Reply #54: while i have no sympathy for walmart or other corporate giants

[iemitsu]

this observation is not a good sign for those of us at the bottom.
last night i went to a lowe's to get a replacement hose for my shower stall. it was about 6:30 pm and the store was empty. i have never been in the place when it was so deserted. there was not even a clerk manning the check-out counter. after waiting to pay for several minutes, someone from the customer service/return counter had to come over and work the till (she was not sure she had permission to do it).
both the wife and i thought it strange and foreboding.