Walmart Rampage

A few weeks back I wrote about my shopping experience at Wal-Mart and that I would never return. However before I go any further into my story a little BACK story may be helpful. I have always been a Wal-Mart hater from the get go. I saw a documentary about how Wal-Mart was forcing small business owners out of business here in America and having them take such profit losses on their goods to remain a Wal-Mart partner, or have the items shipped overseas to be made in China. Combine that with the infestation of a Wal-Mart on every corner, in every city regardless of the outcry and protestors, I decided years ago Wal-Mart would never get my business. (let alone about the terrible story of the women who was badly injured and Wal-Mart suing HER for the settlement)
I started to date a guy while I was single that was a Wal-Mart LOVER, we would get in arguments over the store, and how he loved how cheap things were and after all it’s a buyer’s market, he went where he could save the most money. I argued that it didn’t matter that you were saving a few bucks if you were contributing to the bottom line of an organization that was EVIL! Well during the time we hung out we did in fact shop on occasion at Wal-Mart. There was no denying the cheap goods that Wal-mart provides and I could overlook the general populous that shopped there because I went there only on occasion.
However when Jonathan and I started to see the real increase to our grocery bill and we were trying to cut out any and all unnecessary expenses, we decided to switch to Wal-Mart for our food shopping. I planned my monthly meals, did my weekly shopping lists and it was a chore that we set out each Saturday to do…brave Wal-Mart. We did see a significant savings in our grocery bills between 20-30 dollars each week, but with that savings came a downside. I could not overlook week after week the people who shop there. Every week we would navigate down aisles where it felt like we were in battle. Hoards of people and carts were going every which way. The amount of people in the aisles were staggering, we were constantly having to stop, let people go by, ask to get by others, see children badly in need of a bath running around without shoes, dirty, trashy, families talking too loud, complaining about this and that…produce that was limited or reduced to very few items. We continued to shop week after week for about 2 months and we left Wal-Mart exhausted, and cranky. Well for me the last straw was that I decided to run to Wal-Mart without the family and get some needed items. I was there on a Sunday morning hoping to miss the majority of folks, and get some better produce. I arrive at the produce section and what do I see? A family with dirty children running around TOUCHING all the food and as they touch the food, swarms of fruit flies are hovering. I was disgusted! See- I love to cook. If I had more time I would try and plan gourmet meals for us to enjoy during the week. As it is, I feel like I do my best to provide a sit down meal for the family as often as possible. I really enjoy baking. My meal preparation and planning is calming to me. I feel good about providing this to my family. I work full time but I never want my kids to feel that we didn’t have dinner together as often as possible. I have the staple meals that I can make without thinking but when I plan on doing something special the shopping is PART of this process. To wander around a store and look and smell the imported cheese section/ olive bar/ and artesian breads is a good thing. I see other patrons browse the organic section, see clean children, and to go to a produce section that is brimming with fresh goods that look like perfection, is the kind of food shopping that I enjoy. I want to be excited about the food that I will be cooking, and know that I didn’t just step into a war zone and battle my way out of a store. I want to know my checkers and baggers, see local sellers and unique items as I leisurely go up and down aisles in a store. I’ve decided my savings doesn’t outweigh the shopping experience at Wal-Mart and as such will no longer be giving them my business. Hello Harmons! Hello Fred Meyer(now smiths)! You have your old customer back and I will never leave again.

(Im putting in here a disclaimer...as a commentor mentioned, there are some decent Walmarts out there. However for me---- what it represents is what makes me not want to shop there. see video....just watch the first minute)