Why Walmart Lost my Business

 

There are times when a situation occurs and you must ask, “Why don’t you just walk away?”  Well, I recently did this and as a result Walmart lost my business for good.

I was in Dallas last week with my husband when we stopped for lunch off the feeder. Something hit our tire and we had an instant flat.  No problem, we parked in the shade to change it so we could get a replacement.

It was a good plan but the last people who changed our tires put the lug nuts on too tight and we didn’t have a breaker bar to loosen them.  He said, let’s just slow drive to Discount Tire and get a replacement.

Great idea, if there wasn’t a major highway keeping us from driving slowly. We settled for the Walmart that was to our right, it was closer and it made sense since they also sell tires.

We go inside, we’re told to park in their waiting line and it would be about an hour.  We waited in the truck, watching their “tire hands” work on vehicles that were not in line which brings us to three hours later. 

Meaning we are approaching 6:00 pm and minutes later we are handed our keys and told we don’t have the tool to get your lug nuts off.

We offered to buy the tool, but they refused.  They said, “it wouldn’t work you’re going to need a mechanic to remove them.”

As we stood there, I’m trying to keep quiet because what tire shop doesn’t have a breaker bar? In my head I kept saying over and over, “we’re stuck in Dallas because of idiots.”

What did I learn in that moment, they didn’t care and it was a bold cold in your face, “I don’t care.”

The Next Plan

The next plan was to go talk to a manager and see if they could help.  There was no manager in the store because they had all left for the day.  But there was a store lead who really didn’t want to be bothered but humored us as if he did care.

The back and forth between lead and employee was interesting and resulted in, we don’t have a breaker bar.  My husband very politely shared his opinion on the situation and off we went.

The lead sided with the employee and I could no longer be silent and stated, “I will never shop in a Walmart store ever again.”

You don’t treat customers this way, we were stranded and they didn’t even offer us a ride. The closest auto store was 2 miles away so we decided to walk there, get the tool and return to change out the spare so we could get home.

The Plan Continues

It was a good plan and Robert encouraged me to wait in the truck but for whatever reason I thought it was a better idea for me to go with him.

I was miserable and had no problem sharing my discomfort. Robert tried everything to cheer me up, but I just couldn’t get past being treated like garbage.

I thought surely, they would offer us a ride to Auto Zone because that’s what I would have done.  But I had to remind myself that in today’s world these stores cannot really offer customer service. Apparently doing good, is against store policy or they’re afraid of getting sued.

Regardless I wasn’t happy on this walk and for the first time I began to see how much Dallas has declined in the last 10 years.

Trash everywhere, nobody smiles, the “scent of pot” on almost every street corner and spray paint covering brick sidewalks that were probably installed in the last 20 years.  Meaning they were in good shape. It was filthy! 

I started thinking about when we moved back to Texas with our kids in 1999.  Dallas was such a different place; the people were friendly, inviting and the city was clean. I honestly felt like I was in a foreign land asking myself what happened.

No need to answer that because I know what happened. There is a dramatic shadow of darkness that surrounds most of our cities in Texas and our southern roots are slipping away.

The Silver Lining

By the time we arrived at the Auto Zone there sat an SUV with a magnetic sign on the passenger door, “Mobile Mechanic” I looked at Robert and smiled for the first time in hours.

The silver lining in that whole afternoon was about this moment and it was a blessing. God was with us this whole time even if I refused to feel and see it.

Robert stopped to talk to the Mobile Mechanic while I went into the Auto Zone to use their bathroom.  But guess what it wasn’t available after 6pm to customers due to a new store policy.

But I could go next door where the crack heads were hanging out and very few people spoke English. Did I feel safe absolutely not and let me add that public restrooms are disgusting.  Enough said…

I returned and Robert says, “I have good news, he has a breaker bar and for $40 he will give us a ride back to the truck, remove the bolts and change out the tire.”

His name was Mario and he did everything he said we would and more.  Mario is a nice man; he’s a Mobile Mechanic who will drive 4 hours to help someone. He lives in Carrollton and if you are in a bind call him because he has no problem making the effort to help. 

When we were finally back on the road, we arrived home around midnight.  I reflected on that afternoon during the drive back and realized my bad attitude got the best of me. 

I refused to see the good and it was difficult for me to see the good. Everything in my path seemed negative and I let it cripple every thought and every step.  I tried to explain myself to Robert on the drive home and apologized for my bad attitude several times.

When I finally recognized it was the situation that caused my stress, I realized where I failed. If I would have just trusted God, I would not have been so overwhelmed.  

If I would have let Robert cheer me up, I would have been smiling and laughing, believe me when I say, that would have been a lot more fun and less stressful.

I also embraced that sometimes you can avoid stress by just being more selective where you do business.

So that’s why Walmart lost my business, you don’t treat people like garbage.  Learn from bad situations, humble yourself to see where you fail and allow yourself to keep growing.  If you can do that, moving forward will look a lot brighter.  

-Carole

Need a Mobile Mechanic, Call Mario 469 - 880 -1506