Walmart’s thriftiness was consistent with its obsession with controlling costs. One observer joked that “the Walmart folks stay at Mo 3, where they don’t even leave the light on for you.” This was not, however, far from the truth. Walton told of early buying trips to New York where several Walmart managers shared the same hotel room and walked everywhere they want rather than use taxis. One of the early managers described how these early trips taught managers to work hard and keep costs low: