Wal Mart Woes

Walley World. I have recently learned you just can not live without 'em. No matter how hard you try it is just impossible. Crowded lines, busy aisles, generally less than friendly cashiers (I will admit you do get the occasional friendly and helpful employee), and then there is the Saturday mayhem. You swear you will never return to such a place. Yet we always go back. You just can not be firm on such a statement. WalMart will always beckon you back regardless of how strong willed you are. They have got you and they know it! Recently I placed a purchase online at walmart.com. I paid to have it overnighted to my home as they do not ship to APOs and this was for Elliot's Father's Day. I needed it here at the house in time for me to ship it and for it to reach him in Iraq in time for the kids and I show our appreciation to him for being the most excellent father and husband. I was shocked to learn that this item's fianl destination was not our home but my parent's home in another state! You can not imagine how frantic I was (okay for those of you who know me you can imagine). A few years ago we were visiting me parents for Madelyn's birthday and I had one of her gifts shipped from walmart.com to their house. Like most sites, Walmart saved this address in their system. Although I have ordered items since then and have had them shipped to my current address somehow it still got shipped to the wrong address. My mistake or theirs I am not really sure. I would swear that I confirmed my current address as the shipping address but a crazy pregnant lady has a tendency to make mistakes! Who ever is to blame, I was most disappointed with the way that customer service choose to handle this dilemma. As soon as I received the email that the item had shipped and all the details I called FedEx to have the package rerouted to my home. FedEx reassured the crying hormonal pregnant lady on the other end of the line it could be rerouted but they needed Walmart to make that call. I called Walmart's customer service line and initially spoke with a customer service rep who informed me that once the transaction has been made it is their policy to not make any changes but they would refund me my money once I shipped the item back to them. Obviously that answer did not sit well. I was speechless. Really? That was the answer from a business that we frequent! Naturally I asked to speak to a manager. She read me the exact same script that the customer service rep had read to me. That was it. Not willing to do a thing. Before I ended the phone call I was sure to let the manager know that the gift was for my husband in Iraq. I explained that as a wife and a mother the last place you want your husband to be on Father's Day is at war. How horrible it would be to be away from your children on such a day. Now my husband not only would be alone but would be without this gift that the kids and I had spent countless hours planning and preparing. She had nothing to say. Not even an I am sorry. Through my tears I swore off Walmart at all costs. I could not believe it. This story does have a happy ending though. My parents were quick to the rescue and got it out to Elliot for me. He should be getting that portion of his Father's Day any day now. I received a call from Walmart today. Apologizing for the way the situation was handled. They were very apologetic. Despite the fact the call was a week after the incident I was grateful they did take the time to call. They even emailed me a giftcard for my troubles. I am slightly less angry. Appearently I can be bought with giftcards. Had I not been 8 months pregnant I most likely would not be angry at all anymore. As for my ban on shopping at Walmart . . . . it lasted 4 days. When it came time to order one of Aiden's birthday gifts they were significantly cheaper than Toys R Us. Amazingly that purchase made it to my house. There is just no way around it. Walmart has the market beat on prices. You might not get great customer service and you will have to wait in 45 minute lines on Saturday but when raising a family where else would you go? I guess this is where they say you get what you pay for.