What does your WalMart Greeter Do?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Does your local WalMart greeter actually greet you? Does he/she have a cart ready for you? Or is your greeter like my greeter, and in reality the last line of defense against theft? It's been over a year since I remember being welcomed, and much longer than since I was given a cart. But without fail if I leave with a non-bagged item, they are all over me trying to discover what I've stolen.

[dkbaseball]

Plunges to the floor when I kick his cane out from under him. But seriously, now that you mention it, in the last few months the decrepit old greeters seem to have been replaced by exit watchdogs.

[DevilAlumna]

DkB, my great-aunt used to be a Wal-mart greeter -- no kicking of the canes! (Then again, I doubt you make it to Lincoln all that often.) And she was darned friendly.

[2535Miles]

I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague, and sleep.

[bjornolf]

Depends on the greeter and the Wal-Mart. At my closest Wal-Mart, the older ones tend to greet, but not give carts. The younger ones just look at you like you're a disease ridden rat. The one down in Fredericksburg is full service. The one up in Kingstowne is just a watchdog. Having my kids along tends to help though. They'll talk to the kids.

[aimo]

I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague

My exact words! If I absolutely HAVE to go there, I usually park near the garden center and go through there. No greeters.

[Windsor]

I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague, and sleep.

Add me to the list of people who go to Wal-Mart only as an absolute last resort. I would rather pay a few dollars more to avoid Wal Mart.

[Schwarz]

Add me to the list of people who go to Wal-Mart only as an absolute last resort. I would rather pay a few dollars more to avoid Wal Mart.

I buy all my "junk" at Target or BJ's.

[mph]

I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague, and sleep.

I go to Wal-Mart exactly once a year, to get my fishing license. I'll pay the (slight) extra cost at Target to avoid the logistical nightmare that is our Wal-Mart.

[EarlJam]

When I do go to Wal-Mart, my greeter never acknowledges my presence. It wasn't an option, but I'll bet if I walked out with an unchecked bag, he would still not acknowledge my presence. In fact, I've never even seen him move. He may be dead, and simply propped up.

-EarlJam

[killerleft]

The greeters at my Walmart usually just nod- if you talk or nod first.

I'd like to add that Walmart's advertising has done a great job of convincing people that their prices are lower. Are they? Can't prove it by me. Maybe they were once upon a time.

[BlueDevilBaby]

I only go to Walmart when in Arkansas visiting family. The greeters are darn friendly down there.

[wilson]

Add me to the list of people who go to Wal-Mart only as an absolute last resort. I would rather pay a few dollars more to avoid Wal Mart.

Me too. My girlfriend decided to go to grad school for two years in Cullowhee, where there is literally nowhere else to buy lots of things. Otherwise, I don't set foot in the place.

[Johnboy]

When I do go to Wal-Mart, my greeter never acknowledges my presence. It wasn't an option, but I'll bet if I walked out with an unchecked bag, he would still not acknowledge my presence. In fact, I've never even seen him move. He may be dead, and simply propped up.

-EarlJam

Is your greeter Generalissimo Francisco Franco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalissimo_Francisco_Franco_is_still_dead) or Leonid Brezhnev (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev)?

[CameronBornAndBred]

Me too. My girlfriend decided to go to grad school for two years in Cullowhee, where there is literally nowhere else to buy lots of things. Otherwise, I don't set foot in the place.

I lived up there for 5 years. When I first moved from Durham, I was dreading it, and the first thing I said to myself as we drove around was "at least they have a walmart".

As for prices, some are lower, but their groceries definately aren't. I can save way more money even shopping at my local mom & pop grocery store. And they say hi to me every time I walk in the door.

[blublood]

Actually, Wal-Mart at least in our area consistently beats the prices everywhere else. I hate it, but it's true. We pinch pennies like crazy, watch every single cent, but even with coupons and savings cards and all that other stuff, we just couldn't get our grocery tab at Target, Publix, etc. down to match the Evil Empire.

My husband read a book a while back about Wal-Mart and apparently something like 25% of their customers are just like us - they shop there, but only because they have to and they hate, resent, and abhor it.

[wilson]

I lived up there for 5 years. When I first moved from Durham, I was dreading it, and the first thing I said to myself as we drove around was "at least they have a walmart".


Yeah, the place on the whole really isn't too bad. It's quite easy to get up there from Atlanta, and it's very easy to go from the 'Whee to Asheville, which is a cool town. I also have family in Asheville, which helps.
The town of Sylva has a few good places as well. The main lack of the general area as I see it is a proper sports bar. I was there during the weekend of the conference basketball tournaments, and while ACC games were generally no trouble, SEC ones were another matter (my gf is a big Kentucky fan). We called all around, only to be told repeatedly, even in multiple places that explicitly bill themselves as sports bars, that employees "didn't know" if they had satellite. I found that unconscionable.

Sorry for the thread hijack, though I would welcome any Cullowhee/Sylva-area recommendations you might have (perhaps via PM).

[Jfrosh]

My Greeter yesterday was really friendly and handed me an umbrella bag for my wet umbrella. I couldn't kick his cane out because he was already in a wheelchair.

They never offer carts anymore, but they only check my receipt if I have something that doesn't fit in a bag.

[DevilAlumna]

Add me to the list of people who go to Wal-Mart only as an absolute last resort. I would rather pay a few dollars more to avoid Wal Mart.

+1. Plus, I have 3 (3!) Costco's closer to my house than the nearest Wal-Mart - which is a decrepit, dilapidated dump - pretty much assuring my lower prices are obtained through buying in bulk.

[CameronBornAndBred]

My Greeter yesterday was really friendly and handed me an umbrella bag for my wet umbrella.

That's great. I knew there had to be few good ones left out there.

[2535Miles]

My buddy and I were stocking up for the Fourth of July and I battled him to avoid Wal-Mart, especially because there was a Target right across the street. I begrudgingly caved-in and stepped foot inside a Wal-Mart for the first time in over a year. It was as miserable as I remembered. I much prefer the greeters at local mom-n-pop hardware stores, green groceries, auto-parts stores, clothing stores, candy stores, home accessory and lighting stores, furniture...

[Shammrog]

I believe that the greeters at my local Wal-Mart may, in fact, be dead.

[TNTDevil]

We have both a Super Wal*Mart and a Super Target within spitting distance of our home (talk about centrally located) and while I prefer Target, Wal*Mart consistently has lower prices, especially in groceries.

As I tell my kids whenever they come with me to Wal*Mart, it's like the State Fair everyday... :eek:

Oh, and the "Greeter", if it wasn't for him/her reaching for the return sticker gun everytime I recycle my plastic bags, I wouldn't know they exist.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Our Super Wal-Mart is the closest store to our house, about 1.5 miles away. Food Lion is only another mile away, but the prices at WM are consistently much lower than at Food Lion, which has always advertised itself as the low price leader (LFPINC anyone?). The best thing WM has done is put in the self-service check out counters, which cuts the checkout time considerably, unless some dufus (dufous?) in front of you doesn't have the intelligence to use it properly.

As to the greeters, it depends on which one it is. One lady is very nice, smiles and speaks as one walks in. She even once offered me a roll of paper towels to dry off the soaking wet (from rain) grocery carts that had been brought in (she dried off some too). One old guy, well, he resembles the dead guy referenced above :)

[blublood]

The best thing WM has done is put in the self-service check out counters, which cuts the checkout time considerably, unless some dufus (dufous?) in front of you doesn't have the intelligence to use it properly.


Oh! Oh, I hate the self checkout!! It's like, "Look, morons, if you have 100 items in your shopping cart and 60 of them don't have bar codes or are on clearance or are fresh produce that you obviously cannot identify, use the real lines."

I just despise wasting my time in those lines when I know that the Wal-Mart execs are secretly laughing at me for doing their work for them.

Addendum: also, if you have 100 items and I have only five items plus a small, crying child in the cart, for God's sake have some courtesy, don't be an pottymouth!pottymouth!pottymouth!pottymouth!pottym outh!, and offer to let me go in front of you.