Retail Hell

I know that remodels of buildings, are for the benefit of making a building look better, and so they can be better utilized by the people that use them. However, is there a way in which a remodel should be conducted, especially while the building is still in use, so it's not a hinderance to those using it?

My answer is "yes."

The remodel of Wal-Mart #1399, in Bedford, Virginia, has left me annoyed, frustrated, confused, and disappointed. It seems that as the remodel continues, items get in even more of a disarray. It's increasingly hard to even move in the store, due to sections of the store being relocated, as well as lost customers trying to navigate their way through the clutter, to find what they are looking for.

My first complaint is they way things are being moved around. It seems to me, that not just one or two sections of the store, are being rearranged at a time, but it seems like the store is constantly rotating in a disorganized manner. It's becoming hard to find the ordinary things that people need. For example, before my husband I went on our vacation to West Virginia for Independence Day, I went to Wal-Mart to get laundry detergent and fabric softener. This was one of the many sections being rearranged. I couldn't find what I needed, and it made me think of all the elderly and disabled people who rely on things being where they are normally, who would have a hard time with this. Do you think Wal-Mart cares? Of course not.

Secondly, the layout doesn't make a whole lot of sense. One of my biggest disappointments is that they put the books and magazines in the back of the store. It makes sense that they should be in the front, near the registers, as they always have been. This is because it's more accessible, and while people are waiting for lines to disappear, sometimes, they read, and then decide to buy what they were browsing. I think Wal-Mart #1399 is going to see a decrease in sales in this department. Then, there's the "temporary pharmacy." I'm not sure how they could have avoided it, but the pharmacy AND its spot for a line, is right smack dab in the middle of one of the two spots they like to call "action alley." You can imagine why this is a problem. There is traffic buildup, making more people annoyed and irritable. It has happened to me once or twice, to be honest. These are just a couple of the terrible location changes they have made during the remodel. If you want to see more for yourself, just visit, what used to be the fabric department of Wal-Mart. It seems to me, they're just cramming as much as they can into that small section.

Then, there's the fact of timing. This remodel started at the end of June, I believe, with the store closing from midnight to six in the morning. Since then, it doesn't seem like the work on the remodel has slowed at all. My concern is for those parents and college students who are about to go shopping for school. Supplies for school are already out, and early birds, like myself, are already starting their school shopping. The store's already a mob house because of the remodel and its lessened open hours; adding the packed mess of school supply shoppers, is just asking for a riot, especially on No Tax Days. I'm not sure when this remodel is going to be over, but I sure hope it's before it gets too crazy, for safety's sake. Or, you know, people could just shop at Target and Staples. If you ask me, even if it did take a little bit longer to accomplish, I believe the remodel should have been done solely during Wal-Mart's closed hours.

Also, the Wal-Mart employees are, pretty much, preoccupied with nothing but this remodel. Where there were once semi-helpful associates, there are now pathetic puppets, fearing the next time management comes around, to assign them another task to complete for the remodel. Once, there were light conversational interactions at the checkouts. They are now replaced with employees having bitch fests with each other, about the remodel. Also, instead of paying attention at meetings and directions on where things are now located in the store, it seems the information goes in one ear, and out the other. It has been too many times, that I have been waved away with a nonchalant, "Oh, it's over there somewhere... I guess... I think," followed by a vacant stare.

However, there can't be any bad without the absence of good. I use this word, "good," sparingly, when it comes to this remodel. I will say that the remodel of the bathrooms, is nice. They're a new, brighter color. The walls in the stalls make it harder for vandals to write on. The water runs warm, instead of ice cold. They've made three sink basins, to accommodate children and the handicapped. However, they've only installed on soap dispenser, which seems ridiculous. The only other nice thing I have to say about this remodel, is that the layout of the checkouts, makes more sense, and cuts down on traffic. For the lines that have two checkout stands, they are facing in different directions, so traffic can flow more easily.

I wish I could say more nice things about this remodel, but the truth is that it is loud, rude, inconvenient, ugly, and nothing more than a hinderance to what's really important in retail--the customers. Truth be told, I try to avoid it as much as possible, but it is the only one-stop shopping place in Bedford. I just hope that either someone on the remodel management team realizes that this is a problem, or that the remodel ends very soon.