Thanks for the link up. I am Steve Olson and I wrote the post you mention. Costco is a great company, we are members because they have great stores and treat their employees like human beings instead of comoddities. However, I disagree with Carrie Kirby about Target. Target is a fantastic company. They are good to their employees and the community. Unions aren't the solution. Unions were a 20th century solution to a 19th century problem. The term "livable wage" is newspeak for socialism. All factories in China have a poor human rights record by western standards. Every keyboard, computer, monitor, knick knack... well alomost everything including the wires and devices which connect us are made in factories which have "human rights issues." He who isn't guilty cast the first stone. Target isn't to blame. If any corporation is to blame it is Wal-Mart because they started this "low price" war. They are the largest corporation in the world and their leadership stinks. They play to the lowest common denominator, miserly greed. It's their corporate mantra.

Thanks, Steve, for voicing exactly what I have said about Walmart all along. Even my 10-year-old son knows why I hate Walmart and refuse to shop there, even though there is one two minutes from my house: they treat their workers poorly, the aisle are poorly lit and too narrow, the quality of the merchandise is uninspired, and every time I walk in there I feel like I have just gained 10 pounds, 10 years, dropped a few IQ points, and gotten uglier. Never once have I seen something that has great design or unique appeal, while Target has products that are fresh, original, and fashion-forward. They also require all their greeters to stand on their feet during the entire shift (I asked about this), including the senior citizens, which in my mind is elder abuse. For my money, it is worth it to drive 10 extra miles a week and pay a little more to shop at a store that I feel has some integrity and is trying some new and creative design concepts. Go Target!

I'd much rather shop at Target anyday -- even though it means driving a bit further.  In my experience, they have better quality stuff, better styled stuff, better service, and a much, much better atmosphere.  

When I have compared prices, Target often did better -- in one case, nearly $20 better for essentially the same DVD player.  Sure, Walmart often has cheaper prices on some stuff, too, but since the difference is usually small, I'd rather shop at Target.  

Of course, with thing going as they are, I'm not doing much shopping at all right now.  

While I like Target far more than WallyWorld, and for a lot of the aforementioned reasons, the "Target is better than Wal-Mart" thing only works if you have a Target close to you.  I can't speak about large urban/suburban areas (though I used to live in both) but Wal-Mart expands into rural areas like fleas breed on a stray dog! Most times they are the only game in town. I now live in a rural area in SW Missouri and I do not have a choice in this anymore unless I want to live in or near a congested, overcrowded city. There are 2 Wal-Marts near me. Wal-Mart SuperCenter is 12 miles from me.  The next regular Wal-Mart is 25 miles from me.  The nearest Target is 56 miles.  

There are 4 "boutiques" in my county seat, but 1 is truly for little old ladies (and it's almost all polyester, nylon and the like), the other 3 (Maurice's and 2  independents) are WAY OVER PRICED!!  And as for clothes, well I see bad taste and worse dressing in clothing choices  regardless of the income level  or the store it came from. A slob or tacky dresser will still be that regardless of where they get the clothes.   I have made some stunning clothing combos from Wal-Mart.  But it does take WORK.  You have to read the care label, look at the way it's made and at WHAT it is made from. Cotton and Cotton/Ramie and/or Cotton/Rayon blends last longer and clean better (and fit and feel better) than nylon, polyester and acrylic.   You do have to try it on to make sure it fits right.  But here's the rub: I had to do this when I lived in Chicago and shopped in the malls or on N. Michigan Ave. And if one has any common sense, one should do the same, as where the clothes are made makes a difference on how they fit.  Now one can argue shop Target online, but take a poll with REAL women on how hard it is to buy clothes online when you are not a "Standard" size -whether small or big-.  I'm a size 6 Tall (and before ya'll start in-  I'm 47, small boned, 130 lbs, 5'7" and yes I eat,  I like food, I eat well and healthy, not crappy); my inseam is 32", not easy to get, as what some manufacturers  call tall is actually an "Average" of 30"-31" inseam.  I spent enough in return postage to learn online isn't for me when it comes to clothes.  Grocery wise: Some things are Wal-Mart, some are not. My meats I buy from the other grocer in town as they have a line of no additives meats and I pay well for it.  Some years I buy half a steer from the Mennonite butcher shop.  My veggies: I have a garden and grow and freeze my own and also hit the Mennonite food stands for stuff I like but don't grow. I still have green beans and zucchini in the freezer and just ate the last of my fresh carrots -planted June 07-  I left them in the ground , mulched the heck out of them and pulled as we needed. Dry food and dry goods: whoever has the better price. Usually it's Wal-Mart, for the exact brand on sale at the other store. And get this- lots of Wal-Mart's in-house food brands (Great Value)has less additive caca in it than some name brands. If you had food  sensitivities-what would you buy and where?  

If I need a new printer, do I go 100 miles round trip to Best Buy and pay 10-15% more, PLUS the gas  for the same HP printer I can get at Wal-Mart?  Or even HP online- $20.00 shipping, vs.  I'm already getting the groceries and they have the printer. When I moved here in '95, there was only 2 grocery stores anyway and 2 boutiques. There are still only 2 groceries, one just happens to be Wal-Mart now. Btw, the other grocery store, well they are mighty proud of thier prices.  Thier mark-up is ridiculous on the same brands. Even on what they claimed was locally grown veggies.  And why the heck is my prescription inhaler $8.50 with  my insurance at Wal-Mart but the SAME BRAND is $10.25 at the grocery pharmacy and the other pharmacy down the road? Ditto other meds prices. Am I supposed to  do without once a quarter because it's the big, bad Wal-Mart? Yes, the help sucks, the lack of open cash registers suck, the slave wages they pay suck but at least the rural folks have a job and it's close by, the anti union action sucks too (remember, I'm originally from Chicago) but what am I or others to do?  I live here and the choices aren't here. Yes, I made the choice and moved here, made the trade off.  I breath better and live better too. What I have now and do now I couldn't do in the Chicago area.

So, my point after all this is that sometimes, there really is not much or any choice.  If you look at the physical location of where the populations are, yes, in cities and suburbs there is a choice and you can get there more cost effectively. Target is where I would get lots of my needs and some wants too- if it was closer. But most rural areas don't have that leeway.  Even though we are where the food is grown. Your meat, wheat and other grain isn't grown in the local park or on the outskirts of town, it's on a farm. Out in the middle of nowhere.  And that is where the main users and the heaviest concentrations of Wal-Marts are.  Because they have to be.  So please, don't slam the Wal-Mart users.  And for the poster who said  "...every time I walk in there I feel like I have just gained 10 pounds, 10 years, dropped a few IQ points, and gotten uglier".   to quote Eleanor Roosevelt: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent".  Oh and btw, Costco isn't even here in SW MO. And if they should show up, unless they get within 25 miles of me, it's still not happening.  

Blessing and happy spring plantings.

I live in Hayward Wisconsin. Our only store is Walmart-if I didn't have to drive 1 1/2 hours to Target I would. The article made me laugh, you are right the help is cranky, the parking lot is a mess and yes, I often wear my sweats and my hair up with no make-up, I fit in perfectly. :(

For me it makes sense to find a bargin, whether it's Target or Walmart. Think about

this, it's our money.  Does it make sense to invest our money in IRA'S, CD'S or

any type of investments when our money, your money goes down the tube

when the stock market crashes.

Target hands down...wal-mart is cheap and just ick.  There is no target by me so I will drive the extra miles to go to one, they are more hip and trendy and their stuff is just better quality in my opinion.  Not to mention Wal-mart treats their employees horribly,

I have been actively boycotting Wal-Mart (aka The Devil Store) for several years now.  If nothing else the quality of their produce is just insulting and their prices overall are not as low as you think.  Especially when you factor in the fact that products purchased there have a tendency to breakdown.  In the past I had purchased things only to find that they were returned items that were defective to begin with and some genius there had put them back up on the shelf.  Crowded, dirty, understaffed, understocked... I just hate it.  

When i read the title of this post, I immediately thought "Would I rather be punched in the face, or kicked?"  

I despire wal-mart.... and I despise Target.  Wal-Mart for all the obvious reasons.. and Target because it tries to be better and fails miserably.  All they have for the trouble is less selection and higher prices.

Unfortunately shopping at one or the other is almost a necessary evil these days.... what a shame.

Another great "anti-walmart" store, is the Publix grocery chain.  Publix provides a nice clean shopping environment with helpful staff.  I find that I pay less for groceries when shopping Publix than buying the same groceries at Wal-mart.

Long live Publix!