New Phobia: Mass Retailers. I Am Wal-Mart!

Good Morning BET's!

I was at Wal-Mart the other day.  I go there frequently to shop for one item that I should have put on a list so that I could combine trips, but I must admit, I enjoy walking the aisles and browsing.  Invariably, I will be approached by a fellow shopper and asked, "Sir, where do you keep your (fill in the blank)."  And this is not solely a Wal-Mart phenomenon for me.  This also happens at Target and Meijer.

Endless Aisles of Deals

My question becomes, why does this happen to me so frequently?  Does this happen to other people as well?  At first, I thought it might be because of the clothes I am wearing.  Maybe I'm wearing a shirt that looks like a blue vest with buttons and a name tag.  I actually checked one time just to make sure.  Nope.  Maybe it's because I have a vacant stare while I am perusing the awesome deals. Maybe I just look like I am in no hurry to leave, so I must be an employee.  No, that is actually counter-intuitive now that I think about it.  So what is it that makes people think I work at these establishments?

Looking at the evidence, I do notice a trend.  When I am at our public library, a venue in which I spend inordinate amounts of time, this  never happens.  I have never been sitting in my lawyer's office and been asked to take a look over someones will.  I also have never been asked for a diagnosis while waiting in the doctor's office.  Why only in mass merchant retailers?

Don't get me wrong.  I started my career in retail at a large discount drug store.  I LOVE retail!  But why, thirty some years later do I carry myself in such a way as to elicit questions about merchandising and store layout?  I think the answer is clear.  I have spent so much time roaming the aisles at these massive stores that a part of my DNA has been altered to reflect this fact.  Wal-Mart, Target and Meijer have actually assimilated me into the fold.  I am Wal-Mart!

Frighteningly, I have noticed other behaviors in myself that lend credence to this theory.  When I take a walk in the woods for instance, I look at the trees and admire their majesty.  But then I catch myself looking at individual branches, trying to find the best leaf, or maybe a better price on one that may be a bit damaged or off center.  When I mow my yard, I find myself mowing first in the places where the customer may not go, to get them to go there first, making them follow an evil maze of turf before they find what they came in here for in the first place.  AHHHhhhhhh!

So, today's life lesson:  Try not to over think things, and shop at Macy's once in a while.  (This has never happened to me at Macy's.)

Back to School Shopping-A Random Act of Kindness

Good Afternoon Everyone!

The other day I went on a huge journey to the civilization located a mere 25 miles-ish north of my home...a land we call Mishawaka!  They have a Super Target.  We don't have a Super Target.  We have a Super Wal-Mart, which puts us slightly lower on the food chain in terms of shopping I think.

As I was strolling through the aisles, salivating over the selection, that just a "normal" Target doesn't have, a thought occurred to me.  Why not put a little "care package" of school supplies together for my favorite teacher's classroom?  This would only cost me maybe another fifteen bucks, and it might put a smile on the face of some student who didn't get to do their BTS shopping at a Super Target. 

Then I had another thought.  What if something like this is already in place?  What if the PTA or another organization already organizes something like this to help the students?  After a two minute search on the web, I found that this is a very common practice.  Communities and school systems are doing this all over the country!  This is great!

Alas, another thought came to mind.  I had a lot of thoughts in that Super Target.  SO What!  What if it's not being done in my town?  Then the kids will suffer!  So I decided to do it.  And I encourage all of you to do it as well.  You don't have to spend a ton, just get a list of the required school supplies for a child in a specific class and make it happen!  If you can afford to, make it happen multiple times!

Folks, with unemployment and underemployment and the economy and all of these factors going against us, we can only count on one another.  Do this small act if you can and I know you will make a huge difference in the life of a child on the first day of school!

Thanks for reading, and acting, and Peace to you all! And remember, if you like what you are reading, don’t forget to follow me on Networked Blogs, or Google Plus, or subscribe on the top right, and recommend posts at the bottom of each post using Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook etc.  Thanks again for reading!

Back To School Shopping? Already?

The other day I was having lunch with some friends and we got on the topic of "Back to School" shopping.  I know it seems early, but if you go into any store that sells anything remotely close to school supplies, like pencils, crayons, dog food, you will see what I mean.   In our discussion, two stores came up; Walmart and Staples.  One of my friends claimed that Staples had much better deals than Walmart, which of course, took me by surprise.

When I think of back to school shopping, I think of just popping in the car and heading to Walmart, like everybody else, right.  After thinking about it for a while, I realized that the reason my mind goes to Walmart, is that Walmart is my only choice for local deep discount shopping.  I don't want to drive 24 miles to the nearest Staples!  But do I have to?

After lunch I decided to see if the Staples deals were all that great, and to see if I could get those same deals online.  To be fair, I also checked Walmart.com to compare.  So, here we go.

Walmart is a true American success story.  They started out as a five and dime and have become the worlds largest retailer.  Their 100,000+ square foot stores can save you money on almost anything you purchase.  Sometimes the quality is a bit in question, but, you get what you pay for I guess.  As an online store, they really don't have a clue in my opinion. 

For being the worlds largest retailer you would think their web presence would be astounding.  You would think they could find the best of the best to program their sites.  Apparently they are shopping at the programmers equivalent of Walmart to get their discount programmers.  What an incredibly boring website.  It is also very confusing to navigate. This could be because of the amount of products they sell, but that should not be the consumer's problem.  You would think "Back to School" would be highlighted immediately on the first page.  I have a 22 inch screen and I had to scroll down just to find it, which is a cardinal sin of website design.  Overall, I decided to not make a purchase and if I need anything from Walmart, I'll just get in the car and make the trip.

Staples on the other hand has been paying attention the last fifteen years.  They have come from being a great retailer to becoming a great e-tailer!  Not only is their site striking to look at, it leads you to your products and allows you to explore their store quite easily.  Best of all, the "Back to School" deals are good on the website, and, if you spend $45 or more, shipping is free!  Who of us won't be spending that much this fall?

Just a quick note to add to all of this.  I am all about shopping locally and supporting the local small business owner.  At this time of year though, when you are buying multiple items and possibly a good quantity of them, you need to find the best deal.  If your local merchant can compete, wonderful, shop locally.  If not, you might find the best deals right on your laptop.

So, think outside of the box this year and look around for your back to school deals.  You may be surprised at what you find.