Bye-bye Walmart (Maybe)

While other people make fun of Walmart and some are even hostile for a variety of reasons, I don’t find shopping there a problem except for the occasional surly sales associate or the associates that have the uncanny ability to become invisible when you have a question. And I do get a little peeved when they don’t restock their shelves as often as they should. I guess it comes down to the fact that they have the lowest prices on food, prescriptions, etc. Our local store is clean, the aisles are not blocked with merchandise, and most of the time there are enough check-out registers open.
I estimate that we spend quite a bit on a monthly basis since I buy most of my groceries (with the exception of meat and produce) there and all of our prescriptions are there. I think we probably spend close to $1,000.00 a month in the store. Groceries and meds amount to about $700.00 so maybe it’s a little less.

I have almost decided to take my business elsewhere for one reason--the crappy attitudes of the cashiers. I hate those plastic bags they use so sometime ago I started buying and using reuseable shopping bags. I bought several generic ones and a few from the stores I shop in the most. When I go into the stores, I use either the appropriate store bags or generic ones. It’s not like I use Bi-Lo bags in a Walmart store. The cashiers in Walmart are so snotty when I ask them to use my bags. I get eye-rolls, giggles and glances between them that seem to say, “Here she is again,” and one said to me, “I really hate these bags.” I said, “I really hate those plastic ones you use.” She said, “I try to work as fast as I can and they are hard to use. They are too floppy.” I was thinking, “You weren’t working that fast when you were discussing politics with the customer in front of me, and my bags are nowhere near as ‘floppy’ as your plastic bags.” Last week one lady was all smiles until I asked her to use my bags. As they say, if looks could kill, I’d be pushing up daisies right now. I'm also glad to didn't have anything breakable since she was throwing things into the bags with little regard for my purchases.

It seems to me that Walmart could be losing on two fronts. They sell the reuseable bags, and I am supposing that they must make a profit on them. I’m sure that saving the environment comes in second to making a little profit. I also wonder if I’m the only person who is so peeved that they would take their business elsewhere therefore depriving Walmart of our contribution to their profit.

I now have to decide whether it's worth spending considerably more money at other establishments that are located some distance away thereby using more gas and causing more pollution.  Does my puny contribution using resuseable bags really help the enviroment? Does Walmart care that I take my $1,000 a month elsewhere? I think I may know the answer to the last question.