Wal*Mart Disaster

 Originally Written Between 2013-2105  

What happened to fabulous Customer Service?  Or even average Customer Service?  How about mediocre Customer Service?  Heck, nowadays, I’d be happy with a salesperson acknowledging my presence with a “hello” instead of a blank stare that must mean I now have his or her attention and I can now speak.

Last Saturday, I needed extraordinary Customer Service!  Why?  Because I had finally made the decision to – as my sister tells me – get into the 21^st century and buy a smartphone.  I have gone over the pros and cons so many times that I can’t even remember why I want one.  But, according to my kids, if I want them to answer me, I have to learn how to text.  They just don’t access their emails very often, I guess.  All they do is text back and forth.  For instance, two weeks before Christmas last year, I emailed my nephew asking him if he’d like to bring his dad (my brother) over for Christmas dinner.  A simple question – I thought – but I never received an answer.  A couple of days before Christmas, I was complaining to one of my sons that I still didn’t know if I was serving 11 people or 13 people for dinner.  My son simply pulled out his smartphone, typed in a message to his cousin, and within one minute, his phone beeped back with the word, “yes.”  They came and we all had a wonderful time.

But, I digress.  The bottom line is that even though no one ever calls me, I need a smartphone.  I want to be able to see my grandsons in Duluth without having to drive 150 miles.  Timmy has lost his tooth?  Simple….. just call and show grandma.  Dean is up to bat?  Simple – just call me and I can watch him make a grand slam.  Facetime is the feature I need since our daughter has an iPhone and if I get an iPhone, it won’t be hard for us to connect.

I want to text and get immediate answers to all my questions.  I want to be involved in a conversation and if a question is asked and we don’t know the answer, all I have to do is type in the question in Google and voila!  Instant answer!

So, Norm and I decided to go to Wal*Mart.  In order to protect the innocent (or idiots), I won’t tell you which store we went to – but some of you may recall that we live in Coon Rapids.  Anyway, three salespeople were on duty.  Two were 18 or 19 and the one who I guess was in charge was maybe 20.  The young man asked me if I wanted some help and I told him that I was interested in a smartphone and would like to know if I should be looking at an iPhone or a Galaxy 4S and that I had a Macbook Pro laptop at home and would that make any difference.  I told him I also wanted to Facetime with my daughter and could I do that if I didn’t have an iP hone?  He had trouble answering me because the answers were in the computer and he didn’t know how to log on.  He asked the quote “woman” in charge and she showed him how to sign in and then announced that she was going on her break.  The other salesperson just walked away to another section and I never saw her again.

John, our young salesperson, was very nice and pleasant; but, it was very clear that he knew nothing about phones.  I looked at Norm and said, “get me out of here before I scream.”  I took the two brochures I found and told John that it looked like I had a lot of reading to do before I made a decision and thanked him for taking the time with me.  Believe me, what I said was not what I was actually thinking.

Norm suggested we try another Wal*Mart.  Because I didn’t have a smartphone to ask where the nearest Wal*Mart was, we decided to just keep on driving west on Highway 10 until we found one.  We found one and again, because I want to protect the other four idiots we encountered that day, I won’t mention the town.  It is two words and the first word is an animal and it is not a moose.  (Elk River, MN) 

This time, there were four salespeople:  Two 18 year olds who were leaning on the counter and any time someone asked them a question, they answered, “we’re on our break.”  There was a 20-something man helping another couple and then I saw the head honcho.  One could tell immediately that this 50-year old woman was in charge.  She announced to everyone that she had to get a phone all fixed up with a customer and then she was going to lunch.  So – obviously the poor young man was suppose to help me.  He turned to me and said, “Can I help you?”  I told him that I wanted to know the differences between an iPhone and a Galaxy 4S.  He said, “oh” and then turned around (with his back to me) and started to use his phone.  I waited about 5 minutes and he keep punching apps or email or whatever and never turned around again.  So, the two young gals are still on their break, the manager is having lunch and the remaining salesperson is ignoring me.  I turned to Norm and said, “get me out of here before I scream.”  Funny, I had said those exact words not 30 minutes before!

Well, I can guarantee you that even though Wal*Mart may have the cheapest phone plan around, it is worth it to me to spend a few extra bucks and get real customer service at a Best Buy with their “geeks” or an Apple Store with the “geniuses.”  Wish me luck!