I wrote the following note to Walmart Customer Service this morning:
The issue is not with the local store. The issue is with the overall company policy of grocery shopping by phoning in the order. The stores have large numbers of employees providing the service of gathering the order and packing it for pick-up. I realize a few handicapped people really need this service. However the very large cost of providing this service is born by every customer. I walk the store picking out my own groceries and self checkout. Doing this I am actually working for the store for free while paying prices which are partially used to pay the employees providing additional help to others and not charging for it. Does anyone see the unfairness of this business structure? I should receive a discount at checkout for saving the company money because I did my own shopping while other customers are getting expensive services for free. Those customers should pay extra for the service I am not getting. The cost to the corporation of all the employees performing this service has to be immense. By the way we are satisfied with our local store and spend a lot of money there every week. I would appreciate this comment to be sent to people in management so they are aware of a very poor policy. The people receiving this extra service should be charged for it so the rest of us aren't paying for it without getting it.
I'm anxious to get their reply.

Last time I was at WM, they had one checkout open and 30 people +me in line for the self check-out. The line went relatively fast but c'mon!

The future is curbside or home delivery. Politically, they are powerless to stop shoplifting

Do they maybe add a surcharge to phoned-in orders to cover that labor? I don't know, I've never used it.

In some blue states, there will be no open to the public stores.

You place your order, you PAY for it, and pick it up.

The only shrinkage will be from employees

The store by me in N Texas charges 5.65 if the order is below 35.00.

If you feel it's unfair price wise, then perhaps start using Curbside, you won't have to go into the store, your goods are brought to your car and off home you go, no self checkout, no waiting in lines.

We've used it, service is good, daughter uses it a lot because she has two little ones and dragging them through the store makes shopping a bit harried.

Have been known to approach some of the w/m pickers and tell them thank you for shopping for those who cannot get out and shop for themselves at which they say thank you and I continue with also for those that are too damn lazy to get out and do it themselves... At which most of the w/m employees reply with laughter............................... drill sgt.

As far as cold products /milk/eggs/ice cream/ fresh veggies and fruits being subject to unwanted heat while waiting for your arrival.... and getting fresh fruits and veggies that you personally would have left on the shelf due to them being past their prime time. ............................. drill sgt.

I am mobility challenged and have a wonderful neighbor who shops at Safeway for me weekly. I do however also occasionally use WM's curbside pickup using their online website system. I have NEVER experienced any problems with chilled products getting warm. They are picked and placed in coolers in the inside of the building's pick up area. I have only gotten lemons, limes and green onions from WM preferring fresh produce that my neighbor picks for me.
I am very thankful for WM's curbservice and have remarked about that multiple times in feedback I have provided. And FWIW their online products usually match or beat Amazon and the shipping is MUCH faster to boot.

I will note that the area has two large WM SuperCenters here. The one on the south side of town nearest me is newer and arguably better maintained and staffed. The older one on the north side is larger with many items not stocked at the south location. Both serve a huge geographic area centered in the Black Hills. If memory serves the north side SuperCenter was reported as the busiest in the country (yes in the whole USA!) a few years back. Keep in mind that families from the Res make the trip to it frequently as well as this area having millions of tourists annually who also shop there while visiting.

I use the pickup option extensively. I am perfectly capable of walking the aisles, but I have determined that it is much more time efficient to order groceries online and pick them up curbside. Time is my most valuable commodity. If you prefer to spend your time walking the aisles, more power to you.

WM is involved in multiple competitive businesses, and I am sure they have legions of people that are very good at math. If they did not think the pickup option they provide further their business interests, I’m sure they would not pursue those activities.

If you think curbside is more workload than keeping up a store, you’ve never worked retail.

No more resetting shelves, wandered off inventory, less dirt, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
If you think curbside is more workload than keeping up a store, you’ve never worked retail.

No more resetting shelves, wandered off inventory, less dirt, etc.

Yeah, I bet WM gets 'fan mail' from Internet shoppers who want a discount for their group not needing all the staff working the retail side, not causing shoplifting losses, etc.

bald1 is spot on with WM keeping items in the cooler until it’s time for pick up. My wife is the manager at our local Wally and oversees the online portion. Granted all stores and managers are not the same but she prides herself on making sure all orders are done correctly and on time. She hammers her people if they pick shitty produce or if orders are not filled on time and the same for their delivery with whichever company delivers for them, unfortunately they have no control on home delivery because that’s an outside vendor. If you have a problem with an item, while not the most convenient they will always make it right if you let them know. She’s worked for WM for 35 yrs from corporate to back to being a store manager and it’s changed dramatically over the years, sometimes not for the better, but at the smaller stores there is still people who put a lot of effort into their jobs.

I've never used the service but I can appreciate that it's a good idea for folks that aren't physically able to shop for themselves. As long as I'm able to I much prefer to pick out my own groceries. I do find it interesting that so many people are too busy to shop for themselves these days. My life and my wife's life are as busy as they ever were but we make time to go to the store. Personally I think some people would just rather not and they'd prefer someone else do for them and they just think they're too busy. My 33 year old son and his fiance have their groceries picked out for them because they're busy. Busy walking the dogs, busy playing with the dogs, etc etc.

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
I use the pickup option extensively. I am perfectly capable of walking the aisles, but I have determined that it is much more time efficient to order groceries online and pick them up curbside. Time is my most valuable commodity. If you prefer to spend your time walking the aisles, more power to you.

That's how I see it too. I can add things to my online cart as I go throughout the week, and then go pick them up in a quick, efficient manner around my schedule on one of my days off. Way more time efficient than wandering the aisles myself, for zero added cost.

The only times I go inside are quick trips when I only need one or two things like just a gallon of milk, or when I need something very specific that requires me to lay eyes/hands on it before buying, like a pork shoulder with a fat cap that looks just right or avocados that are exactly the necessary ripeness for making guacamole today.


(Also, I got a giggle out of the OP's "phoning in orders", as if that's actually a thing. I'm imagining someone ordering groceries by phone like they're at a drive-through speaker: "Thank you for calling Walmart, may I take your order?" "Yeah... uh... can I get... uh... a dozen eggs... uh..." "Do you wanna super size those eggs?" "Nah. And a gallon of milk... uh... and what's today's produce special?")

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:I think some people would just rather not and they'd prefer someone else do for them and they just think they're too busy. My 33 year old son and his fiance have their groceries picked out for them because they're busy. Busy walking the dogs, busy playing with the dogs, etc etc.

Exactly. Civilization is about having other people do they which you cannot, or do not, wish to do.

Knitting is fairly simple. So is weaving, and spinning.

Im sure I could make myself very shoddy clothes, too, but I’d rather spend a few dollars, and get a great deal of time.

What is interesting is how people enjoy shopping at “good” grocery store, but avoid WM/Kroger etc as much as possible.

Yep. And it goes way beyond just someone else making your clothes.

The same folks on their high horse about how "grocery pickup is for lazy people" will pay someone else to change their oil, mow their lawn, paint their house, etc., and then go through automatic car washes, order fast food at a drive-through window (or just go to any restaurant whatsoever), and buy things from Amazon or similar to have delivered to their house by a delivery guy.

Every single person in modern society takes advantage of a multitude of options that allow them to save time and distribute unwanted labor to other people, often paying extra to do so. Grocery pickup is no different than any of these innumerable other examples they take advantage of every day, other than being offered at no additional cost.

But it's a newer concept, and wasn't around "back in my day", and therefore it must be a bad thing and those who use it must be bad people.

(Now, if they're writing letters by hand about how they're too good for grocery pickup, using a hand-carved quill, homemade ink, and paper they pressed themselves from wood pulp, and then personally distributing them in person to each one of the forum members, they might have a leg to stand on. )

quote:

Originally posted by Gene Hillman:
Does anyone see the unfairness of this business structure? I should receive a discount at checkout for saving the company money because I did my own shopping while other customers are getting expensive services for free. Those customers should pay extra for the service I am not getting.

Gene,
I'm guessing the comments here are not quite what you expected?
The fact of the matter is that more and more people are buying things on-line, by computer (not phone). Obviously, WM is seeing a business opportunity or they wouldn't do it. They probably think the labor involved is justified in reduced shoplifting alone.
I just hope it doesn't become mandatory because, like Rogue, I like to pick my own meats, fruits, and vegetables.
Best regards.

Just had another ironic thought:

I suspect a decent number of the (primarily older) folks complaining about grocery pickup were also among those who complained about the end of the former practice at grocery stores where a bag boy would bag their groceries for them, and often carry them out to the car for them.

So using curbside pickup to offload some of your time and effort is bad, but doing the same with bag boys was "the good old days".

From there, if we go back even further to the pre-supermarket style of grocery stores that predominated in the late 1800s through mid 1900s, it involved a grocer behind a counter. You went to the counter, gave the grocer your list of items you wanted, and they'd pull the items from the shelves and stockpiles behind them, bag them, and bring it to you at the counter.

So someone else picking groceries and delivering them to you in the parking lot is bad, but someone else picking groceries and delivering them to you at the counter was "the good [even older] days".