Background:
Yesterday I decided to pick up some new headphones (for my MP3 player) as my last ones had broken, and get a combination lock with the intention of getting rid of all excuses to not go to the gym. On the way home, Target (my intended destination) was not desirable due to traffic. I got off at Middlebelt with the intention of going to Target, but saw Walmart and decided to roll the dice. I tried not to let my expectations get in the way of honestly evaluating my shopping experience.
Parking/Entrance:
Very crowded, and I had to park pretty far back. Not a big deal as the weather was unseasonably warm, and there were actually cars in every spot, as opposed to randomly strewn shopping carts. Entering the store became the first real adventure. There was somebody about 5-10 yards in front of me, and they went through the automatic door. I proceeded to follow and the automatic door nearly closed on me. It literally got within inches of me, causing me to make a retarded jump backwards in order to avoid it. This must have looked rather silly to an observer as it looked like I had never seen an automatic door. This got my experience off to a poor start.
Shopping experience:
The store is dark (poorly lit), messy, and the signs are not very clear to tell you that you are in the right department. I expected the locks would be difficult to find, and they would have been if I hadn’t been lucky and guided by the force yesterday. I found exactly what I was looking for in a reasonable time. On to the headphones, found what I wanted, again pretty cheap, grabbed it off the shelf and it was already open….oops. Fortunately they had one more that was already sealed. I also made an impulse buy of a $5.00 hand AM/FM radio, to listen to at the Kentucky Derby, and the few times where I actually go to Sporting Events (if I so choose to listen). I suspect that if you were looking to purchase any items over $10, this is not the store to go to. If I were looking for any sales assistance I would have struck out like Labelle at a bar not named Kickers, as I never saw an employee in the sales aisles.
It should be noted that the experience would have been more pleasurable had an annoying black woman’s voice not been playing over the PA telling employees to move anything that didn’t belong in their area (of which there was a lot of) to the front of the store for organization.
Checkout experience:
Not very many lanes open, and they had some long lines. I found one at the far end titled “Speedy Checkout”, where I was 3rd in line. It was far from speedy, the scanner wouldn’t work to scan the 1st person’s prescription. Then the 2nd person required a price check on their Selsun Blue. By this point I was fed up with being there, and just paid cash, even though I intended to pay with my credit card.
Side note:
Near the corner of the store, they have a Subway. The décor is a very nice brick, well lit, looks like it belongs in Ford Field, and not a ghetto Walmart. No report on the dining at said Subway.
Overall ratings:
Parking/Entrance: 3.5
Shopping Experience: 6
Checkout Experience: 3
Intangibles: 2
Overall Rating: 4 (I expected a 1)
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