Why Bother Going to Wal-mart Anymore?

Today, I did my research on-line, as usual, found what I was looking for—of course. Then, found the best price, again—as usual Wal-Mart. I am not a fan of corporate giants, but I wanted my external hard-drive and I wanted it right then. So, out the door I went, no sir, I didn’t order on-line because I wanted it now.

Once inside Wal-Mart, I walked down the aisle and found the hard drive I was longing for; a one terabyte—USB—plug and play hunk of plastic with enough memory to back up all four of my computers. That’s right, I have four computers. Mouth watering, I picked up the box and double-checked the specifications section on the reverse side. Yes, this was it. This was the one I wanted.

Then, as any prudent consumer does, I looked at the price tag. My mouth fell open, as my heart sank into my belly. I was trying to wrap my mind around this conundrum. The price on the tag did not match the price that I saw a mere twenty minutes earlier on Wal-Mart’s website. Perplexed and disheartened, I did what any man on the 21^st Century would do. I pulled out my cell phone, went to the web and investigated. The price was listed at $80.75 on the website. That was the total price delivered right to the Wal-Mart that I was standing in.

Now, I was confused more than ever. The very same hard-drive that I was holding in my hand had a price of $99.95. How can this be? Determined to get an answer, I headed straight for the Electronics Sales Desk. I got there and there was no one—this was strike two as far as I am concerned with Wal-Mart. After a few minutes, a nice enough older gentleman showed up and asked if he could help me. I suspected that he couldn’t really help me, how could he? He was not the guy setting prices.

Anyway, I proceeded to tell him my situation. I even showed him the Internet advertisement on my phone—I am very big into supporting details. He simply shook his head and said, “Yes sir, it will be cheaper if you order it on-line and then come back and pick it up next week, but if you want it today you have to pay the price on the label.” This shook me for a minute and I now regret not pulling out the price match guarantee card on him. I would have really liked to have involved a manager on that one, but my mind doesn’t work as quick as it used to.

Feeling jaded, I walked back over to the aisle and returned the box to its resting place all the while trying to make sense of what just happened. Apparently, I wasted my time and my gas only to be told I could have saved money by never stepping foot inside the store. Well, that’s just fine by me. I could really care less if I ever go back to Wal-Mart. If they don’t want me in the store; then, I just won’t go.

When I got home, I did the only thing I could do. I ordered my 1 terabyte external hard drive on-line—from Amazon. They will ship it right to my door and do so for a whopping $0.76 cheaper than Wal-Mart. I very seriously doubt the faceless giant will feel the sting of my wrath, but I feel better about not giving them my money. Take that Wal-Mart.