Walmarting America
or:
Trading What's Right for What's Right Now.
I work for a small company. Retail sales, nothing outlandish or overly impressive. Just a few locations scattered around this part of Texas, family owned.
Before this I worked for an even smaller company. One store. Retail sales, family owned.
I like small companies. I like having a say in what happens. Sure, I work weekends and sometimes 70-80 hours a week, but I make a difference in the way this place performs. I don't have a cubicle. I know and chat with the man who signs my checks as well as the customer who provides them. Sometimes I get blasted by the owner and the customer in the same day, sometimes I get smiles from both in the same minute.
Customer service. Look a person in the eye and treat them like, well... a person. That's really all it takes. Every customer is called by name. My delivery guys say yes sir/yes ma'am. Mistake? "What can we do to make this right?"
Still, I have to fight with big corporate conglomerates because the customer can save $10 on a $1500 purchase. Doesn't matter that they are no more than a computer printout. Doesn't matter that no one cares. Ten bucks is ten bucks.
How many of you would be as concerned about the price of gas if the guy came out to your car and cleaned your windshield, checked your air,oil, antifreeze, and washer fluid... then filled what was low. Suddenly $2.50 a gallon doesn't seem to be so much, does it.
Too bad, you traded that for cheap cigarette lighters that light up and a kid behind the counter that's too busy talking to the beer guy in the cooler to give you a price on your bag of Dorritos and then gets confused because it was $22.79 and you gave him $23 at first then took back a dollar and gave him 80 cents.
Anybody but me remember when Walmart's slogan was "We buy American"? How about their policy of "if there are more than three people in every open line, we'll open up another one" (they really used to do that, Why do you think every walmart has 27 lanes.) Now tell me why they have 27 lanes, two have cashiers, and 5 are self serve. Oh, Yeah, those self serve lanes save time. Ever been behind an old couple trying to figure one of these out? It's one of the reasons I no longer carry a gun. Sam Walton's coffin must look like a gyroscope.
My bank charges me five dollars a shot if I go to a teller more than three times a month. I can, however use the ATM twenty times a day if I want to, no charge. (as long as it's my bank's ATM) Forget trying to talk to a banker on the phone. Now you don't even have to punch numbers, you can talk to the computer... Not a person mind you, a computer.
All because you wanted to save a nickle a gallon. So you could save a dollar on an electric can opener. And they have free checking.
I work for a small company. Retail sales, nothing outlandish or overly impressive. Just a few locations scattered around this part of Texas, family owned.
Before this I worked for an even smaller company. One store. Retail sales, family owned.
I like small companies. I like having a say in what happens. Sure, I work weekends and sometimes 70-80 hours a week, but I make a difference in the way this place performs. I don't have a cubicle. I know and chat with the man who signs my checks as well as the customer who provides them. Sometimes I get blasted by the owner and the customer in the same day, sometimes I get smiles from both in the same minute.
Customer service. Look a person in the eye and treat them like, well... a person. That's really all it takes. Every customer is called by name. My delivery guys say yes sir/yes ma'am. Mistake? "What can we do to make this right?"
Still, I have to fight with big corporate conglomerates because the customer can save $10 on a $1500 purchase. Doesn't matter that they are no more than a computer printout. Doesn't matter that no one cares. Ten bucks is ten bucks.
How many of you would be as concerned about the price of gas if the guy came out to your car and cleaned your windshield, checked your air,oil, antifreeze, and washer fluid... then filled what was low. Suddenly $2.50 a gallon doesn't seem to be so much, does it.
Too bad, you traded that for cheap cigarette lighters that light up and a kid behind the counter that's too busy talking to the beer guy in the cooler to give you a price on your bag of Dorritos and then gets confused because it was $22.79 and you gave him $23 at first then took back a dollar and gave him 80 cents.
Anybody but me remember when Walmart's slogan was "We buy American"? How about their policy of "if there are more than three people in every open line, we'll open up another one" (they really used to do that, Why do you think every walmart has 27 lanes.) Now tell me why they have 27 lanes, two have cashiers, and 5 are self serve. Oh, Yeah, those self serve lanes save time. Ever been behind an old couple trying to figure one of these out? It's one of the reasons I no longer carry a gun. Sam Walton's coffin must look like a gyroscope.
My bank charges me five dollars a shot if I go to a teller more than three times a month. I can, however use the ATM twenty times a day if I want to, no charge. (as long as it's my bank's ATM) Forget trying to talk to a banker on the phone. Now you don't even have to punch numbers, you can talk to the computer... Not a person mind you, a computer.
All because you wanted to save a nickle a gallon. So you could save a dollar on an electric can opener. And they have free checking.
Labels: Political Opinion
posted by K-nine @ 17:58
2 Voices Raised
2 Comments:
Wal-Mart is the biggest importer of Chinese goods. Thank them for our trade deficet.
You can't blame Walmart... you must blame the selfish short-sighted people that shop there.
Post a Comment
<< Home