Status of Everything Attachments

[ultrarunner]

Interesting you reference Walmart here. They too have seem to have lost sight of the very things that made them successful in the first place. While they were a relative latecomer to New England (don't think I ever saw one of their stores before the mid-ish 90s), the stores were always clean and well-stocked compared to many of their competitors. Now I see lots of empty display cases, employees blocking aisles stocking during business hours, and prices on their store-brand items higher than name brand equivalents.

They're still successful, but having eliminated most of their competitors in many places they're the only game in town now.

Sears began to lose their way in the late 70s/early 80s, not being sure what they wanted to be. For a while they seemed to be marketing themselves as a semi-upscale womens' clothing store that also happened to sell tools and appliances. And the business mistakes just kept on coming, no matter what they did, they just managed to dig themselves in deeper.

When they got rid of their workware lines is when I noticed change.

 

[sixdogs]

When I go into a Walmart, I get the feeling they are trying to keep 100% of what I spend. I've sort-of decided to stop going there unless necessary but patronize more local places.

 

[Oaktree]

That is why Walmart $15 polo shirts are about the same thickness as single-ply toilet paper and only last a little longer!

Hasn't that always been the case? My first experience with WM was in the early-mid 80s on a southern road trip. GF didn't realize that late Sept. in Arkansas was a lot warmer than in N.H., and didn't pack accordingly. She picked up a couple tops at WM, was initially impressed with the low price, but after a couple washings they were all stretched out.

When I go into a Walmart, I get the feeling they are trying to keep 100% of what I spend. I've sort-of decided to stop going there unless necessary but patronize more local places.

You're lucky to have options. For much of what I get there, they're the only game in town.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I had a good friend (rip) who was an inventor and took his product to Bentonville Arkansas years ago (1990s) for an interview where Walmart liked his idea and his story explains the genius of Walmart. It was a computer data backup system so you have secondary storage and you don't lose files, pictures, etc.
They agreed to start by ordering 1,000 at $100 each. He almost fainted saying "where do I get my check?". They explained what they're giving him is shelf space...he provides product, and he would agree to price dropping until he gets them back if unsold.
So basically they have real estate with shelf space for Proctor & Gamble, Wrangler, Valvoline, etc. We have two friends here who work in Walmart claims department saying no wonder they have such a liberal return policy.
Pure genius.
So if Ted (should have) had 30+ implements ready to ship within 2 days, charging card as it's ready to go, replacing attachments as they're sold, and control spending ($500K lake house) while paying bills...they would be doing extremely well. If someone orders 50+ pieces that's when you get a deposit up front and consider a 2nd or 3rd shift to keep up with demand.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

Amen

As this was all starting to come out, I was thinking along the lines of Luke 12:18

 

[Jstpssng]

They lost their shirt.

Nice play on words!

 

[Sid Post]

Hasn't that always been the case? My first experience with WM was in the early-mid 80s on a southern road trip. GF didn't realize that late Sept. in Arkansas was a lot warmer than in N.H., and didn't pack accordingly. She picked up a couple tops at WM, was initially impressed with the low price, but after a couple washings they were all stretched out.

I used to be able to buy a T-shirt at Walmart that would last most of the Summer on the farm. Today, the T-shirts I buy there generally would not make it past 3 washes in my front load washer. In a top load, it probably wouldn't even last one washing today.

Walmart today is more about groceries than anything else. How many TV's a year do you buy? How dozens of eggs, gallons of milk, or cases of beer, soda pop, potato chips, etc?

I will note that if I selectively shop the weekly sales of my local regional grocery store, I eat better and spend less than if I shopped at Walmart to buy my groceries.

Case in point, a can of Ranch Style beans at Walmart is $1.39 versus $1.00 locally. Similar for Pork'n'Beans, eggs, bread, milk, etc.

Around where I live, the Dollar General also has much better pricing generally on the name-brand foods I buy there. My guilty pleasure of those little sacks of powdered donuts, tea, canned coffee drinks, canned goods like soups and veggies, pasta, all sorts of condiments, and similar things are generally attractively priced. Hot sauces and Heinz 57 are particularly good values along with the Hispanic/Latino fruit drinks.

The Walmart of my youth and the Walmart of today, have little in common other than the name IMHO.

 

[jyoutz]

I used to be able to buy a T-shirt at Walmart that would last most of the Summer on the farm. Today, the T-shirts I buy there generally would not make it past 3 washes in my front load washer. In a top load, it probably wouldn't even last one washing today.

Walmart today is more about groceries than anything else. How many TV's a year do you buy? How dozens of eggs, gallons of milk, or cases of beer, soda pop, potato chips, etc?

I will note that if I selectively shop the weekly sales of my local regional grocery store, I eat better and spend less than if I shopped at Walmart to buy my groceries.

Case in point, a can of Ranch Style beans at Walmart is $1.39 versus $1.00 locally. Similar for Pork'n'Beans, eggs, bread, milk, etc.

Around where I live, the Dollar General also has much better pricing generally on the name-brand foods I buy there. My guilty pleasure of those little sacks of powdered donuts, tea, canned coffee drinks, canned goods like soups and veggies, pasta, all sorts of condiments, and similar things are generally attractively priced. Hot sauces and Heinz 57 are particularly good values along with the Hispanic/Latino fruit drinks.

The Walmart of my youth and the Walmart of today, have little in common other than the name IMHO.

IDK about your area, but the food at our local Dollar General stores is always near the expiration date, and I have seen some that are past the expiration date.

 

[Sid Post]

I used to be able to buy a T-shirt at Walmart that would last most of the Summer on the farm. Today, the T-shirts I buy there generally would not make it past 3 washes in my front load washer. In a top load, it probably wouldn't even last one washing today.

Walmart today is more about groceries than anything else. How many TV's a year do you buy? How dozens of eggs, gallons of milk, or cases of beer, soda pop, potato chips, etc?

I will note that if I selectively shop the weekly sales of my local regional grocery store, I eat better and spend less than if I shopped at Walmart to buy my groceries.

Case in point, a can of Ranch Style beans at Walmart is $1.39 versus $1.00 locally. Similar for Pork'n'Beans, eggs, bread, milk, etc.

Around where I live, the Dollar General also has much better pricing generally on the name-brand foods I buy there. My guilty pleasure of those little sacks of powdered donuts, tea, canned coffee drinks, canned goods like soups and veggies, pasta, all sorts of condiments, and similar things are generally attractively priced. Hot sauces and Heinz 57 are particularly good values along with the Hispanic/Latino fruit drinks.

The Walmart of my youth and the Walmart of today, have little in common other than the name IMHO.

Reasons similar to this are why I try to patronize local shops or smaller to mid-size independent businesses.

While Everything Attachments wasn't "small" in overall scope, it was compared to something like Land Pride. The quality and attention I got when I was a customer was rewarded with some really good products at a fair price.

Thanks to COVID policies and lingering business practices from then, I am NOT the Kubota fan I was in the past. I don't see myself ever buying another Kubota tractor. When I sell my L4600, I will go Korean before I go back to Kubota. Even the Indian-made Massey tractors would get preferential treatment from myself before Kubota.

I grew up bleeding Green but, John Deere corporate abandoned the little guys like me for Wall Street but, I'd still prefer them over Kubota today post-COVID.

About a month ago, I considered getting a Kubota RTV-1120. There was only 1 available in a 500-mile radius! Like the car manufacturers', the dealer said they couldn't keep the RTV-1140's with all the options in stock so, Kubota won't send them a lower profit margin SxS!

 

[Sid Post]

IDK about your area, but the food at our local Dollar General stores is always near the expiration date, and I have seen some that are past the expiration date.

I travel a lot and, individual stores can vary a lot. Some of them are like you mention due to staffing issues IMHO. I also notice a difference in those store's customers generally too.

The 6 main DG stores I patronize in a ~30-mile radius all have good staff so, I never needed to return anything or point out an expired or damaged product. I also don't hesitate to call the regional manager if a store is sub-par or is particularly outstanding.

The Western Oklahoma region is where I have the most negative DG experiences. In East Texas, I rarely have a bad one generally with most being above average!

Store staff and the customer base seem to be the best indicators overall if I will have a bad, good, or outstanding DG store experience. And as noted, this generally varies as I move from one regional manager's area to another's.