Something About Pigs Flying
Guess what I did today!
I bought a Sam’s Wholesale Club membership!!
I know, right?! SAM’S-OMGEE-THIS-IS-SO-EXCITING!!!
You’re going to laugh at me, but the reason I hadn’t bought a membership until this point was due to some convoluted set of pseudo-moral objections Tariq raised about mindless consumerism and unfair business practices.
I didn’t really argue because that meant I would have actually had to listen to the argument PLUS I find it absolutely hilarious when my husband tries to get ethical.
This is the guy that laughed at me a few years ago when I suggested that we should start recycling. And when I got upset asked me how much water the recycling plant used to recycle plastics and-isnt-THAT-bad-for-the-environment?
And, then, when I got even more upset said, “Fine” but then grumbled something like “Leave it to Americans to love dirt, plastic and dogs more than they love people.” Okay, not an exact quote, but something in the neighborhood.
Anyway, SAM’S CLUB!!
Did you know you could buy six tubes of toothpaste for ten bucks?
And one hundred and sixty Huggies for thirty five bucks?
Plus cheesecake and salmon?!
And frozen taquitos and a 24 pack of Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt?
Look, I know I’m getting FOBalicious here, but I am so excited!
Because, hey, SAM’S!!
26 Responses to Something About Pigs Flying
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Haha. I occasionally shop at Costco but I refuse to shop at Sam’s. You should have heard me last November when I was in Virginia with my mom and refused to go to Walmart.
What confuses me is environmentalist’s beef with Wal*Mart when consumers save so much gas when they can go to one place for groceries, household goods, auto repair, gardening, fast food, beauty salon, video rentals, banking and eyecare. It’s the epitome of efficiency and reducing waste! Their mass distribution procedures optimize storage, dispersal, refrigeration, and management of millions of sku’s and the employ a ton of people, giving more benefits than any local mom and pop store could dream of providing (yet people will still complain about unfair business practices)
@whall, But the many Walmart employees do not receive benefits and are dependent on government aid.
@Kailyn, Many employers don’t give benefits, so why is Wal*Mart so worthy of attention? People aren’t forced to work there. People don’t have a right to benefits. If someone wants more pay or more benefits, they should earn a job somewhere else that provides it. If Wal*Mart (or any employer for that matter) can’t find suitable people to employ at their proposed wages or compensation packages, then they’ll have to change. Both employers and employees must adapt or perish. The idea that every job needs to provide a living wage for a family is ludicrous to me – some jobs are supposed to be entry level.
Basically, there are consequences to not being valuable.
The problems arise when whiners choose to suffocate the free market with legislation, overhead and rewarding underachievement. They try to circumvent the built-in consequences and as a result, end up killing off the achievers.
However, if the people speak with their actions, such as working elsewhere (in essence, rewarding good employer practices), then both employee and employer become stronger over time.
@whall, Being considered what you like to call a valuable employee is not a matter of choice for some people. This argument seems to be founded in the idea that all people have the same access to resources that would make them valuable. Your argument implies as much. The idea of a meritocracy in the Unoted States is a complete myth.
Yes, there are many employers that don’t offer benefits. Retailers like Walmart typically do — if you work enough hours. It is the norm in these places to give employees fewer than the number of hours necessary qualify. So yes, we get low prices in the stores but the true cost to us is much higher as the government programs are financed by tax dollars. Perhaps we should be spending more on education and early intervention/support programs so that people will feel they have value and so will say no to these kinds of jobs.
I choose like others I know to not support businesses that have employee practices with which I do not agree. If enough customers follow suit, the business cannot sustain itself. This is not whining and instead a part of the free market model. I know this because I remember the grape boycott in the 70s.
@Kailyn, In my haste to jump to conclusions and inject political statements, I completely neglected to mention that I fully support your use of boycotting and am pleased to see you utilize that power. For some stupid reason I lumped you in with the group who want to use politicians to solve these problems rather than using the free market methods available. I apologize for the implication that you personally are a whiner.
We agree on more education in general and I’d rather have a smarter populace than not.
I don’t think it’s the govt’s job to provide aid, as I think that is the role of individuals, churches, and charities, but that’s outside the conversation of Wal-mart’s business practices in general other than how it relates to your comparison to what some feel has to be done as a result of them not paying enough.
So. You and I should lead a group who go around and teach people that they don’t have to be taken advantage of, to get smart, and help them improve and be aware of their value.
It’d be better than the current crop of people going around teaching people that they don’t have to be taken advantage of, and if you vote for them, they’ll make sure big rich people and evil corporations get their come-uppins and will be forced to pay people more for the same work they already do.
@whall, Anyone who truly knows me knows that I am all down with starting the revolution. I want people to stand up for their rights as citizens of this planet. I think that there is a minimum standard of care as to how we treat others. And I am appalled that there are not people in the streets demanding such.
I am a native Californian who is born of transplanted Southern parents. Parents who grew up under Jim Crow. They taught me that we are survivors and not victims. But I see so many in my community who see themselves as victims and my heart goes out to them. (I finally understood why they feel this way as I sat in a job interview a few years ago and was told, “But whenever we hire African American women, we always seem to have issues.” I kid you not. In Berkeley no less.) As a former public school teacher, I know how we have failed our children in truly knowing what they can be. They have been given a false sense of who they are before they enter the world at large. But I was told that my job was to expose them to stuff; mastery would come later.
But right now I am sitting at home, waiting for the Mehserle verdict to come down and wondering if my city will burn this weekend. Because it is filled with so many people who feel that they don’t have value. And in the meantime I sit here pontificating upon what they need behind the safety of the gates around my home.
@whall, I think you just like Wal-Mart because it sounds like Whall.
Seriously. You’re so silly.
Those frozen taquitos are just awful.
Beware.
I shop at Sam’s! Mostly for drinks and toilet paper, but their books are cheap, too!
Also, my daughter peed her pants there once and I feel like I owe them. Some poor schmuck had to clean up her pee.
I get all uppity about Wal-Mart until I have to go in, then I can’t leave without $25 worth of ROLLBACKS.
I shop at BJ’s. Because, you know, BJ’s. I’m 12.
Lucky you, I want to get one the next time I find $50. I think it might save me some money with all these children and dogs, lol!!
Our Sam’s Club is called BJ’s and it makes me laugh to call it that but I really do enjoy their popcorn the best…
160 diapers for $35?! That ALONE is worth it!!!
I have no idea if any if those prices you mentioned is a good deal. I’m horrible about remembering what stuff usually costs at the grocery store.
I have no idea if any if those prices you mentioned is a good deal. I’m horrible about remembering what stuff usually costs at the grocery store.
Did Tariq go on hunger strike yet to make you return the membership? PS: those Taquitos are so not worth eating..You should try their ribeyes..they are amazing..
I was actually thinking about canceling my Sam’s membership and getting a Costco one instead. I’ve heard good things about Costco.
I finally stopped going because I swear I was spending way more money there than I needed to. The problem is there were too many good deals, too many things I just couldn’t pass up! And then I always had to go to the regular grocery store, too, so I’d spend more money there.
But it sure is exciting to walk through those doors–such a sense of adventure! That’s as adventurous as I get, by the way.
i’d tell you that i had a BJ’s card, but i know that your immature mind wouldnt be able to stop yourself from making a rude joke, so i’ll refrain.
I have an aversion to wholesale clubs because, well, I would rather pluck my eyelashes than have to shop for food and supplies. I feel the same way about the local grocery store or Target.
Are you really going to eat all that yogurt before it expires? And Tariq, I don’t appreciate the dog comment. Even if you didn’t say it, I know you thought it.
I used to go to Sam’s Club with my friend during lunch once a month, looking for deals on electronics. I was amazed at how much they had. Then I saw the 10lb bag of gummy worms and thought “how cool is that”
It’s been years since I stepped foot into a Sam’s club since they built a Costco much closer. And I rarely go there because eating that many gummy worms is not good for me.
I hate Walmart. Every time I go into the one in my city, I get craptastic customer service, dirty looks from employees, and rudeness from the employees, too. There’s only one guy in that entire store who actually knows anything about the store, but I won’t go there anymore. Or at least, I try not to; I need Ocean Potion and Walmart’s the only place that carries it that I know of.
I don’t think we have a Sam’s Club around here. We have both a BJ’s and a Costco, which is good enough for me.
I will not shop at Wal Mart unless I have absolutely no choice…I despise going to Sam’s Club.
But Costco?
Oh man, I could spend *hours* there and still not want to leave. Unless I have the kids with me. Then I just want to get in and get out and get the heck outta there.