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For better or worse, it's happening...

Wal-Mart to Expand in Costa Rica
Inside Costa Rica
U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will spend us$49 million to open 14 new stores in Costa Rica this year, the company said Tuesday. The new stores will create 1,500 new jobs, Wal-Mart said.

Wal-Mart announced the investment after its chief executive officer for the Americas, Craig Heckert, met Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. Heckert was in San José for a Wal-Mart Central America board meeting.

Wal-Mart, has been stepping up its presence in Central America since entering the market in 2005. Central America is a largely poor region of around 41 million people that bridges Mexico with South America. Wal-Mart Central America was formed a year ago when Wal-Mart obtained majority control of the Central American Retail Holding Company (CARHCO), which it first bought into in Sept. 2005.

The group has some 375 supermarkets and other stores in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and posted sales of about us$2.2 billion in 2005. Wal-Mart controls some 9,000 jobs in Costa Rica through its Mas X Menos, Pali, Maxibodega supermarkets and the Hipermas mega stores.

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

It will be interesting to see if this has any positive effect on customer service. I have been in the Mas X Menos on Central Avenida numerous times, and was not impressed with the level of help I received from the employees. Most seemed to have a "couldn't care less attitude," in spite of the "WAL-MART ID badges" they were wearing and the walls painted in the WAL-MART color scheme. I wonder if the gun toting, grim faced guards at the front door will be replaced with smiling greeters saying " Welcome to WAL-MART!"

This past June, after becoming ill with the "grippe," I went to this same Mas X Menos looking for a suitable remedy. Not being able to speak or read Spanish, it took me a while to sort through the miriad of various remedies. A grim faced man in civilian clothes and a WAL-MART name badge "hovered" over me the entire time, as if he were fully expecting me to stuff the entire shelf-full of remedies into my pockets and exit the store without paying for them. I thought how ironic this was with him standing over my shoulder, with his WAL-MART ID hanging around his neck.

Zebra

They are building a US sized Wal Mart in Escazu, right on the autopist near Tony Romas


BKTUNA
I am never going back

I'll say one thing for Wal Mart here in CR....the one that they are building in Escazu is going up faster than any construction I have ever seen here. As I understand it,they are building in the true American trdition of plenty of incentives and penalties related to timeframes in the construction. It is also being built on possibly the most expensive piece of land in the area.

I wouldnt expect the service level to match the brand experience in USA. These stores are still staffed with low paid, non English speaking service people. My experience has been you can train and train and train...but this culture just does not have "service" nature in it's DNA. Hopefully it WILL bring lower cost goods to the poor average Tico...but if they are located only in Escasu and such areas...dont count on it. Its much the same here in Panama also. Very little true retail service mentality...for sure not in English.

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All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts...

T..........I think you're right.....CUSTOMER SERVICE JUST ISN'T IN THEIR DNA.

Sidenote; for your information: Apparently it doesn't matter if you're an English speaking customer or not; indeed, one memorable experience at MAS X MENOS occurred while I was in the company of a fluent Spanish speaking gringo......we were shuffled from one employee to the next, none willing to help.

Zebra

Always thought I'd end up working as a greeter at Wal-Mart...

Just never thought it would be in Costa Rica....

what a country...

PIDD

Assuming you're a gringo.............maybe you can show them how it's done.

aaahh, another Wally World...just what the world needs. All those fine products made in china!

There are just as many, if not more, Chinese products in CR than the US with or without Wal Mart.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Korean products seem to be very popular in CR as well.

Hi,
Hope Wal-Mart in CR will face the same problems than Wal-Mart in Germany/Switzerland/France. They closed all the stores, because of poor customer service; and their stuff wsan't even cheaper!
Well, it will be very interesting.
Duessel

Wal-Mart coming to CR. Did anyone expect otherwise? First, their corporate presence is already here as noted. Not wishing to start a political discourse, but like or not and believe it or not, we are in a global economy and Wal-Mart is one of many capitalizing on that economic fact of life. Hell, we mongers are part of the global economy ourselves!! Wile Coyote

Since I am old, I am wondering what the possibilities of me getting a job there as a greeter.

Most likely excellent given two qualifiers

1. You are completely bi-lingual. Native Spanish speaker with passable English will work if not totally bi-lingual.

2. You are a legal resident with the right to work in CR.

Meet those requirements and you most likely will be a prime hire and make about 1000 colones an hour .

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine