You Can Call Me MANY Things but DO NOT Call Me a Liar...

Ok, so the drama around these parts is so thick you could cut it with a knife.  LMAO!

Latest drama, I mean "cause" is the lack of 2 seating grocery carts at my local Walmart.  I have spoken to 4 managers in the last 6 months regarding this concern and I have been told that the store was "looking into this" and like a fool, I thought they were being forthcoming. Hmmmm.  Apparently not.  They were just appeasing me. 

Ok, so on Friday I had to do the dreaded, at last in my household, weekly grocery shop.  I REALLY didn't want to drive 30 minutes to the Walmart that actually HAS 2 seating child carts so I threw caution to the wind and on a hope and a prayer I called the Walmart that is 2 minutes form my front door in hopes they had "looked into it" and secured some 2 seating grocery carts.  They hadn't.  And I had had it.  I asked to speak to a manager.  I should have just said "ok, thanks." and been done with it because to be honest all this crusading is exhausting.  But no, I had to ask to speak to a manager. 

The following letter explains what a disappointing conversation that turned out to be....

March 9, 2012

Dear Mike, Store Manager, Royal Oak Walmart:

I am writing this letter in response to a conversation I had with Murray, another Manager at the Royal Oak Walmart this morning at 10:30am.

Since converting this Walmart to a Supercenter, I have spoken with several different Managers regarding the fact that the store does not provide 2 seating grocery carts to accommodate families who shop with 2 small children.  I had been told during each interaction that the store was looking in to obtaining these carts as it has been a growing concern for several customers. 

When I called this morning to see if these carts were available yet, I was disappointed to hear that they were not and asked to speak to a Manager.  When I expressed my concerns regarding this matter to Murray, he was extremely impatient and rude.  When I tried to tell him that I drive to Airdrie to do my shopping because they do have these carts, he was ignorant in cutting me off and told me that they did NOT have such carts.  Because I am a frequent shopper of the Airdrie Walmart, not by choice however, I did in fact KNOW that they do have 2 seating grocery carts.  His response was extremely defensive and argued that they didn’t because he worked there and what I was saying was a false statement.  Feeling like I was being accused of being dishonest, I calmly asked for his name and said thank you for his time.

He also mentioned that Walmart made a decision that they would not provide 2 seating, 2 level carts for customers in ANY Walmart in Canada and suggested I contact the Toronto Head Office with any further complaints.  To which, I have cc’d this letter to them.

This afternoon, I packed my kids up and headed to Airdrie for our weekly grocery shop and imagine my surprise to find 2 seating, 2 level  grocery carts for my shopping convenience.  No.  Actually, I was not surprised at all. 

 I am including some photos for Murray to be able to educate himself more thoroughly on what Walmart does and doesn’t not provide to its customers in Airdrie.   It is important that this be brought to his attention before he makes other customers feel like insignificant liars.  In addition, his tone and dismissal of a justified concern and suggestion by a loyal customer was ignorant and extremely unprofessional, not qualities that Walmart has built its successful business upon.

I look forward to hearing back from you regarding the possibility of obtaining 2 seating grocery carts for the shopping convenience of the Royal Oak Walmart customers.  I can be reached at justanothermomoftwins@gmail.com or at 403.***.****

Thank you in advance.

Ginger *****

I don't waste time writing letters to have them sit on my hard drive.  So, on Saturday afternoon when Daddy Dave took the kids out for an afternoon of fun, I marched my myself to "THE Walmart" to talk directly to the Store Manager, Mike.  It would be WAY more dramatic and exciting to say that my fire is burning even hotter right now but it IS NOT.  Mike the Manager was not only professional and kind, he really listened to what I had to say.  So much so that I apologized to HIM for the harsh letter I had handed him...LMAO! 

As it turns out, the reason why "my" Walmart doesn't provide 2 seating, 2 level carts is  because when they convert old box stores to Supercenter's they didn't take into account the square footage to require larger aisles for these carts.  Fair enough.  But why wasn't I told this 12 months ago?  I don't know.  But, since I had his attention I did point out that other grocery stores have "old style" carts that have 2 seating options in the forms of cars and such.  He seemed sincere when he said I was correct and that he would be looking into this as an option for the store.  I was more than happy with his response.  For Now.  I will "re-visit" the issue in 3 months. 

A GOOD day to me is a day when I learn something new.  Therefore, on Saturday it was a GREAT day because I learned important life lessons:

#1- If you want the truth, talk to the STORE MANAGER or someone in charge.  They really do know what is going on.

#2- No!  I do NOT instigate conflict.  I treat people the way they treat ME.  Mike was very calm, respectful and mature.  I, in return, was also calm, respectful and mature.  It's a WIN-WIN people!

So there you have it...my "Not So Much of a War" with Walmart Canada. LMAO!

Happy Monday!
(I promise to do my best to stay off the path of conflict for the next week...I will TRY, my best!)