I HATE Walmart! But what can I do??

[rnorwo1]

I hate, hate, hate, them! Their aisles full of boxes that you cannot get around, their half empty shelves, their rude and uncaring employees (not all of them obviously, but the ones that are just kill me!), the rampant child abuse going on (this obviously isn't WM's fault, but why does this not go on at Target?!) and on and on.

The icing on the cake was yesterday when the clerk forgot to ring up my coupons... I probably would not have even checked my receipt, but I saw her face and furtive glances, so as she avoided eye contact and told me to have a nice day and began checking out the next person, I checked and then asked her about it. She intentionally tried to hide the fact when she knew she did it! She did not apologize when I asked her about it, she just said go to customer service... well, there were 10 people in line there! At Target, just the previous day, I had forgotten to present a coupon, my fault, and I realized it after he handed me my receipt I asked if there was anyway to redeem it (it was for $3), and he very nicely said "of course" and gave me $3 in cash.

It is rare for me to shop at Target b/c it's so far away, and all the other stores near me are much more expensive than walmart... so do I add the $100-150 in my budget each month more that I will have to spend at the more expensive stores to have better experiences, or do I suck it up and save the money? What do you do?!

 

[PudgetteD]

Not knowing your other shopping options, it's hard to answer but this is what I do. I, like you and so many others, can not stand Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, I can't afford not to shop there for some things. I've pared my list down and only buy what I absolutely cannot afford to buy elsewhere (dog and cat supplies, laundry soap, toilet paper) at WM, thus minimizing my time there. (Just being in that place makes me crazy). For everything else I do just as well at Kroger by taking advantage of their double coupons. I also figure in the savings in gas with the fuel points earned by shopping there. I use the Kroger and Food Lion sale papers to plan menus for the week and since the ads usually match up with the coupons in the paper, I usually don't spend any more that I would have at Wal-Mart. I may have to drive a little more but it really doesn't take any more time, just extra planning. I've also found that I tend to stick to my list better if I'm not at WM so there's more savings there! During season I shop at a local Farmer's Market for fruits and veggies; I freeze and/or can as much as I can for the winter.

 

[tinab]

I decided to quit going to Walmart 8 years ago and don't miss it. I only go there if I get a gift card. It is just a bit farther to go to Target and since I have a Target card I always get 5% off and frequently 10% because I get my perscriptions there. I never have to wait at the pharmacy and they recognize us!

 

[herdtoDisney]

Is there another Walmart you could try? I've never had any bad experiences at my local one-it's tidy and I've never seen child abuse and most of the cashiers have been there for many years. Maybe your local one is a lemon?

 

[Priorityonecb]

We have one WM that is as you describe. The other in town is "Target Quality" with the same rock bottom prices. They just can't be beat and I can get twice as much for the same price as our other local big chain grocery stores. So, Walmart it is for us!

 

[ferrytale]

I am right there with you! I cannot stand our Walmart - I thought it would be better once they went from a regular WM to a Super-WalMart - more room/food, etc. It's actually WORSE! Lines 24/7. Frequently out of stuff. Bunches of stuff not where they belong. BUT their prices are so good on the grocery items I can't help but go there to save $$$. I do go to Target for diapers, but they don't have as much selection on the food (though they are in the process of expanding).
2 weeks ago we decided to get a new TV stand there - the display was up and marked at $199, DH took it to the register it rang up $260! He had to wait 25 minutes for the mgr to come and authorize it because there was only 1 person in the store with the key to authorize. They are ridiculous, and I wish I could avoid them.

 

[daisyduck123]

honestly. I would NOT do it. Ever.

Someone gave us two gift cards for Walmart last year....I am going to end up passing them on to someone else because I simply refuse to shop there.

 

[wheelcap]

Change what you can; accept what you can't. Personally, I love WalMart and absolutely CAN NOT STAND Target. I accept that Target isn't for me, and I just don't go there. In some areas, you don't have a choice, though, so you just have to decide if you can do anything about it - if not, accept it for what it is and don't stress it.

 

[Pigeon]

honestly. I would NOT do it. Ever.

Someone gave us two gift cards for Walmart last year....I am going to end up passing them on to someone else because I simply refuse to shop there.

Me, too. I won a gc to Walmart that I couldn't bring myself to use.

If you've got an Aldi's nearby, they have great prices on most basic groceries.

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

Me, too. I won a gc to Walmart that I couldn't bring myself to use.

If you've got an Aldi's nearby, they have great prices on most basic groceries.

I agree - I love Aldi's and can get anything they do not have at Kroger. I do go to Walmart maybe once a month for dog food, shampoo...

 

[cvjw]

I think you just got lucky at Target with the cashier giving you $3 for your coupon that you forgot to use. I have a Target 1 mile from my house that I shop at all the time, and have never had a cashier offer to give me money on the spot if I forgot to use a coupon or if the item rang up wrong. Every single time, I have been told to go to customer service. I really love Target though, their stores are so inviting - they make me want to stay longer and buy more things.

My beef with Walmart is that every single time I have ever shopped there, at least one, if not more, items ring up the wrong price. It is always a price check which takes forever, or a trip to customer service where one cashier is working with 50 people in line. I honestly think that Walmart does this on purpose because most people don't catch the mistake and Walmart can make lots of extra money that way.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I do not really have many complaints about Walmart. I know some are definitely better than others. I know I joke and stuff all the time, and visit the funny websites about WM, but I seriously don't have a beef with them.

 

[amy-momofthree]

I totally agree! 100% I have always hated shopping there but went there for the last time in January. We had just returned home from being gone two weeks. I needed to stock up on everything ( groceries, toiletries, etc) so I figured Walmart would be my best bet, one stop shop and to save a little cash.

I got my groceries and other stuff and waited in the checkout line for 20 minutes (seriously, why do they never open a new checkout when there are more than 4 people waiting?)

SO, I had a cart FULL, finally checked out and paid my $300 ( I really needed a lot). One employee rang me up while another put it in the cart, it was LOADED. I paid, then proceeded to move the cart and bags FELL out of the cart onto the floor, soda bottles rolling down the aisle, while 2 employees just stood there, 2 feet from me, and WATCHED me gather all my stuff and reload my cart


That was the last straw. I will never go there again.

Publix and Target get all my business now.

 

[figment3258]

I agree with you all the way! I hate to shop there but it is the cheapest place to get groceries around here too. Luckily we have a target near us that is being redone to a super target starting June 5 ! Let the count down begin!

 

[MariDisney]

I really dislike Wal-Mart. But, recently DH was prescribed a medication that our insuranc doesn't cover. It would have been $75/month to pay OOP at other pharmacies. WM has it for $9/month. I just can't pass up that savings, so I've been getting the prescription there.

 

[arthur06]

We have both a super wal-mart and a super target. Very rarely do we shop at Wal-Mart, it's just a little too trashy. We have good prices on the grocery side at Target, so we tend to shop there a lot. Also, we make sure we watch the ads for the other stores in town, and just shop the ads at them. I would rather spend $20 more a week to now shop at Wal-Mart.

We do have a Sam's Club membership (closest one is about an hour drive) that we use every 4-6 weeks.

 

[ajh88]

I agree with a PP who said maybe your local store is a lemon. We live relatively near the mothership of Bentonville (within 100 miles anyway) - we have many, many Wal-Marts around, most of which have been here for many, many years (of course, re-modeled, expanded, etc. in that period of time). I only shop at the one that is physically closest to me if I absolutely HAVE to or if I am in town there for something else. When I go to that town (about 20 miles away), I typically shop at Dillon's for groceries. That store, even though it is recently re-done, is dirty, with rude employees, poorly stocked shelves, etc. I know that going in and thus try to avoid it.

The store that is about 30 miles away in another direction (actually the one where I work), is lovely. It is typically well-stocked, they try not to have inventory on the floor (yes, it happens occasionally), and many of the employees have been there for quite some time. I am in the pharmacy, and yes, I recognize the vast majority of our customers (same cannot be said for store #1 I described above). Have I ever had a negative experience there? Yes, but no worse than I've ever had at any other retail store (including Target, Dillon's, Toys R Us, etc.).

Target is over 35 miles away - we like to shop there and when we are in that town, we usually stop in - however, it is the ONLY Target within about 90 miles and the employees are definitely not up to snuff when compared with other Target stores I've patronized.

I guess I've used a lot of words to say that there is a lot of variation from store to store no matter what chain you use (well, for the most part). I have been in Wal-Mart's all across the land and they are not all created equal. If your nearest one isn't up to par, don't shop there unless there is literally no where else you can go.

 

[rnorwo1]

Not knowing your other shopping options, it's hard to answer but this is what I do. I, like you and so many others, can not stand Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, I can't afford not to shop there for some things. I've pared my list down and only buy what I absolutely cannot afford to buy elsewhere

Is there another Walmart you could try? I've never had any bad experiences at my local one-it's tidy and I've never seen child abuse and most of the cashiers have been there for many years. Maybe your local one is a lemon?

Here's my convoluted deal: I live about 30 miles north of no-where, so the closest store is walmart, and it's 30 minutes away. There is a tiny AG store that is also about 30 min away in another direction, but near one of my sons' taekwondo studio, so I do use them for their sales when we're there, especially on meat. Everything else in that store is ridiculously priced though. There is a Winn Dixie and Albertson's near the walmart that I could use just as "conveniently" as walmart... Winn Dixie has pretty good sales and I do pick those items up frequently but the rest of their stuff is pretty expensive comparatively, and Albertson's is extremely high on most things.

I know that this particular walmart is probably the worse of all the walmarts, but others are an additional 20 minutes or more to drive to, as is Target. There is also one of the "Neighborhood Walmart" stores that is so much better, actually pretty nice, but their prices are higher than the super center, and it is also about an additional 15 minutes away. Time is a huge issue for me, so that's why I always just choose the closest.

Change what you can; accept what you can't.

Maybe chanting that will drown out all of the screaming kids

My beef with Walmart is that every single time I have ever shopped there, at least one, if not more, items ring up the wrong price. It is always a price check which takes forever, or a trip to customer service where one cashier is working with 50 people in line. I honestly think that Walmart does this on purpose because most people don't catch the mistake and Walmart can make lots of extra money that way.

I don't know if they're plotting to make more money, or if they just think that no matter how bad they are people are going to still shop there? That is what makes me so angry and I want to prove to them that their lower prices do not make me captive to their terrible service! But then I cringe at paying so much more for the exact same things, so heck, I guess I am captive!

I think I may just try one of the other stores for a few weeks and see what kind of impact it has on our budget.... maybe like pp said, it will reduce the amount I'm buying anyway. If I find our bills going way up, I guess the serenity prayer it is

 

[edk35]

honestly. I would NOT do it. Ever.

Someone gave us two gift cards for Walmart last year....I am going to end up passing them on to someone else because I simply refuse to shop there.

ME TOO and Sam's Club is ranking right up there too with Walmart.

 

[dfchelbay]

I've never had any of these things happen to me at Walmart. The issue with the cashier is just that...she did that, not Walmart. Walmart isn't abusing children either...it's their caregivers at that moment. As far as the aisles, I've never seen boxes in the aisles. Sure, things can go out of stock, but it's usually because of a sale...or the guy I saw last month buy every bottle of salad dressing in the store that was on sale that week. His bill was over $400 for salad dressing. He's going to go put that on the shelf in his store or stores for five times the price I'll bet. Maybe you should try another location and see what kind of experience you have there.