Grocery Shopping at Walmart
I’ve been grocery shopping at our local Walmart for 17 years. It is only 2.5 miles from our home and very convenient. About 15 years ago the grocery store was expanded into a Walmart Supercenter increasing its convenience. I spend about $500 per month there — mostly on groceries.
Over the years I’ve noticed a gradual deterioration in customer service, variety of products and fully stocked shelves. But the last couple of years there has been a marked decrease in customer service. I normally shop on weekdays at mid morning because there are less customers in the store. Unfortunately, that means there are less cashiers available for check out. Sometimes a few years ago only express (20 items or less) check out lanes were available. I felt embarrassed using an express lane with a large quantity of items in my cart. I asked the store manager if he would consider making sure there was at least one lane open for large quantities and was told that corporate headquarters determined how many and what type of lanes were to be open for days of the week and time periods of the day. With the incorporation of self check out stations my check out satisfaction temporarily improved. Eventually, the nearby BI-LO grocery closed and many of their customers switched to my Walmart.
Last month it took 30 minutes from the time I entered the check out line until I left with my groceries. During that time I suspect that my frozen items were partially thawed. I sent a complaint email to corporate headquarters and the response was that I should contact the store manager. I called my local store and asked to speak to the manager. I was placed on hold. After 12 minutes someone answered and asked me who I was waiting for. I replied “anyone in authority”. After another 18 minutes I hung up without speaking to anyone else.
Check out associated equipment is not maintained in the store. For more than a month the point of sale display was missing preventing the customer from observing the cost of items charged after being scanned. And yet this check out lane continued to be utilized daily. On another occasion the stylus pen and associated cable was missing for a couple of weeks and yet the check out lane continued to be utilized daily. I was instructed to sign with my fingernail. I use a personal blank check for payment that the cashier inserts into a reader/printer. About one third of the time there is no ink in the printer so I am returned a blank check.
This morning was a fairly typical check out experience. Only one express check out and one non-express. There were four customers ahead of me. Two of them were elderly ladies and one was using a rollator and sat on it while waiting. The other lady mentioned that she should have also brought one. The cashier mentioned to one of the customers that she was new so I knew I was in trouble. When my time came after a relatively short 15 minute wait I handed the cashier my blank check. She mentioned that I would have to fill out the check and I patiently explained to her that the machine to her right would read the check and fill it out. She didn’t know what to do but fortunately I recognized a supervisor nearby (rare occasion) and hailed her to assist the cashier.
I have finally decided to take my grocery business elsewhere. There is an Aldi store across the street from Walmart and their cost per ounce for cashews and almonds that I eat daily for lunch are cheaper than Walmart’s. I’ve read that Aldi has a reputation of starting employees out at significantly higher than minimum wage which is unusual among American supermarkets. My observation of Aldi employees’ attitude and efficiency seem to confirm their greater pay. There is a Publix supermarket about a three minute longer drive from my home. The increased driving time will be offset by the shorter check out time. The employees there are always friendly, helpful and capable and I get a 5% senior discount on Wednesdays. Henceforth, I will rely mainly on Publix for my groceries. If there is an increased cost compared to Walmart it will be offset by the absence of aggravation. An additional bonus is that Publix is employee owned which I favor over max profit motivated businesses.
