Unfortunately, there is not much in my little town BUT a Wal-Mart. And a Kroger. But that is beside the point. Anyway, because of there not being much else, I sometimes have to run in to Wal-Mart to pick something up instead of running all the way to Columbus. I despise this course of action, because...well, as I've just said, I hate Wal-Mart!
Why, do you ask? Well, there are actually a whole lot of reasons...
1.) Sure, they have low prices...but at what cost? Their attempts to drive prices lower ultimately force American companies out of business, therefore causing not only the loss of well-paying American jobs, but also sending these jobs overseas to places like China. And we all know how that is turning out right about now with all the recalls. Then they want to talk all about how they employ so many Americans, but in reality, they are pushing the well-paying jobs out of the country and then replacing them with low-paying jobs that carry crappy benefits and hours. And yet, America loves Wal-Mart. It's sad. People don't even see what it's doing to us. But hey, I bet China loves Wal-mart too!
2.) They push the little guys out of business. You know what? The Mom & Pop store around the corner might have higher prices, but you can bet they will have better service...and knowledge. You won't get some 17 year old kid selling you something from the hardware department that he's never heard of or used before. Your cashier at the locally-run grocery may actually know the difference between a zucchini and a cucumber!
3.) And that brings us to customer service...they SUCK! There is no one ever around to help you, and if there is...well, they probably won't know anything about what you need. They are always from a different department! The Customer Service desk offers anything BUT customer service. There is always a line 15 people deep, and the employees rarely make eye contact or smile. Today when I was there, they had 3 lanes open out of like, 20. Come on! It's a Sunday afternoon, people! When your 3 lanes are running 10 people deep, it's time to get some people on lane! And when you finally DO send someone out, can you PLEASE not make it the surly customer service desk worker who is bitching about not getting her 15 minute smoke break?
4.) I'm pretty sure their security is a joke. Today when I was leaving (with my cart full of BAGGED groceries) the young man greeting at the doors asked to see my receipt. OK, well, if I'm really honest, he demanded to see it. Parked himself right in front on my cart and demanded to see my receipt. SERIOUSLY???? It's not like I was walking out with one of those big plasma screen tvs. I almost just said no and kept walking. What the hell was he going to do about it? Glad I wasn't trying to rip off Wal-mart...he had me on his radar for sure! ***Insert hugely dramatic eye-roll here***
5.) Wal-mart employees with attitude. For instance, the girl working the photo department today. I needed to get one single 4x6 print made for Kendall to take to school tomorrow, so I opted for the Kodak "quickie" machine. You know, the one you slide your memory stick in and it just prints out the pictures right then and there??? Well, if only it went that smoothly. Today, there were 2 ladies in front of us when we got there. The first lady's prints were printing and the second lady was processing hers, so we went and picked up the cat food and came back. By now, it was just the second lady waiting for her pictures to print, so I went ahead and started my order of ONE 4x6 print. The lady in front of us had a grand total of 16 4x6 prints. Can I tell you how long it took for me to get my print? 30 minutes. Yep, that's right. Flippin' ridiculous. Then, I went over to the picture counter to ask for a marked envelope so I could pay for my picture up at the checkout. Do you know what she did? She pulled out my picture, looked at it, and said (very rudely, I might add), "Who took this picture?" I replied that we took it at Disneyland. She said, "Well, I need to see the original." I told her there was no original. It was on my memory stick...and I showed it to her. So she then acted very put-out and got me my envelope for a whopping $0.28. Boy, I'm sure glad she caught me trying to rip off Wal-mart! Gotta love those 18 year old Wal-mart employees who think they are the copyright police. Actually, I think this girl was over 18. Although she WAS wearing this huge guy's classring on her index finger. And here's the funny thing...the year on it was 2002. Say it with me folks, CLASS-SSY...
Anybody want to go to Wal-mart???
(And yes, you may want to side with my dear hubby and say that if it weren't Wal-mart, it would just be another big-chain retail store, and you would probably be right...but I still HATE Wal-mart!)
14 comments:
My favorite this week was that the isles they put up with Halloween stuff on it were so close together carts could not pass each other. So people were getting frustrated and rude...all because they can't set there store up in a way people can use it. And all the other things you said are true, except for the stores where my relative is in charge of security, of course!
I'm with you! There's a new Wal-Mart nearby, in a more elite area of the city. I kind of thought it might be a step up from the usual Wal-Mart experience, but no. Last time we went there, we had purchased a small t.v. for my son to take to college and our cashier came around the register, lifted up the box to scan the code, and then proceeded to DROP the box back into the cart. NICE! Then he forgot to scan one item. Not a word of apology, scanned in a $5 pair of fake Crocs I picked up for my daughter and pointed to the card reader to let me know I had to scan my card again and sign another receipt. No "thank you," no "have a nice day." Nothing. I hate Wal-Mart too. They rank right up there with K-Mart.
I'm not particularly fond of walmart but they do serve a purpose. It's probably one of the biggest employers in the US.
I go there for ammunition and tofu.
Hammer - I understand about the ammo and tofu. But, see #1 again please! ;0)
I call Walmart the 6th circle of Hell. Seriously, I dread going there once a month to get household items cheap. Sometimes I'd just rather pay the markup than deal w/ the headaches!
Our Wal-Mart barely has cashiers. It's mostly self check out. Seems so insulting in some way . . .
I hate hate hate Wal-mart as well. Do you know that if you spend money with a mom and pop shop it will go back to your community 7 times over than if you spend it with a national chain! So while you might be spending a little less money up front, your community is receiving a lot less back! Oh and can we talk about the fact that it is never clean or organized. It’s like the employees dump things on any shelf just to get rid of them!
Wow I was tired when I posted last night. Look at all of the typos!
might I direct you to google "I hate walmart Ieat snowman poop"
and see how many post I have that say that
Everyone -
I am glad to see I am not the only one! I was afraid I was turning into one of those bitchy older ladies...but apparently my concerns are valid!
Kuckie,
Just got around to reading your rant on Walmart. I feel bad that you were frustrated by this chain of events. Unfortunately, this is the culture that Walmart fosters this type of behavior.
Flyinfox_SATX
I totally agree with you. I hate Wal-mart. They have good prices and their meat is wonderful. But I've never been to ANY Wal-Mart where I waited in line less than 30 minutes.
OMG the local Wal-mart brings out my inner rage. I had to stop going because I got so angry one day and starting dropping, well okay, screaming f-bombs right and left in the parking lot when a surly driver started talking smack to me. I was so enraged by the lack of customer service and downright rude behavior that I experienced in the store that on my way out to my car I went off on the moron in the parking lot who criticised the manner in which I abandoned my cart (in 3 feet of snow b/c Wal-Mart isn't smart enough to hire someone to plow their parking lot so that people can actually get into the store to spend money). I'm sure the offender was an employee who thought she was going to tell me a thing or two. Well, my inner demons were unleashed and I became this horrible, cussing, caricature of your typical Wal-mart shopper. I decided that I'd rather be inconvenienced and run to Columbus for things I couldn't find at Kroger rather than let myself become that monster again and truly, you know it would happen again b/c Wal-mart brings out the worst in everyone.
Flyinfox - I hear ya, but that is the problem!
Bonnie - I won't buy their meat because to get it cheap, I'm convinced it is pumped full of stuff I don't want to know about.
Kirsten - Welcome! I feel your pain about Walmart bringing out the worst in people...I feel bitchy every time I leave there! Maybe we should start a carpool into Columbus and boycott Walmart! ;0)
Post a Comment