Walmart in Cottonwood AZ

[Jean_S]

Because of an incident involving a family of paranoid, belligerent crazies a few months ago, overnight parking is no longer allowed at this Walmart. This has always been a city ordinance, but was not enforced. Because of the actions of that family, the ordinance is now being enforced and the entire RV community has lost this privilege.

[tomman58]

We travel from Mi to las vegas to Tucson biannually. On the off years we stop in La. before going to Fl. It is fun and a great time. We vary our trips as I find places of interest. That said we enjoy the small RV parks along the way. They charge 15 or 20 bucks and we stay for 2 nights generally while exploring the area on day 2. To think we need or would ever want a parking lot to stay in is unthinkable at this time in our lives. 20 dollars is pretty meaningless when you can stay in a ma and pop RV place that enjoys the way ward traveler and teaches you the area. I feel for those that need the asphalt RV park but that is them not us. We are t point most RVers would like, on the road with out an agenda other than to have fun and if we find it we stay until the itch to move falls on us again.

[pnichols]

It's already happened a lot. In our travels we every once in a while run across a commercial RV campground that has a $10 drycamp area they can put us into.

We just want more of them. We would prefer that to the Walmart lots and various other places we over-night at for free. We don't like the lack of security at these spots and they're very often more difficult to find and hence not as conveniant as the abundant commercial RV campgrounds in many areas. $10 a night here and there would not be a problem for us and our RV is completely comfortable without hookups for a few days .... so why should we pay for hookups for quick over-night stays? IMHO, the RV world seems a bit too hookup-happy anyway.

We'll gladly pay the big RV resort prices every 5-6 days for tank replenishment over-nights ... but night after night it makes no economic sense for us.

[westernrvparkow]

pnichols wrote:

westernrvparkowne wrote:
I would feel I might have to potentially change my business plan. Maybe I become a boutique park with even higher rates but even better amenities. Maybe I change to a different product, the world needs cabins and other lodging. Maybe it would be time to sell the land and subdivide. Businesses get outcompeted every day. I knew when I went into the business it was always a possibility that the market could change. New competitors could enter. People's wants and desires could change. Nothing is a given. That's the free market. The answer is to adapt or die, not expect the better competitor to be kept away by government.

..... How about this wild idea that ton's of RV'ers would take advantage of: A check-in status option and section of your campground that was graveled surface only, allowed no hookups, allowed no use of your WiFi, allowed no use of your bathrooms or showers, and was very inexpensive - like $7.50 to $10.00 per night, with a two-night maximum?

We would make use of this kind of commercial campground special pricing and conditions BIG TIME ... instead of what we currently use for quick stop-overs en route between longer term camping spots: Walmart lots, church parking lots, Port of Entry lots, truck stop lots, etc..

The above would help towards adapting or dying.

It won't ever happen. It's been beaten to death on these forums and it cannot every work financially. For no services, nobody is going to pay $7.50 or $10 when they can stay for free at Walmart and the like. You still have to have advertising, employees, insurance, credit card fees, taxes, license fees etc. And how do you keep people off the internet and out of the bathrooms, showers, pools etc? A simple fence isn't going to stop them, they will just walk around. There are lots of things people want, that might get a whole lot of customers, but just don't work. I would love a restaurant with nickel lobsters and 10 cent beers. But you can't lose money on every transaction and make it up in volume.
As for an add on to a current park, that would almost assuredly cost the owner business. Some of those full paying overnighters would just opt for the ten buck sites and instead of getting $45 or $50 bucks, the park will get $10.00. Bad idea.

[pnichols]

mlts22,

Your observations above are why I suggested what I did - as an adder to existing commercial campgrounds that are already established - as opposed to them taking in zero dollars on empty full price sites that us en route drycamp-capable RV'ers pass up completely time and time again.

[mlts22]

I have thought about that, especially buying some vacant land for cheap around the El Paso area which is a frequent place where one needs to find a place to sleep. It wouldn't take that much money to have a bulldozer level the entire site, add an entrance/exit, paint some rough parking lines, then put an "iron ranger" in place with envelopes.

Well, until insurance, zoning, and taxes came into the picture. Then, there is the security aspect. I'm guessing a security guard is $20 an hour, so there will need to be at least 24 people paying $10 a night, every night, to make up for that cost.

The more I research campgrounds, the more I am amazed they make any money at all, especially with all the regulations, codes, and other items needed, for such a relatively low density.

[pnichols]

westernrvparkowne wrote:
I would feel I might have to potentially change my business plan. Maybe I become a boutique park with even higher rates but even better amenities. Maybe I change to a different product, the world needs cabins and other lodging. Maybe it would be time to sell the land and subdivide. Businesses get outcompeted every day. I knew when I went into the business it was always a possibility that the market could change. New competitors could enter. People's wants and desires could change. Nothing is a given. That's the free market. The answer is to adapt or die, not expect the better competitor to be kept away by government.

..... How about this wild idea that ton's of RV'ers would take advantage of: A check-in status option and section of your campground that was graveled surface only, allowed no hookups, allowed no use of your WiFi, allowed no use of your bathrooms or showers, and was very inexpensive - like $7.50 to $10.00 per night, with a two-night maximum?

We would make use of this kind of commercial campground special pricing and conditions BIG TIME ... instead of what we currently use for quick stop-overs en route between longer term camping spots: Walmart lots, church parking lots, Port of Entry lots, truck stop lots, etc..

The above would help towards adapting or dying.

[NinerBikes]

tomman58 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

big whitey wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Do you stay out of Home Depot, Lowes, Target, K-Mart, Meijer's in Michigan, etc.?

HD not so much. Lowes is owned by WM, target no, k-mart stores are gone. Meijers was the last store to have mostly USA products but do not go there often.

WM has the largest impact, there are many others on my list but then that is my list of business' that are not employee friendly or just horrible with constant threats to their employees.

Lowes owned by WMT, you're nuts. Lowes is owned by Lowes.

Get your facts right WM owns the most shares in Lowes and the tother way lowes own most shares in WM. FACT!

Just because you say it is a fact, doesn't make it so. There are no individuals who own a large percentage of both Walmart and Lowes stock. As a matter of fact (from Morningstar) the only individuals who own 5% or more of Walmart are members of the Walton Family and no individual owns 5% or more of Lowes stock. The largest non-individual holders of both companies are Mutual funds like Vanguard, Blackrock and T Rowe Price, meaning there are millions of individual owners of those blocks of stock and only Vanguard has a 5% or greater share of stock in either of those companies. Lowes and Walmart are about as separate as entities can be.

Okay, please take note, the way corporations operate, and how the legal definition of subsideries come into play.

First of all, Lowes is not owned by Walmart Assocaites INC.

However Lowes is owned by the Walton Family.
The daughter is the primary operator of the Lowes stores.

Although they keep the Lowes assets seperate, it is indeed owned by the same family.

Not only can this be seen by building designs, and architecture, but whenever Walmart paints their stores, or changes it's colors, Lowes follow suit.

So for those that think they know that Lowes isn't owned by Walmart, has an enlightenment to be learned.

They have no interest in letting their employees know what they own, no matter how long you have worked for their company.

If anyone knows, how, and has followed the Walmart history of expansion, you will notice how they acquire assets via acquisitions.
It usually starts with Walmart purchasing a minority stake, usually around 42-47% of ownership,(just enough to be able to be a major share holder, and thus have a board position), they then in a few years will increase their holdings of that company, and in the majority of instances, they become whole ownership.

You are welcome to start and own your own business and hire and fire whoever you want, and pay the wages you want. But until you own a business, you are out of line. If you don't wish to shop at WalMart or Lowes, so be it. If you don't want to overnight there, so be it. But you are so faaaaar out there in left field, it's not funny. It's my belief the majority of folks here want you to go away, for infringing on their beliefs to park at these stores overnight and give them their business. It's not for you to say where any of us should or should not park overnight in our RV's, or that all WalMarts should be banned. Perhaps you should be banned instead.

I own WalMart stock and I own Vanguard mutual funds. If people don't like the wages paid by WalMart, they are welcome to seek employment elsewhere, no one is holding a gun to their head to stay there, or not search for other opportunities of employment, or to start their own business. No one owes you, or anyone a job. That's the liberal fallacy. Go start and run your own business if you don't like working for someone else.

[westernrvparkow]

tomman58 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

big whitey wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Do you stay out of Home Depot, Lowes, Target, K-Mart, Meijer's in Michigan, etc.?

HD not so much. Lowes is owned by WM, target no, k-mart stores are gone. Meijers was the last store to have mostly USA products but do not go there often.

WM has the largest impact, there are many others on my list but then that is my list of business' that are not employee friendly or just horrible with constant threats to their employees.

Lowes owned by WMT, you're nuts. Lowes is owned by Lowes.

Get your facts right WM owns the most shares in Lowes and the tother way lowes own most shares in WM. FACT!

Just because you say it is a fact, doesn't make it so. There are no individuals who own a large percentage of both Walmart and Lowes stock. As a matter of fact (from Morningstar) the only individuals who own 5% or more of Walmart are members of the Walton Family and no individual owns 5% or more of Lowes stock. The largest non-individual holders of both companies are Mutual funds like Vanguard, Blackrock and T Rowe Price, meaning there are millions of individual owners of those blocks of stock and only Vanguard has a 5% or greater share of stock in either of those companies. Lowes and Walmart are about as separate as entities can be.

Okay, please take note, the way corporations operate, and how the legal definition of subsideries come into play.

First of all, Lowes is not owned by Walmart Assocaites INC.

However Lowes is owned by the Walton Family.
The daughter is the primary operator of the Lowes stores.

Although they keep the Lowes assets seperate, it is indeed owned by the same family.

Not only can this be seen by building designs, and architecture, but whenever Walmart paints their stores, or changes it's colors, Lowes follow suit.

So for those that think they know that Lowes isn't owned by Walmart, has an enlightenment to be learned.

They have no interest in letting their employees know what they own, no matter how long you have worked for their company.

If anyone knows, how, and has followed the Walmart history of expansion, you will notice how they acquire assets via acquisitions.
It usually starts with Walmart purchasing a minority stake, usually around 42-47% of ownership,(just enough to be able to be a major share holder, and thus have a board position), they then in a few years will increase their holdings of that company, and in the majority of instances, they become whole ownership.

I guess I didn't know that Walmart was above federal law and can hide their business interests. Their federal filings show no ownership interests in Lowes, but apparently you have deep inside information, probably from you association with the trilateral commission. I am surprised, however, that their black helicopters haven't obliterated your informative posts by now.

[tomman58]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

big whitey wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Do you stay out of Home Depot, Lowes, Target, K-Mart, Meijer's in Michigan, etc.?

HD not so much. Lowes is owned by WM, target no, k-mart stores are gone. Meijers was the last store to have mostly USA products but do not go there often.

WM has the largest impact, there are many others on my list but then that is my list of business' that are not employee friendly or just horrible with constant threats to their employees.

Lowes owned by WMT, you're nuts. Lowes is owned by Lowes.

Get your facts right WM owns the most shares in Lowes and the tother way lowes own most shares in WM. FACT!

Just because you say it is a fact, doesn't make it so. There are no individuals who own a large percentage of both Walmart and Lowes stock. As a matter of fact (from Morningstar) the only individuals who own 5% or more of Walmart are members of the Walton Family and no individual owns 5% or more of Lowes stock. The largest non-individual holders of both companies are Mutual funds like Vanguard, Blackrock and T Rowe Price, meaning there are millions of individual owners of those blocks of stock and only Vanguard has a 5% or greater share of stock in either of those companies. Lowes and Walmart are about as separate as entities can be.

Okay, please take note, the way corporations operate, and how the legal definition of subsideries come into play.

First of all, Lowes is not owned by Walmart Assocaites INC.

However Lowes is owned by the Walton Family.
The daughter is the primary operator of the Lowes stores.

Although they keep the Lowes assets seperate, it is indeed owned by the same family.

Not only can this be seen by building designs, and architecture, but whenever Walmart paints their stores, or changes it's colors, Lowes follow suit.

So for those that think they know that Lowes isn't owned by Walmart, has an enlightenment to be learned.

They have no interest in letting their employees know what they own, no matter how long you have worked for their company.

If anyone knows, how, and has followed the Walmart history of expansion, you will notice how they acquire assets via acquisitions.
It usually starts with Walmart purchasing a minority stake, usually around 42-47% of ownership,(just enough to be able to be a major share holder, and thus have a board position), they then in a few years will increase their holdings of that company, and in the majority of instances, they become whole ownership.

[crudeman]

tomman58 wrote:
Asphalt RVing not my style. we go for the wonders of America and WM isn't part of that so good, close them all down.

Why because you don't like them? Christ sakes why do you care?

[westernrvparkow]

tomman58 wrote:

big whitey wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Do you stay out of Home Depot, Lowes, Target, K-Mart, Meijer's in Michigan, etc.?

HD not so much. Lowes is owned by WM, target no, k-mart stores are gone. Meijers was the last store to have mostly USA products but do not go there often.

WM has the largest impact, there are many others on my list but then that is my list of business' that are not employee friendly or just horrible with constant threats to their employees.

Lowes owned by WMT, you're nuts. Lowes is owned by Lowes.

Get your facts right WM owns the most shares in Lowes and the tother way lowes own most shares in WM. FACT!

Just because you say it is a fact, doesn't make it so. There are no individuals who own a large percentage of both Walmart and Lowes stock. As a matter of fact (from Morningstar) the only individuals who own 5% or more of Walmart are members of the Walton Family and no individual owns 5% or more of Lowes stock. The largest non-individual holders of both companies are Mutual funds like Vanguard, Blackrock and T Rowe Price, meaning there are millions of individual owners of those blocks of stock and only Vanguard has a 5% or greater share of stock in either of those companies. Lowes and Walmart are about as separate as entities can be.

[big_whitey]

tomman58 wrote:

big whitey wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Do you stay out of Home Depot, Lowes, Target, K-Mart, Meijer's in Michigan, etc.?

HD not so much. Lowes is owned by WM, target no, k-mart stores are gone. Meijers was the last store to have mostly USA products but do not go there often.

WM has the largest impact, there are many others on my list but then that is my list of business' that are not employee friendly or just horrible with constant threats to their employees.

Lowes owned by WMT, you're nuts. Lowes is owned by Lowes.

Get your facts right WM owns the most shares in Lowes and the tother way lowes own most shares in WM. FACT!

So I guess that means Lowes owns WMT. Hardly.

[tomman58]

big whitey wrote:

tomman58 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Do you stay out of Home Depot, Lowes, Target, K-Mart, Meijer's in Michigan, etc.?

HD not so much. Lowes is owned by WM, target no, k-mart stores are gone. Meijers was the last store to have mostly USA products but do not go there often.

WM has the largest impact, there are many others on my list but then that is my list of business' that are not employee friendly or just horrible with constant threats to their employees.

Lowes owned by WMT, you're nuts. Lowes is owned by Lowes.

Get your facts right WM owns the most shares in Lowes and the tother way lowes own most shares in WM. FACT!

[4X4Dodger]

tomman58 wrote:

2112 wrote:

tomman58 wrote:
Asphalt RVing not my style. we go for the wonders of America and WM isn't part of that so good, close them all down.

That's being narrow-minded and self absorbed.
WM's asphalt RVing is used by many in route to the great wonders of America, as well as many other destinations.

Just because you do not partake or see the need you believe nobody should?

Many layover the night at many casino's. Should we close all of them down as well?

What about truck stops? What's your take on them?

First, I never will even shop at a WM, they are ,to me, as bad as a terrorist group to America.
I do support and enjoy the casinos and stay for several nights not just a wham bam thing.
I use truck stops for fuel only. With a 40' TT they offer the best choice to fuel. Sleep there, not hardly.
I know a lot of folks just do not plan their trips as I do or time limits cause them problems,as they are still worker bees, and time does have significance. I will never do WM or several other places do to their treatment of their fellow Americans and the cost to all of us as most are on government assistance. But that is me and several folks I know. We can be snooty towards some trash and don't need to patronize them.

Oh Good Grief! This is Hyperbole taken to the extreme...next the CEO will be as bad as Hitler. How sad. How do people lose or lack any sense of perspective, nuance, humility and civil discourse?