Why I HATE shopping at WalMart

Let me start off by saying this may turn into a rant. There are probably many different reasons people don’t like shopping at a specific place and I know WalMart gets a TON of criticism and some would probably say it’s rightfully deserved, and I’d probably agree. But this post isn’t really about WalMart at all, instead this is a post about feelings.

Like most men, I don’t usually talk about my feelings and most the time I’m not sure I have a lot of them, but sometimes I am pretty introspective and I like to explore feelings and how people react to them and how I too react to these feelings.

So after ever trip to WalMart where I’ve had to ask for “help” and 9 out of 10 times being disappointed I explored those feelings of disappointment and frustration and I think the reason I don’t like shopping at WalMart is simple this:

They make me feel like an Employee.

What’s worse than that when you’re trying to buy something and they act like you work there?!?! I’ve heard complaints about other co-workers, about how hard it is to work there… I’m not here to console, I just want to know where paint pens are!

So the short lesson in this story folks is simple. Don’t make your customers feel like employees. Don’t make them work to buy something from you. Treat your customers like you treat an esteemed guest, not how you treat your family, or your friends, and definitely not like a co-worker.

When you’re communicating with customers be mindful of what and how much you may be asking them to do. If you’re making your customers think, work or wander how do you think they’re feeling about that experience? If you’re leading them, answering questions and showing them what they want, how do you think they feel then?

Finally, If you’re at a conference and a customer goes out of there way to offer something that annoys them about your site, don’t ask them to submit a comment from the site, take a note and pass it on and follow-up. It’s small differences that don’t take much effort that can leave a lasting memory. People remember feelings.

Where do you hate shopping and why? I’d love to hear your feelings on the subject 🙂 Let me know in the comments.

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