Good for you. Those registries never work. When I was in California
trying to shop for a frinds registry none close to me worked either.
Screw Walmart I go to Target.

A manager from the othyer Glen Burnie store called me this morning.
She told me she was not sure why I was told the registry in her store
wasn't working because it seemed to be working to her. She admitted
sometimes new employees will say that of they are unsure of how to
work it ... In any case, she assured me that it was in working order
and that I should inform her or another manager immediately if I was
told differently (admittedly I should have done that in the first
place).
She also said that she was going to call neighboring stores to see
what was wrong with their machines because she was upset I had gone
through that.
Way to go, Walmart for correcting a bad situation so quickly!

Personally, as far as baby items are concerned, I would never use the
WalMart registry because their selection is so limited. But I
completely understand what you mean about wanting to be considerate of
your guests locations and budget constraints.

Have you TRIED the Target or BRU registries? Both have far better
selections than WM and are available online, saving you the hassle of
going to the store and registering for things. You can do the entire
thing from the comfort of your computer and the selection of items is
FAR better than WM's, IMHO.

It also saves those friends who aren't close from having to find a
store because they can order and ship it directly to you all at the
same time.

As for the expense side of it (since this is your first) the best
thing to tell your friends who are strapped for cash is to ask for
simple things like diapers, wipes, onesies and blankets. You can
NEVER have too many of these things and they typically aren't going to
break anyone's budget.

Another suggestion (not registry related) is to ask those friends who
may live near by if they can stop in and spend some time with the baby
so you can get some sleep. Believe me (with a 9 month old under my
roof!) you'll value an hour of sleep after your baby arrives more than
ANYTHING someone can buy for them. It will make them feel good to
help you out and won't cost a dime!

I think you are a true fan of WalMart to go to the lengths you did to
register and I hope they recognize that. But you do have other
options and they might work out to be much easier on everyone in the
end!

Good Luck and CONGRATS!

http://planetfeedback.typepad.com/mommage/2007/08/where-to-shower.html


Come by and take a look!

A manager from one of the Glen Burnie stores called me yesterday. I
was very suprised! She assured me that they had made a service call
and the machine would be fixed sometime next week. I'm going to call
next Friday to see if that is the case. I didn't hear from corporate
Walmart or any other stores, but I'm assuming the respose started
through this site as I only spoke to the DM's secretary.
However, after reading all the feedback from this site, I have decided
that I'm porbably obsessing mindlessly over this situation ... If
walmart doesn't happen and those attending the shower from the rural
area (there is literally a Walmart, McDonald's and a few thrift stores
in the town and MILES until anything else - yes places like this still
exist!)then I will make do with what I get :)

I actually used to live in Anne Arundel county for 2-3 years
(specifically West Ordnance Rd.) and during that time, myself and two
others planned a baby shower for a coworker. The first place we went
was the same Walmart (it was only 5 blocks away from home and like
you, we wanted to save money) but we had the same experience with a
defective machine and no help whatsoever from 2 associates, so I can
definitely believe you there. Like what other letter writers are
suggesting, please try another store altogether because saving a
little money is not worth all of the headaches (plus all of the gas
you are using up adds up too).
My recommendation and the same response from others I know is the
Babie's "R" Us in Pasadena, MD...not too far from Mountain Rd. Their
staff is extremely knowledgeable and the experience was top notch. My
friends and I spent an hour with an employee who patiently answered
our questions and made us confident that we planned something
successful..and it was, we had a good time.

I was just invited to my cousin's wife's baby shower this week. The
invitation didn't have the registry in it, I suppose that was only
given to the Aunts, to pass down info to others to keep it simple or
maybe modest. I know they are funny about registries but realized
that they do help people who aren't in the area or don't know what the
mom to be needs for a gift. They went with Babys R Us and from what I
see online, it seems pretty good.

I had two showers given by my family. Long story, thought I wasn't
having anymore after years and losing two so between giving things
away, throwing out broken items or not needing them anymore (so I
thought at the time) not to mention all the recalls on what I did
still have, I had nothing much left and suddenly found myself needing
baby items again. Same happened to my sis who has children 17 yrs
apart in age. So we gave her a few. Just didn't go inviting the world
is all and never used a registry.(not that we wouldn't, we just didn't
need it for the basic things we needed and second hand things were
fine at the time too).

I don't see why you couldn't still have another registry from another
store in addition to this. By the time the invitations are sent out or
if they already are, your mother can make phone calls to who can pass
the word on about the new registry(s)

You did a lot of running back and forth to stay on as a loyal Walmart
customer, and I think they owe you more than what you've gotten from
them. It's time to look for another store. There are a few indications
in this string of comments as to where you might try, and I can't add
any new ones, but anyway, good luck!

Great letter. I completely agree that these registries should be
working. Haven't had this problem in our store.

With regards to who throws the shower... I think that etiquette is a
wonderful thing but sometimes common sense must prevail. If a girl
does not have a "best friend" to throw a shower for her, I don't think
it's wrong for the mother or even the girl to throw her own shower.
Some people don't have strong support systems or people they can count
on. When I was pregnant with Zack, I only had casual friends. No one
to throw a shower for me. My mother and I threw it. It was mostly
family but there were some casual friends there... Just my take on
it.

Maybe you and your husband should go to Target or Babies R Us. What
are you doing planning your own shower???? Friends like to do that
for that couples! This way you would not have to deal with it.

You wrote a good letter, but, you know, do you think they will respond
in time for your needs? It sounds like their system is really messed
up. It is great you brought it to their attention, but I think you
would be better off following the other advice to use another
retailer.

However, I must bring up one point: You aren't EVER supposed to plan
or throw your own shower, and relative isn't supposed to do it for you
either (unless the shower is family-only). It's extremely tacky. I
hope this OP is actually only helping a friend with the planning, and
not doing her own party. I'd never attend a shower that someone threw
for themselves.

Babies-R-Us is wonderful and carries items in all price ranges, or
Target as well.

You have a valid complaint and a well written letter.

All in all, valid complaint. Why offer a service if it's going to be
unusable most of the time?

I'm not sure when your baby shower is, but I agree with Redhead:
start looking at another store to register at. You can try Target, or
better yet, if you have a Babies-R-Us in your area, try them. They
were wonderful when I registered there.

Good luck and congratulations!

Why not try another chain store? I happen to know that there is a
(relatively) new Target in Glen Burnie AND there are many other Target
stores in the area. And Target's registry system works.