Wal-mart: Minds of Intelligence

Notice the date!  April First is April Fools' Day – Hence the title.  

 

I think customers are lacking in intelligence for going to Wal-Mart (or just admitting it) and waiting in endless lines to be waited on by clueless employees who appear even less intelligent than the customer (who, by the way, is still waiting in line)

I realize it’s wrong to stereotype, and I’m sure that somewhere in this Universe there really are happy Wal-Mart employees who seriously do understand their positions and really do enjoy being there as the Wal-Mart commercials would like us to believe.  I have personally just never met any of them.

Embarrassing as it is to admit this: yes, once again we ended up at Wal-Mart.  Roland wanted to get some head-phones to give to Jenna on her birthday.  I thought it was a great idea!  He chose Wal-Mart so that he could charge it.  NOT a great idea.  Especially since we didn’t actually have the card.  He had given it to me the other day before he left for work and I neglected to give it back to him.

He was certain that he could be issued a temporary if he went to the customer service.  The serpentine line that led to the customer service wasn’t moving.  I didn’t want to wait in line if we could help it.  I had given Jenna a time when we would return to the house.  We were off our mark by almost 30 minutes thanks to the endless Wal-Mart lines and lack of professional performance. 

Waiting in line: AS IF WE COULD REALLY HAVE AVOIDED IT!  We got in the express line in which the customer is supposed to have only ten items or less.  Why is it that there were three non-English speaking individuals filling bags with their groceries as the cashier continued to ring up all the items that filled their cart.  Really?  He couldn’t have communicated that they needed to be in another line? 

The other four clerks that were standing at the register on the side seemed like they were cluelessly trying to assist.  It reminded me of this  post on Corey’s blog.  It is really funny reading in a sad sort of a way – sad because it’s true.  It is kind of long however.  But a fine example of the Wal-Mart mentality.

As Roland and I stood in the line of clueless customers who must have thought the sign said, “100 items or less”, another employee took over as cashier and helped to move the line along – but not before losing a few individuals who really did have less than ten items.  But then who wants to wait in a line for 30 minutes to purchase a soft drink and a pack of gum?

 

Another check stand opened up.  Roland and I were waved through by an employee who seemed just as appalled at the express lane situation as I was.  When I looked over at Customer Service, there was no line.  The serpentine line of customers with carts had died down before the express line had.  Those same three people holding up the express line still hadn’t finished with their purchase when the customer service had died out.  But perhaps they all got tired of waiting also and left without resolving whatever issue each of them may have had. 

We’re creatures of habit who continue to do stupid things.  Why are we doing this to ourselves?  Why do we continue to keep Wal-Mart in business (not to mention our time)?  Could it be that our NON-intelligence exceeds the average Wal-Mart employee?  Why do we continue punishing ourselves over and over? How many Wal-Mart employees does it take to screw in a lighbulb?  Answer:  "What's a lightbulb?"

I HATE SHOPPING!!!

Romeros (Roland’s side of the family and All their descendants) LOVE to shop. The Cannons (my side of the family) DO NOT – and yet all four of my mom’s children married shopaholics and it doesn't even seem to matter what kind of store for some of them.

If my sibs and I absolutely have to shop, we go with something specific in mind – get in, purchase desired item, get out.  We ALWAYS stick to the list – nothing more.  Roland ALWAYS gets three times more than what I send him for – IF I send him.  (Over the years I learned it’s actually a very dangerous thing)

Roland has a good heart.  He really does.  He is ALWAYS thinking of others.  RARELY does he ever buy for himself.  He likes to browse.  His sibs like to browse.  His children like to browse.  And then he spends money as though he actually has it.

 Uh-oh . . .  he opened an account with a Wal-Mart credit card.  DISASTER!!!!  His original thought was for an emergency.  I don’t think going over budget on Christmas gifts qualifies as an emergency.  Once again: Big Heart.

I’ve been in need of some boots that don’t hurt my feet.  I know approximately what kind of boots I’m looking for – of course he is clueless and tries giving me helpful suggestions.  He thinks he is being helpful.  He doesn’t realize that his “helpful” suggestions are only irritating me.  And with each suggestion he is adding fuel to the fire.  I’m not settling for something that I KNOW is not going to work. LET’S JUST LEAVE THE MALL ALREADY.  THERE IS ONLY ONE STORE THAT WILL HAVE THE BOOTS I WANT – YOU SHOULDN’T BE SPENDING MONEY AT THE MALL ANYWAY.

I had looked for winter boots with heals online.  I have a weird right foot and would much rather try boots on at the store as opposed to ordering them and finding they don’t fit.  So I came up with SEARS – it was ALL that I came up with. I figured if we went to the one in Jordan Landing we could sneak a peek at Kohl’s but as Roland had an errand near my old neighborhood, we tried the Sears at Fashion Place Mall.

Corey had written this post about the evolution of Fashion Place Mall built in 1972.   I remember it well.  My friends and I could walk there on foot.  It was a good walk, but we felt so grown up being there.  Fashion Place had three anchor stores: Sears, Weinstocks and Auerbach’s. And ZCMI fell somewhere in the middle.

It didn’t seem that Auerbach’s was part of the mall for very long.  By 1981 Auerbach’s had closed and we were introduced to a new anchor store called Nordstrom’s – which evidently started out specializing in shoes but branched out from there.  I personally don’t care for their products.  The few purchases I had made during my life were not that well made – especially for what they cost.  And overall, I thought the shoes that were offered were very ugly.

All throughout its existence, the mall had seen stores come and go. Eventually Weinstocks was replaced by Dillard’s and ZCMI was replaced by Macys’. The mall I remember had received a huge makeover.  It wasn’t the same.  It's no longer my mall. 

Shops were set up to surround the mall – so there are now stores inside and out.  For me it’s a sea of confusion.  I no longer like Fashion Place Mall (or most malls for that matter.)  It is just so congested I can’t even breathe. 

Our trip had been in vain. Though the “Sears” part of the mall could still be seen from the street, the signs were gone.  The building was empty.  Dillard’s and Nordstrom remain.  Sears has not yet been replaced. Roland wanted to look at every footwear place.  He would hold up pathetic boot wannabes and let me know of its existence and I would cringe and say “I should have showed you a picture so that you would know what I want” though I think he would have still continued with his NON helpful suggestions.

.  The mall seems to cater to the thin, small and rich.  And I am none of those.  I was finally able to convince him to leave when I mentioned a package we hadn’t mailed. I ended up with a pair from Payless (far away from the mall).  They fit.  They’re actually cute.  But they’re Payless – so it’s highly probable that they won’t outlast this winter season.

Biff has slept the last few days at home instead of Jeanie’s family.  Only because one of his tires had blown and he has been driving around on a doughnut – which Roland says does not provide great traction – which he learned first hand yesterday and told Biff to drive to a Wal-Mart to get a tire and pay us back on Thursday.

So yesterday he calls me from Wal-Mart because he’s interested in purchasing a tree in addition to the tire for Biff’s car.  He gave me some brief descriptions along with some prices.  I would like to see the tree with my own eyes before he spends the money, and so he came home to get me.

I actually had to drive just as Biff had done previously.  Roland had an outpatient procedure that left him loopy and he was told not to drive for 24 hours. He suggested on getting presents for various family members.  There were a few things in the cart that we actually needed but for the most part the cart was filled with desires and not needs.  He thought he would charge it. That was a fiasco.

 

We all have Wal-Mart stories. And it always makes us embarrassed that we had ever admitted to going to Wal-Mart in the first place.  Corey wrote thishilarious post – which is actually quite lengthy (six pages long) – a description that is quite typical of a Wal-Mart adventure. And Roland dressed like this one year to represent his version of a Wal-Mart consumer stereotype.

Our experience yesterday was more dramatic and frustrating – though no fault to our checker who was actually quite helpful – well as helpful as she was allowed in her given position.  Evidently Roland had gone over his spending limit in the last two weeks, and so when he swiped his card, the machine did not accept it.  Thus the register was suspended and we were waiting for the manager, waiting for authorization.  Waiting.

The cashier gave Richard a card to call-in and extend his limit.  Another machine.  We’ve relied too much on modern technology and seemed to have escaped true customer service.  One cannot reason with a machine.  It hung up on Roland at least three times. Truth be known, I don’t want to see our credit extended.  Does he not remember that the credit card is partly what had contributed to our financial problems in the first place? I need to remove Roland’s card from his wallet.