What kind of difference can a local store’s management make? A bigger one than you might think. Shanna ordered a new television online from Sam’s Club that arrived broken. For the sake of convenience, she went to exchange it at the local store after figuring out that it fit in her car after all. The problem was that that store’s management made up its own return policy that has no basis in the actual policies of Sam’s Club. [More]
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Sam’s Club Manager Makes Up Own Return Policy, Won’t Take Back Cracked TV
By 4.22.13 — Updated: 4.23.13
Mystery Solved: Why Walmart Thinks A Bottle Of Sprite Is A ‘Meal’
By 4.18.13
On Monday, we shared a reader-submitted photo of a shelf of two-liter soda bottles with some baffling signs. Coke, Sprite, and their diet varieties were declared “Wholesome, Healthy, and Delicious” and “Easy convenient meals.” Delicious and convenient, maybe, but they certainly aren’t wholesome, healthy, or meals. But reader Mindy snapped this picture at Walmart yesterday that might explain where the “meals” shelf tag came from. [More]
Raiders Of The Lost Walmart Find More 7-Year-Old GameCube Titles, Ancient Flash Drives
By 4.17.13 — Updated: 8.15.13
On Monday, we shared with an exciting new discovery from one of the Raiders of the Lost Walmart: copies of Naruto 2 for Nintendo GameCube available for only $39.94. We probably should have expected that Walmart stores all over the country are also expecting a huge surge in demand for GameCube titles from 2006. Knowing something about both technology and commerce, we had not anticipated this. [More]
Walmart Banking On Return Of Nintendo GameCube, Still Charging $40 For Game From 2006
By 4.15.13
We know there’s a market for classic games and game consoles out there, but one Walmart is holding steady on the price for a Nintendo GameCube title that was released seven years ago. [More]
Soda At Walmart Is Wholesome, Healthy, Delicious, Or One Out Of Three
By 4.15.13
Reader Kathy sent along this photo that she took at Walmart. She found this display kind of puzzling, and for good reason. “Seriously? So suddenly soda is ‘wholesome and healthy’?” she writes. “Yeah right… good one, Walmart.” [More]
Walmart: Prices So Low, We Have To Raise Them To Put Things On Sale
By 4.9.13
Welcome to Walmart, where our prices are so low, we have to raise prices to put things on clearance! No, wait, that doesn’t really make sense. Hmm. Most likely, some prankster rearranged the numbers in this sign that reader Anthony found this weekend. That’s the story we’ll go with, because we like to retain some faith in the staff of Walmart. [More]
The Smartphone Killed The Department Store Portrait: Photo Company Closing All Locations
By 4.5.13
Your mother would yell at you to pull a comb through your tangled hair, tuck in your brother’s shirt for the third time and your dad would awkwardly stand behind everyone with his hand on your mom’s shoulder. It was family portrait time, and for many Americans, it happened inside a department store. But one company that operates thousands of locations in mostly Sears and Walmart stores announced it’s shuttering its shutters for good. [More]
Worst Company In America Quarterfinals: Bank Of America Vs. Walmart
April 3, 2013
We’re getting so close to handing out the Golden Poo you can almost taste it. Wait… that doesn’t sound right. [More]
These 8 Remaining Worst Company In America Contenders Sure Are Elite
April 2, 2013
The madness of March, when 32 bad businesses began pummeling each other mercilessly in an orgy of blood and denied extended warranties, has been refined and honed into the brutal fiery fury of April, as only eight names cling tenuously to their claim to be the Worst Company In America. [More]
Someone Needs To Clarify When I Should Be Eating These Walmart Donuts
By 4.2.13
These donuts seem to be a bit indecisive as to when they will be at their prime tastiest. Were they the best before March 31? Or would April 1 do? Maybe April 2 is okay for these baked goods from Walmart. Who’s to say, really, when there are three tags on one package of donuts? [More]
Nope, It’s Not Legal To Hunt Deer In The Walmart Parking Lot
By 3.29.13
The Pennsylvania Game Commission would like you to know that it is not legal to hunt deer in the Burrell Township Walmart parking lot, and, by extension, any other Walmart parking lot. [More]
Worst Company In America Round 2: Walmart Vs. Sears
March 28, 2013
Let the next round begin! Now that these two retailers have a taste for blood, it’s time to sic them against each other in WCIA Ball Pit of Doom and Generalized Anxiety, But Mostly Doom! [More]
Walmart Considers Paying Its Customers To Deliver Online Orders
By 3.28.13
So you’ve ordered something from Walmart.com, but when it arrives, it doesn’t come on a UPS/FedEX/USPS truck, or even in one of the vehicles Walmart currently uses for same-day delivery. No, it is handed to you by a fellow Walmart shopper getting paid to run an errand for the retailer. [More]
Meet Your Worst Company In America Not-So-Sweet 16!
March 27, 2013
Last week, 32 terrible titans of industry stepped on to the blood-stained mat of WCIA Death-and-Dismemberment Arena, but only 16 remain in this bestial battle royale to take home the treasured Golden Poo. [More]
Walmart To Test In-Store Lockers For Pick-Up Of Online Orders
By 3.27.13
Since Amazon doesn’t have bricks-and-mortar stores, it has been rolling out a network of lockers at places like 7-Eleven and Staples, allowing customers to pick up their orders from safe, secure locations, instead of having to chase down FedEx, UPS, or the Postal Service. Now comes news that Walmart is getting into the locker game for its own online orders. [More]
Walmart Workers: There Aren’t Enough Of Us To Keep Shelves Stocked
By 3.26.13
If you’ve been frustrated by finding empty or disorganized shelves during your recent visits to Walmart, some employees at the nation’s largest retailer say that disarray is due to a lack of manpower. [More]
Hey Kids… This Mystery Shopper Report Tells You Which Stores Will Probably Sell You R-Rated Movies & Games
By 3.25.13
When I was an adolescent, my friends and I had to rely on word-of-mouth about which stores would look the other way when it came to movie ratings and parental advisory warnings on music. But kids today, they have the benefit of the Federal Trade Commission, which periodically looks at how strict various businesses are about sticking to these ratings systems. [More]
Worst Company In America Round 1: Best Buy Vs. Walmart
March 19, 2013
The first-round fisticuffs continue with today’s centerpiece bout that pits two big-box boxers to a fight to the death, all for the bloodthirsty enjoyment of WCIA fans around the world. [More]
