Parking lots and what bugs me

My concern about Walmart is the ongoing problem of cards getting skimmed in stores, and online accounts being hacked... will not deal with WM unless they resolve these problems, and from what I've read it's been going on for years because they're not taking it seriously.
today I had reason to call my CC provider. They'd stopped my card when i tried to make a payment.. because the payment was unusually high for me... so I had to speak to the fraud dept today to get it unblocked. The fraud inspector was telling me that every day, the fraudsters have found a new way of fooling the account holder.... and he told me 2 new ways to watch out for...


1. When you make an online payment to a company you've never paid before... and you have a Verification code sent to your phone or email..particularly your phone... then read the whole email
Fraudsters rely on most people just seeing the numbers and typing them in to instigate payment.. and so it's easy for a fraudelent transaction to take place..

Second one is... when at an ATM... we all know to keep our number shielded, and to watch out for anyone getting too close behind..we all know thatt he fraudsters attach fake card slots, so we watch out for any that look suspicious.... however mr detective said to me today.. that the keypads are often fake too.. and to determine if they are is to take the edge of your card and run it aound the keypad edge before a trasaction... .. if the keypad has had a fake cover on it, the card edge will lift it because it's onnly temporary and has to be easily removed by the fraudsters at the end of every day
 

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I remember reading a comment from someone who said he always parks as far away from the store as possible. That way he gets some walking exercise going to the store and back, and he's nearly always guaranteed a clear area around his car, so he has no problem leaving the car park either.
This is what I actually do, for the same reasons stated. Plus, where I park at the grocery store has a cart return corral right next to the space.
 
I hear you and I agree with you.

But those who wait for pickup are customers also.
So they can park and wait for pick up further away from the entrance without experiencing any inconvenience. The only inconvenience would be to store personnel taking items to those cars.
we have it the other way around in most supermarkets. Employees park the furthest away from the store.... the customers waiting for their pick up orders, are in a designated spot of their own around the side...
As it should be, then.
I have no trouble walking but others I know do, and they are now having to walk twice as far as in the past.
 

I don't shop at Walmart. Worst clientele no matter where one is located.

In general, big box stores are a horrible shopping experience. The parking lot. The vastness of the store that makes you walk all over the place.

If I need a particular product and it would mean going to Home Depot, I'll first investigate ordering it from online.
For general groceries, we have 2 options: Walmart and Brookshire's (a grocery store). There are no others. I can shop either place. Every item at the grocery store costs more. Do that every week, and the cost of my groceries would rise a minimum of 25%, for the same products.
There is one other option: Drive 35-40 miles to the next town, making for an 80 mile round trip to buy food and supplies, and that would be every week - 2 weeks. I won't do that.
 
For general groceries, we have 2 options: Walmart and Brookshire's (a grocery store). There are no others. I can shop either place. Every item at the grocery store costs more. Do that every week, and the cost of my groceries would rise a minimum of 25%, for the same products.
There is one other option: Drive 35-40 miles to the next town, making for an 80 mile round trip to buy food and supplies, and that would be every week - 2 weeks. I won't do that.
those ''grocery stores'' are called convenience stores here.. and they're closer to most people 's homes usually within walking distance or a short drive... and they're routinely at least 25% more for the cost of their products
 
those ''grocery stores'' are called convenience stores here.. and they're closer to most people 's homes usually within walking distance or a short drive... and they're routinely at least 25% more for the cost of their products
Here, they're two different things. Convenience stores are like old-fashioned gas stations, but sell some foods, snacks, etc., but grocery stores have much more.
 
For general groceries, we have 2 options: Walmart and Brookshire's (a grocery store). There are no others. I can shop either place. Every item at the grocery store costs more. Do that every week, and the cost of my groceries would rise a minimum of 25%, for the same products.
There is one other option: Drive 35-40 miles to the next town, making for an 80 mile round trip to buy food and supplies, and that would be every week - 2 weeks. I won't do that.
I live in the city. Going to Walmart is a matter of personal safety. I found a Walmart outside the city and a guy was throwing punches at his girlfriend outside the store.

There's usually a crime story on the news that took place in a Walmart parking lot.
 
I live in the city. Going to Walmart is a matter of personal safety. I found a Walmart outside the city and a guy was throwing punches at his girlfriend outside the store.

There's usually a crime story on the news that took place in a Walmart parking lot.
It's nice to have more options. We have to make do with what we have.
I used to live in Dallas and from that, I'm familiar with high crime - Walmart and elsewhere. [Our home had burglar bars.] That's the main reason my wife and I sold our home there.
 
Here, they're two different things. Convenience stores are like old-fashioned gas stations, but sell some foods, snacks, etc., but grocery stores have much more.
whereas... the petrol station ( garages ) ..have high end mini size stores in many of them here... like a mini M&S or a mini waitrose...long gone are the days of grubby little forecourt stores..


Typical Convenience store uk

142636_114582_The-Co-operative-Group-store-web.jpg




Garage forecourt store...

bp-MS_Jan21.jpg

looks like this inside...
fa434f91-847e-4717-89bc-91b67f20eb3b.jpg
 
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whereas... the petrol station ( garages ) ..have high end min stores in many of them here... like a mini M&S or a mini waitrose...long gone are the days of grubby little forecourt stores..


Typical Convenience store uk

142636_114582_The-Co-operative-Group-store-web.jpg




Garage forecourt store...

bp-MS_Jan21.jpg

looks like this inside...
fa434f91-847e-4717-89bc-91b67f20eb3b.jpg
Did Walmart buy ASDA and now ASDA is like our Walmart Supercenters?
 
Did Walmart buy ASDA and now ASDA is like our Walmart Supercenters?
Walmart bought ASDA many years ago... but they sold again very quickly....

The pictures above are not ASDA...that's M&S a smaller version of the usual large high end store on the forecourt... and the Co-op ( co-operative)... tend to be the majority of convenience stores.. altho' in some poorer areas, the little convenience stores are still owned by private individuals rather than conglomerates
 
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For general groceries, we have 2 options: Walmart and Brookshire's (a grocery store). There are no others. I can shop either place. Every item at the grocery store costs more. Do that every week, and the cost of my groceries would rise a minimum of 25%, for the same products.
There is one other option: Drive 35-40 miles to the next town, making for an 80 mile round trip to buy food and supplies, and that would be every week - 2 weeks. I won't do that.
Other than Amazon, I have 2 options- the nearest grocery store, which means walking more than a half-mile in each direction, or another store for delivery.
 
Every morning at the gym as I warm up on the treadmill I look out over the parking lot. I laugh how most members try to get parking as close as possible to the door, like walking an extra twenty feet is going to hurt them. Even young guys in trucks do it, they shimmy in and out of a spot trying to squeeze in, yet five spots further out the parking lot is wide open.
 
I'm lucky... within 5 miles of me I have Publix, Winn Dixie, walmart supercenter and Aldi's. Could be an anomaly, but, the walmart parking is the best... (pick up spots, 30 of them off to the right, and employee parking a seperate lot off to the left), followed by Aldi. The other two have terribly small parking slots and are crammed tight together. I always park the farthest away as dr wants me to walk more. and there is more trash at the publix and winn dixie laying on the ground. I suspect it's because those 2 are closer to downtown.
 
I'm lucky... within 5 miles of me I have Publix, Winn Dixie, walmart supercenter and Aldi's. Could be an anomaly, but, the walmart parking is the best... (pick up spots, 30 of them off to the right, and employee parking a seperate lot off to the left), followed by Aldi. The other two have terribly small parking slots and are crammed tight together. I always park the farthest away as dr wants me to walk more. and there is more trash at the publix and winn dixie laying on the ground. I suspect it's because those 2 are closer to downtown.
trash in the car park of the supermarket ?.... does no-one clean it up ?
 
They do a great job at the walmart and Aldi's, but the other 2 must not have enough help, or don't pay enough. Same goes for the shopping carts. alway a bunch left out in the parking lot.
this is why most of our Trolleys have to have a coin inserted to release them from the Coral.. and then you get the coin back when the trolley ( cart) is returned to the Coral..

When it first started many years ago the cost was just 20p... so people who were really lazy would still abandon the trolleys in places... so all supermarkets upped the charge to £1... so a £1 coin releases the trolley and no-one want to abandon a trolley with a £1 still in it...

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this is why most of our Trolleys have to have a coin inserted to release them from the Coral.. and then you get the coin back when the trolley ( cart) is returned to the Coral..

When it first started many years ago the cost was just 20p... so people who were really lazy would still abandon the trolleys in places... so all supermarkets upped the charge to £1... so a £1 coin releases the trolley and no-one want to abandon a trolley with a £1 still in it...

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The only store I've seen that have those is Aldi.
 
Perfectly healthy young people in handicap spaces
Those who won't put a shopping care in the designated area
People blocking the lane waiting for that favored parking spot
Mr jerk who uses two spaces so his car won't get a ding
NASCAR like drivers in the lane
People assume because someone looks healthy they are. It was done to me and I set the person straight. I had a atrial fibrillation that made me very sick sometimes, but I did my best to make it to work when I could. Sometimes it made me dizzy and a few times I fainted, though blessedly I was at home each time.

A car full of people who looked like they could have been homeless questioned me parking in the handicap spot at work when they pulled up next to me. I had my handicap placard in the window. Not only did I have the heart condition, I had a trick knee that would sometimes feel like it popped ot of joint, which used to be painful. Not everyone is as healthy as they appear to be!

Another time, my husband and mother were with me when we went to Penneys. Some ladies were on line next to the one me and mine were at. I heard her say "He doesn't look handicapped to me." She was referring to my husband who she had seen taking packages that I had forgotten out of the trunk for me. I let her have it too. I embarrassed her in front of everyone and she turned red when I told her it was my car, not his and both my mother and I were considered handicapped.
 


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