Wal-Mart School Madness

[unholypet]

Day one:

In one of my bi-weekly runs to Wal-Mart for my pencil lead needs, I am forced into the "school supply" aisle, since the sections near the doors have turned either into rubbish or empty Harry Potter shelves.

I wait the long line covering an aisle back and loopin on the other side, letting people through when needed, until I get to my desired lead area.

A lady SNATCHES some Sharpies right from under my arm in a fierce staring contest with me, in which the pizza stink from my clothes scares her away.

Thank you for onion reek.

Day two:

I go to the school aisle for copy paper and card stock.

Its pretty bare, and the employees are nice enough to let me through as they restock, the side opposite me, a woman is haggling with her helper employee with a green vest (which of course is Lawn n Garden... in the school section?)

I listen in:
Lady: Well I need these.. would you mind calling your people and finding out the price? (nevermind the stickers on the backpacks and the large yellow tags on the wall)
Emp: Yeah.. (FFFFFF $19.95 FF)
Lady: That's too high, I need these (Spiderman and Batman) backpacks for my kids!!
Emp: I'm sorry, that's just the price. We have some plastic see-throughs that are only about ten bucks...
Lady: THEY DONT LIKE THOSE!! If you're not gonna help me why'd you follow me here?!?!
Emp: This isn't even my section, ma'am, I'm just trying to help you out... I can't do anything but tell you the price.

The poor Employee was made to call in, again and again, and get the same responce to her pleas. I just stared at her like she had an odd growth on her eyeball and held it in.

Day three:

I go in for a pack of Diet, Caffeine-free Coke for Mom, and some catfood for the =^.^=

A lady was there before me at the cokes, so I wait. She walks around her cart (hand firmly holding it in place) and goes around and around the Coke products...

I wait three minutes =_=

"Ma'am, could I just ask you to scoot a sec so I can grab some Cokes?"

....
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Processing....
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>_> ...


and she quits staring at me to!!!



...go back to looking.


So I just started humming. Nothing in particular, but I made sure to grate my voice and make goofy faces at her until she moved.

I hate to be rude.... but damn >_>

[Shabo]

I would have repeated myself, then pushed her cart out of the way when she didn't move...

What rudeness you have found. I'm sorry.

[ditchdj]

Gotten love those "Random Acts of Rudness". Don't it make you wanna just kick someone in the rear end repeatedly and cause them to jump up and down like the House of Pain??? It sure does for me.

[Kiwi]

Man you are far to nice! I wouldnt have even waited 10 seconds before getting my coke, nor would the cow who snatched from in front of me been let off with a stare....

people who are rude to me, are told in loud simple language that their behaviour is NOT ACCEPTABLE

Especially when I have the flu and my asthma medicine has run out and I cant get anymore for a week and im GRUMPY!!!!!

[Reyneth]

Lady: Well I need these.. would you mind calling your people and finding out the price? (nevermind the stickers on the backpacks and the large yellow tags on the wall)
Emp: Yeah.. (FFFFFF $19.95 FF)
Lady: That's too high, I need these (Spiderman and Batman) backpacks for my kids!!

What, did she think she was at a freaking yard sale? Newsflash - if you don't like the price, don't buy it. If you *need* it you find the money somehow. I think the kids would have managed without, personally.

[Sunsetsky]

When people are in my way, I ask twice for them to move. If they ignore me, then I resort to gently pushing through to get to where I want. Of course I'm usually saying "excuse me" while I'm doing. I don't like resorting to that because I feel pushy but they usually get the hint.

[Rine]

Yeah, I give fellow customers a minute or two but then I'll just swoop in and say, "excuse me" and grab what I need and leave. Too many times have I been forced to wait and wait because some lady has parked her cart right in front of something I need and doesn't notice me waiting.

That's why I don't do my grocery/school shopping at Wally world. I go to the much less crowded Winn Dixie. I might have to pay a little more, but I don't have to compete with crowds, they always have what I want in stock, and the employees are very friendly.

I went into Wal-mart the other day to buy a new brake light for my auto and oh my goodness...I walked passed the extended school "zone" of the store and it was an absolute zoo! How can people make such messes and not feel guilty about it? Folders everywhere, mechanical pencils lying all over the floor...it was pathetic. I feel for those employees, I really do.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I hate BTS
I hate BTS
I really hate BTS
I really REALLY hate BTS
Dear God I hate BTS
Did I mention I hate BTS?

Today's truck--we got in the 10 cent notebooks again but now we're running out of pens, binders and other things people want, and those didn't come in.

But what did come in was 2 heaping pallets of backpacks and another half-pallet of backpacks. Backpacks are not selling well at all. And because we don't want to be backstocking them I had to work every last backpack out to the floor. Which meant mixing different backpacks on the same hook, and loading the hooks so full of backpacks the hooks were bending down toward the basedeck.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Students do not need a new backpack every year. I used to have to go two or three years with the same backpack before I could get a new one. People are starting to realize this.

It never fails. The buyers go nuts buying all these backpacks, they come in by the truckload, and then 3/4 of them don't sell during BTS and have to go on clearance, which prevents us from setting Halloween and Christmas on time, which gets the suits pissed off at us

[Broomjockey]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Students do not need a new backpack every year. I used to have to go two or three years with the same backpack before I could get a new one. People are starting to realize this.

Actually, I was one of the few that did need a new backpack every year, but that's because I always completely overloaded mine with free-reading books, so either a strap would go, the zipper would go, or the bottom would. Every year my parents tried to make me use last year's, but it would only last a week. It was kind of funny that I'd get picked up from school, hold up the ruined backpack and my mom would just say "What do you DO to those things?" (And they weren't cheap backpacks all the time either. I'm just that good!)

[tollbaby]

When I was a kid, we got a new backpack, lunch box, etc. every year for school. I've just informed my children that they're not getting new backpacks this year (although I did buy my son another new pencil case since last year's has been given over to his art supplies, since he had nowhere else to store his good graphite pencils).

Bought all his supplies yesterday for $50 I was very proud of myself. BTS madness hasn't struck yet where we are, but the stores are all prepared, so I bought all his stuff in one fell swoop yesterday. I still haven't RECEIVED my daughter's calendar and supply list (calling the school today) so she was rather teary-eyed that we weren't buying HER stuff ... she thought that meant she wasn't allowed to go back to school LOL

[Broomjockey]

she thought that meant she wasn't allowed to go back to school LOL

"Sorry sweetie, no more school for you. You learned it all already!"

[tollbaby]

yeah, and as she's just going into grade 1, I doubt that would fly

[Rine]

I still haven't RECEIVED my daughter's calendar and supply list (calling the school today) so she was rather teary-eyed that we weren't buying HER stuff ... she thought that meant she wasn't allowed to go back to school LOL

You know, where I live, all the stores get copies of all the supplies lists from the county schools and the stores then set up a table or display for all the parents to come and get the supplies lists.

Maybe a store in your area does the same? I know here that the Wal-marts do this for my county and the neighboring county as well. Most of the grocery stores do the same, as well as the Targets.

[tollbaby]

errr no, it doesn't work that way here... At least, not at any store I've ever been to.

[Rahmota]

all the stores get copies of all the supplies lists from the county schools and the stores then set up a table or display for all the parents to come and get the supplies lists.

Thats the way the stores around here work too. That and they sent home the kid's class needs the last day of school and sent out letters which we just got yesterday. SO we went to town today and the back to school isles where all fully stocked, neat and reasonable orderly with not too much out of place or in the way at our local wally world. Took maybe 20 minutes to get 4 kids worth of stuff together.

And as for the backpacks I always used an old army surplus one in school. Had it from junior high to graduation. Then someone stole it at college. Lovely. But yeah I did notice they seemed to be a bit overstocked on backpacks there.