Walmart: Not Frugal, Not Fun

Not frugal because they overcharged me. Not fun because their customer service is terrible!

I have never been a "fan" of Walmart, but I must confess that I continue to shop there because it is so convenient (literally less than a mile from where we live) and usually pretty cheap. I don't do the bulk of my shopping there, but I will run in if we are out of something or need eggs, creamer, etc, because it is usually cheaper there than anywhere else. From now on, I'm making a pledge to avoid Walmart like the plague. I think it's time I jump on the Hating Walmart bandwagon and never look back. (I mean, there is a reason why Google produces 271,000 results when you type in "I hate Walmart.") Here is a copy of the lovely letter I filed on their website:


Dear Walmart,

I was in your Walmart (Store #1481, Transaction # XXXX) today (10/24/10) and I bought 19 of the Key Lime flavored waters (we thoroughly enjoy them). I did not count how many we had prior to our transaction, but I did count them along with the cashier as she was ringing them up. I counted 19. As the cashier handed me the receipt, I saw that she had charged us for 21 waters. I double counted the waters in the bags in my cart because I thought maybe I had miscounted. No, there were still only 19 waters.

By this time the cashier was ringing up the next customer, so instead of interrupting her I went over to the (already long) Customer Service line. I waited in this line for about 10 minutes, as there was only 1 person working at Customer Service (despite there continuing to be a long line of customers behind me). Finally, a Customer Service “Manager” came to help, and I happened to be the next person in line.

I explained to him that I had only purchased 19 waters (still all in my cart in case he wanted to count them) but I was charged for 21. He proceeded to try to refund me 3 waters, even though 21 minus 19 equals 2. However, he was unable to get the register to work (after about 5 minutes of trying) to refund the money on my debit card.

In the past when I have been overcharged (yes, this has happened several times at this Walmart), the Customer Service representative simply refunded the difference to me in cash.

The Customer Service "manager" said I would have to go to the next Customer Service representative/register, even though there were 2 other registers open next to him. I had already wasted 15 minutes of my life, simply to get the $1.28 + tax returned to me for which I had been overcharged. I did not feel like wasting any more time in this store because Walmart employees could not count, so I left, very upset.

It’s not about the money. I will certainly be able to put food on the table and I won’t lose my apartment just because Walmart stole $1.28 from me. It’s the principle of the matter, that not one, but two Walmart employees could not accurately count, and the amount of time I wasted in your store today was ridiculous.

There is a rapidly growing fan base against Walmart and I can easily see why. I certainly would rather go out of my way and spend more money than return to this Walmart and chance facing another unpleasant experience such as this one.

Sincerely,
Anne