Walmart and Kmart- Such a Sense of Deja Vu

I spoke yesterday about the end of discount cards to associates until they are with the company for at least ninety days. That should work out well for the company and the money that they will save by not giving temporary hires access to one of the only good things about working at Walmart. It put me in mind of another former retail giant and some of the mistakes that they made. Back in the day, Kmart was the king of discount retail. It took over many chains-like Grants and others and formed them into one giant retail behemoth. But unfortunately for them-that is Kmart-they got lazy. And they also got sloppy.Fast forward some years and lo and behold-who is that filing for bankruptcy protection? Why it looks like that would be Kmart. Yes, Kmart. And who was that pounding the stake in the heart of the former retail giant? Again it looks like that could be Walmart. So what the heck happened? Part of the downfall can be contributed to Sam Walton dying. Not his fault, to be sure, I have no doubt that are a million things he would have rather done. Then Helen Walton died and any first generation concern that was invested in the company took a quick goodbye. So now what do we have? We have Lee Scott and company-good people perhaps- but not people who are invested in the company the way that Mr. Sam and Miss Helen were. To them Walmart is a paycheck it would seem, and the people who spend their lives clocking in every day are just the peons who make it happen. But that is just it. The people who clock in every day are the people who make it happen for the company every day. I have yet to see someone walk through those sliding doors looking for the corporate leader who can show them where the towels are. But, every day a customer walks through the doors of Walmart, looking for someone to help them find the things that they need. And when they don't find it? They walk right back out those doors and go to a store that does want to help them find what they are looking for. It might be a small time local store, or it could be another corporate giant like Target. Either way, Walmart has lost a sale, and if that customer likes the way that they are treated at the other store,then they have lost a customer. It gives me such a sense of deja vu, and I am so surprised that no one in Bentonville seems to be seeing the same things that I am. I wonder, will they see it before it is too late? Maybe if they do, they can give a heads up to the heads of the government that we have been inflicted with, thank you media and ACORN. But, then again, I could be dead wrong. It's happened before. I don't have any advice on what to say that will jump start Walmart into leaving the path they seem set on. If you do have any ideas for that, send them to Bentonville. I don't think that they will start listening to the grass roots results any time soon, but you never know, it could happen. And if it does, I'll bet Bentonville will thank me later.