their prices were the best you can do, but if you have to replace one in a vacation home/condo soon, it might be worth checking out.

[Teresa]

On line shopping is great if you have a computer, access to the internet and good credit. I hope all of you Walmart haters, after spending significant time bashing those who may have no choice but to shop at a Walmart, thank your lucky stars for being as fortunate as you are. Obviously, no trees were cut down to build the house you live in...

You have the option of stating your opinion on the subject without bashing others. This issue has been discussed openly on the board for quite some time and I respect all the opinions and understand them after reading all the well-stated, thoughtful posts of many. I think there are very valid points on all sides. There is no right or wrong opinion here. Your statements are unnecessary, imo, not to mention incorrect and unkind.

[Jdarg]

My buying habits will not change- I will still "shop the aisles" at Publix (produce, meat, dairy) and the interior at Walmart (everything not refrigerated or fresh, because their prices on these products kill Publix). My beef remains the same- I still don't think we needed a Walmart here. I didn't think driving up to Destin occasionally was a big deal to stock up on dry goods.

But now it is here, so I will be buying cereal, toiletries, paper products, laundry products, etc. at Walmart, then hit the Publix on the way home for meat, fruit and veggies, and milk. I will leave Walmart with a sigh, but I can't ignore the savings on the products that my family eats and uses.

[kurt]

Me and Scooterbug like to shop local! Did the Wal-Mart location hold a forest within the near past? I thought it was simply stuff that grew after the real forest was mowed down years ago. I'm a fan of the cypress trees they planted there but lament more palms.

I'm with you on that. I do buy local products from TRUE local businesses as much as I can. Mostly gifts, music, clothing, books, etc. I especially love stuff MADE IN SOWAL. We plan to add a new feature soon about SoWal made stuff.

As far as the forest, there once was one there.

[Lake Eastern]

Thanks for letting me know that Big Lots is in Destin now. Try to stop at the one on 15th and Lisenby in PC pretty often. I just neve seem to go up there unless I'm going to see Frankie at Pet
Smart.

[scooterbug44]

My money is it was Scooterbug with 4 pounds of C4 strapped to her body taking care of business! lol ;)

You lose! I won't go near that place.

I'll pay $20 to anyone who sees me inside Wal-mart willingly (the willingly is so SWGB doesn't start kidnapping me for profit whenever he's my DD).

If people want to shop there and destroy the local businesses that make this place great and send more jobs out of the area and overseas they can.

I'll happily continue to get much better quality food at the Farmer's Market, Cypress Cattle Co, For the Health of It, and Publix and any locally unavailable items from Target and Amazon.com.

Most of the supposed "savings" are on crap food that I don't eat, lower quality and/or imported products, plastic, and unnecessary items.

You're loco if you don't buy local.

[Andy A]

I've been in the new WalMart twice, now and found the employees especially pleasant and helpful. The last I read, 200 employees were added to our present economy. I don't call that shipping local jobs overseas but then I am one of those old geezers who liked the country successful, not like it appears to be now.

[luv2batthebeach]

now lets work on getting a chic fil a and a wendys closer to the a.....progress baby

Call me crazy, but I think this lack of "progress" is why most of us adore 30-A.

[Kashan]

I was at the new walmart on Sunday this past weekend. The store is quite dark, not many customers there, the produce section is minimal and not much of a selection in the other areas of the store. It seems to be geared toward the tourists and NOT the locals. The cashier was very pleasant. There is no vision center, garden center or automotive center. Not even a McDonald's tucked away in a dark corner like at many of their other stores. In conclusion I was VERY disappointed in the store and more than likely will never go back.

[LuciferSam]

It was Sunday. I needed a few odds and ends and I needed them now. Wiper blades, wiper fluid, AAA batteries, a CFL bulb, Powerade, cat food, toothpaste, and a few food items. In the past I would have to drive to Destin. I don't live close enough to Target in PCB. It might have taken an hour longer if I made that trip. Then I'd have to walk through this huge supercenter with it's awful overly bright lighting. SoWal mart is really cool. Kind of scaled back a bit, but more compressed like a store should be. Gives it a kind of charm that I never would have expected. Puck Fublix.

[scooterbug44]

I've been in the new WalMart twice, now and found the employees especially pleasant and helpful. The last I read, 200 employees were added to our present economy. I don't call that shipping local jobs overseas but then I am one of those old geezers who liked the country successful, not like it appears to be now.

You mean when someone could work full time for a big company and not have to depend on government assistance to get medical care?

When we manufactured most of our clothing and goods in the US?

When we grew most of our food instead of importing it and farmers could actually make a living off farming?

That kind of good old days successful?

Sam Walton is rolling in his grave with what Wal-mart has become and is doing to the US economy.

[cp]

I'm not local,but I did pass the new walmart on my recent trip. Here at home I HATE shopping at any WAlmart.They are huge,dirty,loud and no one that works there knows anything.
On my trip in I took mid bay bridge and stopped at the Walmart in that town north of the bay (forgot the name) . Man, I didn't realize i was even in a Walmart, it was clean, not crowded and the landscaping out side was like a high end mall. Ya'll would die if you had to endure the ugly blue,gray things here.

[beachmouse]

That would be the newly-opened Niceville store. The site they built on there had a fair number of environmental sensitivity issues, complete with a mo-fo of stormwater retention requirements to keep an endangered fish in a nearby creek from being impacted. A lot of what they did for that development was because they had to in order to get approvals to build in one of the largest vacant areas left south of I-10 zoned for commercial use, not because they necessarily had planned on spending that much on fish-friendly landscaping and access roads, even though that area is high SES by local standards.

[Andy A]

You mean when someone could work full time for a big company and not have to depend on government assistance to get medical care?

When we manufactured most of our clothing and goods in the US?

When we grew most of our food instead of importing it and farmers could actually make a living off farming?

That kind of good old days successful?

Sam Walton is rolling in his grave with what Wal-mart has become and is doing to the US economy.

Yep, pretty much right on, though I disagree with the last sentence. You always tend to give waaaay to much credit to WalMart for the bad state of the economy.

[Teresa]

I've been in the new WalMart twice, now and found the employees especially pleasant and helpful. The last I read, 200 employees were added to our present economy. I don't call that shipping local jobs overseas but then I am one of those old geezers who liked the country successful, not like it appears to be now.

I would be interested in knowing who works at our little Walmart - are they residents of Santa Rosa Beach? I have no idea.

[scooterbug44]

Yep, pretty much right on, though I disagree with the last sentence. You always tend to give waaaay to much credit to WalMart for the bad state of the economy.

No I don't, you just don't realize how huge they are and what a major impact they have. They are the biggest company in the world!

Wal-mart is the largest private employer in the US with over 2 million employees.

8 cents of every dollar spent in American stores goes to Wal-mart.

Wal-mart makes over $40,000 in profit every minute, yet more than half of their employees/employees' family members rely on government aid programs for food, housing, and medical care.

That's hundreds of millions dollars of taxpayer money, which combined with foreign imports is a big part of what is hurting our country and our economy.

If Wal-mart paid a living wage and provided health care for its employees, it would make a giant dent in the deficits and entitlement spending that is bankrupting us.

Feel free to research these statistics and refute them.

Wal-mart is a cancer.

[Andy A]

Let me tell you a little story, SB44, that happened to me in the new WalMart. The cashier who check me out, had been very pleasant, taking me after she had closed her aisle for break. When she left, I had three sacks but only took two of them, leaving the shoes I had bought. When I got home and realized what I had done, I returned to the store and queiried the cashier who had checked me out. No shoes. To customer service where, once again, I was treated most curteously. The customer service representative who waited on me said I believe your story because I know you. She had been a teller at the local credit union where I have an account. The point of this story is she changed jobs from one that fostered good job security to work at WalMart so I feel sure she evaluated the situation before making the move.
We have a huge difference of opinion regarding WalMart, SB. I think it is anything but a cancer. It is an institution indicative of American entrepreneurship started by an American citizen who saw a need for something and built it. You can quote statistics until the cows come home and I will be the last to refute them though I feel sure many of anti WalMart ones are created, er, excuse me, fostered by those who hate WalMart. One thing more. You try to blame WalMart for the state of our economy to some degree. Those who work there are at least working and not sitting on their behinds not looking for work. I give every employee a lot of credit. SB, you and I will just have to disagree on this one as I think WalMart is a credit to the American economy, not a drag on it.

[scooterbug44]

I am sure many nice people work at Wal-mart. It isn't the individual employees I have a problem with, it's the company and how it does business that is the problem.

[lisaseer]

I know that a large portion of the employees at Publix are not local and from the Northern part of the county. But new jobs are still new jobs. So, I think that is a good thing.

[Murray Balkcom]

Scooter, many jobs are not intended to be living-wage jobs. Many jobs don't require much skill, training or knowledge. The more attributes you bring to your job, the more pay you can charge the employer for your labor. Walmart has many jobs which fit this bill. It doesn't meant the employees at Walmart don't have valuable skills and knowledge, just that in many cases, those are not needed.

So, if you really hate Walmart so much, go spend your money at Target in Bay County or Okaloosa County and put that "local" spending you talk about to work.

[scooterbug44]

Most retail stores have the same jobs and require the same skills that Wal-mart does. The difference is only in how they treat and pay their employees. Stocker, greeter, cleaner, check out clerk, counter clerk - these jobs do not vary greatly in the basic skills needed.

Yes, the small amount of money that I spend at Target (only for items I can't find at local stores) does not add to the Walton County tax base, but since they give 5% of their profits back to community organizations that cross county lines it still helps us locally.

[LuciferSam]

If you're concerned about how employees are treated, you would never again eat at a restaurant.

[scooterbug44]

No, I would just try to only eat in real restaurants that treat their people well.

[LuciferSam]

No, I would just try to only eat in real restaurants that treat their people well.

And how would you know? Do you go into the kitchen and interview people? I would go as far to say that at many of the businesses we all patronize, somebody is treated like crap. I don't get too hung up on it.

[Here4Good]

Yes, the small amount of money that I spend at Target (only for items I can't find at local stores) does not add to the Walton County tax base, but since they give 5% of their profits back to community organizations that cross county lines it still helps us locally.

Walmart's Foundation and their philanthopy:

http://www.accessphilanthropy.com/fu...hp?funderID=36

BTW, in 2010, when corporate donations were down, Walmart still gave about 8% of their profits - the #1 corporate philanthropist in America.

Look, I know Target looks better, smells better, etc, but you are not going to find 5% of difference in how they treat their employees. At least when I stopped at the new Walmart the cashiers weren't all Eastern European exchange workers.

I wish people would commit 1/10th of the energy we use hating Walmart to hating Goldman Sachs. They've done more to trash this economy than Walmart ever could.

[scooterbug44]

And how would you know? Do you go into the kitchen and interview people? I would go as far to say that at many of the businesses we all patronize, somebody is treated like crap. I don't get too hung up on it.

Employee turnover and general happiness are good indicators.

[LuciferSam]

Employee turnover and general happiness are good indicators.

Restaurants, have high turnover, and you're in denial if you think there aren't a lot of kitchen workers who hate their job and their employer.

[scooterbug44]

Some restaurants have the same employees for years and years. Some seem to have a revolving door and can't keep staff for more than several months.

You're in denial if you think that only applies to kitchen workers.

[beachmouse]

There are any number of Publix employees in the area that have been with the company since their first Okaloosa/Walton store opened in 2000. Given that there were times since then that the unemployment rate was less than 3% and wages could be surprisingly high for retail work during some of those years, I tend to regard it as an indicator that Publix was a preferred employer even when there were a lot of other retail employment options out there.

[LuciferSam]

Some restaurants have the same employees for years and years. Some seem to have a revolving door and can't keep staff for more than several months.

You're in denial if you think that only applies to kitchen workers.

Of course not, I already said earlier "many businesses". My point is that as a customer, I'm not going makeemployee welfare my primary concern. It's not my jurisdiction and it's an impossible task, though it gives some people the illusion that they are doing the right thing when they target certain particular businesses.

[Andy A]

Of course not, I already said earlier "many businesses". My point is that as a customer, I'm not going makeemployee welfare my primary concern. It's not my jurisdiction and it's an impossible task, though it gives some people the illusion that they are doing the right thing when they target certain particular businesses.

i.e. WalMart

[sunspotbaby]

Retail giant Wal-Mart has announced in recent weeks that, effective immediately, it is cutting as many as 13,000 of what it somehow has the audacity to refer to as "jobs" from its corporate payroll.

According to Wal-Mart representatives, the, for lack of a better word, positions will be cut from the company's underperforming Sam's Club division. Analysts reported that Monday's layoffs marked one of the largest so-called downsizings of what can hardly even be termed employment in the company's history.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/wal...lls-jobs,2908/

[spartan1]

Within a few years Costco will somewhere near Sowal and everyone will forget there ever was a Walmart.

[miznotebook]

WJHG recently reported that a new Walmart may be coming in next to Target near Pier Park: http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/N...124617769.html

[scooterbug44]

WJHG recently reported that a new Walmart may be coming in next to Target near Pier Park: http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/N...124617769.html

Just what the area needs - MORE Wal-marts! Grrr!

[beachmouse]

Id this in addition to or a replacement for the one by the Boardwalk Beach Resort?

[miznotebook]

According to the report, this will be the second Walmart in PCB and the other one will remain open. This one is supposed to be about 2/3 the size of the other one.

[sunspotbaby]

They are flying a plane with a wal-mart banner behind it. Really?

[Gidget]

LOL YES they are Sunspotbaby!!! I was floating on my back in the gulf yesterday. First plane goes by WACHOVIA IS NOW WELLS FARGO next plane goes by WALMART IN SANTA ROSA BEACH IS NOW OPEN.

[Rita]

LOL YES they are Sunspotbaby!!! I was floating on my back in the gulf yesterday. First plane goes by WACHOVIA IS NOW WELLS FARGO next plane goes by WALMART IN SANTA ROSA BEACH IS NOW OPEN.

.
Time to float on your front!........


.

[haozoudao1988]

in fla you get screwed with bogo at publix.in ga you only have to buy 1 item and its 1/2 off. in fla you must buy both items to get the bogo. but many things in bogo kill walmart. such as a-1 steak sause, lean quisine family sized bogo,35 oz box for $3 each,many of the cereals at bogo.many of the home cleaning products are bogo. my favorite store is costco hands down but none near sowa

[Teresa]

Within a few years Costco will somewhere near Sowal and everyone will forget there ever was a Walmart.

This sounds good to me. Smallmart is not worth the time IMO. In fact, if I need to go to Walmart I go ahead and drive to Destin (about once or twice a year).

[Zebraspots]

Has anyone been to dollar store? Is it worth a trip?

[Mightyern]

Dollar General is VERY nice. Small, organized, quick, great prices on most everything. I especially love the DG brand stuff (Clover Valley??).