Home Depot's Inventory Control Problem

[Al Bundy]

"HeatMan" wrote in news:ejpFg.25500$ [e-mail]:

Bet it came from WalMart :-) Or maybe he forgot to mention it was a modified straw!

[lwasserm]

Are you implying tha Walmart would pay more to those employees if they had a degree?

[Steve B]

Ayup. I like to do the meanest nastiest thing I can do to them. Take my money elsewhere. I usually like to give a parting shot to the manager, but I think I hear the WHOOSH of a projectile passing over an empty air space.

Steve

[Steve B]

My favorite is hearing the announcements for HD bluelight specials of the day announced in SPANISH.

WE'RE IN AMERICA. SPEAK FUCKING ENGLISH OR GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME TO.

And this applies to all who pander to the invading slime.

Steve

[<aemeijers]

(snip)

Depends on where you are. In the southwest, there are plenty of 3rd and 4th generation Born In USA who primarilly speak Spanish. Some families can trace their presence back before the area WAS part of US. Don&#39;t forget, lots of US territory used to belong to Spain or Mexico. Some old land titles go back to Spanish land grants, not English or French ones. The border moved, not the people or the culture. Yeah, they would probably have an easier time if they assimilated fully into the Anglo culture, but hey, they were there first.

So in other words- at least some of the people you bitch about ARE FROM HERE. When did all your ancestors come over?

And no, I&#39;m not a Spanish speaker. Wish I wasn&#39;t so lousy with languages- it would make travel easier.

aem sends....

[Doug Miller]

???

Of course not. The point is that if they had a college education (or had learned a trade), they wouldn&#39;t need to be working at Wal-Mart.

[Steve B]

My grandparents came from Poland in 1912. They became naturalized citizens by learning to read and write in English. They insisted their children learn the language and customs of the US, and to be proud Americans, not Polish-Americans.

Steve

[George]

But likely not a response that would work since Walmart is so big and accounted for so much of Vlasics sales.

[Tom G]

Years ago, Sears had a reputation for getting their suppliers to expand to meet their needs. Then once that was done, and they were in debt to Sears or the bank, Sears would insist on big price reductions. If the supplier didn&#39;t comply, Sears would give them a choice...lose the business or sell out to Sears. Some businesses, knowing of this predatory practice, would avoid doing business with Sears. I think that eventually WalMart will go the way of Sears. Sears started reducing the products they carried back in the early 70&#39;s giving, eventually, WalMart an opening to compete and I see WalMart doing that now. Someone will step in to fill the gap and without the huge complexity and overhead of WalMart will be able to compete. I don&#39;t find prices all that much lower at WalMart. If you look closely you&#39;ll find marketing tricks like one I found recently....contractor&#39;s garbage bags..10 to the container versus exact same product at Sears Hardware..12 to the container. Appeared to be cheaper at WalMart but was exactly the same price per bag. And if gas prices continue to escalate, it&#39;s going to be cheaper to buy at the local hardware store or grocery store rather than drive to a WalMart 15 miles away.

Tom G.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Evidently, saying yes put them out of business, so saying no may have left them better off. They may be a smaller business, but they would still be there, making a profit and paying employees. Sorry, but they allowed themselves to be pushed over the top. Maybe greed, maybe just inept management, but in any case, NO was an alternative.

[Steve B]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote

I was in business for ten years. I did good, and sold the business for a good profit. Early on, I would take work just to keep the wheels rolling. Basically swapping dollars to pay the help and pay the overhead.

Then one day, I just said no. I&#39;m in business to make money not to break even. If I&#39;m just going to break even , I&#39;ll go back to my old job, work only 40 hours a week, cut my Tylenol bill by 90%, and only think about work eight hours a day. Paid vacation, uniforms, meals, health care, and pension.

Then I started concentrating on "gravy jobs". *

• explanation of a gravy job -

I would make a metal gate from scratch for about $150 back then. My profit, about $10 per hour worked - about 5 hours.

Then I got into service welding. I charged $75 per hour to go out and just fix gates. (and other things)

Bottom line ........ I would work less hours and clear more money.

Vlasic should have made the decision to keep selling more quart and pint jars for a better profit than making gallon jars. I read a lot of the story, but can&#39;t remember what the profit for a gallon was vs. profit for a quart.

One time, I was thinking of expanding my business. I had a backer for $250k that was looking to shelter some shady money. When I crunched the numbers, everything went up by 100 to 400% except my paycheck. The backer balked when I demanded that my income should at least double.

Gross don&#39;t mean squat.

Net is where it&#39;s at.

Money comes in ..... money goes out ........ how much stays?

Yes, Ed, sometimes it is smart to just say NO!

Steve

[Mike Dobony]

In which case the blame is STILL with Vlasic for relying on a single customer instead of expanding the market. Bottom line? Brain-dead top management. Lack of leadership.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Relying on a single customer is always a dangerous and destructive practice, but people refuse to learn from history.

Mike D.

[jim]

[jim]

[HeatMan]

I saw it in the local fish wrapper. Thanks.

[bryanska]

I like Microsoft fine. Good OS, and there&#39;s two alternatives. Not a totally good comparison, as using Windows doesn&#39;t affect my local economy.

IBM is fine, too. Good machines (now made by Lenovo) and competent services.

Toyota&#39;s OK, I guess.

But Disney is just crap. The worst kind of schlock. What horrible movies...

[Don Klipstein]

In article , [e-mail] wrote in part:

5% unemployment means that 5% of those who are either working or looking for work are doing the latter. That 5% does not count those not looking for work.

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[Don Klipstein]

The way I hear it, the usual workweek at Wal-Mart is 28 hours. 28 hours of pay per week - try living on that!

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[Don Klipstein]

There used to be a time when most Americans without college education got to join the middle class!

- Don Klipstein ( [e-mail])

[<aemeijers]

IMHO, a BA or BS today, is about the equal of what a HS Diploma was back in the mid-sixties. Sure, there are the scary-smart kids at the top of the bell curve when they are 18, but they are far-outnumbered by the extended-adolesence brain-dead, testosterone-poisoned if male, makeup poisoned if female, masses. Aside from the decreased level of practical knowledge and life experience most 18 YO seem to have today (even the smart ones), the decreased need for Strong Backs due to technology, and the increased number of availble bodies due to the demographic bulges and shadow bulges in the snake, means employers can be a lot pickier than the factory foreman used to be. My employers, the feds, are in terror. Average age of the geeks is 49, and most will be able to retire in next 5-7 years. With the half-done dismantling of civil service job security, and the sky-high salaries the smart kids can get in real world, recruitment is a problem. And this is in jobs where you are unlikely to get shot at. The military is gonna be between a rock and a hard place if they run out of older Guard and Reserve guys, who seem much less eager to re-up after the 2nd or 3rd tour in the sandbox.

aem sends...