With all this "Target Bashing" going on here lately (I honestly didn't know
Target's policies were that bad, I have only shopped at Target once in the
past two years and I kind of liked it) I though I would tip the balance a
little by discussing Wal-Mart.

I'm not criticizing Wal-Mart's customer service policies and practice
(which stink IMHO), or their business structure (which as a business
student, I respect); I just can't afford to shop there.

WHAT?!?! How can anyone be too poor to shop at Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is only
place lower income folks can shop...

Well, no, and I'll tell you why.

If I could walk into a Wal-Mart and just buy the milk, eggs, bread, and TP
(all basic groceries) that I need, pay, and leave, there wouldn't be a
problem. But no! I have to load my cart with a bunch of cheap junk and
trinkets that I don't need - storage baskets, I've run out of things to
store because I have so many - cleaning supplies, which is a rant for
another day - health and beauty supplies, just what I needed, another
bottle of lotion.... You name it, if it's "cheap" enough, it's in my
cart!

And then there are the clothes...

Oh, the lure of cheap t-shirts and jeans for the family......

Earlier this week I couldn't sleep and I was watching a show on one of the
cable channels called "What Not to Wear" and they we giving a lower income,
inner-city single mother a make-over. This young lady was studying to be a
paralegal and she desperately needed help with her wardrobe - all her
clothes were about two sizes too small and inappropriately styled for a law
office. The hosts of show asked her why she doesn't have any decent
clothing and she said, "If I have any money, I buy (clothes) for my
daughter." And I thought to myself that that sounded familiar. But when
they went through her closet, the hosts said she had the largest collection
of denim that they have ever seen. They filled two garment racks by
hanging her jeans! She supposedly has no money but was able to buy all
those jeans? --an example of the Wal-Mart effect

The hosts of the show tried to tell her that with the money she spent on
all those jeans, she could have bought herself two or three nice,
professional outfits. It's quality, not quantity that matters in
shopping.

I think that those of lower income (which includes me) should avoid places
like Wal-Mart because it is too easy to "over-buy" there. It is my theory
that if you shop in a place that doesn't sell their impulse items below
cost, you will think twice before buying it (hmmmm...I think I'll finish my
bottle of Jergins before I get that $6 bottle of Vasiline Intensive Care).
I am weak, therefore, I shop only at Publix and try to stick to basics.

The Florida Lottery is up to $25 million this week and I swear to God, if I
win it, I'm going to take a part-time job at McDonalds and show them how
it's done. And I'm going to donate my paycheck to the employee that I think
has the most promise.

How hard is it to say "thank you, have a nice day?" Does it really take so
much effort to take pride in your work and make sure the right food gets
into the right tray? I swear (wow I swore twice in one blog!), no one
takes any pride in their work anymore. Some people think that the world
owes them a living.

And don't give me that rubbish that the reason why they don't give good
service is because they make minimum wage. Let's put this into
perspective. Have you ever gone to Disney World and noticed the people who
sweep the street? Most of the time they always seem to have a smile on
their face and will kindly try to answer any questions you have (like where
are the bathrooms and when does the parade start?). Disney is notorious
for paying low wages, what is there motivation then for working out in the
hot sun? Also, what about the people at Disney who work at the food
stands? They seem to be nice and smiling too - don't tell me that they
make more then your average McDonalds employee.

The bottom line is that corporate culture can make or break customer
service. The Disney employees are nicer than McDonalds employees because
they are required to be in order to keep up the facade. Disney is supposed
to be a happy place, why can't places like McDonalds motivate their
employees to project the same image? How come Disney can motivate their
employees to be friendly but other companies cannot?

This is my first real "blog" since I just recently just found this website.
You all may be hearing from me a lot since my head is FULL of these
rehtorical questions and I wish to be on the side of the consumer.