Well, after the brouhaha of ABCNews.com reporting on my post about why I don’t shop at Walmart anymore – or at least not as often- WM contacted me. They wanted to win me back! They wanted to find out how to make shopping better! They wanted to give me a tour of the store! And then… nothing. Not even returning my emails.
So I will valiantly go onward and upward with the Walmart challenge. I was hoping to have the regional manager shop with me, during our lovely store tour but he’s apparently lost interest. I’ve gotten no response to my last few emails.
Now I’m just kicking myself for holding out, but I wanted to give ‘em a chance to woo me, and I also wanted to collect the prices all on the same weekend to minimize variables. So I waited for good ol’ Ron to let me know when he wanted to meet.
I still think I’m right – that Walmart isn’t the cheapest. Other people are noticing that Walmart’s prices are the highest in two years. Shall we take a trip to the store and see?
Karen (1)
Raso @ lasagnarec... (1)
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Let’s do a group shop!
That will definitely get some attention. We can bring all the kids (I’ll borrow some nieces and nephews to keep up with you since I only have 3), take lots of pictures and just make a spectacle of ourselves.
WalMart will seriously kick you out if they catch you writing down prices – even if it’s in your own price book. That’s why I was hoping to do it w/ the regional manager in tow, since he wants to tour a store with me any way. Or wanted to. Not returning my messages now.
They will kick you out for writing down prices but not for showing up dressed like one of the “People of Wamart” ??? Ridiculous.
I find that really funny, considering that you could buy the items, write down the price and return it. I don’t shop at Walmart for MANY reasons, but I can add this one to the list too. I won’t shop anywhere that won’t let me manage my money in the way I choose while shopping. Yeesh.
I think any big retail chain will kick you out for writing down prices! I had a friend who used to work for Target and it was practically a covert op when he would visit competitors to get prices for matching.
It would be a trip, though!
A trip to remember. I know, we could come up with a code. Or just talk to ourselves and record the prices. 
Wait… You cannot write down prices, but you can talk on your phone ABOUT the prices all the way through the store??? Ridiculous!
I do this almost always while shopping. When I pick up an item, I don’t scratch it off the list, I write the price beside the item’s name. I’m in Denver tho, so maybe it’s a policy thing controlled by regional mgrs or something.
Wal-Mart probably read your blog and cut ties. No corporation wants the publicity of a family on welfare (or was on welfare, I’m sure you still qualify for some assistance) who boasts about all the organic fruit and free range chicken they eat. Or bubbles over with happiness on her blog as she tells of the $1000s in food stamp money she got, which is normally her whole shopping budget for the year. (But wait, she is pregnant again!) The economy is horrible, people are on food stamps and they cannot feed their families organic. People NOT on food stamps can barely feed their families period. And there you go blabbing about organic this-and-that. Want to know why Wal-Mart stopped taking your emails/calls? Because their hardworking customers would be pretty steamed if they found out Wal-Mart was listening to you.
Well, I’m not on food stamps, we eat organic selectively (organic foods ARE more nutritious and healthier), and we have a tight grocery budget.
It is surely interesting how many people think that if someone has ever taken public assistance, then their opinions don’t matter any more. Talk about elitism.
My personal theory – and it’s theory only- is that the ABC News story hit, corporate told Houston managers to “handle” it, and now there’s not the same urgency so it’s forgotten in the day to day business of running a major market.
It is an interesting dichotomy – and maybe an entire blog post in itself- on how other people judge food stamp usage.
On one hand this week, the mayor of NY wants to ban the use of food stamps for HFCS beverages (sodas, basically). Now the debate is raging -should food stamp recipients make their own choices? Should it be run like WIC, with a list of ‘approved’ items? What counts as ‘food’?
On the other hand, when food stamp recipients dare to buy something besides hot dogs and ramen, they are attacked – and believe me the previous comment from the cowardly “me” who didn’t list a real email address and hides behind keyboard anonymity, is just one of many, many comments I’ve had online and in person because I dared to buy organic chard, or looked for organic potatoes, or chose antibiotic-free chicken over processed Tyson nuggets.
Actually, now that we are not on food stamps, our food budget has gone down. But we still manage to eat healthy foods most of the time. I also feel I must defend my husband, who is certainly hard working. In fact the reason we were on food stamps to begin with was due to a layoff, not because either of us refused to work. And we do still qualify, we just don’t need them to feed our family so we don’t take them.
Because talking about how to make good, healthful decisions for your family despite a tight budget–or, heaven forbid, while on government assistance, is obviously wrong. *insert eye roll here*
You make good, healthy choices for your family and do so on a limited budget. Be proud of that and ignore the idiots who think that people who need help should buy the cheapest food possible. Those people clearly have no idea of the economic impact of those assistance dollars as they support huge agribusiness, keep corn prices artificially low so we can create yet more corn-fed meat that gets tossed in the dumpster (about 1/3/-1/2 what the US produces ends up discarded), and contaminates our environment. If even half of food stamp money in our country went to small farms and organic foods, we would have a very, very different food system. They clearly also don’t understand the poverty cycle, in which food plays a large part due to obesity, chronic disease, academic performance, and mental health issues.
There’s no remedying stupid if someone doesn’t want to learn, and you just have to let it go.
I’ve spent the last 15 years in retail, many of them at the corporate level, and I’m pretty sure they can’t kick you out for writing things down while you shop. We had to go into other stores dressed in uniform and do price comparisons when I worked at store level! I mean, how do they know you’re not writing a shopping list?
I guess what I mean to say is that they can’t legally stop you. They sure can try, though. I worked at WalMart and Sam’s in the past and all those things you hear about discrimination and making people work off the clock…they’re all true. Shady practices were everywhere. I only shop there as an absolute LAST resort.
I know that Walmart also can’t force you to produce your receipt on the way out the door, either, but they sure do try! The Consumerist has a long running series on that topic.
I think Sam’s Club can make you because it’s part of the agreement when you become a member (I think?)
What an email can’t do, a blog post can. Got an email from someone else at WM to set up store tour.
I can’t wait to hear how the tour goes. I shouldn’t be but I’m always amazed at the gall of Walmart.
Wow, I’m reading most of the post and I just can’t believe you have never had an issue with HEB and it leads me to believe that you represent them in one way or another; you have an agenda and an ax to grind with Big Box mart obviously, you and the other employees of HEB that are on this sham of a web site, you just need to get a life and smell the Coffey,,, Wally World is here to stay, so get on board and accept it, Just like the HEB that I shop at in Katy it’s the way the employees get product on the shelf? But you have obviously have never had to stock or understand the concept,,,,, pallets on the floor??? Where else are you going to put it . All this energy that you are putting into slamming an American company you should be ashamed of your self for this. GET A LIFE WIC MOM!!!
No, I don’t represent HEB. Actually I’ve been to events sponsored by Kroger and then the Walmart tour but have never had contact with HEB corporate or PR people. I just shop there.
Huh. So you come complaining about pallets… then are mad because I mention pallets? Takes all kinds, I guess.
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