I just came home from Wal-Mart; isn't that everybody's favorite store? Hold on a second as I extract my tongue from my cheek. Seriously, that store provides me plenty of material for a laugh, but sometimes the place just drives me crazy.
I was picking up a prescription at the pharmacy first. I got in a line six deep; of course, there was only one woman waiting on customers, so the line was moving rather slowly. As I stood there waiting for my turn, my eyes wandered inside the pharmacy. There were two people sitting at computers at the drop-off window, and neither of them looked very busy. In the back there was an assortment of various employees; one or two were actually pharmacists, while the others appeared to be assistants of some sort.
Which got me thinking; there was a total of nine people in the pharmacy, and only one of them was waiting on a long line of customers. It may take a village to fill your prescriptions, but it apparently doesn't concern the management with how long it takes to get them. Priorities anyone? And please don't forget that I live in Florida, Heaven's waiting room. There's a ton of older people here who use a lot of prescription drugs, and the lines seem to always be long. Sam Walton, where are you, man?
After picking up a few things in the store, I headed for the registers to check out. Since it was mid-afternoon, there weren't many open. I headed for the only "Express" line open; there were two people in front of me and neither one had very much. The man at the register went through quickly, and the elderly lady behind him pulled her "riding-lawnmower-style" shopping cart into position.
She placed a blister-packed Tracfone and a pair of slacks up on the counter. When you buy a cellphone of any kind at Wal-Mart you have to have it activated at a register. The cashier was having trouble finding the activation code, and after a few minutes had to call a manager over. He scanned the phone and handed it back to her. During this time the woman on the buggy was loudly proclaiming how she always "got the one with no price tag," which made me think that she should check a little closer next time, but I was trying to be nice. "I always get in the wrong line!" I was thinking.
The cashier totaled her purchase and told the lady it was $74 and change. Protesting loudly, the woman told her there was no way it was that much. She was right; it wasn't. The cashier had rung in the slacks twice, raising the total. The cashier at this point became so flustered by the events that she went in search of her manager again. I left the line and went to another register. As I was leaving the store I saw the cashier, the manager and the customer still going over her purchase. Yikes!
Which brings me to the question: "Why do I faithfully shop at Wal-Mart ?" Here's my favorite reasons.
5) Where else can you go to buy groceries, underwear, fishing equipment, deodorant, tires, TV's, flowers for your yard and a million other things all under one roof?
4) What other store contributes more to your social life? Do you not always see people there you haven't seen for ages? It's like a "Mixer" without a cover charge!
3) Forget the people you know; how many places can you go and "people watch" better than Wal-Mart? Seriously, it's a trip!
2) How about the exercise you get walking these giant "Super Centers?" When my doctor asks if I've been walking, I tell her with a straight face that I have indeed.
1) But the top reason to go there is their prices! I hate to spend more than I have to for things (I'm admitting to being cheap here), so whenever I price check against other supermarkets I always find "Wally World" to be the best. You can have fun and save money!
So, forget about the long lines and crazy people and go enjoy the Greatest Show on Earth! You never know what you might see, hear or find there. Have a great weekend everybody!
Mark
T.
Bradbury, Author
For information on my eBook, "Serpent's Curse," please follow
the link:
http://littlepondpublishing.com/book-titles/serpents-curse-by-mark-t-bradbury/
It's now available as a paperback at Amazon.com.
For those of you who would like to try the first seven chapters of my book "Serpent's Curse," please click on the link below:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1456c9f6ce6cc2b2
Al the same reasons why I shop "Wally World" as well! I too hate how there are never more than 2 registers ( 1 regular, 1 express) open among at least 10 empty ones. A few times I tried the "self checkout" but it's a nuisance because something always has to be re-scanned by a clerk, grrr so don't even bother anymore with that thought. I always pay for my prescrips at the pharmacy then have to stuff them in my purse so I don't lose them. Like you and many others', the human side show is worth the trip!
ReplyDelete