Posted on 02/18/2015 10:09:06 AM PST by Citizen Zed
For Walmart, the dip in its customer satisfaction ratings could spell more trouble ahead. Retailers, after all, are at the whim of the consumer, who is typically looking for a mix of good prices, selection and customer service. If a retailer starts to fail on those fronts, it can end up in what ACSI director David VanAmburg calls "a deadly cycle." On top of that, Walmart's well-publicized struggles with calls from employees for higher pay and benefits may be taking a toll.
"They are not as dominant on the price side as they were, and the quality still isn't there," VanAmburg told CBS Moneywatch. "They haven't stepped up their game on that side, so we are seeing a lot of dissatisfaction by comparison."
Walmart, meanwhile, has been criticized by activists and employees for its low wages, which have prompted embarrassing episodes such as company stores holding food drives for their own workers. It doesn't look very good for the nation's biggest private employer when its workers have to rely on handouts and government aid to make ends meet.
Conversely, the top-rated speciality retail store, Costco, has benefited from a few trends, including its relatively high pay for retail workers and access to benefits, with Bloomberg BusinessWeek calling it the "happiest company in the world."
(Excerpt) Read more at wctv.tv ...
I’m good with no frills, I’m not good with just generally annoying. My primary complaint with their employees is there aren’t enough of them manning the registers.
The cashier situation is their attempt to force customers to use the self pay option. I
basically refuse to do so and wait my turn probably to the irritation of those behind me.
Take care
Your unhappiness seems to be symptom of your own life.
You should do everyone a favor in your Walmart that is too popular and overcrowded with other fans of the store, and quit going there.
Mmkay....My original post replied to no one in particular, was just my observations on what I’ve personally experienced. I’m sure there are many WM’s out there where exactly what you described takes place. I HAVE seen the pictures of WalMartians on the net, and can only imagine what happens in certain areas of the country. I thought my original post was pretty clear, and have no idea why I was tagged in another response.
I have ordered online from them off and on over the years. Just get the email and go pick it up. This experience was horrible though. After the bad treatment at the store I came home and went online to try and cancel the order. When I found out I couldn’t do that I had to call customer service. I wasted a whole morning on a vacuum that I went somewhere else and bought.
And my question to the customer service gal was......if the computers have been down for a wk why don’t you know about it and why are you still processing orders that can’t be picked up??
I also was trying to get the order cancelled because of the cutoff date on my credit card. I didn’t want the credit to run into the next months statement.
I would have no idea what went into the bucket. My job is to ring the bell and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
It really makes me smile to post that at you.
Seriously.
WalMart is hated by socialists but loved but 100+ million shoppers in the US
Howard Dean, is that you? (WM employees are so “unknowledgeable”, right?)
“WalMart is hated by socialists but loved but 100+ million shoppers in the US”
Also hated by Star Traveler.
Hmmm. ;)
Conservatives are supposed to love lousy customer service, dirty stores, and misfit help? ... LOL ...
Second major disaster happened a few years back with their Great Value Products only in the food section. They never recovered from that one. Canned foods are mainly Great Value label. No Thank You. Doing away with Lay Away was another minus. It's likely cost them on TV's, computers, etc.
Their Electronics, Hardware, Automotive, Shoes, & Mens Clothing Depts leave a lot to be desired from the days of Sam's Walmart. The worse stores layout wise are what I call the reverse Walmarts. The food section is on the right hand side and the aisles in the middle of the store are a navigational nightmare.
When Sam died and especially after his son died Walmart Corp had new management and it's been going down hill ever since. Sam had "Made IN USA" items and advertised on that. The new management forced companies selling to them to take their manufacturing off shore such as too China.
Politically Walmart pushes things like the "Green" agenda. The skylights in place of daytime ceiling lights in regions where partly cloudy days prevail is a pain also. Walmart is definitely not the store it was when they first came to my area and I would drive 50 miles round trip to one. Walmart is setting itself up like K-Mart did to become second fiddle when someone decides to take Sam Walton's original business concepts and built the next huge super store chain.
One last thing. Years ago when you had a complaint you could call Walmart Corp and you talked to someone there. No days Walmart Corp immerses itself in many layers and is as such isolated from consumers.
I'll give you an example. Anyone remember their corralling policy in Electronics? Only one entry and a highly annoying High Pitched and Loud alarm went off each time anyone entered, left, or stood in front of it talking, unaware of the sensor? I called Walmart Corp about it years ago and the VP in charge of Loss Prevention called me. In a few months there were no more such alarms. Now days to address any issue you get a phone call from an Associate at the local store's office who has Zero authority to do anything about what you contacted them for. It isn't the stores like Sam built that's for certain.
I sometimes suspect that the employees are either lobotomized, or that their blank stares and inability to communicate normally are the result of (like the commercials) “your brain on drugs” ... :-) ...
I know you wouldn’t know, but when the money is counted, they have announced it ... at least in the past they have. They would know exactly what bucket and store it came from!
I buy only a very few things at Walmart and have found the Equate brand to be roughly 10 dollars cheaper then the Clartin brand with the same active ingredient. Go to the hunter section for long johns and they are much warmer than other stores and are the same price. I buy my meat at Sam’s Club and save a few bucks with the Premier Membership on drugs and other things. I shop about 4 stores where I know the name brands are cheaper. Only buy what I need each week and no impulse buying.
In regards to holes on the shelf and things being out of stock for literally weeks on end ... basically Walmart just doesn’t care. That’s the only conclusion one can come to since it goes on all year ‘round and across multiple stores. I’ve never seen a worse retail store in that regard!
You’re using common sense and a practical approach.
Well done!
Boy, for someone so elitist you must live in a really crappy neighborhood to have only criminals and the "dregs of society" at your local WalMart. My local WalMart is nothing like yours! Guess I live in a better neighborhood!
The “neighborhood” is Tulsa, and there are several Walmart’s around. I’ve been to them all. The one that is closest to me is in South Tulsa and around the Brookside area (if you know that). Anyone who knows Tulsa, knows you want to be in South Tulsa and not North Tulsa ... :-) ...
But, if you think “Tulsa” is a “bad area” ... well there are plenty of people who would disagree with you, around here.
The trouble is, that even the riff-raff with their junker cars can drive a few miles ... and Walmart sure seems to attract them. But I can understand why, with their trashy and junky stores with zombie-like help.
I saw one big black lady with her equally big black daughter making out of the store with a cart-load of “extras” on her cart (and I’m talking some big boxes ... LOL ...). They did happen to get stopped at the exit because the guy was apparently suspicious. He said that those big boxes weren’t on the ticket and those big black women complained that they didn’t have time to argue about it and said they had to leave (and in an apparent “big hurry!) ... LOL ...
So you are an expert on several, but familiar with no single one? Lol, figures.
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