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I hate Wal*mart


kmealy

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I got a new shop knife for Xmas.   The one that Paul Sellers uses, if you're familiar with that.

 

I decided to order some blades in advance.   They're hard to find.  Since they're less than $2 each, Amazon did not seem an option because I don't have Prime.   Ship-to-store Wal*mart had them for about the same price, on clearance.

 

Now I have had problems with getting things picked up this way before*  I have ordered infrequently, but always gotten poor service at the pick up desk before.  I've tried different stores and even a daughter in another state has the same issues.   Well, I decided to give it another try and hoped that Wally's new emphasis on e-commerce (to compete with Amazon) will have improved things.  Well, I ordered 4 of them and held my breath.  I got a text that the order was in and my wife was shopping just down the street, so she stopped to pick them up.  She was pleasantly surprised as the pick up was prompt and easy.  The clerk said something about another order still coming in.   She was puzzled but didn't know what I'd done.   Got home and 3 of 4 blades were in the box.  Sure enough, split order.   I went to pick up the last one yesterday,  yes, another trip.    Found the big orange sign and went in about 8:30am.   Big sign on the desk, "Pick up open 8am to 8pm"   Pressed the button that I was there.  Nothing.  Pressed it again and again.   Employee after employee walked by and ignored me.   Finally, I asked one of them (from the bakery) to page someone, which she did.   Still nothing.  10 minutes waiting.   Walked to front of store and asked for manager on duty.   Paged her, waited, waited.   She finally got there and took me back and got my package.   Now, this is the same manager that I met on the way in and asked where the pick up desk was, so she knew a I was heading back there.  25 minutes of my life I'll never get back for a $1.67 blade.  She mumbled something about someone calling in sick that day.  So, that's an excuse for not having someone there?  And she knew I was headed there.  And what about the 10 "it's not my job" employees that walked by and never said anything to me?

 

My only consolation is for less than $8 sale, Wal*mart had two pickings, two boxes, bubble wrap, processing, two UPS second day shipping fees and probably lost money on the deal, however little.

 

*  I complained once to a manager that it took a long time for someone to get my package at the ship-to-store desk.  His response was, "We don't get many people using it, so we don't really have anyone assigned to it."  Reminds me of a story about a small town on the commuter rail line.   They petitioned the train line to have one of the 7am trains that went by to stop because the earliest stop was at 9am -- too late for commuters.   The train line looked into it and replied, "We have received your request and investigated.   For several days we sent an agent to the depot.   There was never anyone waiting for the train at 7 am so we concluded there was no demand for an earlier train."

 

Thanks for letting me vent.
 

On the other had, I have been very impressed with Home Depot's ship to store.   Pick up right inside the door, staffed, and prompt service.   Many things they don't carry in the store.  Some stores even have a prime parking spot for "ship-to-store" customers.

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Same here, Keith. Same excuses, too. In my case, I was eventually told that it hadn't arrived yet. That was BS. Went back the next day...35 mi. RT..and the gal that found the package said the other gal just couldn't find it yesterday. :angry:

Unfortunately, HD is another 25  mi. down the road.

 

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I was watching a report on the worst CS companies in America. In the top 5 (or top 10, don't remember) were WalMart and McDonalds. Yet, in my small town that doesn't seem to hurt their business. McDonalds routinely has cars wrapped around the building and into the street while next door Burger King, Wendy's and some others barely have 1-2 vehicles at their window. The Mac parking lot is also usually full. As for Walmart, they are very busy most of the time. My conclusion from this less than statistically correct study is that many (probably most) are more tuned into the pricing stuff than the CS stuff. I don't hate Walmart, but then I'm not particularly fond of them either. But for the record, the few items I've bought through "ship to store" were generally handled fairly well. I might have had to wait a minute or 2 for someone to show up, but otherwise everything went fine.

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3 minutes ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

But for the record, the few items I've bought through "ship to store" were generally handled fairly well. I might have had to wait a minute or 2 for someone to show up, but otherwise everything went fine.

Same here. Wish we had a Home Depot a little closer. They carry stuff that the local Lowe's doesn'.

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One of my daughters' brother in law worked at Sam's Club for a number of years.  I don't know how much attitude he walked in with and how much he acquired there, but he generally hated his job and did as little as possible.  He met his now wife there and she was not much better.   He recently changed jobs and when his new boss asked him to do something, his response was, "Where in my job description is that task?"

 

The other thing I hate about Wal*mart (among many) is there are 32 or so registers, 2 will be open and the lines will be 8 deep.  And the clerks are very slow.   I've been to Sam's Club a couple of times and they're no better.

 

I'm a Costco fan.  Their checkout clerks are lightening fast.   They are even rated on number of scans per hour.   If they see a long line,  the ever-present front end managers will get someone to open a new register.   Prior to Christmas, all registers were open and the guy that checked me out was  a forklift operator.   Costco also treats their employees very well and most of the ones I see have been there for many years, unlike Wally's 50% annual turnover rate.

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30 minutes ago, kmealy said:

I'm a Costco fan.  Their checkout clerks are lightening fast.   They are even rated on number of scans per hour.   If they see a long line,  the ever-present front end managers will get someone to open a new register.   Prior to Christmas, all registers were open and the guy that checked me out was  a forklift operator.   Costco also treats their employees very well and most of the ones I see have been there for many years, unlike Wally's 50% annual turnover rate.

Good to hear, Keith. My son has been with Costco for 20+ years. He's considered maintenance/stocking/checkout/CS. In other words, if something needs doing, it's HIS job!

John

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Closing Sam's Clubs: https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/sams-club-in-oakley-and-loveland-permanently-close

 

I am always amazed that there is often a long line in the drive thru and you can walk inside and get to be second in line.  I can understand if you have a load of kids, but often this is a lunch hour when people are probably running out from work and by themselves.

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1 hour ago, HARO50 said:

Good to hear, Keith. My son has been with Costco for 20+ years. He's considered maintenance/stocking/checkout/CS. In other words, if something needs doing, it's HIS job!

John

The other store I'm really starting to like is Aldi.   Same there, usually a staff of 3-4 on duty and they'll be stocking, tending register, cleaning up, helping customers, whatever needs done.   They seem to pay pretty well, too.    That and I hate to have to walk half a mile in Kroger Marketplace to get the Rx in one corner, a bag of carrots in another and the milk in the back.   I don't really want to walk through clothing, furniture, cookware, beer, Starbucks, Wine bar, and auto parts just to buy my groceries.    Aldi's does not often have a large selection, but I really don't need 12 choices of ketchup brands and sizes.  They're fast checkers, too.  And I don't have to wait for the person in front of me to get off the phone, start looking for their coupons, then their checkbook, then a pen.  OMG, am I becoming the grumpy old man in the grocery checkout line?

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As of January 1, the minimum wage in Ontario has gone up to $14. Lots of people have been at their jobs for years and don't make that! Small businesses are threatening to close. The Powers That Be don't seem to realize that their $14 will buy the same amount as December's $11 did, a year down the road! Wages go up, and prices follow.

John

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1 hour ago, Ron Dudelston said:

Hey Keith, maybe you were wearing the wrong pajamas when you went to the WalMart customer service.  Sounds like a breach in pajama etiquette to me.

Well, I had a red plaid bottoms, blue plaid top and wearing a brown plaid hat.    Pajamas don't have good pockets so I had a green fanny pack.

Isn't that comme il faut?

 

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1 hour ago, lew said:

I was just recently told that Aldi is one of the largest store chains in the world! Who Knew??

Their competition (LIDL) is supposed to be coming to the US any day now.   Guess they like the large market here and saw how well ALDI is doing. 

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