Quitting Wal-Mart

After almost 10 months of going without, I think it's safe to officially say that I've quit Wal-Mart. At least for the time being.

It's crazy, right? I've literally shopped there my whole life. I spent half of my life in Arkansas and know tons of people who work for Wal Mart or Sam's or Murphy Oil or some other company that basically subsists on their association with the world's biggest mass merchandiser.

I don't have a problem with Wal-Mart as a company, so please don't hear me wrong. And I like most of their products and find their prices to be perfectly reasonable.

But about this time last year, I started to get frustrated. Like really super frustrated. Everytime I would make the trek across town (okay, it's only like 10-15 minutes, but Harris Teeter is literally less than a mile away, so by comparison it feels FAR), I would go get the items on my list and then wait. for. FOREVER. I rarely saw more than three cashiers available for 15-20 customers. Ridiculous, right?

Then came Black Friday (Thanksgiving night?) shopping. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't gone to Target first. Target had a nice organized line. They let people in as other people came out. They had a map of the store laid out for their customers. They had a great system for checking people out. It was so polite and easy and I got everything I wanted in just a few minutes.

Wal-Mart? I couldn't find anything. I asked some workers where things were... they didn't know either. I had to fight to find a place in one of the twenty lines and I wasn't even sure which line I was in. The other customers were pushing and shoving and saying kind things like, "Get out of the way, pregnant girl." And I waited. And waited. It took me nearly an hour just to buy the Harry Potter movies I'd been wanting. It was such a stark contrast from my Target experience.

Then I went again the weekend before I had Samuel. That was it. Once again, my 38-weeks-pregnant self waited for nearly 30 minutes to check out after running all over the store to find the last-minute baby items I needed. The cashier seemed annoyed that I had so many products. I didn't get so much as a smile. It was just kind of a miserable experience. That was when I finally decided I wanted to quit. At least for a little while.

So I did. I kept thinking I'd go back, but it turns out that I really don't miss it. The few things that I bought at Wal-Mart regularly weren't particularly good for me (Great Value Pop Tarts are surprisingly delicious!). Using coupons and catching sales, I can get just about everything I need from our local grocery stores. Bigger items are usually available at Target. And, if I'm really desperate, I can always order from Wal-Mart online.

I'd probably feel differently if we lived closer, and I'm sure I will eventually end up going back, but it's been kind of nice living in a world without Wal-Mart. My shopping experiences have been much more pleasant and we've been able to support more local vendors. I'm sure time will change a lot of things, but for now and the foreseeable future... I'm glad to say I've quit.