Comments on Saving to Inve$t: Why I hate shopping at Walmart

I share your concerns, but the main reason I don't...

2009-11-23T13:07:00.719-05:00

I share your concerns, but the main reason I don't shop is that the reason their prices are so low is because their employees don't have health insurance. The company saves but when their employees have a life threatening emergency, what do they do? They go to the ER and the taxpayers end up paying the bill.

Think about it. The world's largest retailer scrimps on their employees so everyone else can subsidize them.

And when I say I don't shop there, I mean I went there one time around 10 years ago and I have never, ever set foot in there. Why would I want to take business away from companies that do the right thing>

I have had many rude encounters with employees and...

2009-03-22T15:41:30.321-04:00

I have had many rude encounters with employees and other customers while shopping at Walmart. One time I was at the photo area in Walmart looking for assistance. I asked a clerk if there was someone working in the photo area and she responded she didn't know and kept walking. I found another employee and they said they would ask the manager. The employee came back and told me the manager would come out and speak with me. After waiting and waiting I asked the employee what happened to the manager. She came back and told me he isn't coming to speak with me and to tell me the photo area will open at 9.

@ Sarah. Thanks for the comment.@ Willfe. What a d...

2008-06-03T16:23:04.305-04:00

@ Sarah. Thanks for the comment.

@ Willfe. What a detailed response - thanks for taking the time. Your points/retorts are spot on though I think in a competitive enivornment they could do better. Then again given their share perfomance they must be doing things right. I'll take your advice next time I go to Walmart - focus and leave as soon as I can. If not perhaps I will just shop them online or pay higher prices elsewhere for a better experience. See more to your points below.

@ lulugal11. You must be one of the millions that shop there and like it - most likely I am in the minority. I too have worked in retail and one thing we were always told is to have a good customer service attitude. That's what bugged me the most. I am a paying customer, so show me some respect and decent service. I didn't know about this dept rule - when I used to work retail and I didn't know I made sure I found someone who could help the customer, not just leave them stranded. Also, as an employee (and sometimes as a shopper) if I see something on the floor I do pick it up. A messy space reflects badly on the whole store.

Anyway perhaps my local Walmart is particularly bad. Thanks a lot of your comments.

I love shopping at Walmart. I don't expect great c...

2008-06-03T09:57:43.903-04:00

I love shopping at Walmart. I don't expect great customer service for what those people are being paid.

Walmart does have cheaper prices...I have tried Target, Kroger's, KMart, CVS etc and honestly WallyWorld beats them out all the time.

I guess I am like Willfe in that I have sympathy for the employees because I used to work in retail for a while as well.

Truly, when they train you all you get is the department you will be working on so usually when they say they don't know, they really don't. There are rules that the employees have to follow so they do not mess with other people's departments if they can help it.

Yes the place gets messy but that is because the customers just drop the stuff everywhere. Employees in retail are not paid to restock clothing during their working hours..they are usually expected to do other tasks such as markdowns etc....and then take care of the mess when they are off the clock.

Wal-Mart's not so bad to shop at. The trick is to ...

2008-06-01T14:28:25.980-04:00

Wal-Mart's not so bad to shop at. The trick is to go knowing what you're looking for, what it should cost, and where (in general) to look for it.

The cluttered/cramped aisles thing does really suck, especially at night in the Supercenters (the ones that are open 24 hours a day) when the overnight stockers are on the floor in force restocking the shelves. You think it's fun getting two carts down an aisle? Try doing it alone when there's wooden pallets in the main aisles and tall restock carts (and stacks of boxes) cluttering the aisles :P

As far as the clothing department goes, meh. Without exception, I always wash clothing I buy before wearing it, so the wrinkled/crumpled state of an article of clothing doesn't bother me as long as it's not stained or actually damaged. Doesn't matter where I buy it from, it goes in the wash :)

You don't generally shop at a store like that for the presentation (and bluntly, I'd rather not pay extra for a "pretty" display) or for the customer service. If you find yourself needing to ask somebody for help with a given product, you'd probably be better served skipping the purchase, going home, researching it further, then either coming back, ordering it online, or don't buy it at all. Again it doesn't matter what store it is -- it's a rare day I actually trust someone working at the store to be knowledgeable in the products sold (that's not actually a shot at the employees, either -- there's a few hundred thousand different products on the shelves and that's a lot to keep track of).

Returns sometimes suck, depending on the time of day, but really you shouldn't need to return stuff too often if you know what you want before you go shopping (also not an insult -- I just mean there's less "buyer's remorse" if you go with a list and stick to it :)). Then you're just limited to "it broke," "it completely sucks," and "it's missing parts" for returns. It also might just be the store you visited; there may be a line sometimes but the few instances I've returned something, it goes pretty quickly.

The pricing really is better in a lot of cases (not all, but in most). With gas getting cuddly with the $4/gallon price point, you could well end up spending more overall if you run to three stores to get the absolute lowest price on all your groceries and other purchases than if you just buy it all at one place.

I guess the point I'm driving at is I don't go to Wal-Mart expecting a perfect presentation and happy employees (btw, a long time ago I "did my time" in retail working for a couple of years at a Target store -- they're not very happy people either :P), and I don't generally go figuring I'll be returning something later either.

Approach it like an errand -- get in, get what you need, get out -- instead of treating it like a casual "stroll" and it will go a lot better.

Bravo! I totally agree with you.

2008-06-01T12:05:30.558-04:00

Bravo! I totally agree with you.