I can’t stand Wal-Mart! Yes, its the largest company in America. Doesn’t make it the best run. Why, you ask? well let me tell you! If I have to pinpoint it, it’s their total apathetic attitude towards consumers. There is a complete lack of training, caring or accountability with the employees or even the managers. Well , why then do we shop there, you ask? Good question. I ask that every time I am waiting 20 minutes to check out while 3 or 4 cashiers are standing around doing nothing at all. I’m not talking about breaks or anything, is it my fault that management in every store I’ve been to can’t seem to manage their employee’s scheduling so that there is a peek number of cashiers right before the dinner hour. I mean, c’mon, I worked for Kroger many years ago and understand the process that a Front End Manager goes through to schedule employees during peak times. Back to the question. I guess it comes down to the fact that at the end of the day, we spend about 15% less than we would any where else and right now we don’t have another store nearby where we can buy everything at one store (groceries and non-groceries).
Here’s what happened today and this could be the tipping point. We’ve done all of our shopping (we usually work the back of the store to the front, more efficient) and headed to the deli. As we were standing in line getting ready to give our order, the deli employees turned out the lights and started to close up the counter. Keep in mind, there were people behind us! Also keep in mind that it was only around 4:30 (right before dinner hour). So Wal-Mart employees … don’t worry about those customers, when its time to go home, just pack up and go! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Those of us that were still in line, just looked in disbelief.
What do I do next, you ask? I tried to find a manager. Let me underline the word … tried. This is like trying to find an ice cube sales man in Alaska. So my anger just grew and grew. Finally, after what seemed forever, I asked one to be paged. What I got was someone who “used to be the deli manager” because the deli manager wasn’t in today they couldn’t find any other manager. Whatever, the excuse I got was that “they have been working the deli since 6 am” Probably the last thing I wanted to hear was another excuse! Whatever happened to the golden rule in retail … “The Customer is always right”
The only reason I can apply any logic to their success is that the average consumer can’t afford to go anywhere else. Super Target stores are much better and cleaner. However, they are much more expensive. In fact, none of the major grocery store chains can compete with the buying power of Wal-mart, so in the end, they win. Most people, like myself, will complain, but wind up back in line for 20 minutes next week.
