Walmart Tales and Woes

[Moparguy392]

Stopped by Walmart the other day. As we were checking out I picked up the blue tote to return it to the stack as a courtesy. A male employee stepped in front of me and asked if I was planning on taking it home. I said no, just returning it to the stack. He grabbed it out of my hands and walked away. I was stunned and didn't really understand what I heard until my wife confirmed it. I let it go at the time but I should have spoken with the manager about this person. Is there a big market for stolen totes that I am unaware of? Such is life.

 

[audreyh1]

That was indeed unbelievably rude!

 

[Walt34]

Is there a big market for stolen totes that I am unaware of? Such is life.

There is a market for anything that isn't nailed down. Grocery stores now often have grocery carts with signs on them telling you that the wheels will lock up if you try to leave the parking lot with them. That has to add a couple hundred to the price of each cart, which weren't exactly cheap to start with.

And ever notice that all those photos/videos of homeless people have grocery carts and totes with them?

 

[N02L84ER]

At the height of Covid19, they were taking our totes and wiping them down before returning them to the stack. Are there high levels of disease in your area right now?

 

[Moparguy392]

That is interesting. Could have been the way I was dressed (Homeless Guy).
Not the snappiest dresser when I go shopping or ??

 

[Moparguy392]

At the height of Covid19, they were taking our totes and wiping them down before returning them to the stack. Are there high levels of disease in your area right now?

Not really. No wipe downs occurring for quite a while around here. My wife still hands me purell wipes when we enter the store which I don't mind. Who knows what lingers on the cart handles.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

The Wally World near me doesn’t have any totes (assuming you mean the plastic hand-held baskets), just giant carts. Kind of a PITA when shopping for just a few things.

 

[CaptTom]

This is another reminder that I'm glad I live where I do. Very few things at department stores are on locked shelves. There's rarely anyone posted at the exit to accost you if not all your purchases are in a bag. We have carts with no locking wheels. We have baskets. I always leave mine near the outside door, where I found it. Staff is generally friendly, or at least not openly hostile.

But I've been in places where these things are different. In the OP's situation, knowing these aren't the easiest jobs to fill, and even the best employee can have a bad day, I wouldn't take it personally.

 

[Moparguy392]

We generally have no issues with these employees. While shopping once I picked up a package that had fallen off a shelf to replace it. I heard a lady say "Thank you sir". It was a Walmart employee.

My father was the guy who would yell at the cashier if there was a problem with a purchase. I would tell him not to take it out on the high school cashier but speak to the manager if he had an issue.

 

[Slater]

Some people have awkward personalities, maybe he was trying his interpretation at humor....
brush it off....

 

[dmpi]

Don't take it personally. Employees are grumpy because shoplifting is epidemic and due to company policy they can't physically prevent people from walking out with stuff.

 

[swakyaby]

Our Walmarts here don’t have any blue plastic hand baskets, just grocery carts. When I asked an employee where they are, he replied they don’t have them anymore because people were always taking them out of the store and presumably taking them home.

 

[freedomatlast]

Let it go. It's tough getting people to work there who will show up everyday, let alone ones that are polished and socially adept.

 

[old medic]

Could have been the way I was dressed (Homeless Guy). Not the snappiest dresser when I go shopping or ??

Seriously... Its Wal-Mart... they should be use to it.

 

[JoeWras]

Tired of people dumping on Wal*Mart.

Every place has difficulty during these times. Workers are stressed. There aren't enough to hire. Etc.

Unbelievably, DW recently went to Chick-Fil-A, and instead of getting a "My Pleasure," she got a "whatever...".

 

[foxcreek9]

Tired of people dumping on Wal*Mart.

Every place has difficulty during these times. Workers are stressed. There aren't enough to hire. Etc.

Unbelievably, DW recently went to Chick-Fil-A, and instead of getting a "My Pleasure," she got a "whatever...".

+1


Less to do with wal-mart as a company or their employees, but I do fear for the future every time I walk around the store.

 

[marko]

The beauty of Walmart is that you never know what's going to happen once you get inside!

It like a mystery ride. Always something unexpected and entertaining.

 

[aja8888]

The beauty of Walmart is that you never know what's going to happen once you get inside!

It like a mystery ride. Always something unexpected and entertaining.

Exactly! I have a great WM one mile away (nice area here, MCOL), and I go there almost every day. Plus, they have a big pharmacy business with four major hospitals within a mile away.

I know the manager and many of the staff.....all nice people . The place is kept exceptionally clean and orderly. For some reason, I don't see the video type "Walmart people" in this store.....it's just the local population. I'm sure one sneaks in every once in a while though.

Incidentally, there are about a dozen super Walmart locations in a 15 mile radius of my house. And even a couple of those mini Walmart stores they stopped building.

 

[punkinhead]

I retired a year before my wife so I took over the grocery shopping. She convinced me to use Walmart since it's a good bit cheaper than the store I like so I gave it a try. I was trying to find a cart without a wonky wheel and after 3 or 4 I realized they're all bad so I just resolved myself to it and took one. I finally looked down to see if I could spot why - it was because the wheel was wrapped in human hair.

 

[jim584672]

My gripe with Walmart is their prices are not that low. Dollar Store is beating them on many items. Aldi and Lidl also. Even Target beats them now.

 

[JoeWras]

I retired a year before my wife so I took over the grocery shopping. She convinced me to use Walmart since it's a good bit cheaper than the store I like so I gave it a try. I was trying to find a cart without a wonky wheel and after 3 or 4 I realized they're all bad so I just resolved myself to it and took one. I finally looked down to see if I could spot why - it was because the wheel was wrapped in human hair.

Wonky wheels are a problem, and do seem worse at WalMart.

What I've seen is they have these cart pusher machines. Sometimes a cart in the middle of the pack of 50 gets a stuck wheel, and the machine still pushes and just creates a massive flat spot.

 

[CardsFan]

Never had this problem at the local Walmart. Usually plenty of the blue totes.

My only complaint lately is they have put all liquor under lock and key. I understand if they were losing a lot to theft, but no way I am going to push a button and wait for someone to show up to open the case. I wonder if their sales are down, as well as theft.

 

[Gumby]

Our Walmarts here don’t have any blue plastic hand baskets, just grocery carts. When I asked an employee where they are, he replied they don’t have them anymore because people were always taking them out of the store and presumably taking them home.

As far as I know, the Walmart here has never had hand baskets. The grocery store nearby does have them, but they have big signs at the exit saying you can't take them out of the store. I did not ask why, but I suspect that ever since we got a law eliminating free single use bags, people had been taking the baskets to their cars because they forgot to bring their re-useable bag into the store with them. Then they leave the baskets in the parking lot and the baskets get taken or run over. Just another example of "why we can't have nice things".

 

[CaptTom]

Before the pandemic we were considering moving. Now, in addition to all the other requirements, I'm going to add a visit to the local Walmart to my list when checking out a potential destination. That may be the best way to judge the overall character of an area.

Scenes from "The People of Walmart" videos aren't the issue. I'd be looking for the amount of product under lock and key, the availability of hand baskets, the staff attitude and things like that. Once or twice, leaving a Walmart in another part of the country, I was challenged because I was carrying a product which wasn't bagged. When I see these things, I think "I wouldn't want to live here."

 

[jim584672]

We don't have baskets or totes, just carts. And they check the receipts and goods as you leave. My state you have to bring your own bag or buy a paper or expensive reusable plastic bag.