Friday, December 2, 2011

Oh, Wal-Mart

This past summer my roommate purchased a fairly expensive Nikon camera from Wal-Mart in Anderson. Because of the name brand she had high expectations for the performance of the camera. Early in the school year the camera broke due to a manufacture defect. Experiencing disconfirmation and negative post-decision feelings, she proceeded to make numerous stops into Wal-Mart in order to get the issue resolved. After speaking with numerous Wal-Mart employees and managers a replacement camera, which was no longer carried in the store, was ordered. She was contacted when the camera came in. She went to the electronics picked up her camera and proceeded to the customer service counter. Here she was informed she couldn’t make an even exchange because it was passed the three month period, even though the camera was specially ordered for her, and that she would have to go through the manufacturer. Needless to say she became an irate complainer. She has since boycotted Wal-Mart and participated in some heavy negative word-of-mouth. Although I tried to encourage her to go back and ask for a manger she is tired of dealing with the issue. I explained that one does not shop at Wal-Mart for the customer service. Low prices generally equal poor service.

3 comments:

  1. I think everyone who has ever shopped at Walmart has had a negative experience with it. Whether it be the bad customer service like you described, or the dirty accommodations. In my case, it always seems to be that either they don't have the product I really need in stock, or I find a product I'm really satisfied with and then Walmart decides not to carry it anymore. Whatever the case may be, it's frustrating when it's not the product that gives you dissatisfaction, but the retailer.

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  2. I experienced something similar when trying to get my phone replaced under warranty. I think that these employees and even managers are very negative representations of the company itself. Customer experience with the company is one of the most important parts of marketing. Stores would do better to keep their customers in the long run if they were willing to be flexible regarding their policies when it comes to different situations

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  3. I agree with the other two comments. I have had my own personal experiences with customer service workers at Walmart and they have not been good. You would think that since Walmart is making billions of dollars, they would be able to invest in better customer service workers. That's just my opinion.

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