So Id like to tell you about my shopping experience yesterday. First, let me start by saying I am a lifelong Market Basket customer. My daughter was fundraising at Walmart in Amherst NH yesterday and because I had a birthday party planned for 14 kids in a couple hours and could only shop while she was canning, I had to shop there. I was certainly NOT going to shop at any of the 3 Market Baskets we passed along the way as I FULLY support the boycott. I have never shopped for groceries at Walmart before so this was a new experience for me. I had my 11 year old son in tow who would, needless to say, does not like to shop. I had a list prepared and thought I should be able to get in and out of there in 40 minutes or so. Boy was I wrong! I found myself running from isle to isle, from one end of the store to another, trying to find the items I needed. My usual list that I have typed out and printed in multiple copies for weekly use is set up the way all the isles are set up at my local Market Basket (Hudson, NH). If I need to do a full shop, I am usually in and out of the store in 35-40 minutes. Anyway, by the time I reached the very crowded registers, it was 90 minutes later. By this point my son was tired and exasperated and I had to put some candy in my cart to keep him happy. We patiently waited as we had about 5 full carriages in front of us before we could check out. All of the other lanes were just as full and the self checkout was a zoo so I wasnt going there! By the time we were able to start loading onto the conveyor belt it was another 10-15 minutes or so. As I start unloading, I very quickly realize we have a problem, the short belt is full, I still have a half a cart full of groceries and the cashier has already filled all of the bags on her self bag carousel. I quickly run over and start unloading the bags onto the FLOOR so she can continue ringing. There was no place else to put them! If I had been at my Market Basket, an associate would have already brought over a second carriage and started loading it so I could continue loading the conveyor belt. I continue to jockey back and forth from my cart and the bagging carousel until finally get all of my groceries onto the conveyor belt. I then focus my energy on re-loading my cart with the bagged groceries and very quickly get flustered because I dont know which bags have all of my breads and crushable items and I want to make sure they make it home not smashed. As it turns out, more than half of my bags had crushable items so I quickly try to rearrange each bag to put all the crushable stuff together. I can sense the person behind me is growing impatient and I apologize for the wait. This would NEVER happen at my Market Basket. The associate at my register would have swiftly and expertly bagged all of the appropriate items together and placed them in the cart with all the heavy stuff on the bottom and the soft stuff on top. I finally run my credit card through and get my receipt for $194.08 only to discover that the cashier (who was very pleasant) forgot to scan 3 of my items because she assumed they were with the next customers order. I guess she overlooked the plastic separator between our orders. I smile weakly back at the customer behind me as she apologizes and rings them in. Another $26.96 spent. At this point it has been 2 hours since we started shopping and I realize all of my cold foods have been without refrigeration for a long time. So I quickly scramble to get a bag of ice so that they will survive the 30 minute drive home. Another $1.42 and a 8 minute wait in the self-service line. Needless to say, my son and I (and my daughter too) are starving by this point having had to run around for 2 hours shopping. I guess you could say the ONLY positive thing about this shopping experience was that there was a Subway shop located within the Walmart so we could get lunch. However, it was another $18.89 that I would not have had to spend if I could shop at my local Market Basket. Total time, 2 1/2 hours just to grocery shop for a small party. I tell you this long, drawn out story for one reason only. I will do this EVERY week if necessary to support you in your fight. It is a SMALL price for me to pay to show you how much I truly admire the stand you are taking and all that you are sacrificing for Artie T and for us customers. You are an inspiration to us all! STAY STRONG and I promise to be strong too!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 17:15:45 +0000
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