Don't know if I'm adding the pictures correctly, but I was taken quite aback by how this came to me from Walmart.com.  Shipping label directly on the box. The label said packing slit in box and sure enough they unsealed it and put the packing slip inside. Writing on the box, creases everywhere. Is this what I should expect from any set of this size? Has anyone else had this happen before?

Walmart must be making a push to improve their customer satisfaction with in-store order pick-up.  Maybe because last year holiday time, Site-to-store was such a disaster.  I remember going in for pick-up after Black Friday and having to wait in line for an hour... watching countless people in front of me with their orders "lost", or "can't find right now... come back tomorrow..." etc.  Anyway... I went in last week to pick up an item, was served quickly, and was handed this small tote bag... they said it was a free gift for using walmart.com... and "please take the survey online to tell us about your satisfaction today..."

A few days later I made another pick up, and got the same tote bag... this time it contained a jar of organic pasta sauce, a bottle of Slimfast, a full-sized Dove stick deodorant, and a few pieces of candy.  Not all my favorite brands... but I like "free" !

Went to a different store today for pick-up, and this is what I got:  A scented rear-view mirror Xmas tree, and and “personal” note from Sam Walton.  Pppfff… I think I like the first store better.

My experience with store pickup has been a mixed bag.  The worst was when I waited at the counter for 15 minutes with no one in line and no one to assist me.  I checked in with the Walmart app when I arrived to the store and used the electronic notification at the counter at least 4 times.  No less than 10 associates walked past me without offering to help.  One associate said he would go find someone and never returned.  Another customer showed up shortly after me and I wished him good luck and went on my way.  

I've also had them fulfill and immediately process a refund for store pickup orders.  I assume this is because they could not find the items and didn't want to take a hit on their metrics.  The first e-mail said my items were ready for pickup and the next one right after that said I had requested a refund.  

6 minutes ago, zskid00 said:

My experience with store pickup has been a mixed bag.  The worst was when I waited at the counter for 15 minutes with no one in line and no one to assist me.  I checked in with the Walmart app when I arrived to the store and used the electronic notification at the counter at least 4 times.  No less than 10 associates walked past me without offering to help.  One associate said he would go find someone and never returned.  Another customer showed up shortly after me and I wished him good luck and went on my way.  

I've also had them fulfill and immediately process a refund for store pickup orders.  I assume this is because they could not find the items and didn't want to take a hit on their metrics.  The first e-mail said my items were ready for pickup and the next one right after that said I had requested a refund.  

I've also had mixed results.  I've definitely stood and waited after checking in online and with their service button, only to have a parade of employees walk past me without so much as a friendly greeting.  Last year my PS was clearly thrown into a truck without an outer box and looked the part when I picked it up, but the build was still great.  I also had a time last year when I picked up 2 orders of 2 $30 towers and the employee apparently only scanned one of the orders.  I was given a refund for the other about a week later since I "didn't pick up".  And then my most recent trip to pickup Captain America Jets, which couldn't be found in back but were on a store shelf for clearance price.  Bad on them, but still good for me.  No cool bags yet.  Let's see if my WoN come with swag

I compare all these "innovative ideas", if you can call them that, to airport lines.  All that I expect will happen is that you'll have to wait more and more with more issues as the customer base slowly moves from one method to another.

The reason I mention airport lines is that they now have that fast-pass or whatever it is called to get through.  At most airports that I've been too lately, and I can't say it is a ton, but the lines for fast pass are longer than the normal line they had before.

In reality, when the Pick-up option becomes more ramped up, any retail store more than likely won't have the staff to keep up with it and yes you won't have to go pick up the items yourself, but Amazon 1 day shipping will even beat the time frames that the big box store will be able to accomplish, if it truly takes off.

51 minutes ago, LegoMan1212 said:

I compare all these "innovative ideas", if you can call them that, to airport lines.  All that I expect will happen is that you'll have to wait more and more with more issues as the customer base slowly moves from one method to another.

I dont see this as an issue since retail arbitrage itself follows the same pattern. And by the time the masses catch on to in store pickup, we will likely have moved on to something else, or gotten out of the game entirely...

I've had similar experiences doing store pick-up.  Stood there for 20 minutes after pushing their customer button.  I finally walked to the back room and yelled inside, "Anyone here?"  A guy at the far side of the store room came over and basically said helping me wasn't his job.  Admittedly, he was clearly a stock boy of some kind.  However, even after he called for some help (give him credit for doing something) still no one showed up.  After a second and third customer arrived and I walked around the store looking for anyone to help us, another 20 minutes had gone by.  A manager finally showed up and helped us.  Thankfully, I could see my product and it was in good condition.

I wonder how Walmart's changes to their online pricing will change this though.  Just saw this article about Walmart and online pricing being higher than in-store.  Was reported in the Wall Street Journal yesterday.  Here is a summary version of the story with video.

http://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/walmartcom-online-prices-may-be-higher-than-in-store

Edited November 13, 20178 yr by exracer327