Monday, October 19, 2009

On the Cusp of Excitement

We spent Friday evening at Walmart. The goal was to buy lunch bags and Halloween costumes. We bought shoes, winter coats, and a full cart of other items. We came home one costume shy and completely forgot to get the lunch bags.

One item we bought, a cape for Halloween, was on the $10 rack but had no barcode. There were no other items like it. We told the cashier all these things, and that seemed to put her into a cloud of confusion. She walked over to talk to another cashier and then decided to simply stop our line while someone else handled it. In the meanwhile, the belt was full with the next shopper's things and our line got longer and longer as our cashier stood motionless with her back to us. After several minutes, the manager came running over to see what the problem was. The cashier assured her that "someone" was looking for a price. We told the manager the same thing we began the work stoppage with: $10 rack, no barcode, only one. After several more minutes, while we waited with the rudest cashier in town, another manager started calling the now-missing first manager. FINALLY, the second manager told us, "We'll say it's $10," finished ringing us up, and we left. It was efficiency at its worst.

And to think: I actually thought for a minute or 12 about applying at the new Walmart being built near our house. I, too, could be inefficient and rude and get minimum wage to do it.


Now, for a Walmart link a friend sent:
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

16 comments:

MsTypo said...

Walmart weeds out employees who seem happy or are able to think outside teh box. (Sorry someone reading this works there but... aRRGHHhh!)

Unknown said...

I am definitely going to apply there!!

But, I still love me some Walmart.

Busy Bee Suz said...

Being inefficient and rude? I wonder if that was on their application for hire????
So funny.
I love the people of walmart site. IT is the right up there with awkward family photos. :)

I Am Woody said...

Walmart makes my blood pressure rise so I avoid at all costs:)

I also avoid Kroger on Senior Wednesday.

claudia said...

That could not happen where I work!
If I can't find a price I usually take the customers word for it and go on from there. If it was wrong, the person who was supposed to have stuff marked is asked to be more thorough. We cannot let the customers stand there in frustration.
It really irks me to no end when someone has to wait to spend their hard earned money like that!

betty said...

what a nightmare! you would think they would have just taken your word, used a generic barcode to check out the cape and ring you guys through

cute you forgot the lunch bags; I've done that too; gone in for one specific item and came out with a grocery basket stuffed with food and forgot that one item; I find the older I get the more lists I need to make

betty

Mental P Mama said...

Okay...GAH.

Stacey said...

You need to start a site for bad service stories. That was a crazy link.

Unknown said...

Ok, I will be the spoiler and defend the clerk. Policy probably prohibits the clerk from thinking outside the box or setting her own price. She'd probably get fired. Can you imagine the friends who might come through with stuff supposedly off the $10 rack? Just saying from 23 yrs. in retail.

I'm with you on never getting out of Walmart with just the stuff I intended on buying.

Now for the lunch sacks that you forgot to buy....do like my mother used to do. Use the plastic Walmart bags! BWAAAA! I can hear the kids screaming!

MamaOtwins+1 said...

I want to be a Wal-Mart Employee for just one day - Just one! Ohh the damage I could do.

Stopping by from SITS

Lawyer Mom said...

Have you read "Nickel and Dimed" by Ehrenreich (sp?). She worked "undercover" at Walmart for six months or so, and her expose' was eye-opening.

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

At that point I think you should've gotten it for free!
Crap like that is why I LOVE Target.

Unknown said...

Would never want to work there, but as I only get to visit about once every 5 years (when we take a trip to US from Ireland) I still love it - grumpy employees included!

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

I'm a WalMart shopper. I go there once every two or three months where I need to or not!
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Anonymous said...

I hear ya...

Kelli Nørgaard said...

I just could not get past the "we spent friday night at Walmart"....lol
I used to do that!