@Whitey , I agree, but the wal mart stuff is interesting too, so I started a thread for it
@Whitey No problem. My question was maybe a bit rhetorical anyway. But I must say if I had thought of Walmart maybe I could have saved another “measley $20.” How 'bout that @asemaster? 
@Whitey The struts story was funny and sad. When I worked for a dealership in the mid 1970s They wanted me to recommend replacement of all OEM shock absorbers. Of course I was supposed to ensure by checking the odometer and registration that the vehicle had exceeded the 12 Month/12,000 mile warranty. Granted the OEM shocks were horrible and I would always recommend replacement if they were visibly leaking (which they frequently were). Sans leaks I would give them a bounce test and if they passed (which they frequently did not) I would not recommend replacement. Of course with it being a perpetual cash cow for dealerships they were replaced with the same inferior OEM shocks. In this litigious day and age can you imagine a dealership or auto repair shop hiding a potential safety hazard because it was under warranty? Oh! I guess you can. Goodyear kicked their liability up a couple of notches by diagnosing a potential safety hazard then "re-diagnosed it when they found the parts were under warranty which probably cut their profit in half. Did they actually put their original diagnosis in writing?
Love 'em or hate 'em, WM has had a successful business model that serves a purpose for many people.
Here in NW Oklahoma things are spread out and in most of the small towns and cities there are not many options for daily needs.
Alva, OK is a small city (population less than 5k) with a university and a WM Supercenter. The next closest small cities are 70 miles away. Without that WM many people would have to make that 140 miles round trip for whatever and a lot of college students would be left in the lurch in regards to part time jobs, school supplies, and Ramen noodles… 
@sgtrock21: “Did they actually put their original diagnosis in writing?”
No, the conversation happened over the phone.
Love it or leave it,I suppose its just the zeitgeist of mass merchandising for our type of life style,(BTW Amazon Prime is going up on price now) anyway I will go out of my way to buy quality occasionally and have you heard that one of Wal Marts more serious competitors are the Dollar General and stores of a like ilk? Various reasons are given,older folks hate the huge parking lots at WM and the size of the stores in general,true you can get most anything you want at WM,but I hate to go in Wal Mart when I’m in a hurry(Query,why do they have all those check out lines in Wal Mart? around here they are not even manned during the Holidays(sometimes we dont even have a greeter-Kevin
I am mystified by the success of ‘dollar stores’. I was recently out in a halfway settled bit of Nevada desert southeast of Carson City. The ‘town’ had no real center, just a handful of essential Nevada businesses along the highway every half mile or so. Gas station, steakhouse, gun shop, little casino, brothel. Then we came to a major crossroads - with a dollar store on three of the four corners. The last corner was blank, probably waiting for the right dollar store. What a terrible way to shop. If I weren’t gay the brothel would have had the most appeal (OK, probably the gas station.)
I will never eat a steak in Nevada after an experience in Tonopah some years ago. We asked the motel clerk for a restaurant suggestion, as nothing inspiring had been seen in a circuit of the main drag. She told us, “Oh, head across to the steakhouse at the Silver Nugget Casino’s steakhouse. (made up name). They’ve always been good.”
So we did, finding ourselves in just what you’d expect from someplace built in 1965 and untouched since. That includes the waitress, gum, red beehive, and aqua polyester. We order our ribeyes, medium rare, and when they come they are gray and pulpy with a thin streak of cold purplish red down the middle.
“Miss, miss, we ordered medium rare and these seem to be, uh, freeze dried? Or maybe rancid tuna?”
“Now that is not nice at all. Sometimes the guys in back forget to rotate the meat in the freezer and some gets frozen to the back. If you give me a minute I will find some newer ones.”
“Could we change the order to fried chicken?”
“You could, but this is a steakhouse and we don’t sell much else. The oil for the chicken can get pretty bad by the end of the week.”
Out we go, to a Mexican joint on the edge of town that was quite good, if weak on decor.
Way off topic, and I like many things about Nevada, but no steaks, please. One thing I love are their range cattle warning signs. Most states have a fat, placid cow. Nevada has a longhorn steer kicking up his heels as if doing a jig. Always makes me smile.
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Dollar Stores… Where will it all end?