In my private life, I'm -- if possible -- even more of a pain in the ass than I am online. Recently, I took the opportunity to test one of Wally World's more boastful claims.
"Excuse me, you have a policy that you will match any local competitor's pricing, correct?"
"Yes, sir, we do."
"Well, you're selling 16-ounce bottles of Coke for $1.38. Just outside your doors, you have a vending machine that sells the exact same thing for $1.25. Will you match that price?"
"Um... I'm going to have to check on that..."
(For the record, I went to the vending machine first, and it was out of my particular preferred Coke product.)
Update: I'm still waiting for that answer. Every time I go in, I ask the same lady if she's found out about the pricing.
This ain't the kind of question the average Wally Worlder is prepared to handle...
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Comments (19)
Well? Don't leave us in sus... (Below threshold)1. Posted by OregonMuse | November 11, 2009 3:19 PM | Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
Well? Don't leave us in suspense. Did he sell you a Coke for $1.25?
1. Posted by OregonMuse | November 11, 2009 3:19 PM |
Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 15:19
2. Posted by steve sturm | November 11, 2009 3:34 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
1 - $1.25 isn't a competitor's price, it is a Walmart price - so you're asking them to match their own price which isn't part of their offer.
2 - since the machine was out, you really couldn't buy it for $1.25, could you? Isn't there an implicit 'match the price for a product you can buy'?
2. Posted by steve sturm | November 11, 2009 3:34 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 15:34
3. Posted by NoNails | November 11, 2009 3:40 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Their policy is that they match competitor's advertised prices. The key word is "advertised".
3. Posted by NoNails | November 11, 2009 3:40 PM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 15:40
4. Posted by Lorie Byrd | November 11, 2009 4:03 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Can you buy a 16 oz. Coke inside Walmart or do you have to buy a six pack of 16 oz. Cokes? Just curious. That might make a difference.
4. Posted by Lorie Byrd | November 11, 2009 4:03 PM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:03
5. Posted by Jay Tea | November 11, 2009 4:06 PM | Score: 4 (8 votes cast)
Lorie, at my local Wally World, they have singles in little fridges scattered among the registers. And it's the single cold ones whose pricing I'm comparing.
Hmm... maybe I'll swing by one more time and bug them once more...
J.
5. Posted by Jay Tea | November 11, 2009 4:06 PM |
Score: 4 (8 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:06
6. Posted by Eric | November 11, 2009 4:14 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
No Coke! Pepsi!
6. Posted by Eric | November 11, 2009 4:14 PM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:14
7. Posted by Eric | November 11, 2009 4:15 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
No fries! Cheep!
7. Posted by Eric | November 11, 2009 4:15 PM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:15
8. Posted by Eric | November 11, 2009 4:16 PM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Cheeburger, cheeburger, cheeburger!
8. Posted by Eric | November 11, 2009 4:16 PM |
Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:16
9. Posted by Old Patriot | November 11, 2009 4:31 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Jay Tee, shame on you! You KNOW that's a question that's above the pay grade of any employee of Wally World. Try to find a manager, and good luck.
9. Posted by Old Patriot | November 11, 2009 4:31 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:31
10. Posted by Picric | November 11, 2009 4:33 PM | Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Jay, you deserve a free coke after noticing that.
10. Posted by Picric | November 11, 2009 4:33 PM |
Score: 2 (4 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:33
11. Posted by bobdog | November 11, 2009 4:39 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Jay Tea, bless your heart, but if that's the worst that happened to you today, you've got a good day going...
11. Posted by bobdog | November 11, 2009 4:39 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:39
12. Posted by GarandFan | November 11, 2009 4:46 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
I like the advertisements on television for "FREE" products. You just have to pay for "shipping and handling".
12. Posted by GarandFan | November 11, 2009 4:46 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 16:46
13. Posted by Dr Carlo Lombardi | November 11, 2009 5:01 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
If I was the store or department manager, I would have given you the 1.25 price.My retail experience taught me that the customer good will that you create will end up making up the 13 cents a hundred fold with return business.
13. Posted by Dr Carlo Lombardi | November 11, 2009 5:01 PM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 17:01
14. Posted by Shawn | November 11, 2009 6:19 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Geez, J.
You need to get out more.
-Shawn
14. Posted by Shawn | November 11, 2009 6:19 PM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 18:19
15. Posted by epador | November 11, 2009 7:39 PM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Shame on you for entering the W store! The last time I was in one was to pee cause they were the only place open late where I was exploring along the Snake River in Idaho.
15. Posted by epador | November 11, 2009 7:39 PM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on November 11, 2009 19:39
16. Posted by hyperbolist | November 12, 2009 12:37 AM | Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Yeah, what epador said. If you care about American jobs--real ones, not jobs for people who need help filling out application forms--then pay more for better stuff whenever possible. Supporting local businesses is like being patriotic except you actually see the effects firsthand.
16. Posted by hyperbolist | November 12, 2009 12:37 AM |
Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on November 12, 2009 00:37
17. Posted by Jim Addison | November 12, 2009 2:24 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
As Sturm observes in #2, this is a Wal-Mart price, not a competitor's. Their cost in a sale is obviously less when a machine can dispense the product and collect the money than when a human must do it. 13 cents seems like too little a disparity in price, if anything.
Not to mention (out of sheer civility, naturally) that arguing about 13 cents is the sort of act which makes little children stare and point at you. Back in the day, their mothers would have rebuked them with a stern slap to the back of the head, but you don't see that level of parental involvement any more.
These days, you are likely to find yourself trapped in the Wal-Mart Men's Room, surrounded by taunting children, and crying out, "I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man!"
Enjoy your Coke, tightwad - as if anything larger than 6.5 ounces in an ice-cold thick glass bottle really were a "Coke" in the first place - and just ignore the public derision. Surely thou art used to it at this point! ;-)
Dude ~ you're even embarrassing Mr. Ducky now!
17. Posted by Jim Addison | November 12, 2009 2:24 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 12, 2009 02:24
18. Posted by Brian Epps | November 12, 2009 9:09 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
So YOU'RE the guy who used to take a bag of M&M's to the layaway counter!
18. Posted by Brian Epps | November 12, 2009 9:09 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 12, 2009 09:09
19. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | November 12, 2009 10:10 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
When I worked retail... I'd have asked if you only wanted the one coke. If you did, I'd offer to make change so you go buy the coke from the machine.
19. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | November 12, 2009 10:10 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on November 12, 2009 10:10