Wal-Mart: Lower Prices at the Expense of Customer Service

Ask anyone where to shop for low prices and you can almost count on them recommending Wal-Mart. Sadly, the low prices do come with a cost: poor customer service. Wal-mart may offer low prices but they also give poor service to those who spend their hard earned dollars in their stores.

After a recent move to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I inquired about the closest place to shop for various household items; of course everyone said Wal-Mart. Given I live in a very rural area the closest place to do any kind of shopping is over twenty miles away but given the area is still very limited in choice, I made the fifty mile drive to Wal-Mart to replace my computer keyboard. With gas prices over three dollars a gallon, I still figured I would save money by shopping at the Saulte Ste. Marie Wal-Mart due to the lower cost; I was sadly mistaken.

After driving one hundred miles round trip to purchase the keyboard, I got it home to discover the keyboard had been repackaged and it did not work. Once again, I had to make another trip to Wal-Mart. I made a phone call to the store on the way and asked to speak with a manager. I explained that I had a defective keyboard that was put back on the shelf and I wanted to make him aware that this had been an item that was obviously returned once already. Explaining, very nicely that I did understand there was nothing he could do about my wasted trip but I did want to bring this issue to his attention so it could be avoided in the future, I expected at least an apology for my inconvenience. Instead He responded by simply saying "OK" and hanging up. I was a bit put off but figured he must be rather busy and distracted.

Upon arriving to the Wal-Mart customer service desk, I found myself in line to the door and then waiting over twenty minutes to even get to the one and only associate working behind the desk. This was the only decent service I encountered during my entire trip to this Wal-Mart store. She did refund my money quickly and sent me on my way. I have to wonder if the keyboard has found its way back to the store shelf once again for the next unsuspecting customer.

After getting my refund I decided to return some empty soda bottles for their refund. This was also another very long wait as both machines were being used and one had become full. As the machine made its usual obnoxious beeping noise to let someone know it was full, I watched seven employees including two managers walk past it and not pick up a phone to call anyone or attempt to empty the machine itself. The wait for one machine to be emptied took twelve minutes.

Finally, I returned my bottles and headed back to the electronics department to get another keyboard. This time I opened the box to be sure everything was still in tack and had not been taken out of the wrapper. I nicely explained to the sales associate that I had already made a hundred mile trip only to get a broken keyboard and asked if he wouldn't mind plugging the replacement one into one of the display computers to see if it worked. This would have simply been a matter or unplugging one keyboard and plugging in another and I was told flat out there was no way he could do that. By this point I had my fill of Wal-Mart and the poor service. Being a former retail employee, I go out of my way not to take a bad experience out on the wrong employee, I am more than nice to each person I encounter as I have had my share of disgruntled customers taking something out on me that was not my fault. I put the keyboard down on the counter and walked out of Wal-Mart.

If Wal-Mart expects to keep their customers they need to step up their concept of customer service. Low prices are a bargain but not when it costs you both time and extra gas money. As for me, I will pay a higher price someplace else in the future in order to get customer service and avoid putting an extra one hundred miles on my car to replace defective merchandise from a store that doesn't care if the customer leaves happy or not.