While I like the idea that Sam Walton used an Ercoupe to get around in the early years; the current organization has morphed into something very different.
I feel about the same as Spook, and try to avoid Wal-Mart. I also felt as if I needed a shower after having been in a number of their stores (Yes, that's very subjective). If low price is the goal, then I prefer to shop at Target. I also don't like the economic race to the bottom that Wal-Mart is leading & driving, or how they treat their suppliers or employees. I can't imagine trying to live on Wal-Mart wages & benefits, particularly in the areas that are US economic hubs (NY, LA, SFO, Seattle, Chicago, etc.) The drive to negotiate the lowest price (requires Chinese suppliers); combined with their market power, multiple vendor logistics requirements, and the many related "non-compliance" charge backs make it nearly impossible to earn a profit selling to WM. With regard to the supplier 'charge backs, the assumption is that the supplier is guilty and portions of payment are withheld until the supplier is able to prove themselves innocent to Wal-Mart’s satisfaction. While this may not be representative, my experience has been that about 80+% of vendor non-compliance charge backs are reporting errors and NOT vendor errors. Even if the vendor 'win's such a dispute, there is still a significant cost associated with researching and fighting to correct each charge back, and I'm sure that many suppliers don't have the resources to fight many of the charge backs, due to shear volume and the relatively low dollar value of each charge. However the 'non-compliance' charge backs add up to significant dollars, and erode or eliminate any small margins that may have existed for the vendor in the original PO. If you like cheap Chinese made goods, and don't mind if domestic suppliers & the remaining good paying US jobs continue to decline, then keep buying at "Wallyworld". IMHO - the US Economy is becoming a shell, based on consumer and government debt and unsustainable spending (often for cheap imported consumer goods). I worked my way through college and really hope to keep my relatively good paying job (still can't afford a home near work) for another 15 years until I retire, rather than making $10 per hour with little or no benefits however; I also recognize that I and many others may not be so fortunate given the economic turbulence & accelerating changes in the global business environment. I try to buy American made products whenever possible, or if not then goods made by a friendly western democracies with comparable costs & environmental protections whenever possible (more of an even playing field). If one thinks that US workers should be able to compete with the Chinese, then I suggest that we please consider that college educated workers in China who are willing to work for roughly the equivalent of $1.50 an hour, and then tell me how a US worker can hope to compete and still make a living wage. In the vast majority of cases it just isn't going to happen, and there are few jobs remaining in the US that can't be exported with relative ease (it isn't just the 'blue collar' jobs that are at risk anymore folks!). I'm happy that I'm debt free and don't have a family to support in this crazy global economy. As it is, I doubt I'll be able to retire. The whopping $38 'Economic stimulus' check I received last June not withstanding (No doubt I'll be paying mine and others back with interest at some point.). Stepping off of my soap box.... Dan Hall N3968H ---- Jim Truxel <[email protected]> wrote: > Before I buy anything I always go to Wal Mart first. They are a proven > success and if they can do it, why can't others succeed ? > > Jim > ----- Original Message ----- > From: ght > To: [email protected] > Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 10:35 PM > Subject: Re: [ercoupe-flyin] Walmart Aviation > > > Sorry Harry, > > But I couldn't work for or have anything to do with Walmart. The only > way I would go into one of their stores is if I were forced at gunpoint. I > don't trust anything that they do and I am sorry to hear that they have > anything to do with aviation. > > Spook > > --- On Mon, 12/29/08, Harry L. Francis <[email protected]> > wrote: > > From: Harry L. Francis <[email protected]> > Subject: [ercoupe-flyin] Walmart Aviation > To: [email protected] > Date: Monday, December 29, 2008, 7:21 PM > > > Though Wal-Mart could, in theory, save millions of dollars in > annual operating expenses by downsizing a substantial portion of its fleet to > VLJs, it has no plans to do so, choosing, instead, to maximize the efficiency > of its Lears by maintaining a load factor of plus-five passengers per flight > leg. > > “Our load factor is 5.2, so we really get incredible > efficiency out of these airplanes,” Wal-Mart director of Global Travel > Services Duane Futch said in an interview with Business Travel News. “We’re > not just going out and dropping one person off. They always travel with a > team that is going to do the job they have to do in the field. We don’t just > drop that team off. That airplane is constantly moving. The typical Wal-Mart > airplane will make between three and six stops a day: picking up people, > dropping people off … moving them to another location.” > > As is the case with many commercial air-taxi operations, > Wal-Mart’s fleet management needs are sufficiently complex to demand more > than an off-the-shelf management solution to handle passenger, crew, > maintenance, inspection and other scheduling and back-office tasks. Building > on Atlanta-based Seagil Software’s BART aviation management system, WalMart > programmers fashioned a series of custom application extensions maximizing > efficiency while retaining the flexibility to quickly change everything from > routings to passenger lists in response to unforeseen circumstances requiring > immediate attention (a computer system meltdown at a remote division, for > example.) > > Like many new-generation air-taxi operators, Wal-Mart > Aviation also recognizes the importance of full-service, high-level ground > services (think DayJets’ DayPorts). Not only does the company own and operate > a private ATC tower at Rogers field, a wholly owned FBO at the airport, > 22-year-old Beaver Lake Aviation, supplies everything from free popcorn to > computerized weather tracking, executive conference rooms, crew quiet and > snooze rooms, exercise facilities, washing machines and courtesy > transportation to nearby restaurants. > > And if all this isn’t enough to convince skeptics that > Wal-Mart Aviation is really just an air-taxi company in corporate clothing, > consider this: The company traces its history back to 1954 when Wal-Mart > founder Sam Walton bought a single-engine Ercoupe 415 and began flying it to > stores in Arkansas and adjacent states because it was faster than driving > between locations on twisting Ozark Mountain roads. > > > > > > > >
