Walmart Sucks

I would like to preface this story with the fact that I really hate Walmart. I only shop there if I am absolutely desperate, or too lazy to drive out of my way. Because I usually prefer driving out of the way just to avoid walmart...seriously.

Yesterday we were out looking for a bike for my youngest, and we found one at walmart. There was one on the floor and an identical one on the very top of the bike rack (i.e. too high to get without those lovely assistants helping us) The one on the floor was marked down 10%. I assumed that is was because it was on the floor and our walmart is kinda, well, trashy... a lot of parents let their kids get on the bikes and try them out. I figured that was why the tires were kinda dirty and it had a couple of little scratches. Rather than wait for help getting the other one down (help in walmart is usually about a 20 minute wait)we took the floor model. We got it home, presented it to the intended, and the brakes didn't work. We tried to tighten them, but the were as tight as they could go. Rather than chance breaking it, we brought it back to the store.

Since the one bike that was on the top rack was gone, the lady in toys said that the bike assembler would be there on Monday to call in with the bike information and ask for him to assemble it. She told us that the bike was actually marked down because it had left the store and had been brought back for some reason. ( for future reference if the bike has a hand written tag on it and is marked down, it was returned and you should not chance it )

I called Monday, talked to the toy manager, and explained that I had brought the bike back cause the brakes didn't work, told how the nice associate told me to call and have the regular bike guy assemble one for me. The manage snickered and said all I had to do was bring the bike in and they could fix the brakes. I told her that I had already gotten my money back for that one. She took the information and put me on hold. The following is the conversation I had when the regular bike assembler came on the line:

"bike guy" : Hello

me: Hello

pause....(I thought someone accidentally picked up the wrong line since he never said who he was)

"bike guy" (clearly perturbed) HELLO

me: Hi!

"bike guy": Can I help you?

me: I'm waiting for the manager she checking on a bike for me.

"bike guy": Yes I know, I'm the bike guy.

me: Oh, (smile on my face) you're the one that does the bikes! Did you have the bike in stock?

"bike guy": (very snotty) Yeah, but I'm not making a bike until you come up here and pay for it.

me: (still very nice) Oh I understand, so if I come up there and pay for it you can assemble it for me?

"bike guy": Yeah, but I'm backed up, the bike rack is empty so I don't know when I could get to it. I need to fill the rack.

me: So I come up there and pay for it and it you could put it together, but it could take a day or two?

"bike guy" Yeah, pretty much.

me: OK thank you.

Seriously, are you allowed to talk to customers like that if you are in sales? Really, he's more concerned with making bikes for the racks as apposed to making a bike for someone who has already paid for the bike? I called the store manager and he said he would check into it and call me back. 3 hours later he calls...I am so pissed. Should I call the higher-ups or let it go? Am I just more wounded because I already hate the store?


By the way, I drove to the walmart 30 minutes down the road and bought it there...it was $5 more expensive, not including the gas I spent, but I don't care...I hope I never have cause to set foot in our store again.