Barefoot discrimination by Wal-Mart

I know I see the dang date here
Jerry ... where the hell are U now?

No more postings....poof'

Anyone know?

 

Why didn't I see this before now

(((((huggys to ya)))))

 

There isnt one and dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

There are laws that let stores "reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

 

I am determined to find out about this. Which states have such laws? Refusal of service is descriminatory. I will find out if my state (Maine) is one of them. I'd appreciate it if you could show more about this

 

California is one such state.
Refusal of service based on some specific criteria defined by law (race, religion, etc) is illegal. Other than that, there is no law requiring a merchant to enter into a contract with (aka "sell to") someone they don't want to.

As for referances, I don't know but I think that there would a written law allowing a merchant to refuse service. It is probably common law (case law) rather than legislated law.

 

Yes, but no laws that specifically ban bare feet in stores. Besides that law doesnt always apply for everything. Stores just love to use it to bully people around.

 

but i grew up on the beach in florida...
and wal-mart (the one i mostly attended)

was accross the street from the ocean...... not many footwear-equiped people there.

 

They told me at school that I'm not supposed to walk around in the kitchen barefoot. I walk in it barefoot every day.

 

Is wal mart a hardware store? Here in aus the only place you can't go barefoot is the bunnings warehouse, because they have very heavy things that would crush your feet like a cookie.

Do alot of people really discriminate against barefooted people? Its not summer in australia unless your feet are bare, dirty and calloused. And for the slightly inhibited there are allways thongs (Americans call em flip-flops i belive).

 

If those heavy things fell on your feet I doubt wearing a pair of shoes would really have any impact on what those things would do to your feet. Theyd still crush your feet. That just sounds like a lame excuse of theirs to me to cover up for the fact that they dont like bare feet.

 

Protest Walmart! Walmart today already became a corrupt corporation, who collaborate with the wicked and discriminate against the good.

 

Not to mention they put other better more honest and refutable businesses out of work. They would love to be the only store of that type around so everybody would have to come to them for everything.

 

Perhaps, but why blame Wal-Mart? Nobody forces anyone to buy from them, and nobody forces anybody to work there. They are in business and can expand because that's what people want. Think about it. They'd be totally out of business without customers. This is a free country. People are free to shop where they want. If you want to blame anyone for Wal-Mart's success, blame the customers. Customers make or break a business.

Now as to their policy against barefooters, I don't think they have a policy. Like most businesses, it depends on the personal prejudices of who's manning the door or who the manager happens to be. I've never had a problem in my local Wal-Mart going in and shopping barefoot.

 

They do force people to buy from them if theyre the only store in town and they can make people work there if they can afford to give people who need jobs benefits that other companies cant afford to. Those people would rather go work there than be unemployed. They make it impossible to make any other choice.

Thats the problem alot of people DONT want them around but they have enough money so they can throw their weight around and nobody can touch em.

Sure but that would never happen, they get enough guilable people to come shop there and the other people simply have no choice because Wal Mart makes sure its the only game in town.

Until the places they want to shop at are run out of town by Wal Mart because they are too intimidated to function near them in fear that Wal Mart will make them go bankrupt because they cant compete with a big corporation.

Wal Mart does a pretty good job of making and breaking things on their own. They make sure they have a plentiful amount of customers weither the people wanna be their customers or not.

They put Wal Marts where people dont want/need them and they put other businesses out of business usually through intimidation *mostly by just being near them* Then the customers have no choice but to go to Wal Mart because its the only store around.

If these stores wanna have a policy against barefeet then they really should have to have something in writing and it shouldnt be up to the individual people at the door to decide who can come in and who cant. The store needs to have a policy that the whole staff there can agree on and all agree to enforce, otherwise they should just let whoever wants to come in and shop do so. I dont like employees imposing their personal prejudices on people and claiming its company policy. Unless they have something in writing to back up their words, what they say is meaningless and its discrimination.

 

That doesn't "force" anyone to do anything. It might be more convenient to shop at the only store in town, but if somebody doesn't like Wal-Mart, they don't have to shop there. You are just ignoring the fact that a lot of people DO like to shop at Wal-Mart.

That's the same logic as "forcing" people to shop there. Wal-Mart doesn't make people work there. But wouldn't most people prefer to work at a company that has better job benefits than other companies? Sounds like that would be really good for the community to me.

Well, duh... Are you saying it's better for them to be unemployed? Shouldn't Wal-Mart should be commended for providing jobs to a community where the only other choice is unemployment?

No, they don't. People can still refuse to work at Wal-Mart if it's such a horrible place.

A lot of people? Not the people on limited budgets who like to shop there and save a lot of money, and not the people who will finally be able to get a job and help support their families. The ones who don't want them there are those who have businesses that Wal-Mart will compete with. Sorry, but that's America. Free enterprise is the name of the game. The buggy makers and the blacksmiths tried to stop the automobile companies as well. This country's economy is based on competition. The ones with the best product for the price win. And sometimes even product and price are not enough. K-Mart had cheap prices as well and products similar to Wal-Mart, but where are they now? Still alive, but barely. Wal-Mart has figured out a winning business strategy. And it works for them whether you like it or not. But a lot of people do.

Gullible? You have a really poor opinion of the majority of the American people. Gullible means easily fooled. In what way is Wal-Mart fooling these people? False advertising? I don't think so. Faulty products? I don't think so. How are people being fooled by shopping at Wal-Mart?

Again, everyone has a choice. And what does Wal-Mart do to make sure it's the only game in town? Bribe politicians? I don't think so. But otherwise, how could it stop any other store from setting up business? Anyone is free to set up and compete with Wal-Mart anywhere. Anybody considering setting up a new business always has to consider its competition, whether it's from a Wal-Mart or a McDonald's or whatever. If you think you have a better product at prices people will pay, you have a shot at making a go of it. Most businesses fail because of poor management, not competition.

Think about this. Say there's a small community somewhere where there's high unemployment, and even those that are lucky enough to have a job can't afford to pay the prices charged at the local stores, which charge high prices because they aren't big enough to buy in large quantities or negotiate with their suppliers. So a Wal-Mart comes in, and suddenly most of those unemployed can now get a job, and not only that, they and others can now buy products, and from a greater variety, at much lower prices than they had to pay before. How is that bad for the community? Please explain.

Well, even if it is in writing, it's discrimination. Putting it in writing wouldn't change that, it just might clarify their policy. A good example of a written policy is Costco. They have "Shoes and shirts required" in their membership policy. Discrimination still, but at least it's in writing.

 

If theyre the only place in town that sells the things they need and if the next place isnt anywhere near by then people have no choice but to resort to shopping there. People like to have a variety of places they can chose to shop at, not be forced to shop at just one place.

They make these people beleive they really care about their workers so these people will work for them and contribute to a corrupt business, meanwhile all the other businesses suffer around them and all the people who make stuff that is sold at wal mart overseas suffer because they work to make things in inhumane conditions, especially the children that work over there. Working for a company that benefits from the suffering of children in some foreign country isnt worth working for no matter what the benefits are.

If the choice is being unemployed or working for a corrupt organization and supporting their evil acts then yes being unemployed is the better option. Maybe some of these people should go live somewhere where they have more honest places to work that are more refutable.

Not if theyre desperate enough for work or dont mind contributing to a dishonest/corrupt organization.

If Wal Mart wasnt around there would be alot more choices for people to go to to buy cheap things. Wal Mart might bring work for some people there but it also hurts the economy by ruining alot of other businesses and putting alot of other people out of work that would otherwise have jobs.

Its one thing if Wal Mart makes a company go bankrupt because more people go to Wal Mart than the other business, its quite another if that business is simply scared away or intimidated by Wal Mart to leave. Thats not competition. I dont mind friendly competition as long as its done fairly.

Wal marts were built around where alot of K-Marts were and alot of the K-Marts didnt have the money or the kind of people working for them to be able to clean up their act until it was too late. K-Mart had alot of problems but the Wal Marts coming around didnt help them much.

They win because they know how to manipulate things to their advantage. if this was all just good honest wholesome business then I wouldnt have any complaints, I dont think it is though.

Theyre led to beleive that Wal Mart is a good decent honest company that cares about people. They have alot of corrupt people hiding behind all the smiles and the warm and fuzzy atmosphere there. I feel the way I do about people these days because alot of young people are not as mature and well brought up as before and I think it hurts this country. This society is full of alot of lazy spoiled people who are easily fooled by cheap gimmicks.

They dont seem to think so. As soon as most Wal Marts appear, these businesses get afraid and they pack up and leave. Im sure Wal Mart bribes/intimidates anyone it needs to to make sure its number one.

Yeah at least you dont see McDonalds causing people to up and run whenever one of their stores opens up. Least you have plenty of choices when it comes to fast food places, of course these places have enough variety from place to place for each individual business to keep going smoothly. Alot of these stores like Wal Mart are pretty much the same from store to store.

Alot of people at these smaller places are more people friendly and have a better business sense than these corporate nutcases that act like robots and treat each customer like theyre just another number in their checkbook. I want to be treated like a customer and a person and not just some nameless thing that comes through their store.

Alot of that has to do with there being simply too many businesses around, if there werent as many theyd be doing better, thats why when wal mart comes in they wanna get rid of the competition so they make all the money and dont have to worry about anyone coming in and stealing their profits from them. Bad thing about Wal Mart is when it comes in, it gets rid of the businesses that are doing good and the ones that are doing bad alike and in the end they cause more trouble than good because besides the people who are lucky enough to get hired by wal mart everybody else is unemployed.

Yes, it is still discrmination. I just felt that at least if its in writing they have a better standing to enforce their policy than if they had nothing to back up their case at all. I dont condone the idea of them banning barefoot customers weither they have paperwork or not but stuff in writing usually holds more weight.

 

If people want a variety of places to shop, they should move to a big city. There are never a variety of places to shop in a small town. That's why it's a small town. A small town is lucky if it has a Wal-Mart. They offer a variety of products at low prices. And they provide employment.

And how are they "corrupt"? What laws are they violating?

If such conditions as you describe actually exist, how is that Wal-Mart's fault?

Probably 90% of the products sold in this country are made in foreign countries. Do you really think that any manufacturer of clothing, electronics, and other items like sold by Wal-Mart could even be found in the United States? Wal-Mart has no choice but to buy from foreign countries. Even Levi's jeans are not made in this country anymore. What are stores supposed to do if they can't find the products in the U.S.? It's not just Wal-Mart. No store has American made clothes, electronics, or hardly anything else. Pick some store that you really like (Btw, what store do you like, since you don't like Wal-Mart?), and just see how much American made merchandise they have available, especially the stuff like Wal-Mart sells. And you can't expect every country in the world, especially China or other parts of Asia where most of this stuff is made, to be up to working condition standards of the U.S. And we don't control the world either. Those people have a right to run their countries the way they want to.

Again you're talking about "corrupt." If they are "corrupt," why aren't their executives being prosecuted? And as to people being unemployed as a better option, why don't you tell that to the people whose families depend on their support and their job at Wal-Mart. I think they'd tell you to mind your own business. You really think it's better for these people to be on welfare and they and their children be supported by American taxpayers than to support themselves with a good honest job at Wal-Mart?

Well, that would solve the problem of needing a variety of places to shop that you were talking about before. Believe it or not, a lot of people are glad there's a Wal-Mart around where they can work and where they can buy products at an affordable price. If the majority of Americans didn't feel that way, Wal-Mart would be out of business.

I just don't understand how you can figure Wal-Mart hurts the economy. How many people work at a typical Wal-Mart? A hundred or so? I'm not sure, but a lot, especially if they are open 24 hours (another big convenience for people). As to people "otherwise having jobs," most likely a lot of people were otherwise unemployed before Wal-Mart came in, and now they do have a job. If any store happens to go out of business due to not being able to compete with Wal-Mart, it's the people who used to be their customers that made that decision. Don't you think people have a right to shop where they want? The type of store that most likely would not be able to compete would be small family owned stores, with maybe 3 or 4 employees at most. If they lose their jobs, they'd probably just go to work at Wal-Mart. Nothing really lost in the long run, and the whole community is better off economically.

Are you saying Wal-Mart is run by the Mafia? I don't think so. They don't "scare away," or "intimidate." Come on. They just know how to effectively and efficiently operate a business.

Wal-Mart is just better managed than K-Mart ever was. That's the bottom line.

Actually I agree with that! But unfortunately, customers just don't support these smaller places because they want to shop where they can get the most for their money.

So do I. But what are we gonna do? We don't live in a dictatorship where the government can tell people how to run their businesses or tell people where they have to shop. Is that what you want? Not me. This is a free country where anyone can operate a business any way he or she wants, and as long as you can make a profit, you can stay in business, whether it's Wal-Mart or a small family owned grocery store. And people are free to shop at any store they want. If the majority of people would support places where a customer is treated like a "person," they would thrive and the Wal-Marts of the world would not. But that's just not the way it is. The consumer controls our economy and controls who prospers and who goes out of business - not any one store.

Wal-Mart doesn't get rid of anything. The customers do. They make the choice to shop one place and not another.

And btw, have you noticed there are no less than 20 Wal-Marts within 20 miles of where you live in Orange, CA.? How many businesses have they driven out of Orange County? Can you name even one? And how many people do you personally know that have lost jobs due to those 20 Wal-Marts?

Wal-Mart is not one of my favorite stores. I don't personally shop there unless I'm looking for something that I can't find somewhere else at the price I want to pay. And that's because I've heard too many stories about barefooted people having problems there, although I never have. And I don't like being looked over by someone at the door when I'm walking in. But, all this stuff you're saying about them is basically just exaggerated rhetoric not based in fact. A few years ago, Consumer Reports, a well-respected and non-biased magazine, rated department and discount stores in the U.S. It named Costco the best-run store in the country followed closely by Wal-Mart in second place. A relative of mine recently moved to Idaho. There were other stores and businesses around, but she couldn't get a job anywhere and was going to have go on welfare to support herself and her children, but then she got hired by Wal-Mart. According to you she should have stayed unemployed and gone on welfare. I don't think she would agree with you on that.

 

Some people dont like living in big cities. Small towns dont have alot of businesses simply because businesses dont wanna be there cuz they want people to come to the big city instead and so thats where they go.

They basically wanna monopolize on all the business everywhere and they profit off of the suffering of people in other countries.

Because they know about these things and dont care or dont try to do anything about it.

Maybe the people who supply Wal Mart with this stuff should make it here instead of getting it from foreign countries.

Thats Levi's fault for taking their business overseas.

They only have themselves to blame, it was their choice to move overseas.

Some of its made here and the rest could be made here if they really wanted to.

If theyre going to sell it to us then it should meet our standards, otherwise we shouldnt buy it. If we buy it we are no better than them because we are contributing to the crimes they are commiting over there.

No, but we cant just turn a blind eye to the suffering of people in other countries. Those people have rights and those countries are violating those people's rights and somebody has to step up and do something about it. They should be able to do what they want there so long as it doesnt harm anybody or violate their rights as human beings.

They can pay for good lawyers to lie, cheat, steal, bribe, do whatever they have to do to keep the exec's slate clean. Thats what big corrupt corporations do.

Is having that job really worth knowing that youre contributing to a corrupt business? I dont think so. Its like taking money that you know somebody stole and isnt yours. Its that same feeling. Somebody in some far off country had to suffer somehow just so they could have that cushy job. Id rather not work there and have a clear conscience.

If it means Wal Mart goes bankrupt and has to change its ways then yeah.

They go there because Wal Mart makes sure its the only place they can go to get an affordable price. Those people like Wal Mmart because Wal Mart makes sure they have no choice but to like it.

Thats probably due to Wal Mart hiring less desirable people who didnt ever bother to go get a decent education more than there not being alot of choices for jobs before Wal Mart came around.

Like they had a choice.

Yeah I do, too bad Wal Mart doesnt.

Those 3 or 4 employees that worked at stores like that usually were more friendly to customers than people who work at Wal Mart are.

I doubt it, those people would want their own business to run it their own way they wouldnt want to have to conform to some bureocracy's way of doing business. They wanna treat their customers like people and not just some random numbers in a check book.

They might as well be. Those people could probably be part of the mafia if they really wanted to. Thats the problem, its run TOO well to be true.

They have the kind of money and people to do that which K-mart could never afford to have.

Id rather pay a lil more and know im buying something from an honest individual who got what they were selling somewhere legit.

The government needs to set some limits for some of these businesses though so they dont abuse their freedoms and run amok. They need to make sure people have the ability to chose honest businesses to buy things at and they know the truth about the ones who areint being honest.

Im sure all the drug dealers out there would love to hear this. Just because some big business makes alot of money doesnt mean its something you want down the street from your house.

Thats why our country is the way it is today and thats why so many other people in other countries dont like us as much as they used to.

Itd be nice if that were the way it is.

If Wal Mart has enough money and can pay to hire enough people to pull strings they can get rid of anything they want and practically do anything they want.

Enough businesses leave California on their own and Wal Mart seems to be helping the rest leave as well so they can dominate all the business here because they can afford to stay here and have a bunch of stores here.

I dont like any business that bans barefoot customers and I dont like businesses who feel they need some schmuck standing at the door eyeballing you when you come in. Both of those things show a complete lack of trust of the customer.

Gee, I wonder what Wal Mart paid them or did for them to get them to say that.

She could have gone elsewhere to look for work. Being on welfare has gotta be better than working for some corrupt organization. Sure you make lots of money there but you really get no satisfaction out of it and you feel guilty for using money that other people suffered for Wal Mart to get just to feed your kids with.

 

What??

Small towns don't have a lot of businesses because they are small towns. That's what a small town is. If a lot of businesses went there they wouldn't be small towns anymore.

Dude, every business wants to monopolize all the business. It's called "profit motive." Businesses try to make all the money they can. That’s what business is. If there were no profit motive, there would be no business.

How do you know what Wal-Mart knows? You have no clue what Wal-Mart actually knows.

Well, duh! Wouldn't that be nice! And how do you get all these suppliers to make it here? They can’t afford to make it in the U.S. anymore, that's why they set up manufacturing elsewhere.

It's Levi's decision, but it's not Levi's fault. They no longer can produce their products in the U.S. and stay in business, because they can’t afford to pay the wages and benefits required by U.S. law. That's the problem with all clothing manufacturers.

Same answer as above.

Well, tell me what that stuff is? I'd really like to know. And you didn't answer my question. What store do you like? Where do you go to buy the kind of stuff Wal-Mart sells?

OK, if we don't buy it from countries that meet our standards, where are we going to buy it? Dude, I'm not sure what you mean by "meet our standards," but you're going to find very, very few countries in the world that have standards of wages and benefits for its workers as high as the U.S. And if you find a country like that, nobody is going to be able to afford to pay the prices that products from those countries would cost. Can you imagine what the retail price of products would be if they were bought from places like that? No one could afford to pay those prices, and therefore those retailers could not stay in business. It’s called economics.

What crimes are you talking about? Again, if you're talking about different working standards, like wages, conditions, hours or work, ages or workers, etc., what might be illegal here is not necessarily illegal in some other country. Our laws don't apply to other countries. So, where's the crimes you're talking about?

Who's suffering? Those Asian countries' economies are booming, thanks to American imports, and the factory workers are making more money than they've ever made in their lives.

But what proof do you have that Wal-Mart is actually doing this? Please give me some specific examples. You keep throwing around this word "corrupt" but it means nothing. I could call you "corrupt" if I wanted to, or you could call me "corrupt." It would make just about as sense as your continually saying Wal-Mart is "corrupt." You have absolutely no facts whatsoever to back up that characterization.

I have a very good suggestion for you. Don't go to work for Wal-Mart. Then your conscience will be clear. Let others make their own decision about where they work.

If nobody would work there, they would go bankrupt. That's true. But that's not going to happen. Be realistic, dude.

That's right. That's just good business. And consumers benefit.

People do have choices. And most people choose to shop at Wal-Mart. It's their right to make that choice.

So people who didn't choose to go to college, or were unable to go to college are "less desirable"? Wal-Mart does hire a lot of people that might not otherwise be able to get a job, like handicapped people, older people, people who have to work flexible hours so they can take care of small children. So you think that's a bad thing? What kind of an elitist attitude is that? You talk about workers not being treated well in foreign countries, yet you think disadvantaged people in this country don't even deserve a job.

So? What does that have to do with anything? Unfortunately just being friendly is not enough to keep a business going if the customers stop coming. Customers like employees who are friendly, but they like low prices and more choices more.

Sure that would be nice, if it were possible. Just because someone wants to run their own business their own way doesn't mean they can make any money at it. Businesses fail all the time - with or without Wal-Mart down the street.

Yes, they have that kind of money because they know how to run a business well.

Well, you just keep doing that. Everybody else will exercise their free choice and buy where they want.

The government does set limits on businesses. Businesses are regulated in myriads of ways by every layer of government. Wal-Mart operates within those limits. A company as big as Wal-Mart could never get away from government scrutiny like a much smaller business could.

That is the way it is (the consumer controls our economy and controls who prospers and who goes out of business - not any one store).

I'll ask the same questions I asked before, because you didn't answer them: Have you noticed there are no less than 20 Wal-Marts within 20 miles of where you live in Orange, CA.? How many businesses have they driven out of Orange County? Can you name even one? And how many people do you personally know that have lost jobs due to those 20 Wal-Marts?

Well,we do see eye-to-eye on that. I agree completely.