Bad encounter at WalMart

[VaqueroEM]

I've had handled it about the same. I hate WalMart.

+1

 

[henktermaat]

Walmart is the devil!

 

[Nightwalker65]

I have worked for walmart for 11 years, 7 of those years have been in a management position. I feel the benefits and pay are great. What other major retailer has cashiers and maintenance associates making $15-$17/hr? I recently had my first child and was amazed at how much the insurance covered. Any company will have people that shouldn't be working there. I apologize to the OP for your experience as this would not be tolerated in my store.

Really? $15-17 an hour for cashiers and maintenance? I worked at 2 different Wal-marts where employees with 10-15 yrs were only making $10-11hr.

Having said that,I've occasionally had to wait for someone to buy ammo at my local Wal-mart,but just as often,someone has been right there to help,and while not always"friendly",they were at least courteous,polite and professional.

On the other side of that coin,I've shopped at a local gun shop,and been treated like a complete idiot,e.g. "No you don't want THAT,you want THIS" when I ask for something specific,or waited for what seemed like ages(probably 2 or 3 minutes) for someone to get done shooting the breeze and decide to help me.

Bad treatment from employees can happen anywhere,not just at Wally world. to the OP for a handling it well!

 

[Silverado]

Why don't we take a long-term view of things. If you buy ammo at Wal-Mart, that means your favorite local gun store isn't getting that money. Eventually that may add up, and the local store might have to close. You will no longer have the chance to check out the guns before you buy them. (This is assuming that the local store's prices are reasonably competitive with Wal-Mart's.)

You may not need salespeople to help you with basic item purchases, but what if one day you decide to move one step up and buy something more complicated? Where will you get real customer service?

Yes, Wal-Mart may employ the greatest number of people for one business, but for the amount it sells, it probably employs the least number of people. Sure, the term "economy of scale" comes to mind, but so does "poor service staff." I'm willing to pay more for better service, and better service can come only from well-qualified people who find satisfaction on their job. That doesn't seem to be the case for Wal-Mart.

As for anti-competitive practices and poor treatment of employees, these are well-documented, so I'll let the interested google on their own. Yes, people should make a salary that corresponds to their expertise. But for putting in honest 8 hours per day, you should make a living wage. In the book Nickle and Dimed, B. Ehrenreich goes undercover and writes about her experiences working at various low-end jobs, including at Wal-Mart. All I can say is I'm glad I don't work there.

It's your choice where you shop, and I respect that. But I also want you to know the implications of your action.

Da Bing

I have never seen a gun shop sell the same brand/type of ammo that Wal-Mart has for even close to the same price. I'm talking $3-4 more for a box of 50. That adds up when you are buying 5-10 boxes at a time. I have a feeling that most gun shop profit is in the sale of used guns, anyway, and I've bought plenty of used guns from local gun shops, so I don't feel a bit sorry for buying my ammo elsewhere.

I still don't understand the "customer service" complaint. I mean, really, it's a Wal-Mart. They retail mostly everyday items. I've yet to find anything in a Wal-Mart that is so complicated that I need somebody to explain it to me. Besides, I usually do my research BEFORE I buy any "complicated" items, and generally know more than most any employee in any store about the item I'm going to purchase. In fact, given some of the idiocy that I've heard coming out of a few gun store commando's mouths, I'm not so sure that you want to be bringing up a "customer service" argument.

As for how Wal-Mart treats their employees.....well, they've got a bazillion people working for them, so you are going to naturally have some complaints. If what Jubba posted is true ($15-17 an hour and decent benefits), for a job that doesn't require much in the way of education, then I don't see what the big gripe is. That's certainly more than "mom and pop" would be paying people, I bet.

Wal-Mart has a business model that works, they provide jobs for many Americans, and they sell a huge variety of items at good prices. I must say, I'm kind of confused at all of the scorn heaped on an American success story. I suppose some people just have to hate something.

 

[zenbruno]

Over the weekend, I stopped in to my local Wal-Mart to pick up some white box 9mm Winchester ammo to take to the range. I went back to the guns & ammunition counter and there was no one there (surprise, surprise) I walked down a couple isles and found an employee and asked him to call someone with a key to the ammo counter. After about 20 minutes, a couple of young college aged employees came out of an isle and said, "someone call for us?" I said, "yeah, I need some 9mm ammo out of the case". I think my tone may have portrayed that I was a bit agitated, because one of the two employees began cracking jokes that I didn't feel were funny AT ALL. He said, "Oh man, I think this one's a little pissed off. You might want to make sure that ammo is sealed up tight. Wouldn't want anyone going postal on us." I turned around and I said (obviously angry at this point), "what did you just say?". He then laughingly said, "I'm just sayin man, you seemed mad, I didn't want you to open that box up and go off on us." I then said, "I don't think this is funny at all." Then he said, to his co-worker, "Dang man, really seal it up now, I'm really scared he's gonna shoot us." I said, "you should be scared. But not because I'm buying ammo, because I think you probably just lost your job." After this, the other kid dismissed the idiot who was heckling me. He was shell-shocked and embarrassed to be hearing this idiot co-worker of his harass me to that magnitude. He then rang me up and told me that the other kid was way out of line. I told him it wasn't his fault, but I was going to report him. And that's exactly what I did. I went to customer service and reported him. They looked shocked as you would expect, but I am not sure whether or not he was fired. I would hope to god he was though.


I was just wondering if anything like this has happened to you or what you would do if you were me?

Hmmm, no, I've never had that happen.

I HAVE waited in a short line of customers for an unreasonably long time at Wal-Mart's in-store pharmacy (something that even Consumer Reports magazine noted was almost an institutionalized aspect of their pharmacy practices), but I've never had an unpleasant experience (like the one you've recounted) purchasing ammo at Wal-Mart. Or anywhere.

 

[cbseniour]

I use the Greenwood Walmart at Emerson and County Line, I always have to look for an employee to help me but I've had no issues with the employees themselves.
You handled this in the best possible manor, never engage in an argument with an employee if nothing else ask him to summon his manager to the area you are in and let the manager have it.

 

[mkbar80]

If you're not happy with the customer service anywhere, you should vote with your feet. For some of us, this is why we don't support the LGS. Poor service, unbelievably high prices.

For some reason I've never felt guilty buying Federal (Minneapolis, MN) or Winchester (Alton, IL) ammo from WalMart (Bentonville, AR). My local WalMart employs hundreds of local people. Can people who order Wolf (Russian/German), Tula (Russian), Herter's (Russion), etc from Joe Schmo's Ammo.com (CONUS somewhere) say the same?

(on second thought, they shouldn't feel guilty either. It's their money, they earned it.... a person should be able to spend it in the best manner they see fit.)

 

[SHEEPdOHdoubleG]

I have never had an issue. But then, I always have full control over my emotions and am always polite, even when agitated.

Even when it takes 30 minutes to find someone to open the ammo case.

I usually do too. When I said "I may have come across a little agitated", looking back, I really do not know how that guy knew I was agitated because I gave him no reason to think that...I mean I guess I wasn't smiling. I wasn't extremely polite after waiting 20 minutes, but I sure wasn't rude. I was NEUTRAL. And if you would have just sat back, taken full control of your emotions, and not stood up to this guy, I don't know what that is but in my opinion that is not honorable. I am one of the most respectful and polite people in the world but when someone is as out of line as that kid was, I will stand up and take action 100 times out of 100.. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

 

[SHEEPdOHdoubleG]

Why don't we take a long-term view of things. If you buy ammo at Wal-Mart, that means your favorite local gun store isn't getting that money. Eventually that may add up, and the local store might have to close. You will no longer have the chance to check out the guns before you buy them. (This is assuming that the local store's prices are reasonably competitive with Wal-Mart's.)

You may not need salespeople to help you with basic item purchases, but what if one day you decide to move one step up and buy something more complicated? Where will you get real customer service?

Yes, Wal-Mart may employ the greatest number of people for one business, but for the amount it sells, it probably employs the least number of people. Sure, the term "economy of scale" comes to mind, but so does "poor service staff." I'm willing to pay more for better service, and better service can come only from well-qualified people who find satisfaction on their job. That doesn't seem to be the case for Wal-Mart.

As for anti-competitive practices and poor treatment of employees, these are well-documented, so I'll let the interested google on their own. Yes, people should make a salary that corresponds to their expertise. But for putting in honest 8 hours per day, you should make a living wage. In the book Nickle and Dimed, B. Ehrenreich goes undercover and writes about her experiences working at various low-end jobs, including at Wal-Mart. All I can say is I'm glad I don't work there.

It's your choice where you shop, and I respect that. But I also want you to know the implications of your action.

Da Bing

I would if we had one. Being from East Central Indiana, specifically the Muncie area, Ludco was the closest gun shop. Now there are only pawn shops, where white box winchester 9mm ammo is $35 a box. Not $22 like Wally World. But, I totally understand and agree with your point.

 

[ryknoll3]

Why don't we take a long-term view of things. If you buy ammo at Wal-Mart, that means your favorite local gun store isn't getting that money. Eventually that may add up, and the local store might have to close. You will no longer have the chance to check out the guns before you buy them. (This is assuming that the local store's prices are reasonably competitive with Wal-Mart's.)

You may not need salespeople to help you with basic item purchases, but what if one day you decide to move one step up and buy something more complicated? Where will you get real customer service?

Yes, Wal-Mart may employ the greatest number of people for one business, but for the amount it sells, it probably employs the least number of people. Sure, the term "economy of scale" comes to mind, but so does "poor service staff." I'm willing to pay more for better service, and better service can come only from well-qualified people who find satisfaction on their job. That doesn't seem to be the case for Wal-Mart.

As for anti-competitive practices and poor treatment of employees, these are well-documented, so I'll let the interested google on their own. Yes, people should make a salary that corresponds to their expertise. But for putting in honest 8 hours per day, you should make a living wage. In the book Nickle and Dimed, B. Ehrenreich goes undercover and writes about her experiences working at various low-end jobs, including at Wal-Mart. All I can say is I'm glad I don't work there.

It's your choice where you shop, and I respect that. But I also want you to know the implications of your action.

Da Bing

2 questions: What do you consider a living wage?

What mom and pop grocery store/convenience store/gun shop pays anyone more than $10-11/hour? Benefits? I don't think so.

I keep hearing all these stories of Walmart running out mom and pop, who must've paid GREAT wages and benefits, and then jack up the prices, but I've never seen real evidence of it.

 

[RetDep310]

I've got the local Wal-Mart's phone number in my cell. When I'm at the ammo counter waiting for help, which happens often, I just call them and say I need customer assistance. Usually get someone within a couple of minutes!!

 

[JetGirl]

I know for fact that they are instructed to wait on phone customers FIRST as they assume the guy standing there WILL wait but they have to lure in the customer on the phone.

That is Sooo BassAckward!!
You take care of the person who went out of their way to patronize your store and is standing right in front of you.
Somebody on the phone will call back on the NEXT commercial break from NCIS.

 

[bingley]

I still don't understand the "customer service" complaint. I mean, really, it's a Wal-Mart. They retail mostly everyday items. I've yet to find anything in a Wal-Mart that is so complicated that I need somebody to explain it to me. Besides, I usually do my research BEFORE I buy any "complicated" items, and generally know more than most any employee in any store about the item I'm going to purchase. In fact, given some of the idiocy that I've heard coming out of a few gun store commando's mouths, I'm not so sure that you want to be bringing up a "customer service" argument.

As for how Wal-Mart treats their employees.....well, they've got a bazillion people working for them, so you are going to naturally have some complaints. If what Jubba posted is true ($15-17 an hour and decent benefits), for a job that doesn't require much in the way of education, then I don't see what the big gripe is. That's certainly more than "mom and pop" would be paying people, I bet.

Wal-Mart has a business model that works, they provide jobs for many Americans, and they sell a huge variety of items at good prices. I must say, I'm kind of confused at all of the scorn heaped on an American success story. I suppose some people just have to hate something.

There is no scorn. My position on Wal-Mart is based on facts. I assume from "some complaints" that you are not familiar with the class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart that reached the supreme court. We are talking about 1.5 million workers in this case. That's hardly some. (Regrettably, the supreme court decided to rule on what constitutes a class rather than whether the grievances are legitimate.) There are many American business success stories we could celebrate, and none of them involve class action lawsuits at such a gigantic scale. Why not patronize one of those businesses?

I don't know the latest pay rate. Around 2001, Wal-Mart was paying $7/hour. That was only a bit above minimum wage back then. One Wal-Mart worker reported that the manager had misrepresented the starting wage as something substantially higher than what it actually was. I don't know whether this is common practice, since I only have one data point.

Again, I am not trying to dictate your purchase choices. There is no need to get defensive. I would, however, encourage you to learn something about the company that you're giving so much money to. There are other competitive ammo retailers.

As for customer service, we can start with something as simple as not having to wait ten minutes for someone to open the cabinet for you; being able to get an accurate answer when you ask "do you carry this"; being able to flag down a salesman and get a prompt answer about their inventory, etc. My personal experiences with these areas have been negative in Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart sells cameras, and I can tell you that the staff at professional camera stores are much, much, much, much, much more informed than Wal-Mart employees. (Not the employee's fault. It's just the nature of the business.) Ultimately, I expect to be served by the sales staff. They need to be polite and respectful, which is not what I find in Wal-Mart. I hate self checkout, I hate do-it-yourself shopping. (On the other hand, I also wear bespoke suits, and I don't buy off-the-rack the stuff.) You may have different expectations, and I won't impose my requirements on you. Look, it's your choice, but know what you're dealing with.

Da Bing

 

[DragonGunner]

Thats an immature an ignorant kid that hasn't grown up. He might mature a little after being fired a few times. An probably an college anti gunner an was was being rude on purpose.....I would of reported too....or depending, ripped into him first an then reported it...Nothing like giving a sharp rebuke to the deserving. I would go back often to buy ammo an hope the same kid came out an see what he says...or doesn't say next time....if he is still there.

 

[warangelcometh]

You should have requested the audience of the store manager with your complaint. You would have had the opportunity to talk with someone who could have actually made the decision to fire the individual. I deal with the Portage Wal-Mart and have always had positive experiences with the girls who usually run that area. Sorry you had to deal with that moron.

 

[bobzilla]

I love wal-mart. I buy from them every chance I get. F Mom and pop shops.... always jackin up the prices, never carrying what you need and take too long to get out of there.

 

[Silverado]

There is no scorn. My position on Wal-Mart is based on facts. I assume from "some complaints" that you are not familiar with the class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart that reached the supreme court. We are talking about 1.5 million workers in this case. That's hardly some. (Regrettably, the supreme court decided to rule on what constitutes a class rather than whether the grievances are legitimate.) There are many American business success stories we could celebrate, and none of them involve class action lawsuits at such a gigantic scale. Why not patronize one of those businesses?

I read a little about the "class action" lawsuit, which was properly smacked down by the supreme court. I would agree with Justice Scalia, that, as long as the company has anti-discrimination policies in place, each allegation of bias should be judged on its own merits. Of course, that doesn't make for as big a payday for grandstanding lawyers who salivate at the chance to raid Wal-Mart's deep pockets.

I don't know the latest pay rate. Around 2001, Wal-Mart was paying $7/hour. That was only a bit above minimum wage back then. One Wal-Mart worker reported that the manager had misrepresented the starting wage as something substantially higher than what it actually was. I don't know whether this is common practice, since I only have one data point.

I don't know the pay rate, either, but I do know that one anecdote does not equal "data."

Again, I am not trying to dictate your purchase choices. There is no need to get defensive. I would, however, encourage you to learn something about the company that you're giving so much money to. There are other competitive ammo retailers.

Not defensive. Just curious as to where people shop, as just about every company in existence has done something, or has some policy, that is in disagreement with someone's beliefs. Or is this level of scrutiny reserved for Wal-Mart?

As for customer service, we can start with something as simple as not having to wait ten minutes for someone to open the cabinet for you; being able to get an accurate answer when you ask "do you carry this"; being able to flag down a salesman and get a prompt answer about their inventory, etc. My personal experiences with these areas have been negative in Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart sells cameras, and I can tell you that the staff at professional camera stores are much, much, much, much, much more informed than Wal-Mart employees. (Not the employee's fault. It's just the nature of the business.) Ultimately, I expect to be served by the sales staff. They need to be polite and respectful, which is not what I find in Wal-Mart. I hate self checkout, I hate do-it-yourself shopping. (On the other hand, I also wear bespoke suits, and I don't buy off-the-rack the stuff.) You may have different expectations, and I won't impose my requirements on you. Look, it's your choice, but know what you're dealing with.

And I suppose therein lies the difference between you and I. I am self-reliant, do my own research on products that I intend to buy, don't expect people to wait on me hand and foot, don't mind waiting a few minutes for the best deal on ammo, don't need salespeople to hold my hand and tell me where the Coca-Cola is, and am generally not a fussy PITA.

Da Bing

Gotta go to Wal-Mart and pick up a few things now, even though those idiots probably know nothing about the Vienna sausages I intend to buy.

 

[reno]

Well just yesterday I was at the counter of the local Walmart, and someone was standing there with the person who runs the sporting goods area, who was practicing open carry.
Not one word was said, the man behind the counter, thanked him for coming in and for his purchase. The guy was buying ammo.
Other customers were standing round , walking by and no one thought or said anything about it.
Sometimes there is a young lady there also. She always asks what you are shooting, she shoots and really likes going out and having a great time with guns.
She likes shooting her 22 and her boyfrined recently got her a 17 magnum.

 

[Jake46184]

You handled it the best you could. At Wal-Mart, however, the probability of him being fired is nearly zero. The protocol within Wal-Mart is to avoid anything that could bring about a union vote first and do what is good for the customer second. Getting fired from a Wal-Mart is nearly impossible. Ironically, it's somewhat like getting fired from a government job. One is to avoid a union and the other is because of one.

 

[eric001]

Walmart is the devil!

And here I thought that was "foozball" that was the devil!!!!