Shopping at Walmart has its ups and downs. I mean who doesn’t love saving money? But then again, is it worth it? The place is always crowded and some of the experiences with other shoppers aren’t always the best. These people share their unforgettable shopping experiences at Walmart. Content has been edited for clarity purposes.
He Did The Right, Yet Still Got In Trouble
“Both my mother and brother are physically disabled so I have the disabled tags on both my daily driver truck and my work truck. I use both vehicles to haul them around depending on what I am driving that day they ask for help. Many times with my brother, I am hauling things for him with the work truck like firewood or his tractor.
So one day while going to Walmart by myself, I lucked out and got that spot right next to the handicapped parking spot even. So I parked in that nonhandicapped spot, got out of my truck, and started to walk into the store when this prick yelled at me from his car.
He yelled, ‘Hey! Why didn’t you use the handicapped spot there for people like you! I could have parked where you did if you had just used your spot!’
Needless to say, I was dumbstruck. The few times I was speechless in my life. I didn’t say anything I just stood there with a shocked look on my face as he pulled past me after voicing these fine words of wisdom at me about my parking choices. The moral of the story is you’re going to get yelled at for doing the right thing sometimes. So just know you can’t make everyone happy.”
A Familiar Face
“This was a few years ago. I was shopping at a not-so-local Walmart when I noticed a manager who I had terminated for theft at another store. Their theft was a felony and was for a substantial amount. I remembered when they were being led out in handcuffs. What a waste it truly was. The manager was great at their job and the employees really liked them and respected their managerial style. But I was shocked they had another job in retail as a manager.
Now I know Walmart does its due indulgence with its background checks so I did wonder how they got hired. As I was walking through an aisle, I ended up running into them. The fear on their face was real. I pretended not to remember who they were and kept on walking.
Ten minutes later, I heard my name being called. It was a former associate of mine who was now working LP (loss prevention) there. As we talked for a bit, I noticed the manager was watching us. My former associate noticed I was looking at the manager and asked if I knew so and so and pointed in their direction. It was at that time the manager took off running towards the door.
The LP associate took off after him and I ran too. We were both thinking maybe he saw a theft. But when we got to the door, they were gone. But we did hear the screeching of tires.
My former associate looked at me and said, ‘Ok, spill it.’
I told him I would on one condition, and that was to go and check his application to see if he put down the store I knew him from.
About 20 minutes later, he came back and said, ‘He did not.’
So I told him what they did at my store. Then we said our goodbyes.
He lastly said, ‘I will let you know what happens.’
Two weeks later, he called me and said,’ The manager quit by phone the next day. I already notified the District Manager of LP and let them know what they did at another store. So we began to research everything they did since being hired by Walmart. When we began reviewing overnight videos just to see if they were returning to the store, they had many hits. It seems they were coming in around two am in the morning when there would be no LP there and stealing merchandise. They walked out of the store as if they owned it. The good news though, they were arrested just last week! They were also sentenced to one year in jail.’
It was the day I will never forget.”
What Happened To The Dress Policy?
“I was shopping at Walmart and minding my own business when I looked up and saw an older woman with no pants on. Just a shirt, and underpants. No shorts, no pants, or skirts. Her shirt wasn’t long enough to cover anything either. There was this old man with her, who acted like nothing was wrong. But it was quite obvious to anyone with eyes.
I looked again, just to make sure I was seeing what I thought. No one even looked at her twice. I went up to the greeter and asked her if this was indecent exposure.
She told me, ‘It’s this lady’s right to wear whatever she wants.’
I said, ‘But it’s my right not to want to see every part of this woman’s body.’
This was disgusting. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart anymore.”
An Angry Dad
“I was at the Walmart deli, waiting my turn when a man walked by with his three children. His son, probably about 10 years old, was playing a game on his phone and not paying any attention to his surroundings. Then the boy stopped next to my cart, totally engrossed in his game.
I was watching, amused, and wondering how long it would take the man to realize his son was not following. The man turned around, saw his son next to my cart, and me looking at him.
He started yelling at me, across the produce department, ‘My son is not going to steal your purse!’
I had my purse in the cart.
Everyone in the vicinity stopped talking and looked at me.
I calmly replied, ‘I didn’t think he was.’
He yelled, again, ‘I saw the way you were looking at him.’
I put my hands up to my shoulder height, took a step back, and shook my head. I didn’t know how to respond. The boy walked over to his father and they left.
The girl behind the deli commented, ‘That was weird.’
I was embarrassed, but I also felt really bad that I may have made him feel that way.”
Checkbook Mistake
“I was at a Walmart in the middle of New York state somewhere. Just about the only store in town. I was in town on business, and I just wanted to get a Diet Pepsi.
I waited in line, behind a woman with a cart full of stuff. She waited until the checker was completely done with scanning the items before it occurred to her that she had to pay. So she dug into this purse, which was the size of a garment bag, and started to rummage for her checkbook. Why she could not do this while the items were scanned is beyond me.
The total was $54.62.
The checker said, ‘I need your phone number.’
‘Why?’ asked the shopper, ‘I never had to do that before. It’s none of your business.’
The checker showed her the screen that said the bank required it for security.
She replied, ‘Well, that so-and-so husband of mine.’
We continued rambling until she finally was convinced to give her phone number. She then provided seven digits (no area code). Of course, the computer rejected it again, and another conversation started on why it needed the area code. Finally, she gave up all 10 digits of her phone number.
All done, right? I could now pay for my one bottle of Diet Pepsi and get the heck out of the store, right? Wrong.
The woman made the check out for $54.52. Ten cents short. She now began to dive back into her bag to make out a new check. And somehow in the minutes of arguing about phone numbers, the checkbook managed to worm itself down to the bottom of this carpetbag.
That is when I slammed a quarter on the counter and told her to leave.”
The Dad Made Her Feel Uncomfortable
“I don’t go to Walmart a lot except when I’m getting my kids their back-to-school stationery stuff. Walmart can have some good deals.
So anyway, one day while I was browsing the aisles, a man with his two kids and his wife walked up to us and said he needed money because his car broke down and they were stranded.
Sure, his story sounded a bit fishy but he had his two little kids in tow and even though my mind was telling me he must do this a lot in front of them, it did seem as though they fell on hard times. I felt bad for his kids, not so much for him or his wife who stood way in the back of him. So, I decided to get him a Walmart gift card instead because that would mean he would, hopefully, get them the stuff they needed.
He did make me uncomfortable because he seemed so eager to find out what the value was of the gift card. I ended off giving the card to the older boy because I was totally put off by the dad’s disposition. I did it for two reasons: one is because those kids seemed like they needed clothes and other things, and also because my girls were with me and they would have made me feel guilty if I didn’t.”
Dog On The Loose
“There was a large canine just trotting down the aisle all on his own. No leash, or owner anywhere in sight.
So I was walking through the Electronics department when he trotted up to me.
I stopped and said, ‘Oh! Hello! Who are you with?’
He looked me over, sniffed my hand, and continues on his journey. Obviously, a dog on a mission.
Thinking the employees may want to know that a large dog is roaming loose in the store, I then called over to two employees in Electronics. They ignored me and continued chatting. So I called to them again. Same lack of response.
I said loudly, ‘Well okay then, I just thought that you may want to know there is a dog running loose in the store.’
Another employee came running down the aisle toward me.
He said, ‘Did you say a dog?’
I replied, ‘Yep!’
He asked, ‘A big dog?’
I said, ‘Pretty big. He went that way!’ as I pointed in the direction the dog went
He ran in that direction without another word. The two employees just couldn’t be bothered, staring at me as if I just sprouted horns.”
Mr. Prick
“A few years ago, I was standing in line to pay for a few items at a local Walmart. The customer in front of me was a man, probably late 50s, paying for a sandwich tray that the deli had custom prepared for him. Evidently, the deli had inconvenienced him in some way, by either making him wait longer or by not making the correct sandwiches, etc. The man was irate and had decided to take out his frustrations on the young female cashier as if she had anything to do with the deli’s mistakes.
His language was demeaning, personal, and cruel toward the cashier. She was red-faced, and tears ran down her cheeks. His insults included knocks on her looks, her age, and the fact she was ‘just a freaking cashier’ at Walmart. The cashier offered to call over a manager to assist, but the man declined and kept on insulting her. It was clear the man was more interested in feeling powerful and verbally destroying the young lady than rectifying the situation.
Moments later, he stomped away, sandwich tray in his arms. I glanced at the man and noticed that he was wearing an employee name tag for the Big and Tall men’s clothing store located at the mall next door.
I was next in line.
I asked the cashier if she was OK, and how I had seen the horrible way she was treated. She apologized for being upset.
I told her, ‘Take a deep breath and try to have a good day.’
She half smiled through her tears. I then exited the store and returned to my car, but I just felt horrible for the young lady. So I drove next door to the mall.
I entered the men’s clothing store where the prick worked. He had already been back for several minutes, and I could see another employee holding a section of sandwich from the tray he’d just purchased.
The prick from Walmart greeted me, ‘Can I help you?’
I said, ‘No, I’m not interested in shopping today, but I was behind you at Walmart just now.’
His eyes got big.
I continued, ‘You should be ashamed of yourself for the way you treated that poor cashier, especially as a fellow retail worker.’
He stuttered and tripped over his words, and seemed genuinely shocked to be called out for his behavior. He insulted the young woman’s appearance again. I stayed calm and did not lower myself to making insults. I merely called attention to what he’d done.
In short, I punked him out right in front of his coworkers and other customers. The coworker behind him had the biggest, most satisfied smile on his face, and was nodding his head. I got the impression that Mr. Prick was probably no joy to work with, either.
Then I walked out. Except for the lame soft rock being piped in on the store’s speakers, you could’ve heard a pin drop.”
A Dirty Look
“I had just had eye surgery earlier that day and had to go in to pick up my prescription. I was still a bit unstable so my mother offered me her riding cart. She has bad arthritis in her feet.
I accepted and took the riding cart. When we made it over to the pharmacy, we were told it would be about 15 minutes for them to be ready. While I was just sitting, minding my own business and waiting, I got the most filthy look from an old lady.
Apparently in her mind, because I was only 28 years old at the time there was no possible reason I might need to use the riding cart. I returned the dirty look and fully turned my head so the old wench could see my heavily bandaged eye. She quickly hurried out of the pharmacy area.
The lesson here is don’t assume just because someone is young and slightly overweight that they are using a riding cart just to be lazy.”
Missing Child
“It was one shopping day at Walmart. My family was Sunday shopping for school snacks and utilities since we ran out at home. I usually roamed around Walmart on my own. While my parents were with my brother, looking for food in the food aisle, I looked around at Walmart.
‘Is the Barbie section there?’ I thought.
I walked towards the Barbie aisle, the teen clothes section, and the electronics section. I fantasized of all the pretty Barbie dolls that I could have for my birthday or the prettiest new, flashy, bubbly clothes that I could potentially buy—looking like Jojo Siwa.
However, I was a small child and got lost at Walmart.
I did not cry nor whine, ‘Where’s my mummy?!’
Instead, I tried to run around or walk and potentially find my mummy. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a loud, buzzy voice, of my name on the Walmart intercom.
It said, ‘Britney Vu, please head to the front desk office. Britney Vu, please head to the front desk office.’
Panicking, I started running towards the front desk office.
I did not ask the lady at the front office, instead, I ran again until I saw my mum. I was delighted that I’d found my mum. You can see how bright my eyes were, beaming with happiness.
My mum saw me and opened her arms wide. I ran up to her, hugging her tightly. However, my mum ranted a huge life lesson to me on how I could have been kidnapped at Walmart or even killed. I learned my lesson then.
At this point, I will never forget the time I got lost at Walmart.”
“Touch Me And I’ll Call The Cops!”
“I was once on a long self-checkout line. A woman rolled her cart right next to mine and appeared to almost angle it in front of mine.
After a few minutes, as the line began to move, she was clearly cutting and there were a lot of people behind me too.
I politely said, ‘The end of the line is back there.’
She ignored me. I really felt singled out, like I was chosen. I’m small, only five feet tall, and was alone.
Then a younger woman and a boy about seven years old showed up clearly with this woman cutting me. As the line was moving, I was not letting her in.
I repeated, ‘You’re cutting the whole line, you saw me standing here, go to the back of the line.’
The younger woman got in my face and told me, ‘Lady, I’m not the one to mess with.’
I said, ‘Touch me and I’ll call the police.’
The little boy said, ‘Move out the way, hag!’
I said, ‘Excuse me?!’
He said, ‘You heard me!’
When we got to the self check out, I went to a machine and she went to another. I was not saying a word.
The older lady then started yelling about me, ‘That woman is an entitled wench!’ She kept on and on about me.
Queue the bystander effect. More people she knew showed up and got involved, calling me everything you can think of and loudly. The staff said nothing.
I was done. I went to a manager and asked to be taken to my car for my own safety.
The manager said, ‘This happens a lot. I walk people to their cars all the time.’
I never went back, I have never been so terribly and publicly disrespected. I did nothing wrong. I was not going to just let her cut me. I was waiting like everyone else. This woman and her family acted criminally toward me for no reason. I was polite to her, I did not return the foul language, but I stood my ground. I don’t think she thought I would, that’s why I felt singled out.
I will never go to a Walmart again. It’s barbaric!”
Inappropriate Pictures
“My boyfriend’s grandpa had just passed away. He went to Walmart with his aunt, his granny, his sister, and two nieces. They were going to use the kiosk to print off pictures for the funeral home to scan them to make a slideshow.
Most Wal-Marts around here have two kiosks, so one family member was on one, while my boyfriend went to use the other. He plugged in his iPhone and it immediately pulled up his entire gallery. Along with all the intimate pictures of me.
We had been living apart at the time so a lot of pictures had been sent. We didn’t use any of those apps that hide pictures or anything like that.
He said he yanked the cord out to disconnect his phone but those kiosks are so slow that the screen was still a bunch of nudies.
His grandma commented, ‘Well, I’ll just use different pictures. We can take some. I don’t think those will work for the slideshow.'”
“I Really Wonder What The Requirements Are For Working At Walmart”
“I really wonder what the requirements are for working at Walmart. They employ multiple people that clearly have something wrong upstairs. I personally witnessed a Walmart employee having a detailed conversation with a sliding door. I stood there and watched her complaining about having to work weekends with a sliding glass door. Nobody around for at least 50 feet. Just her and the door.
That was a weird experience.”
Too Much PDA?
“My mom and I were coming into our local Walmart. Because I was in a state of rage from a medication reaction, my mom had brought me there to let me walk through the store and maybe work off some of the anger and agitation that was coursing through me.
As we came into the store, we stopped briefly to look at the stuff on the ends of the seasonal aisles. A couple in their 20s entered the store just after us and right away, started kissing, snuggling, cooing at each other, and kissing some more.
With every kiss and whispered word, I was getting angrier and angrier.
Suddenly, the guy asked his girlfriend, ‘Wanna go out for a smoke, Sweetie?’
I turned around, looked him dead in the eye, and said, ‘No thanks, honey. I’m trying to quit.’
Then I turned back to my cart and started walking away.
My poor mother was right next to me, so she heard all of this. Once she saw the look on his face, she was ready to melt into the floor. Thankfully the guy and his girl just stood there looking shocked and didn’t comment. My medication reaction passed a few weeks later, but I will never forget that Walmart moment.”