Hidden cost of markups at WalMart!

[Brooks_]

I hate everything about Wally-World. Parking, store layout, incorrect pricing, inept employees ( Q: Where are coffee makers? A: In house wares. Yeah no ####, where is that?), forced self checkout, poor quality products. I, and by that I mean my wife, may order from them, but I won't set foot in the store.

 

[gtaus]

I hate everything about Wally-World. Parking, store layout, incorrect pricing, inept employees ( Q: Where are coffee makers? A: In house wares. Yeah no ####, where is that?), forced self checkout, poor quality products. I, and by that I mean my wife, may order from them, but I won't set foot in the store.

I understand that. I am not as anti-WalMart as some people, but there is very little at WalMart that I shop for- I mainly buy hardware related items. I'm more into the local Fleet store, Menards, and Home Depot. Our WalMart has a very poor hardware selection and usually not worth my time to go to their store. I think I went into WalMart maybe 3 or 4 times last year, and that was to pick up some items that Dear Wife said were out of stock when she was grocery shopping. So, I said I would stop by when I went into town.

As far as inept employees, I find very few stores are willing to pay for experienced people. There was a time where I could go to our local Fleet store and talk to an electrician, or a plumber, who worked in that department and figure out what materials I needed to do a DIY project at home. Unfortunately, those days are gone and now you only find minimum wage employees whose main job is to stock the shelves and clean the floors. The exception is the small engine repair shop where they still hire professional mechanics who are willing to help.

Our local Menards has some people with construction experience working at the pro desk, but you have to ask to talk to the right person. Ditto with Home Depot, you have to get to the right person or you won't get any good advice.

I have never seen a WalMart employee who knows anything about the stuff they sell. Maybe they exist, somewhere, but not at our local store from my interactions with the employees. They just do not seem to retain their employees for any length of time.