The Wal-Mart Slayer: How Publix's People-First Culture Is Winning The Grocer War

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I shop at Publix regularly. Love their clean stores and friendly, customer oriented atmosphere. Convenience, well organized and stocked shelves, no long lines at the registers - ever - and decent fresh bakery, deli, meat and seafood products round out the friendly picture. You don;'t get any of that Wal-Mart. And if you do it right, you can shop at Publix way cheaper than at most other grocery stores save Aldi. And that is buying major national brand products which Publix has a broad selection of. Any claims to the contrary are just not true.

[rlogan 2,036]

Links to back your assertions or you are trolling.

lol. He doesn't have any. This delusional hatred of Wal Mart is weird. One of the strangest things is the relentless insistence, like his, that Wal Mart is inhuman in the treatment of its employees. It isn't the employees saying that. The union organizers/groupies - that's understandable. They want money and power. But why others? The rhetoric is so over-the-top it is laughable. Inhuman? lol. As if Wal Mart were a concentration camp. Happy employees being told they are concentration camp victims. Since my wife is a Filipina, she has many friends that are working at both Wal Mart and Sam's. All of them very happy in their jobs.

They hypocrisy and irony is ever so juicy. It's OK that employee-owned companies PROFIT - in fact, it is something to BRAG about as we see here. But if that same employee owns oil company stock or whatever, then profits are a horrible thing. Plenty of Wal Mart employees own stock in Wal Mart, not just directly but also in their retirement funds. But these are BAD profits. Most of these people have no idea corporations are owned by people, not by some tiny clique of rich bankers or something.

I don't have to lie about Publix. If people want to shop there - so what? I couldn't care less. I don't have to demonize them with ludicrous claims. Prices TEN TIMES HIGHER. Customers raped. Discharging deadly carcinogens in our air and water... but that's just what the Wal Mart haters do. This kind of dishonesty says something about the character of the haters, and you can't fool me by pretending to speak on behalf of employees that are satisfied with their jobs.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416914000019/wmtform10-kx13114.htm

Walmart itself declares that there are "factors and uncertainties [that] could materially affect our financial performance, our results of operations, including our sales, earnings per share" which according to their filing with the SEC include "changes in the amount of payments made under the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Plan and other public assistance plans, changes in the eligibility requirements of public assistance plans,...".

They depend on our tax dollars. And they openly admit it. Why can't you guys admit it, too?

[rlogan 2,036]

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416914000019/wmtform10-kx13114.htm

Walmart itself declares that there are "factors and uncertainties [that] could materially affect our financial performance, our results of operations, including our sales, earnings per share" which according to their filing with the SEC include "changes in the amount of payments made under the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Plan and other public assistance plans, changes in the eligibility requirements of public assistance plans,...".

They depend on our tax dollars. And they openly admit it. Why can't you guys admit it, too?

Hilarious! You didn't even read the source. The quote above refers to their low income CUSTOMERS, not employees. Cuts in food stamps affect grocery sales, duh.

Lying by omission shows the same relentless bad character of the Wal Mart haters. We can compare wages for the two directly using sources like glassdoor:

Publix cashiers have a range of $7-12 with an average of $8.72. Wal Mart has a range of $7-13 with an average of $8.53. A whopping 19 cent difference, and since we don't know the length of tenure in the positions for the two stores, these can't really be directly compared. What is perfectly clear though is that the pay is about the same so anything you say about Wal Mart goes equally well for Publix.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Publix-Hourly-Pay-E2945.htm

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Walmart-Hourly-Pay-E715.htm

So why aren't you admitting your precious Publix has employees on public assistance? Wal Mart has more than ten times the employees so of course they have more low income people on public assistance.

Why lie by omission? Because honesty is about the last thing you can expect from Wal Mart haters.

I don't hate Publix like you hate Wal Mart. I couldn't care less about Publix. I don't even care much about Wal Mart. I have no loyalty to them whatsoever. But I do dislike lying hypocrites. You can't whine about Wal Mart's $7 employees and conceal Publix's $7 employees. You can't pretend a statement about Wal Mart's CUSTOMERS is a statement about their EMPLOYEES.

[GandD 5,966]

Too many fatties at Walmart. I don't like seeing so many so I rarely go there.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Hilarious! You didn't even read the source. The quote above refers to their low income CUSTOMERS, not employees. Cuts in food stamps affect grocery sales, duh.

Lying by omission shows the same relentless bad character of the Wal Mart haters. We can compare wages for the two directly using sources like glassdoor:

Publix cashiers have a range of $7-12 with an average of $8.72. Wal Mart has a range of $7-13 with an average of $8.53. A whopping 19 cent difference, and since we don't know the length of tenure in the positions for the two stores, these can't really be directly compared. What is perfectly clear though is that the pay is about the same so anything you say about Wal Mart goes equally well for Publix.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Publix-Hourly-Pay-E2945.htm

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/Walmart-Hourly-Pay-E715.htm

So why aren't you admitting your precious Publix has employees on public assistance? Wal Mart has more than ten times the employees so of course they have more low income people on public assistance.

Why lie by omission? Because honesty is about the last thing you can expect from Wal Mart haters.

I don't hate Publix like you hate Wal Mart. I couldn't care less about Publix. I don't even care much about Wal Mart. I have no loyalty to them whatsoever. But I do dislike lying hypocrites. You can't whine about Wal Mart's $7 employees and conceal Publix's $7 employees. You can't pretend a statement about Wal Mart's CUSTOMERS is a statement about their EMPLOYEES.

How does it matter where Walmart grabs tax dollars? They grab about 1/5 of SNAP money - that's about $15 billion a year. And then you add some $6 billion in public assistance that Walmart workers collect. You can deny all that all day long and shop your heart out at Walmart. But the facts remain all the same.

Oh, and Publix actually ranks among the nations 100 best companies to work for. That's the list where you find companies like Google, SAS, USAA, Goldman Sachs, Allianz, Deloitte, PWC and so on. Publix is one of only 5 grocery stores that makes that list and Publix makes it consistently. That is a list, you can bank on this, that Walmart will never make. There's a subtle difference between a worker making $8.72 an hour working full time and receiving a decent benefit package and a worker that makes $8.53 an hour working below full time and thus being deprived of any meaningful benefits.

But then again, you go shop at Walmart. Don't let the hopeless and downtrodden faces of their workforce bother you while you fill your cart with Chinese #######.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Mr. Big Dog

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

I shop at Publix regularly. Love their clean stores and friendly, customer oriented atmosphere. Convenience, well organized and stocked shelves, no long lines at the registers - ever - and decent fresh bakery, deli, meat and seafood products round out the friendly picture. You don;'t get any of that Wal-Mart. And if you do it right, you can shop at Publix way cheaper than at most other grocery stores save Aldi. And that is buying major national brand products which Publix has a broad selection of. Any claims to the contrary are just not true.

That has been my experience also

[TBoneTX 46,273]

Good thread and interesting opening post. I wonder whether Publix was the chief factor behind Food Lion's pullout from Florida; the article didn't say.

We buy everything that we can at Aldi (going somewhat out of our way to do so), and fill out the rest at Kroger, HEB, or La Michoacana (chain of Mexican supermarkets).

Mrs. T-B. rather enjoys shopping at WalMart. However, most times when I go into one locally, I'm reminded of why I shouldn't. With rare shining exceptions, the employees are surly and often openly hostile -- I've seen nothing else like it. Despite the large size of the stores, I often can't find what I want, or find it at a palatable price. Out of 2 or 3 dozen register stations, perhaps 4 are ever open simultaneously, with lines of customers backed halfway into the store. To be fair, I've typically had better customer experiences in the WalMarts in smaller towns.

On my infrequent trips to Florida, I've stopped at Publix stores; although they're undeniably quite clean and well-staffed, my impression was that their prices were on the expensive side.

Different strokes for different folks, it's clear.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Good thread and interesting opening post. I wonder whether Publix was the chief factor behind Food Lion's pullout from Florida; the article didn't say.

We buy everything that we can at Aldi (going somewhat out of our way to do so), and fill out the rest at Kroger, HEB, or La Michoacana (chain of Mexican supermarkets).

Mrs. T-B. rather enjoys shopping at WalMart. However, most times when I go into one locally, I'm reminded of why I shouldn't. With rare shining exceptions, the employees are surly and often openly hostile -- I've seen nothing else like it. Despite the large size of the stores, I often can't find what I want, or find it at a palatable price. Out of 2 or 3 dozen register stations, perhaps 4 are ever open simultaneously, with lines of customers backed halfway into the store. To be fair, I've typically had better customer experiences in the WalMarts in smaller towns.

On my infrequent trips to Florida, I've stopped at Publix stores; although they're undeniably quite clean and well-staffed, my impression was that their prices were on the expensive side.

Different strokes for different folks, it's clear.

You get any of the Hoarse meat Aldi was passing off as ground beef a bit back

[TBoneTX 46,273]

Gawww-leee, Wil-burrrrr!

[eieio 1,594]

I have switched over to Wal-mart for all of my grocery shopping.

Unlike many...I have no need for customer service. As far as I am concerned if the greeter and the cashiers were silent....I would like it even more. Actually now that I think of it I wish they had more self-checkout registers.

I shop for the food.

[luckytxn 2,265]

I know it but wanted to see if any found some. Wal Mart is a desireable employer for many. There is a waiting list to work for them. I know one driver been waiting 3 years to work for them. I find it amusing that so many companies are trying to copy Wal Marts distribution set up. I have delivered to Publix distributon centers also and it is a joke. I have seen them now try to build new Distribution centers but they will need many years just to catch up and by that time they will be history. Most see the retail stores but I see the distribution networks. I am telling everyone right now that if Wal Mart goes after any retailer they are toast. At this time none can compete unless they have something unique. Bagging customers groceries and taking them out to their vehicles will not allow them to survive.

lol. He doesn't have any. This delusional hatred of Wal Mart is weird. One of the strangest things is the relentless insistence, like his, that Wal Mart is inhuman in the treatment of its employees. It isn't the employees saying that. The union organizers/groupies - that's understandable. They want money and power. But why others? The rhetoric is so over-the-top it is laughable. Inhuman? lol. As if Wal Mart were a concentration camp. Happy employees being told they are concentration camp victims. Since my wife is a Filipina, she has many friends that are working at both Wal Mart and Sam's. All of them very happy in their jobs.

They hypocrisy and irony is ever so juicy. It's OK that employee-owned companies PROFIT - in fact, it is something to BRAG about as we see here. But if that same employee owns oil company stock or whatever, then profits are a horrible thing. Plenty of Wal Mart employees own stock in Wal Mart, not just directly but also in their retirement funds. But these are BAD profits. Most of these people have no idea corporations are owned by people, not by some tiny clique of rich bankers or something.

I don't have to lie about Publix. If people want to shop there - so what? I couldn't care less. I don't have to demonize them with ludicrous claims. Prices TEN TIMES HIGHER. Customers raped. Discharging deadly carcinogens in our air and water... but that's just what the Wal Mart haters do. This kind of dishonesty says something about the character of the haters, and you can't fool me by pretending to speak on behalf of employees that are satisfied with their jobs.

Edited May 10, 2014 by luckytxn

[luckytxn 2,265]

All retailers do. The Feds give breaks for many things. Publix does also so whatever damnation you have for Wal mart goes for Publix. Also every restaraunt chain does also. When the Feds get into entitlements this stuff will happen. Easy to solve though just tell the Feds to stop it all but then Wal Mart woud survive it just fine.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416914000019/wmtform10-kx13114.htm

Walmart itself declares that there are "factors and uncertainties [that] could materially affect our financial performance, our results of operations, including our sales, earnings per share" which according to their filing with the SEC include "changes in the amount of payments made under the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Plan and other public assistance plans, changes in the eligibility requirements of public assistance plans,...".

They depend on our tax dollars. And they openly admit it. Why can't you guys admit it, too?

[TBoneTX 46,273]

I have delivered to Publix distributon centers also and it is a joke. I have seen them now try to build new Distribution centers but they will need many years just to catch up and by that time they will be history. Most see the retail stores but I see the distribution networks.

Interesting. What are some of the specifics?

If WalMart is #1 in this aspect, who are the "best of the rest"?

[GandD 5,966]

Didn't Walmart buy out their own distribution network? Was it jb hunt? Is that right?