Walmart Cashiers
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
December 19, 2008 6:21pm CST
Maybe it's just my city, but I swear I've never encountered an intelligent or polite cashier at Walmart. Every week I have complaints about the cashier I've encountered that day. Usually it's because of the way they bag my groceries. I mean honestly, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that spaghetti sauce does not go in the same bag as bread.
Complaining doesn't work, I've tried it. They tell me the cashier's actually do get trained in bagging, but I'll never believe it.
Anyways, the cashier I encountered today truly ticked me off. First of all, there was a horrible snow storm outside, so I wanted to get in and out of Walmart as quickly as possible so I could get home before the storm got any worse. Not to mention I had all 5 kids with me, doesn't make for a pleasant shopping experience, lol.
So I'm checking out, and of course she doesn't bag the groceries correctly, but that's not my complaint.
I recieve WIC checks because of my 1 year old baby. With the WIC checks I get free milk, eggs, juice, and baby formula.
So I'm cashing a WIC check today for milk. The check states 1% or fat free milk. I was purchasing skim milk (which is fat free for those who don't know, I assumed everyone did). I've been getting skim milk for the past year since I've been on WIC for this baby, and of course for a year with my previous baby. Never had a problem.
Well apparently this cashier didn't know skim milk was fat free. So she had to call a CSM over to check on it. The CSM didn't know either and had to go ask someone else. OMG! I stood there for like 20 minutes while they tried to figure it out.
I was so angry. I even showed her my WIC brochure which explains what I can get with the checks, but she insisted on making me wait (I think at this point she was just being rude), while the baby was getting miserable from needing a nap, the other kids were getting antsy from having to be grocery shopping, and the snow was only getting worse outside.
Once the holidays are over, hubby and I plan on doing our shopping at a different store to see if there's truly a difference in the amount of money we spend. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more to get decent customer service, and cashiers who are not idiots!!!
Ok, sorry for my rant, that just really ticked me off today. And I apologize to anyone who may currently work at Walmart, I mean no offense to anyone, I just seem to have a bad experience everytime I go there. Don't get me started on the time I got into an argument with a cashier who was too busy talking to the cashier next to her that she wasn't even ringing up my items. OMG!!!
Do you have a horrid Walmart story to share? Are the employees at your Walmart rude (not to mention stupid), or is it just my city?
2 people like this
9 responses
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
20 Dec 08
Most every cashier in WalMart I have ever encountered is nice. If they weren't around here, they'd get fired. Now, there may be some who don't say too much, but I can deal with that. My daughter used to cashier at Food World when she was young, and every one wanted to go through her line because she was so personable. They'd be lined up down the aisle at hers and hardly anyone in the other lines. AND she was the fastest and most proficient bagger they had. OH, I've encountered the ones that put bananas on top of bread, believe me! AND I complain and they say bring it in and you can get some more when you do. AND I do!
But, by the way, my daughter's daughter is now working as a cashier at WalMart, but they are training her in associate work. She made ASSOCIATE OF THE MONTH just this month and has only been working there 6 months. You have to be a good employee to get that. 
She's starting college next month, so I don't know how long she'll get to work. I know she'll have to study lots and it won't leave much time for working.
She's starting college next month, so I don't know how long she'll get to work. I know she'll have to study lots and it won't leave much time for working. @katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
20 Dec 08
I've complained so many times about the rude employees. And what kills me is sometimes I don't feel like standing in line at the customer service desk in order to complain, so I tell the greeter on the way out, assuming they'll tell the person who needs to know... but they say no, I have to go to Customer Service. Oh heaven forbid you do something that's not in your job description, geez.
I've complained to the CSR's before, but they are just as bad as the cashier's, and they roll their eyes at me.
Once however I did get upset enough to demand to see the store manager. They gave me a $20 gift card for my troubles.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
20 Dec 08
I'd keep going back to get those 20 dollar gift cards. They would get tired of seeing my face ! Blessings
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
21 Dec 08
After having gone through the HE** of shopping, I'm not in the mood to be there any longer than I have to in order to complain to the appropriate person, and I doubt I can get those $20 gift cards over the phone.
Although if I had a bad enough experience I suppose I could cause a scene and make the cashier call the store manager over, lol. Trust me, when I'm in that bad of a mood, I'm capable of being a royal B****.
@stormygrl (761)
• United States
20 Dec 08
Here closeby is two different towns so there is two Wal-Marts and both of them usually always has pleasant cashiers,some that talk too much but otherwise smile and are nice.Now both vision centers in Wal_mart must have trained them in rudeness.They tried to charge way too much and I still had trouble with my contacts,the doctor was nice but the women out front were all snippy and sour.Will never go back there again. Yes that sounds really stupid with the milk and it always seems to happen when you're in a hurry.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
21 Dec 08
I agree with Barb, I go to Walmart Vision Centers and rarely have a complaint. They aren't Walmart employees, they're employees of the vision center.
1 person likes this
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
21 Dec 08
I don't think WalMart trains the people in the vision centers. They usually come from some other place. My daughter has bought glasses for her son at one time through WalMart and had better luck with them than with others she had bought. I think the rudeness is simply something instilled in some people - they can't help themselves!
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
27 Dec 08
I try to avoid Walmart. I haven't had the bad experiences that you have but I do notice that they are slow and quite often just dull....not friendly. I did get carded for cigs recently as they got busted for selling to minors. The woman would not sell them to me as I did not have my licence on me. I'm 52!!! I didn't argue with her. I just said I'd get them elsewhere. As for your WIC...that should have been a no-brainer. I'm a cashier and to be honest, I would not have held up the line for such a thing even if I wasn't sure. It's milk and it is accepted by wic. Heck there are cashiers that let fruit loops & cocoa puffs slide thru and we ALL know that is NOT ok. Even if she was unsure, it should have been a judgement call.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
27 Dec 08
Sadly I almost had the same situation yesterday when I went again. A different cashier this time had the same question about the WIC. Two weeks in a row! Geez!
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
20 Dec 08
I would not believe that Walmart cashiers are trained on how to bag things. Just last week I had a bottle of dish soap open up in one of my bags and by the time I got home there was Dawn all over my TUMS, yogurt, and all other EDIBLE items in my bag. Who puts dish soap in a bag with yogurt?
I have met a few nice cashiers at Walmart, but I would say the rude or dumb ones are more common.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
20 Dec 08
Unfortunatly I've been doing my grocery shopping at Walmart basically since I moved in with hubby, so over 7 years now... and I've been in 3 or 4 different Walmart's in this area to do that shopping. 9 times out of 10 it's the same thing, rude or stupid cashier. If I ever manage to find a cashier I like, I search for her everytime I'm there, but the cashier's there don't seem to last too long.
But I have gotten in the habit of rebagging my groceries right there before I even take them off the spinner rack. This drives some of them nuts, and makes them even more rude.
@overhere (515)
• United States
21 Dec 08
I am a Walmart cashier and cannot defend the cashiers treatment of you other than to offer a possible explanation. At this time of year there are quite a few Xmas hire cashiers and it is very possible you may have had one of them. We have it drummed into us the importance of getting WIC right (if it is wrong the store does not get paid I know i put thru powdered formula instead of concentrate and got a coaching :-( ). When I started three years ago I had never even heard of WIC (long story) and its strange as we always assume everyone knows what we know If you have never ever drunk skimmed milk then yes maybe you havent a clue what it is - she was right to check but if she used her brain it would have been so much easier to ask another cashier close by rather than call a CSM and keep you waiting.
I cannot fault the comment on bagging it appalls me what some cashiers do but that is the same at any store - at least the ones that still bag !
If you have a complaint do one of two things (i) go to customer services and ask to see store manager or (ii) ring the store and ask to speak to the store manager. Its the two sure fire ways to get the comments back to the cashier. Door greeters and CSM's to a certain extent are looking out for their own take the complaint higher and it DOES get back to us. But also when you get a GOOD experience then likewise do the same for that!
There are miserable cashiers (who I never work out why they keep their jobs) and nice ones I hope you get luckier in the future but believe me there are also pleasant customers and the not so nice - you'd be amazed what we can put up with in a days work lol! But I actually love the job and the customers so come thru my line and I promise to raise a smile!
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
21 Dec 08
But some of the issues I deal with are all through the year, not just Christmas time, and the Walmart near me doesn't have any extra lanes open for the holidays. They have like 30 lines, but only 10 are open at any given time. They just don't schedule their people right.
I have once complained to the store manager, and I recieved a $20 gift card for my trouble. But most of the time it's just not that huge of a deal, because it's what I've come to expect from Walmart cashiers.
If I do happen upon a cashier that doesn't give me a bad experience, I try to remember and look for that cashier the next time I'm shopping in the store. But none of them last very long. I've shopped in this same store for years and rarely see the same face twice.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
20 Dec 08
I can just picture your frusration with 5 children with you. They realy didn't know that skimmed milk contained no fat? You should not have been embarrased over this either. I know of Walmart and go there sometimes when I visit my daughter in NC but I don't remember what the service was like. Poor you - rushing to get homw before the storm got worse too. I have had many bad experiences in the country where I live so I can relate to that one.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
21 Dec 08
You know what's worse, I'm sure had she looked at the milk closely enough, it would have said fat free somewhere on it. I've never before had a problem buying skim milk with my WIC checks, and to make matters worse the CSM didn't even know... how'd she get to be a CSM if she were that stupid?
@MrsAurora (1)
• United States
30 Apr 09
The scenario seems to be blown put of proportion. Granted, the cashier didn't know it was fat free (not everyone buys that milk, by the way) but if you ring something up wrong on a wic voucher, you get fired. They have to make sure things are right because so many people that shop at walmart don't follow the wic voucher. The cashier was just making sure things were right and just, and I think its a little much of you to say that it was bad service. It was to make sure things were right like I said, and it wasn't to inconvinience you. It may have felt that way, but it wasn't ment to make you mad. Direct your anger towards your fellow shoppers who don't know how to follow directions who make it difficult for you to get your stuff.
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
31 Dec 08
Personally I think this experience could have been at any store not just WalMart as I am sure there are many out there that do not know that this would be considered Skim Milk. But since you had your Brochure and they still would not listen and kept on having to call for someone else, that is where it is crazy. What type of Customer service was that? But Sorry to hear that had to happen to you and wishing you the Best when you switch to another place to shop, and hope you never have to encounter that type of situation again.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
26 Dec 08
Our walmart cashiers aren't too bad. For the most part the worst thing about them is how slow they are. I've read stories on there once before a long time ago. one girl said she was trying to buy nicotine gum. I guess it was really expensive but it rang up really cheap. The cashier was too busy talking to a friend and she tried to tell her more than once but the cashier was rude and wouldn't listen so she gave up and just left. She ended up getting it really cheap. I remember when a friend worked at our grocery store. She said you had to be so fast at scanning items to work as a cashier, but I swear they don't test them anymore.
@irishidid (8687)
• United States
21 Dec 08
The cashiers at our local wally world know me as "Leah' mom", so they are usually pretty nice to me. There are perk to be related to an employee.
It's the local K-mart where the stupid people work around here.
