Walmart Is Trying To Lose My Business
Last week I went to Walmart to do part of my grocery shopping. I go to several different stores, each once a week, to take advantage of deals and coupons for different places, and Walmart is one of them. (I’ll probably scare some of you if I admit I go to, at this point, as many as 6 different places per week if you count CVS and Walgreens, but they are all in a shopping plaza on my way home from work, so it doesn’t take any extra gas). So I went to Walmart and picked up the items on my list. I only had a few things, so when I was leaving I used the automated checkout where I scan things myself. And that is where my fun began.
I usually use the U-Scan self service scanners, so I know that sometimes they are funky about coupon use. And this time was no exception. I had 6 coupons, and 4 scanned fine and gave me my discounts. Of the other two (both clipped directly out of the paper) one scanned with an error, and the other just wouldn’t scan at all. The one that scanned with an error, the coupon was for 2 and I had actually bought 4. This happens to me a lot when scanning at Walmart and I buy more than the coupon specifies, I get an error. Eventually the person in charge of the U-Scan came over, and I showed him the items for the incorrect scan. He looked at my items (which were the exact ones pictured on the coupon), went through my scanned items to make sure I scanned them, and then wandered off with my coupon to talk to his supervisor. Every other time, the person just fixed it right there, but, whatever. After about 5 minutes he comes back, looks at my items again, pokes through my bags, and leaves again. A few minutes later he comes back and finally goes into the store system and manually enters my coupon.
And then there is the coupon that won’t scan. That is obviously clipped from a newspaper. Basically he says if it won’t scan, too bad. He won’t enter the numbers on the bar code manually. That made me mad, and I had him remove the item I was using the coupon for from my order.
But all this was not the worst part. Now, I am finally done, I am picking up my receipt, and the store employee suddenly decides I was annoying or something, and demands to check my receipt against every item in my two (reusable, brought from home) bags. I didn’t set off any alarms, I didn’t do anything suspicious other than try to use coupons. I honestly felt like I was being treated like a criminal. He kept pulling things out of my bag and saying “I don’t remember this on the receipt when I was looking at it”. Everything was, in fact, on the receipt (of course) and since I wasn’t buying too many things it didn’t take too long, but I was really upset by it.
Lucky for Walmart, there is a different one on my way home from work that I like much better than the one I was at that day. Maybe not lucky for the world, for I should probably break off my relationship with them anyway. But for now, Walmart stays part of my over-arching “pay the least amount I can manage for groceries” strategy. For now. Once the debt is cleared completely, I may really rethink that. Thanks for nothing, Walmart. And, PS, Meijer was happy to manually punch in that Mrs. Dash’s coupon when it wouldn’t scan at their U-Scan either. They did it happily and apologized that their scanner wasn’t reading it. And once they punched in the barcode, it rang in just fine. And no searching of my bags afterwards. So thanks for nothing, Walmart.
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September 25th, 2008 at 6:32 am
You are not required to show your receipt when leaving the store. They are allowed to ask but you DO NOT have to comply.
Whenever they ask me, I smile and say “no thanks” and keep walking. Try it. It works!
September 25th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Decided to delurk for a minute here.
Be sure to contact the manager of that Walmart and if you don’t get, at the very least, a sincere apology you should contact the corporate office.
Working in Retail for a good chunk of my young life I could never understand why some of my coworkers would treat the customers as a bother.
Oh, and the best number to use for corporate is 1-800-925-6278.
If you are still in the store and have a few extra minutes call the Walmart ‘immediate response team’ @479-273-4000. They contact the store manager right away and then you’ll see the manager practically trip over themselves to make you happy.
Good Luck
September 25th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Please, please please send this story over to www.consumerist.com. Let everyone know what happened (and the location), and maybe Walmart will do something about it. You don’t deserve to be treated like that - go to their customer service counter, every one of them displays a picture of both the GM and supervisor. Make some noise, if you don’t, they’ll just keep doing it.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Wow! That is super annoying and very demeaning. Sometimes cashiers are just too much. I know that they put up with a lot, but fixing coupons is just doing their job. Treating you like a criminal is not. I probably would have marched over to the manager and demanded to know what the problem was and if I did not get a good enough answer, walked right over to customer service and returned all of my groceries. Hope you find a better Walmart or a better store! Ugh.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:45 am
You don’t have to stop when they want to check your receipt. (Well, if you’re trying to take a plasma tv out the door, maybe). But my partner has worked as a Customer service manager and a dept manager there and they can’t stop you. If the buzzer goes off, you can keep going. You are honest, you know you didn’t steal anything. They won’t try that hard to stop you unless they are sure you are a thief.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:01 am
I think the best part of you getting out of debt will be not having to shop there anymore
okay maybe not THE BEST thing, but it’s right up there!
September 25th, 2008 at 8:08 am
I stopped using the self check out. My Mom pointed out that they pay people to check you out, why should I do it myself. It’s not like they give a discount, and it’s usually a hassle.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:11 am
That is why I do not shop at Wal-Mart much. I have to admit though that last week was an eye-opener. I go to a Publix instead often now and I bought a 1/2 pint of heavy cream for some baking. My wife told me it was the wrong size, and while the Publix may have taken the other back, I was aware they would probably have to throw it away, so I just decided I would go to the slightly closer Wal-Mart to get a replacement. Of course, they did not have a 1/2 pint that I saw, but the full pint was slightly less expensive than the 1/2 pint at Publix.
As an aside, I would always check my receipts at Wal-Mart. I have been mis-charged for items. Since I hate Wal-Mart, I always will go into the customer service line if this happens, especially since they (used to?) have a policy where they would give you an extra $2 back on a mispriced item or the item for free if it was less than $2. I once stood in line for 10 minutes to get my money back on a lemon that was overpriced by one penny lol.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:44 am
I’ll admit it’s been a really long time since I went to Wal-Mart, but I can’t say service has ever been their strength.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:20 am
That is terrible. I would definitely have gone STRAIGHT to the manager and complained about it. If you don’t, the clerk is going to keep acting that way. He shouldn’t be in charge of the U-Scan if he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I think they should only have the most qualified and courteous clerks on U-Scan because they are having to manage four (or more) registers at the same time. I would probably still make a phone call and complain.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Walmart is quite possibly the worst company in America. The quality of its goods is low, the customer service at its stores is low, and the effect a Walmart store has on the communities that it moves into is almost always bad. Such is the effect of Friedman economics.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I HATE Walmart. Hate it! Not only is it a zoo full of aisles that are made so that the traffic keeps flowing at a snail’s pace, you can’t stop and comparison shop without some stupid person stepping RIGHT in front of you to look at the exact same thing (You make a better door than a window!). The lines are exceedingly long, and the employees are so freaking stupid that they have to go to four different sections of the store (walking you all over the place, naturally) to figure out where the product you’re looking for is - I could have done that MYSELF.
Urgh. So avoiding Evilmart. I’d rather pay slightly higher prices than get caught in that BS.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Why do some clerks think you MUST be trying to con them if you use coupons? There is a clerk at my local grocery store who READS every single coupon before scanning them! She can’t even read them correctly and more than once I’ve had her bring the manager over because she’s giving me a hard time and misinterpreting the coupon. This without even scanning the coupon first! ARGH! I’d not go back except the same store has several wonderful cashiers who cheer me on and tell me about bargains I may not have seen. They get that I must save money and this is part of the plan.
All I can figure is its some sort of power play; pretty pitiful.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Poor customer service is how we pay for the lower prices. You get what you pay for, after all. That said, I would definitely complain.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I live with Walmart Home Office right down the road and even here it happens. I have had a ton of really bad experiences with the cashiers. The cashiers are supposed to be courteous and friendly. They are not supposed to do a search and siezure of your bags. There is store security for that. I agree with Christina that you should call and complain about that cashier. At the very least, the next time you go to that store, you need to talk to a CSM (they are the ones with the little palm pilots and keys that do the override when something goes wrong with your order) or go to Customer service and tell them. Its unacceptable for a chashier to do that. I would have been outraged if they did it to me.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I’m hearing a lot of talk about “customer service” at Wal-Mart. Let me ask this, WHAT customer service are we talking about here? The kind where a clerk sees you looking for something and runs away when they see you approach them for help? Or the kind when you actually do corner them and you get outright rudeness or a “that’s not my department” kind of comment? Or better yet (and my personal fave,) the kind where the clerks get mad at you if you don’t bag and place inside your cart the items that you just paid them for? I had a Wal-Mart clerk get very mad at me for that, and I was the only person in line. I wanted to ask “did I get put on the payroll here?”
Ok, sorry for the ranting tone of this post, but Wal-Mart really irritates me. I hardly ever go there anymore, for the reasons above, and predict that it will only get worse.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Wal-Mart is really a mixed bag. It is true that most of their prices are a lot cheaper than other grocery stores. I once had a cashier “forget” to scan a $3 coupon and instead of correcting it there, sent me to customer service. That may be the normal practice, but it was annoying at the time.
I can say that I recently had a very good customer service experience at Wal-Mart. Apparently, one of my items didn’t make it into the car with me. I’m suspecting it was put into it’s own bag and was left behind. We searched the car and it definitely wasn’t there. Normally it’s not worth the hassle, but it was an expensive deodorant (Secret Clinical - big bottle). I took my receipt up to CS, told them what happened and the rep told me I could go get it. I got back to CS and there was a line, but once the rep finished with his current customer, he waved me over and put my deodorant in a bag. I asked if he wanted to check the receipt against what I had picked up and he simply said “nope, you’re fine. Have a nice day!” I must say, his kindness did make my day.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
What makes you expect good customer service from a company that routinely treats its employees like garbage?
@ Miranda:
How courteous and friendly are you all day when getting paid less than minimum wage (since you are required to work off the clock…) with no benefits?
September 25th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Wow! It sounds like the sales clerk had a bad day and ended up taking it out on you. I’d be angry too.
However instead of boycotting Walmart I’d talk to the manager. Give them a chance to make it right. As another person pointed out this sales clerk is probably going to treat others the same way. Management should be made aware of the problem so they can deal with it.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
My bad experience with Walmart involved not being able to take a cart into the parking lot. They seriously have those metal poles all the way around the entrance so it’s impossible to fit a cart through.
And here’s me, by myself, with a counter-top dishwasher. So I asked the woman at the door how the hell I was supposed to get this huge box to my car, and she says “Oh just leave it on the ground out there and bring your car over.”
Yup, that was their solution, leave it on the ground and hope no one steals it in the time it takes to bring your car. Granted I wasn’t too worried about anyone stealing a monstrous box like that, but what if I’d had a whole cart full of bags that I couldn’t carry at once? Would they expect customers to leave that just sitting by the entrance?
September 25th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Even being in debt (which we were for a short while last year), I do not shop at Walmart. I do not approve of very many of their business practices and mainly their shunting of responsibility onto anyone they can.
I was working at Walmart (in college) when Sam Walton died and I can tell you that within 3 months things were so bad for employees that I quit - and I didn’t need benefits like most of the middle ages people who were working there. This was also after learning about some of their then new (but now standard) practices of taking advantage of small business owners.
Sometimes money isn’t more important than customer service and humane treatment of employees and those you do business with.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I do like shopping at Walmart because of their prices but you definitely must be on your toes when using coupons. Just this week the cashier handed me a coupon back for contact lense cleaner because “it won’t scan - it doesn’t match.” The picture and wording was exactly the same as listed on the coupon was so I handed it back and said “It matches. You’ll have to enter it in manually” and he did I have called customer service in the past due to coupon issues, a coupon nazi, and just plain rude “customer service”. I have the phone numbers now from Christina’s comment above and will use that if necessary.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Print off a couple copies of your missive.
Give one to the local Wal-Mart and one to the corporate Wal-Mart. One or both should apologize,
give free coupons, or something. I wouldn’t quit shopping at a place just because a cashier had a bad day - but I would avoid that cashier if possible in the future. Hopefully the local one will give the employee some talking-to’s… especially about the time delays and the not scanning the coupon for you. Customer service is just that - service!
I also do NOT use the u-scan-lines anywhere. It’s usually a hassle and it always makes me feel like a criminal also when they ask to check the receipt. I feel like going thru a checker’s line reinforces the need for real checkers! My little part to keep their jobs going.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I had the same thing happen with my coupons. I was told that there is a 4 coupon limit in the self check thingies. What a crock. So I don’t do self check anymore and I only go when I have to.
September 25th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Totally agree with most of the other comments. The WalMart company is rotten from the top down… don’t expect anything to change. When will businesses finally realize that their employees treat customers in the same way management treats them?
WalMart treats its employees like diapers. Don’t expect much more.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I absolutely refuse to shop at Wal-Mart…or rather Mall-Wart. They have terrible customer service, and the stores are always messy and their employees I’ve come in contact with over the years are complete dolts. I’d rather spend an extra dollar than shop at those horrific excuses of retail.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I absolutely refuse to shop at places that make you stop for a receipt check on the way out the door. Wal*Mart and Costco are the only two I’m aware of in my area and some Future Shops.
The stores job is to make me feel welcome and want to spend money there. Treating every single person as a thief until proven innocent is not the way to do that. I will GLADLY pay a little extra to shop at a store where I am not assumed to be a crook.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
That is horrible that you were treated that way. I hate going to Wal-Mart!! I try to stay away from them as much as possible!
Angie
September 25th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
The clerk may ask to see what is in your bag, but you do not have to comply. I worked in loss prevention while in college and unless you:
(1) See the person select the item
(2) See the person conceal the item (if they actually conceal it)
(3) Keep constant visual observation of the person
(4) Watch the person pass all points of purchase without paying for the item.
YOU CAN NOT DO ANYTHING!!!!
I pray for the day when the situation you were in happens to me. I hope clerk detains me for not complying, as this is a false arrest. I would then get the satisfaction of sueing a company because they hired an untrained idiot. the clerk is likely not authorized (by the company) to ask to check your bags in the first place for the very reason i described above.
Call CHINA DIRECT’s corporate office and let them know what happened.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
i am with Laurie. Even being in debt didn’t make me compromise my principles. And after reading this, I’m even more certain of it.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I’m with everyone who says you should complain - of course! But there are a few stores out there that treat their customers like they are doing you a favour by allowing you to shop there and Wal-Mart is one of them. As for U-scans in general - boycott ‘em. Maybe the corporate line is that they are for customer convenience, but they’re nothing but a hassle. Let’s face it - their real reason is to save the company money - why pay someone to check you through when they can make the customer work for free?
Love your blog, I am turning into a snowflaker thanks to you!
September 25th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Well, I have Whole Foods taste on a WalMart budget and that is the only reason I shop at WalMart. I really cannot afford to shop anywhere else. On the rare occasions that I buy meat, I do go to HEB, as I had a bad experiences with a piece of meat at WAlMart once.
Even shopping at WalMart, prices rise every week and packages shrink!
I would advise contacting their customer service too, just for your own satisfaction.
September 25th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Walmart - can’t stand the place….never could. Target is sooooo much nicer and gets all of our money. Years ago people back home used to speak of the local Walmart - dirty, cluttered, trailer trash store. Not much has changed over the years, that’s for sure!
September 25th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
It’s not that they’re stupid. Many clerks don’t use coupons themselves. And, some, like teenagers, or men, don’t shop for the family; therefore, they don’t know a store’s layout, prices, etc.
But, I am having coupon issues at Wal-mart lately. It’s those coupons with 2 different UPCs on them. One clerk told me they were told to fold them between them so the right one would scan right. It’s just adding to the everyone’s aggravation.
A long time ago I used to see the clerks write down a coupon that didn’t scan on a log sheet. Don’t know why that procedure stopped.
I feel a store’s atmosphere is greatly affected by how the public acts while they shop too. Customers who don’t tell their kids to stop dropping toys on the floor and leaving them there, running in the store, bouncing balls all over the store, etc. People who steal! People who don’t walk on the right side of the isles. Waisting merchandise–leaving cold items around the store to melt, get hot, spoil. Being rude to clerks when they didn’t have to; sometimes it’s just a culture thing.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I’m not compromising my principles shopping at Walmart for select items. I honestly don’t feel there is a huge separation between Walmart and other chain grocery stores as far as effect on local economy (and we have no local grocery chains here, just regional or national ones). That can be debated up and down and sideways of course.
I’m compromising my tolerance of irritation.
Haven’t gotten to the point where I’m able to give that up, yet 
September 25th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I suspect almost everyone working in retail right now is having a terrible time. Things are so tight, companies are getting by with as few employees as possible and yet folks REALLY need jobs. A lot of those working at WalMart, Target, etc are working two, sometimes three jobs, because none will employ them full time. It’s disgraceful, and I can only hope the economy will take an up tic sometime in the near future, so we can all be treated humanely! It’s sad what WalMart has done to our overall perception of retail shopping: that those shopping there are willing to trade the dirtiness and crummy experience for lower prices.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
As a Manger of a Grocery Store for 12 years I’d like you to call Walmart and report on what they do for you. I know that if you would of approached me, you would have left with a $20 gift card along with an embarrased Manager appoligizing. The employee would have been wrinting up and eventually fired for this type of service.
By the way- it silly for Grocery Stores to make such a big deal about coupons. We get all the money back from the supplier. I know we actually promote coupons on certaint deals to encourage customers to buy the product. Ofton making the item free.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
And searching your bag? Wow, we would never do this unless we knew for a fact that something was stolen or just innocently missed by the customer which has happened several times and more times than not the customer will return to the store when they get out to their car and pay for the item without us even noticing(usually something on the bottom of their cart). This is a horrible policy but I guess Walmart has never been known for good customer service.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Email the Corporate headquarters. Do not bother talking to an onsight store manager. find the walmart website and tell them exactly what happened. I complained about the shabby service at a local home depot–I emailed the corporate–and they sent me a $30 gift card and apology and when i went to the store later that week I saw a bunch of corporatge guys there training staff and making sure things were going well.
I’ve come to the conclusion tha the BEST way to get some decent customer service is to always take action-if you get good service tell the manager and thank the person.If you get bad service take it as high up as you possibly can and if they do nothing– make sure you mention on your blog the treatment and stop shopping there as much as is possible.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
i worked for walmart for 6 years…i would call 1800Walmart and tell them about the situation. There is no reason that the cashier should’ve treated you this way. They had no reason to check your bags and they made you feel guilty for nothing. Your complaint will be sent straight to the store and HAS TO BE addressed by management within 24 hours. have your voice heard. really.
also, i now work for meijer and i hope to be happier there
September 26th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I just had to chime in on this one…
I use coupons like there’s no tomorrow and ALWAYS legally and properly as defined by the coupons.
I once spent 30 minutes waiting for confirmation on several coupons … I was following WM’s coupon policy and it went my way but took forever and I was horribly treated by one of their front end associates (the asst manager was awesome though).
The idea that using coupons means they can treat us like scum is frustrating and infuriating.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Wow–our Walmarts, there are 4 in the area, are not like what most of you have. They are clean, with wide aisles, and generally sensible grouping of things so that finding things is pretty easy. There are not a lot of employees hanging around, but every time I’ve needed to ask a question or get some help, I’ve been able to get it and not been given a “not my department” kind of response. I don’t like the U-Scans because they don’t recognize you’ve put stuff in the bags and keep fussing at you to “bag the item” but the clerk has always rescued me, ussually before I asked.Maybe our district manager is different or something, but if I don’t shop WalMart, it won’t be for bad customer service.
September 26th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
i HAVE BEEN WORKING AT WM FOR 9 YEARS NOW. I HAVE BEEN A MEMBER OF MANAGEMENT AND I HAD TO STEP DOWN TO A SALES ASSOCIATE POSITION BECAUSE OF STRESS. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN ABOUT RUDE ASSOCIATES, BUT SINCE I WORK OVERNIGHTS WE HAVE LESS CUSTOMERS RESULTING IN BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE. AT MY PARTICULAR WM, THERE ARE JUST NOT ENOUGH HANDS TO GET THE JOB DONE. ISN’T IT IRONIC THAT WM IS STARTING TO LOOK MORE LIKE TARGET?
September 28th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/2008/09/debunking-myth-groceries-are-not.html
Check out this article on Common Sense With Money. Your post made me think of it!
September 29th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I honestly don’t feel there is a huge separation between Walmart and other chain grocery stores as far as effect on local economy
Paidtwice, I agree and I disagree. On one hand, all non-local places pretty much have the problem of moving money out of where you live, but I agree that most people don’t have the option to shop local. I’m lucky in that I live in a highly agricultural region, and I can shop farm stands in season. (Though I will totally admit that I have been known to buy apples from local orchards through the local Hannaford, just for convenience… bad me!)
I do think that some of the “big box stores” have demonstrably better business practices than others, however. Target actually stands out in this regard; if I have to shop at a big box store, I’ll shop there. They treat their workers right and they give part of their profits to charity, for example. If you’re interested in finding out more, you might start with the wikipedia article on Target and go from there.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:27 am
walmart done me dirty this week. I went for a shopping trip and needed to use my lasy free wyob coupons from all you magazines. Well i was nice and had them all at the end separated so it be a pain in the rear. well the cashier looked at the coupon and didnt understand it. really. i explained it to her, buy 3 kraft products get cheese etc free. she was like ok, whats your kraft product. I showed her kool aid is a kraft product so i had 45 packets of it on the belt. I told her scan 3 koolaids them the product on the coupon. simple huh? wrong. she was like I dont think i can do that. what can you not do? she called over a manager. i explained it all too her. she was like “well i dont think you can buy a $0.20 cent packet of kool aid and get cheese for free. Yes you can woman. ahhh! them she read the fine print and goes see you can’t it says not individual serving sizes. I told her 1 packet of kool aid make 2 quarts, thats not an individual size. she said no, so i said fine i dont want the stuff, I’ll go to dillons and spend my money there. And I did.
December 24th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I watched the Wal-Mart documentary a couple weeks ago (on CNN? One of those) and it was really interesting. They did an interview with some CEO/big cheese and asked him if Sam Walton would be cool with WalMart’s health insurance policies. CEO said, oh, yeah, totally, because Sam wouldn’t want people to get things for free and most people with health insurance are taking advantage of the system since their employer is paying for so much of it, so people should have to shop around for health insurance.
Also, he had some comments that were slimy WRT to communities that protested WalMart. “Why would you want to build a store in a city that doesn’t want you?” His answer, essentially, was “Well, after we build one, almost everybody ends up shopping at our store, so they’re just complaining for no reason.” Big corporation knows best, right?