Update : I checked out the new store I will be managing and the local wal*mart ...both not only have great customer service...they also have green bags for sale  at the register ( 99 cents) . The cashier had no problem using my bags . One thing I didn`t like at the local store ...the floor associates were not very friendly ..helpful but not friendly . Of course as a manager ...I expect to  see them following the 10 foot rule !!! I have a friend who is co-manager there ...he  has been made aware of the room for improvement !

lynn you sound like you are the type of storemanager i want! will you come to my walmart, and TEACH them customer service? seriously everytime i go to walmart, there are issues (whether its my coupons, my canvas bags being used---no not the walmart ones i wont buy one of theirs because they wont give me a bag redemption so i shall use my own existing ones-- or the associates being rude ESPECIALLY cashiers)

i was in walmart  lastweek, and the girl that checked me out was the rudest person i had encountered in quite some time! the whole time im checking out, one of the "cashiers managers" was pacing up and down the aisles, giving me dirty looks at the same time, when my coupons started to beep, and needed manager override, the "cashiers managers" was informed that the cashier was complety rude to me and just goes "oh ok" um HELLO?????your employee just treated a CUSTOMER like dirt ! i may use coupons and not spend usually more then $10 in a walmart trip, but thats NO excuse for cashiers and managemant to be jerks---that resulted in a trip to customer service immediately   after i was done checking out

found out when i went yesterday, that for some odd reason, the cashiers in the garden center are way more helpful then the rest of the store, i think from now on, as long as i dont have more then 20 items, im going to use the garden center to check out in---also found out that my local walmarts STORE manager, is out of town for the next week-----so when he gets back in town, i will be making a call to him

 bad customer service makes me not want to shop in a store(same with restaraunts) but GOOD customer service will keep me coming back

for instance frank and i went to wendys the other day(i wanted chicken nuggets!) and the cashier was rude, the store was filthy, my food was cold, and they acted like i was scum of the earth for expecting HOT food!!!!  10 minutes later, we go next door to taco bell (after waiting for them at wendys to remake my nuggts so they werent cold and nasty and stale) and yes the restarunt wasnt as clean as i would have liked it---it was right after lunch time--but there was a person out cleaning the lobby, and when my food just looked odd(who knew chicken soft tacos had avacado sauce on them????) i was just rather distrubed by the look of it, and couldnt eat it, so i go up to the counter, they remade my food without a problem, and were very nice and very polite, and didnt mind actually doing the customer service part of their job! so after frank and i were done eating, a call was made to wendys to let them know what i thought, and a call was made to taco bell to compliment them......can you tell which restaurant im going to go back to? which one would i be proud to say i worked at?(i dont but, after the customer service i recieved at wendys, i wouldnt even get an application for the store which was hiring)

lynn:

One box store I   helped open interviewed over 2000 people and still had to open the store 53 workers short ! Most couldn`t pass the drug test !!!

This reminds me of my husband's work.  He is in-house security at the newspaper here (In-house means that the security officers are employees of the paper, not  from an outside security company) and the job starts out at 10 bucks an hour, 401k, 1 wk of vacation, 1 wk of sick leave and benefits on day one of work but they can barely get anyone to apply and when someone does apply, they fail the drug test.

I have had good experiences with Wal-Mart customer service.  The only problems I've encountered was when we discovered that the price on the webpage is not necessarily and does not *have* to equal the price in the store and the fact that once I've bought a particular item 2 or 3 times, the store stops stocking that item.

I've never had a problem with returns - I generally get gift cards instead of cash because the money will be going right back to the same store.

latte4me2day:

lynn you sound like you are the type of storemanager i want! will you come to my walmart, and TEACH them customer service? seriously everytime i go to walmart, there are issues (whether its my coupons, my canvas bags being used---no not the walmart ones i wont buy one of theirs because they wont give me a bag redemption so i shall use my own existing ones-- or the associates being rude ESPECIALLY cashiers)

Thank you for the kind words ..would love to come straight`n out your store but I think talking to the store manager is the best thing for you to do ..."cashier" managers are not really managers ..they are kind of like lead cashiers ...ask for an assistant manager or store manager to get a quick response . The way they act is not company policy ..infact just the opposite is true . Sounds like a call to 1-800-walmart may be needed at that store. It doesn`t matter how much or how little you spend ..you should be treated with respect . I treat shop lifters with more respect than that !!!

I agree good service makes you want to come back ...no matter how well a customer is treated on the sales floor ...the service they remember comes from the cashier ..thats something you should remind the store manager of !!

I visited the box store I will be working in  last week ....saw a few areas for improvement ..one lady said I can`t wait till you get here and I`m thinking ..lady ..you will get off that behind and go to work when I get here !!!

Oh yes another thing I wanted to tell you ...go to the fitting room at Walmart and have them call you a member of management ...works better than going to the service desk .

At K-mart you have to go to the service desk and Targets as well.

My Walmart is right around the corner from my house and they are so nice !!!!!! Great customer service and always has the product I want and the price I want . My motto is if I can't buy it at Walmart I don't need it haha.

In terms of returns, it's just a numbers game for Walmart. They want to keep customers happy so that the customers don't notice what's really going on behind the low, low prices. 

Ms.B:

In terms of returns, it's just a numbers game for Walmart. They want to keep customers happy so that the customers don't notice what's really going on behind the low, low prices. 

I can`t help but wonder what you are referring too that you think is going on behind wal-marts low prices Ms.B? I would be interested in hearing about your experinces with wal-mart .

lynn:

I can`t help but wonder what you are referring too that you think is going on behind wal-marts low prices Ms.B? I would be interested in hearing about your experinces with wal-mart .

 Actually, I'm not having any experiences with Walmart these days.

 I just don't abide by their business practices. I don't like what Walmart does to communities. Walmart pushes the little guy out of the picture. This is true not  only for the small American retail establishments, but for American manufacturers as well. Walmart uses their tremendous power to lock in contracts with Chinese manufacturers, and they keep demanding cuts in prices even as inflation rises.  The thing is, Walmart creates dependencies with Chinese manufacturers, then bullies them into lowering the prices. And good luck to those who won't bend to this corporation's will. Sure, it could be argued that this is just the name of the game in business, but I think that Walmart has become such a monolith that their form of bargining is particularly ruthless. I've seen documenteries and read articles that detail this stuff--I'm just trying to draw a rough sketch here.

 Generally speaking, I think Walmart has done a lot of damage to the American economy--damage to the American dollar itself. Why send all your hard earned dollars over to Walmart-China? 

 Further more, Walmart doesn't treat employees in a respectful manner. There are actually "underground" support networks online where Walmart employees go to comissserate and share ideas about how to survive. I've been a lurker on one of these sites and the stories are chilling. In a lot of instances, the employees feel that Walmart is the only gig in town, and that's why they stay. Well, that's the problem isn't it?

 Lastly, I gotta say, Walmart is just plain ugly. Even by stripmall standards. Look up the word blight in the dictionary, and there will be a picture of Walmart. I just don't want my America to look like that.

I live in Portland, and I think there is only one Walmart in the city propper. In this city, we're really proud of our small, eclectic business community, and we don't let the big corporations camp out in our neighborhoods. And this isn't some fancy-pants neighborhood, either. Just tonight we took a walk down the block to the local bakery and bought the kids each a cookie. The actual owner/baker was right there working. (And the bread here is only three bucks, which isn't bad, especially considering the outstanding quality of the product.) Along the way we passed a charming little botique-style thrift store, and I found the cutest workout top for a couple of bucks--something I had been meaning to buy for a while now.  I didn't have to wade through crowds or stand in line--it took 5 minutes. This is what what Walmart-free neighborhoods are like. And there is enough room for trees and actual sidewalks. 

Sorry if I went off on a bit of a rant here, Lynn. But you asked, right?

Ms.B:

In this city, we're really proud of our small, eclectic business community, and we don't let the big corporations camp out in our neighborhoods. And this isn't some fancy-pants neighborhood, either

Would you consider Starbucks, Walgreens, and Fred Meyer/Kroger not big-corporations? They are everywhere in Portland.

BTW, what not-fancy-pants neighborhood do you live in? Just curious.