Wal-Mart Rant

Catoperat

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Since I am a big fan of rants, here is one of my own.

My fiance and I went out to dinner in W. Boylston and on the way home I decided to run into Wal-Mart for an ammo check. No large-caliber handgun ammo, but plenty of .22 stuff. So she waits in the truck as I am only "running in for a second".

I get back to sporting goods and no one was around (not surprising to me at all). So I ask an associate to please page someone to sporting goods for me. He walks off and a few seconds later I here the call over the intercom.

Wait 7 or 8 minutes...

Ask a different associate to page someone to sporting goods. The intercom echos again.

Wait 10 minutes...

I walk up to the customer service desk (on the complete other side of the store) and ask the less than cordial customer service associate to please page someone to sporting goods. She goes to pick up the phone and I say "I've already tried that twice". She fires me a dirty look and picks up her walkie-talkie and calls for customer assistance in sporting goods. I walk all the way back across the store and wait.

Wait 5 minutes...

I begin to walk back to customer service (it's no longer about the .22's, now I'm there to make point).
As I start to walk back toward the front I spot a guy with a name badge and a walkie-talkie. I pounce. It's Tim (remember that name) he's the manager. I ask about sporting goods, he say's "no one has come yet?" "Nope!"

We start walking over towards the sporting counter and pass another woman with no name tag, but apparently works there as an assistant manager (?). Tim asks her "who is in sporting", she says "Jeff". Tim radios to Jeff. No response. Radios again, another woman replies that he was not there. Tim says to me, "what do you need?" I say "just ammo". He looks to the other woman standing with us and says "you can help him with that just get the keys". "Where are the keys?" she asks. "At the podium" Tim replies. You guessed it, the podium is at the other end of the store. Off she goes.

Wait 5 minutes...

She comes back and I show her exactly what I wanted (CCI mini-mags). She then tries just about every key on the ring to get the ammo locker open. There are about 20 keys on the ring. "We have to walk up front with these, I have no idea how to ring them up" she says. I am accustomed to this and follow her across the store to the front registers. She hands them to the cashier and I get in line.

Wait 5 or 6 minutes...

Get to the check out and the cashier rings up some targets, a pair of safety glasses, and then the ammo. I already have my LTC-A and credit card out. I wait for the register to scream the alarm. Right on cue!
CUSTOMER OVER 18? well yah....
CHECK FID... I hand the cashier my LTC-A.
She looks at it for awhile and says "It says I need to see your FID, do you have one of those?" I am now absolutely FLOORED! I stay calm and explain the her that the LTC supersedes the FID. "I'm gonna need to call the manager." I say "that would be Tim, right?" She gives me a snide look.

Wait 5 minutes...

Tim shows up and I explain to him how the firearms licensing works in this most lovely of States. He eventually pushes some button on the register. I pay and am on my way...45 minutes later!!!!!!

A side note: The finance was NOT happy as she waited in the truck the whole time, as I was just "running in".

So I get home and instead of blowing something up, here I am writing this...

Ahhhhhhh...that feels a little better [smile]
 
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Sweet jumpin' Jesus! I can always count on NES for a Wallyworld story that simultaneously makes me laugh, gets me angry, and be astounded that this place is somehow one of the biggest retailers in the country. And it always comes down to a nitwit cashier that doesn't know if it's raining or Thursday. I live that scenario every third time I get ammo there. Thanks for that.
 
I've pretty much resigned to not buy ammo at China-Mart anymore. Every time I have gone I have had to wait for some shumck to happen along. Nobody is ever manning the sporting goods counter. At the Oxford store nobody is EVER at that counter. The Leisester Wal-Mart is much the same.
From now on, I'll take the extra 15-20 minute drive and go to Tombstone.
 
That's just about the norm for the wallies around here. Took me 1 hr 20 min to get my sporting lic. It became a test of wills, Was i going to walk out? Are they going to serve me at sporting goods? I had them calling for the guy every 5 min. Had the manager calling everyone in the store looking for him. Turns out he was on lunch and didn't think anyone would notice if he took an extra long one. He/they should have had someone fill in for him. After waiting that long i was not leaving without it!!

Its not the first time i have had to wait, actually i always have to wait, but it was the longest.
 
Why dont you just order it instead of throwing your money at people who obviously dont care about your time.

I personally have no problem paying more for products as long as the owner respects me. The last thing I want to do is reinforce the idea that price is all that matters and customers can be shit all over because they are slaves to the almightly dollar.

Hope you've learned that Wally World is the devil and to stay away!!!

Im not going to pay for respect. If a shop owner wants to sell a product, he will sell it at a price t hat works for both him and customers. I am not adding "respect" to an inflated price in order to feel fu zzy inside. Screw that nonsense.
 
It's not just the ammo dept, the fabric department gets short-staffed too. Sometimes there's been people there but often I have to wander through the store, the whole nine yards like you did- a couple times the guy from electronics had to go over and cut fabric for me and he said there was no one for that section at all and he had to do it. Wal-Mart just treats its people lousy, that's all it is I think.
 
Why dont you just order it instead of throwing your money at people who obviously dont care about your time.

I personally have no problem paying more for products as long as the owner respects me. The last thing I want to do is reinforce the idea that price is all that matters and customers can be shit all over because they are slaves to the almightly dollar.

Hope you've learned that Wally World is the devil and to stay away!!!

Good luck trying to order ammo online, don't you live in MA?!

That's the downside to buying ammo at Walmart. Only upside is pric,e though I'm finally finding some local shops with ammo cheaper than WM.

Yup, get used to it if you like buying cheap ammo...[angry2]

Im not going to pay for respect. If a shop owner wants to sell a product, he will sell it at a price t hat works for both him and customers. I am not adding "respect" to an inflated price in order to feel fu zzy inside. Screw that nonsense.

BA2, you're right, I dont care if the seller respects me, I respect my wallet, and by respecting my wallet, I make it shrink less! That said, I've never had a bad experience @ WM minus waiting a few extra minutes. And who here has never had a wait at Four Seasons... come on now.
 
It's not just the ammo dept, the fabric department gets short-staffed too. Sometimes there's been people there but often I have to wander through the store, the whole nine yards like you did- a couple times the guy from electronics had to go over and cut fabric for me and he said there was no one for that section at all and he had to do it. Wal-Mart just treats its people lousy, that's all it is I think.

Here they did away with the fabric depts, gone.
 
BTDT... but the price for those mini-mags sure is hard to beat! [laugh]

Absolutely!

I bought 15x 100 packs at Framingham the other day. There just happened to be an employee who had the key walking through the next aisle. I was in and out in under 10 minutes, with 1500 rounds of CCI Mini Mags.

I have had my share of miserable ammo buys at Wal-Mart though.
 
I respect my wallet, and by respecting my wallet, I make it shrink less! That said, I've never had a bad experience @ WM minus waiting a few extra minutes. And who here has never had a wait at Four Seasons... come on now.

The problem with WM is the same as Low Knowledge (Lowe's) and Home Cheapo. They come in to an area, squeeze out the little guy, who has been a fixture in the local neighborhood, and has given excellent service since his/her family started the business back in the early 1900's. They undercut their prices, steal their knowlegeable staff, cause the local owner to close, then reduce their staff and hire complete morons who don't know there ass from their elbow to work for minimum wage. In the end we all suffer from incompetence while the corporate big box store empty suits get huge bonuses for doing a great job cutting costs. DISGUSTING isn't it!!!
 
Im not going to pay for respect. If a shop owner wants to sell a product, he will sell it at a price t hat works for both him and customers. I am not adding "respect" to an inflated price in order to feel fu zzy inside. Screw that nonsense.

+1. I drive straight by at least two and usually more guns stores on the way to the closest Walmart, because their prices are outrageous.
 
jiminy cricket... that was way too much time wasted for .22, if they had a 100rd WWB of .45 i might understand.

Should have walked out after the 2nd page, even at minimum wage your time isnt worth the savings.
 
Interesting points all [grin]. After about 10 minutes of waiting it was no longer about just the ammo. Someone was going to open the damn ammo locker on principal.
 
Im not going to pay for respect. If a shop owner wants to sell a product, he will sell it at a price t hat works for both him and customers. I am not adding "respect" to an inflated price in order to feel fu zzy inside. Screw that nonsense.

I won't pay for respect, either. But lack of it sure can lose my business.
 
One lesson you have obviously not learned is .... the only thing more important than ammo is your fiance... If my husband left me for 45 minutes for .22's I would kill him..
As far as Walmart goes, they suck, nobody lknows what's going on..
 
While you're waiting, play a game !

WalMartBingo.jpg
 
I've pretty much resigned to not buy ammo at China-Mart anymore. Every time I have gone I have had to wait for some shumck to happen along. Nobody is ever manning the sporting goods counter. At the Oxford store nobody is EVER at that counter. The Leisester Wal-Mart is much the same.
From now on, I'll take the extra 15-20 minute drive and go to Tombstone.

That's what happened to me at Oxford yesterday. I waited around a minute or two (with kid in tow), and finally reached over the counter, grabbed the phone and hit the button marked "PAGE". Blow or cough a couple times to get everyone's attention, then ask a clerk to come to the sporting goods counter. This particular time, a guy comes in less than a minute, and was able to help to my satisfaction. Usually, it takes a lot longer, and the person is clueless.

There is a lot to be said for going to a gun shop. Trouble is, a lot of them don't have the bulk .22 boxes that Walmart has.

To make this thread useful, here is a link:
New England Gun Store Listings
 
I've bought from the W.Boylston Wal-Mart and am amazed that happened to you. I usually go there in the a.m. or around lunch time and have never had an issue, although I've had minor problems with other locations. I have all the Wallyworld phone numbers in my cell phone. What I usually do is call ahead and ask if they have what I'm looking for. If yes, I tell them my name and tell them I'm going to be there in 15 minutes, etc. When I get there, I know who to ask for and I'm in and out in under 10 minutes most times.

I once had to explain my LTC to a kid at Northboro Wal-Mart when he asked for my FID. I politely told him that my LTC was an FID on steroids and meant that I could buy better guns & carry 'em, and could buy more than my Wal-Mart allowed limit of ammo. No further questions, & I walked out with 2 very heavy bags. [smile]
 
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