Lets talk about Wal-Mart

I want to begin by saying that my favorite local grocery store is Publix, however, it's not always affordable for me to shop for a weeks worth of groceries for the family. I go to Publix every other week for fresh produce, cheese and bakery items or when I'm making a special dinner or just for things that I can't normally get at Walmart.

When I had a job, my Walmart trips were limited to weekends when I was off or at night on my way home from work to pick up something quick for dinner or to buy a gallon of milk for the next mornings breakfast. Now that I am home I go to Walmart during the weekday. May I say that this is a much different experience. During the weekday my local Walmart is filled with stay at home moms, military wives that don't work, senior citizens and a few unemployed professionals like myself.

With that said, mornings are the best time to go. The shelves are normally fully stocked and the store isn't crowded giving you time to shop in peace. Of course I must say that the senior citizens are never very nice that are shopping in the store with me. They are almost to the point of being rude so I try to avoid running into them at all cost and if I do happen to enter their space while passing them on an aisle, I just smile and keep moving. If you go anytime after 2pm you will get the moms with kids just picked up from daycare and from schools that just got out which isn't a huge problem but this is the time of day that you will hear a lot of crying going on in the store. If you want fried chicken from the deli, you better get there by 4pm because after 5pm all the working moms and dads will be stopping in to pick something up for dinner and once it's gone, the deli isn't going to make more no matter how many times you ask, beg or plead. The worst time of course is anytime on a Saturday when the whole town goes to shop or anytime after noon on Sunday because for some reason Walmart is the place to go once you leave church. Now that I have all this figured out, I make sure to go before 11am on a Tues, Weds, or Thursday to have a pleasant shopping experience.

Of course I wish that was all it took to enjoy a shopping trip to Walmart but as we all know, that is not the case. Why is it that the cashier NEVER says hello or how are you doing and wouldn't it be nice that after you spent $300 they would THANK YOU for shopping at Walmart? Since I spent a lifetime in the customer service business I always go out of my way to say hi to them and try and get them to speak to me. Most of the time I get a comment or two of course without eye contact because that is way to much to ask...but every now and then I get a new employee who's excited about her new job at Walmart and talks to me and is very upbeat and polite and I leave the store thinking it was a great shopping experience. Clean store, fully stocked shelves, not crowded and the cashier was nice to me! How awesome?!

I also want to comment on the workout that I get just by shopping at Walmart. The store I go to is the 3rd largest Walmart and it is huge! Even though I'm only shopping for groceries, I also need dog food and shampoo which just happens to be on the other side of the store near the outdoor area. It takes me a good 15mins to get over there or 30 if I stop to look at any retail items which is really what they want me to do... God forbid that I get my dog food and shampoo and then walk 15mins back to the grocery side and then realize that I also needed deodorant which as we all know is NOT on the grocery side. So a good tip when shopping at Walmart would be to wear your workout clothes and your tennis shoes so you are prepared for some serious shopping. On a positive note, Walmart has everything so it is a one stop shopping destination. As long as you don't mind a 2 hour shopping excursion, you should be good to go. Plus everything is more affordable at Walmart saving my family hundreds of dollars every year, but with as much money as Walmart makes don't you wish that they would hire more cashiers? How come no matter when I go, there's never enough cashiers? Sometimes I spend more time standing in line than I do shopping and during the holiday season, forget about it! Walmart is a mess during the holidays!

The point is that I shop at Walmart because it saves me money, but in actuality it probably doesn't save me much since I always end up buying something I don't need because I have to keep walking past the retail and home aisles when really all I needed was dinner for tonight. Publix is a little more expensive, but the items are fresher, the store is smaller, the cashiers are always friendly, dressed nice and available with plenty of open lanes. Maybe I should save time and money and just shop at Publix. At least I won't come home with a lawnmower...

This is my world...