Saturday, April 27, 2013

Walmart & Me: the story of my fickle heart

I remember feeling neutral about Walmart as I was growing up.  Then, in a college writing class one day I recall vividly a classmate saying, "There is something evil about Walmart.  I feel shivery when I see that yellow smiley face."  Soon enough I agreed with her--learning the "true cost behind everyday low prices."  When my husband sought out supply chain internships partway through our time at BYU, I talked him out of applying for one with Walmart--even though the company is a supply chain guru.  Fast forward a few years and we'd moved a dozen times.  I found myself feeling oddly comforted by the consistency of Walmart stores no matter where we went.  Utah, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, Idaho, California...Walmart is everywhere and 99% the same everywhere.  I have loved not having to re-learn which aisles hold my groceries every time we move.  Since moving to California, we have shopped at Walmart a lot because we have a supercenter just a 5 min. walk away from our apartment.  It was a big reason why we chose this apartment. And lately I have been singing songs of adoration to Walmart.  Why?  Somebody at Walmart is a GENIUS I tell you: the store now delivers groceries.  For free (with a small minimum purchase amount which the average household would have no trouble reaching) groceries can be bought online and show up in a matter of hours at the doorstep.  Three nights ago, Jerry and I enjoyed ourselves browsing online and got our grocery shopping done in a fraction of the time it would have taken to walk all around the store with two kids in tow.  At 9:55pm, we signed off our computer and went to bed.  Then, magically in the morning right before Jerry headed off to work, a delivery man brought to our apartment all the goods we'd bought the night before.  We had cold milk, frozen veggies, batteries,  dental floss, etc. SO WONDERFUL.  Don't you all wish you lived where we live.  Does Walmart deliver in your area? 

1 comment:

Gisela-David said...

I know the feeling! I too have a love/hate relationship with Walmart, also because we move so much. It's especially convenient when we move to small town areas where everything closes early or on our way to our next station and someone gets sick in the middle of the night. That's great that they deliver! Sure makes things a whole lot easier and you save yourself from impulse buying.