Why I Hate Shopping at Walmart

Why I Hate Shopping at Walmart
Do You Like Shopping at Walmart?

Occasionally my wife will drag me along to go shop at our local Walmart. Normally this is in response to a big sale event they are having, where she has identified something that is a great deal and can’t be found elsewhere. However every time I go there I think, ” Why did I come here – just to save a few bucks?” At the end of the day I even question if I saved any money with all the extras we end up buying. But this is just one reason I hate shopping at Walmart. Here are several other reasons on why I detest the Walmart shopping experience:

  • Cluttered and cramped aisles. You can barely get two carts in some of the aisles and the clothes department looks like a tornado has been through it – especially on the weekends when they are all over the place (I found bras in the men’s department!). Compared to the nearby Target and Kmart, which are always much cleaner and spacious, the Walmart was a disaster. Clean up in Aisle 3 anyone?
  • Terrible customer service. The Walmart logo has a smiley face. The employees definitely don’t. First it is a challenge to find one who can help and when you do find one they either can’t speak English (no offense) or they say that you are not in their department and should ask someone else. How rude and why don’t they stay in their own department?
  • Returns are a challenge. Ever tried returning something at Walmart? I think they have designed the returns department to make it as hard as possible for customers to return goods. I spent 20 minutes in line and then 10 minutes with their representative to return an unused pair of kids shoes. For a similar item at Target, it took less then 2 minutes with no hassles.
  • Is price really that much better? I’ll admit on some items Walmart prices can’t be beat. That’s why I (courtesy of my wife) end up going there a few times a year. Still on an overall basis with all the items we end up buying the savings aren’t that great when compared to their competitors. Further, given the shopping experience is generally so bad I really don’t think it is worth going there.

I wrote this post soon after a particularly bad experience at Walmart over the weekend so maybe it is a bit jaded. It is America’s largest department stores and I am sure some people will say I am being too harsh in my criticism. Fair enough and given it is one of the nation’s largest employers it definitely has some good corporate and community attributes. Luckily this is a nation with choices and I will choose (when possible) not to shop there.

What you are your thoughts on shopping and service at Walmart?

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4 thoughts on “Why I Hate Shopping at Walmart”

  1. @disgusted

    I too have just purchased an empty box of GV magic eraser pads. I was really ticked but alas another Walmart victim was found, no offense. ;) The thought of an empty box was absolutely on the bottom of the list of possibilities. I know the pads are light. Maybe one or 2 missing but come on…

    What do i do about this… take an open box back and say there was nothing inside of it? I wish this excuse could be used in a lot of other things in life…. but from the customer service side it would seem skeptical… Even a low IQed Walmart employee could call BS on that one. I dont care about the few $ (kind of)… Getting ripped off is “what is” pretty crappy, imo.

    I plan on going there to check the other boxes to prove a case for a return or swap.

    Reply
  2. I hate having to check everything before I buy it at Walmart. It’s not the store but the customers. I just purchased an empty box of GV magic eraser pads. Once I bought a pack of batteries that someone opened the slit in the back and replaced with dead ones. A bottle of enzyme pet odor remover was either totally, or partially diluted with water. These are only some of the incidences where things are broken or missing. What’s wrong with people?

    Reply
  3. Walmart is NO Savings what-so-ever. My daughter wanted me to print off pictures for her, and WM is the only place in our town you can take your USB and print off pictures. Even Walgreens and CVS do not offer instant pictures. Anyway…I know my prices. Have to in this economy. Walmart is just as high, if not higher on many of their products. I started going to Aldi’s..and I shop sales.
    Milk: Higher
    Eggs: Higher
    Bread;Higher
    Cereal: about the same
    Produce; Higher (and worse at WM–everything wilty and gross)
    Plus the creepy people who work there. Looks like HS drop outs.

    ICK

    Reply

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