I added this at the top of my wife’s post already, but I wanted to put it here in case you dont go back to her post.
The purpose of my wife sharing this experience is not to say how crappy Walmart is, remember I Heart The Mart. It is to let you know that even people who are considered “experts” have problems. Walmart like any other company has issues but is a great place to save money and shop.
My wife made a comment that 90% have probably had a similar experience, that is probably true. I am also guessing that 95% of your trips are trouble free.
We have a tendancy to remember the bad and discard the good. I appreciate and empathize with all of your stories, good and bad. I started this site to make a difference and make the best place to save money and shop even better!
Thanks for being a part of I Heart The Mart.
So true! The survey’s on the bottom of the receipts work both ways. I have had some AWESOME cashiers! Nothing like getting a high 5 and a WHOOP WHOOP from a cashier when they hand you the receipt because they are as excited as you! Cootie coupon licker CSM aside, the majority of my trips to Walmart have been fairly trauma free. I’ve not been brave enough to PM tho. I have a tongue and I’m not afraid to use it! 😛
just yesterday i did a small shopping trip, picking up most items with Q’s, price-matching 2 items to 2 different stores, doubling with an Alb’s TTV, and paying with mostly quarters (garage sale rewards!) and my checker was nice and helpful and *patient*. so i moseyed over to customer service to write up a comment card on her. (a couple weeks ago, i wrote a comment card on my frustration with shopping WM with Q’s—-EVERY single time i had gone in, a different cashier had a different question/problem/whatever with my transaction—so i kvetched that they clearly did not know their coupon policy.
it is harder to remember to compliment than it is to complain—i’m going to work at getting better at that!
I didn’t know about the comment cards. I’ll have to check my Walmart for them. I had a cashier that couldn’t get the register to take some of my coupons but she was so nice about it, she practically sang to me. How you’re treated makes such a big impact on how you feel about shopping at a store.
yaaaaahhhh……about those “comment cards”—the 2 times i went to use one, i was just given a piece of paper–my store doesn’t actually have any cards. i did write my name, phone number, address, etc on both of them so if they had any follow-up questions. (or gift cards to send!) 🙂
After having a VERY RUDE cashier who wouldn’t accept more than one like coupon per transaction because she said that it said, “one per purchase”, and a very misinformed manager who backed her up (even though I told them over and over again what it meant…I told them that I wouldn’t be making my purchase), I sprang into action.
I called the 1.800 # and got a call back from a manager who told me that the people at the store were correct. UGH!!!!!!!!!!! She said, “I used to work in the cash office and we don’t get reimbursed when there is more than one like coupon per receipt. We can’t give you products.” I asked her to please tell me where that was stated in the coupon policy. She said, “I don’t even know”. Ok then….
On to the corporate number again. This time, a regional manager called me back and laughed his head off. He said, “Even if the cashier thought you were wrong, she should have done it, just to satisfy the customer. A dollar isn’t going to break corporate Wal-Mart.” He told me that of course I was right and he has NO idea where they got their information. He said that training needed to be done in that store.
A store manager called me back again to say that she was going to deal with the rudeness of the cashier.
Soooooooooo, moral of the story….yes, complaining politely and professionally DOES get you somewhere. Now, I’m going to set a goal to make a positive comment through the survey sometime in the next two weeks.
I love the part about calling your husband! I wouldve done the same, but mine would not have come to my rescue like that! If this cashier is at Sawdust, I bet many of us can guess who HE is…. I also avoid this man’s line at all costs. When that new store first opened, I was shopping with all of my kids and husband (this was before I ever used coupons) and I had a lot of big items and a cart full. He had the nerve to ask how I planned on paying for all of it!!!!!!!! Before he started ringing me out!! He waited until I answered “debit card, why?” No answer! I spent close to $300 that trip. What an A$$, I’ll leave the store before going thru his line again.
I had a horrible experience last Friday. I called the dm who called the manager (he wasn’t there when I was at Walmart) and he asked me what he could do to make it up to me. I told him to send me a gift card for all of my wasted time and energy. Yesterday I got a $20 gift card in the mail. If you are not happy call the dm
I’ve had some bad encounters and they really are still in the back of my head as well but the good does out weight the bad for my shopping trips.
I totally agree. I mentioned yesterday my moms horrible experience, but I honestly have never ever had a bad experience at Walmart. I just have to convince my mom to love Walmart again because after her experience she doesnt ever want to shop there again out of emberessment. Wish me luck!
What gets me is with all the unemployed people in this country how one who is obviously NOT good at the job gets to keep on working. There are plenty of people who would be grateful for a job and would be pleasant to the customers.
Sorry to say Paul that I have problems 95% of the time.
Agreed. I love this site, so I hate to complain about WM. Still, I have to say that I avoid shopping there except when there is an amazing deal (for me, that usually means FREE after coupon). I generally find the WM cashiers rude and uninformed about their own coupon and price matching policies. On a recent trip, I had a cashier accuse me of making copies of coupons. I explained to her that I have access to multiple computers, and can thus print multiple of the same internet coupon. She again said, “we don’t take copies of coupons.” I then pointed out to her that the ID number on each coupon was different. So, she calls the CSM and says to her, “This guy is trying to use copies of coupons…” At that point I had enough and demanded to see the Manager. The Manager understood the problem, explained to the other two “geniuses” that each coupon was an original, and that the different ID numbers on each should have been all the proof needed. She then made the cashier aplogize for her attitude and for calling me a liar. While this was an extremely bad example, it does represent a pattern that I’ve had at WM: rude cashiers that don’t understand policy and act like a coupon takes money out of their own paycheck. In my opinion, WM generally hires from the bottom of the barrel. Publix has great BOGO deals, and with coupons I can do far better there than at WM. Not to mention Publix has such nice cashiers that (usually) understand their coupon policy, and when they don’t they quickly get a Manager to resolve their question, and are always polite about it. WM is fine for things that Publix doesn’t sell (toys, electronics, etc.), but unless it’s free I avoid WM at all costs.
In my area there are like 5 or more walmarts in a 10 radius. The one next to my house, I think is Paul’s walmart, sawdust. I dont really like going there, I rarely have a good experience. I usually go down to the Woodlands Parkway walmart, it makes me mad sometimes that I have to drive out of the way to get friendly cashiers.
Really???, I am very surprised about the issues. I hear nothing but complaints about the Woodands Parkway Walmart and I have very few problems if any.
I must live near Annette. I wish a had a 95% average with WalMart. Only in my dreams !
I went to WM the other day and in addition to the other items I was buying, picked up two of the Tide travel size. I had 2 $1 off coupons from the P&G. The cashier scanned them and then put in $.97 each. I told her they were for $1. She said you didn’t pay $1 for the item. I explained that WM gives overage on coupons per their corporate policy. She would not budge. I asked for a CSM. When the CSM arrived, my cashier told her that she was ALLOWING me to use my coupons on travel size Tide but I was insisting on getting $1 off on a $.97 item. I lost it and told her she wasn’t ALLOWING me to do anything and needed to learn WM’s policies. The CSM stepped in and told her I was right, since the coupon did not exclude trial size and that WM does give overage so the cashier did it but was NOT happy. Very frustrating!
I am amazed by the number of people who have commented here and on Tiffany’s link regarding her recent experience at WM. I think I know the cashier too and yes, he is a jerk regardless if you are PM or using Q’s.
Several people referenced calling 1 800 walmart and speaking with regional / district managers and then being sent gift cards as comps. Surely corporate has to monitor the number of calls received and comps being sent to dissatisfied customers. Ding Ding Ding – they need better training.
Paul, you and Tiffany do a great job and I’m so grateful for what you share.
Just had the worst experience at the Humble Walmart. I was trying to use the advil coupons (getting a total of 11 bottles by the register, which were the only ones in the store, I left 2 for someone else), and the cashier said they were not valid on the trial size. I informed her that I saw that on the coupon but that size is not considered trial. She then went to get a “customer service” rep who said it was not valid on the trial size, I stated that it was not trial and knew of someone that had called advil and had verified this. While she called the pharmacy, I called advil from their site on my phone, the advil rep agreed with me and so I put him on the phone with her, once they told her that trial was only 2 caplets, she then started becoming unraveled with him, saying I don’t even know who this is, who are you (as if I had pre arranged someone to pose as a rep from advil), after the call I showed her on my phone the advil site that was pulled up and the highlighted 1800# I had called, then the pharmacy on her phone said the pack was trial, so I explained you just talked to advil, who should know their sizes and can verify the use of a coupon better than the pharmacist, then she calls a manager, who finally comes to the register and decides to honor the coupons, but then they do not want to give the small amount of overage. I hate to complain when I just got it for free, but they need to know their policies, then I told her it’s funny that your saying you don’t do overage when a month ago, when I used the bengay coupon and the cashier was uncertain what to do, they called this same customer service rep. over who with out a question said yes we do overage and told the cashier to do so, but now mad at me for being correct about the trial size refuzed to do it. Needless to say my 3 kids by this time are out of control, screaming infant, I walked out without the overage but did call a regional office who seemed to agree that what these ladies did was wrong, and a corporate policy can’t be changed by one individual store that does not like it. I’m suppose to get a return call and will see what happens….
I love Walmart but man, they can be such a pain in the you KNOW what!!! They’ll continue to lose customers if things don’t start changing!! The last 3 times I’ve been there, I’ve had problems and they wasted my time and energy!
Paul, way to go! THAT is a supportive husband.
Also, I go to the WM in Huntsville and I left a positive message on the website complimenting the store in regards to price matching. Never had a bad experience. The store manager called me to thank me. However, we all have had those days.
I am making a note for manager review at the Louisiana, Denham Springs, Range Avenue, location.
To the Manager:
Sir,
Myself being a regular customer I have to say that your store is a very nice environment for customers to shop in. I am aware of how it must be a.challenge to keep up with odds and ends. I want to make a small.suggestion the might/might not – be of importance.
I probably speak for a good portion of the customers at Walmart. I went to
the restroom near the money center at the front of the store. I had just seenhe cleaning worker walk out with his cart. Everything at a first glance
they appeared to be clean. However, it was difficult to NOT notice
lthebottom portion of them. They were nasty and unsanitary.
portion of both toilets in the stalls. They seemed to never been cleaned.
They were nasty and unsanitary.