Things I Hate: Wal-Mart
Posted on December 11, 2007 in Editorials
Save money. Live better. Or so they say.
As you walk into a Wal-Mart, you’re bound to notice the inevitable greeter standing there. There seems to be two primary types of greeters. The first type stares, sullenly, at nothing, oblivious to the customers passing by. The second type might as well wear a nametag that lists their job title as ‘least capable employee, on display.’
Inside, most of the employees aren’t any better. During a recent trip to Wal-Mart, I noticed one employee who spent the entire duration of my visit walking around the store, talking on her phone. Another employee, who was placing bikes onto their respective racks, continuously grumbled expletives as he was working.
The customers don’t seem to enjoy themselves, either. They walk around, usually appearing unhappy as they go about their shopping. No one acts as if they want to be there.
It’s hard to blame the employees and customers for being miserable, considering the environment they’re in. Wal-Marts everywhere are disgusting. Even the cleaner Wal-Marts are dirty in comparison to other stores.
The stores aren’t well-organized, either. Often, I find I can’t immediately discern the prices of items. Many times, the tags are misplaced. Other times, they’re inaccurate. In one case, there was a rack at the end of an aisle where the price of the merchandise was listed as “49.” Not $49, nor 49 cents. Just the number 49. Turns out, the item in question was worth $8.49.
Navigating the aisles can be an exceptionally unpleasant experience at Wal-Mart. The aisles are narrow, making it difficult to get to what you need when multiple customers and carts are in the same aisle.
At the end of a visit to Wal-Mart, the number of cashiers working checkout lanes is always abysmally low, and the number of self-checkout lanes is frequently larger.
In theory, self-checkout lanes are great. You don’t have to deal with yet another disgruntled employee, and you get to handle your own merchandise as you please.
Except they never work as they should.
When something goes wrong, it’s up to the lone employee overseeing the machines to fix it. Sometimes, the solution is as simple as the employee entering a code (I noticed one employee entered ‘1234′ as their code). However, during my most recent visit to Wal-Mart, one employee opted for a more physical approach. He pulled parts off and shook other parts, and when that failed, he began kicking the machine. Eventually, he realized all he had to do was hold the ‘zero scale’ button down for a few seconds.
The only part of the Wal-Mart shopping experience that I enjoy comes when I head towards the exit, quickly reading the words overhead.
“Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart.”
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- Things I Hate: Wal-Mart
Although the Wal*Mart experience is slightly different North of the 49th, there are a growing number of Canadians who are assessing the chain in this same manner.
My brother has a passive boycott going on, many people I know like how cheap it is, yet don’t like how cheap it is.
I ALWAYS assume I am on my own at Wal*Mart. Except at checkout. I haven’t seen a self-checkout lanes here…although they might exist in some stores.
I would have to say that being a vendor for walmart I get treated a lot worse than the customer does. I have to deal with all the pissed off employees that are in the back room doing something that they don’t like. Like humping freight, they were the ones that wanted to do that job. Around here in Idaho we have a lot of bosnians that work in the store, so you need to find a translator to understand them. But usually the translator can translate to spanish then you need a spanish speaking associate to translate for them.
Needless to say it is much easier to go to a store that has english speaking employees. I know that is slowly becoming harder to find seeing that the main language of the United States is not english.
I wonder how long the new store shine lasts? As far as the ambiance, it is still a new store where I am. It sounds as though the big box store is very much prone to being quickly forgotten.
In some respects the big box store is much like a prison. For the husbands/boyfriends who trail behind their wives/girlfriends, to the employees who see pretty much the same crappy job day in and day out.
The mall is crowded and noisy and a chore more than anything so imagine how much of a pain it is to have the mall in once store.
Concentrated shopping dreariness.
I like some of the prices, I don;t like how Walmart closes the Mom and Pop neighborhood stores but I guess it does help toh ave everything under one roof.
That isn’t always a good thing though as you consider the Walmart employee under the hood of your car or brakes. *shudder*
I recall when the store was still new, I went to the camping and sporting goods section and found that the clerk was a tool.
Now that clerk is working in electronics and it seems to be working for him. Still I can’t get over what a tool he was when I first needed his help.
I try not to hate as a general principle but it is very difficult to ignore the negativity and life sucking mentality that goes with The Walmart.
The prices, often, aren’t that much better (if better at all) than other stores.
http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/target/walmart_versus_target01.html
Sonnamybitch…
I didn’t have comments in my feed…LOL…it didnt’ clue in that even my own comments here weren’t flashing in my newsreader, LOL.
Wal*Mart (WM) is both cause and effect.
First off, no retail will exist where it isn’t supported. If WM wasn’t making money because people shopped there, they’d leave.
One of the malls her in London was very, very close to being bulldozed…it had ZERO traffic. WM moved in at the farthest end, and not only was it rejuvenated, it was so successful that the parking lot was doubled, and four new buildings, including an East Side Marios, and Super-sized LCBO, and two smaller strip malls are now on the property, where once only a Burger King stood. Sadly, WM is considering moving to a location about 6 kilometres down the street, which will bascially kill the Argyle Mall.
Many people with little or no ’skills’ will be hired by WM, because they will employ people with little or no ’skills’. This includes people who have no money in retirement, students, drop-outs etc. Often, the surly nature of many WM employees is a predispostion for them, not an effect of wearing the blue tunic.
HOWEVER…
WM seems to be a very pseudo-Japanese ethics type corporation, however, the “go-go-go” was the part they took from Japan…the ‘treat the employees well’ part seems to have been lost.
As in every other industry or undertaking, being the ‘be-all’ to everyone, which is the goal, is the absolute killer of anyone who tries it. It is a goal worthy of, and as doomed as, that of Icarus. It seems like it can be done, but once you get there…you are screwed.
I don’t hate WM, but I don’t really like them, either.