Always Low Prices

and sometimes low-class.

You know, I like shopping at Wal Mart as much as the next person (I'm more of a Target gal, but I do find good deals at Wally's, too), but there are times when I wonder what the hell the leaders of this company and its stores are thinking.

Mervyn's yesterday was busy, but people were generally in good spirits, and I saw very little impatience in customers. They waited patiently in line, wished me a happy holiday season, and didn't get their panties in a wad when we ran out of the $6 flannel sheets and $12.99 Memory Foam pillows. They just accepted it as, "I wasn't here early enough," and let it go.

There is no way on God's green earth that my store would have allowed its associates to throw products in the air for the mosh pit below to wrestle for. In every way, we set up our products so that they are easily accessible, easy to find, and our aisles are wide enough that people can get through without shoving, falling, etc.

We had managers everywhere, and the head manager was pushing product out all day. There she was in her nice suit and (adorable!) pumps, pushing cartloads of product out of backstock so our customers could get the things they wanted from the ad. She was helping associates at the wrap desks (registers) and generally overseeing her store so that things ran smoothly.

I had customers tell me, "You guys are great--Wal Mart only had 10 of those laptops they advertised, and most people didn't have a chance--you have a LOT of the product you advertised."

You know, I'm not all that excited about working retail, but I am glad I work for a company that runs things with a little bit of organization and thought to how people are going to act in these situations.

Hearing the reports about some Wal Mart stores and the fights and craziness (click here for a video that makes the jaw hit the floor), I was really glad that if I had to work the retail madness of Black Friday, at least I was in a store where people weren't throwing punches and creating mosh pits.