Until I got married this past February, I had never stepped foot inside of a Wal*Mart after seeing the documentary that came out years ago. My spouse WAS a frequent Wal*Mart customer up until he saw the light about a week ago. My home is under renovations and while it is we are staying at my in-laws.
The summer had just begun and we went to the local Wal*Mart to purchase a stand-up fan for our bedroom. Once we got home and set it up and had it functioning, I saw no reason to keep the box or sales receipt for an item that cost a mere $20.00. Well, I wish I had.
Not even a week later I was awakened by the smell of burning plastic. I got out of bed and turned on the lights. That is when I noticed that the fan blade was no longer spinning but the unit was still oscillating. I immediately unplugged it, then returned to bed. The next day I went to Wal*Mart to exchange it for another fan. I did NOT disassemble it and brought all the parts it came with back to the store so that I could show them the problem. I waited in line at the customer service desk for about 30 minutes watching all sorts of customers and return scenarios occur without any problems. Then it came to my turn, I felt like the guy using the check in the Visa check card ad. They made a federal case out of my request to "exchange" a defective product.
At least three different employees from various departments all were called and inspected my defective fan. Since I did not have a sales receipt or the box, and not to mention that the fan did not have one marking on it designating the model number or even the brand, and they change their stock of items so frequently and no longer had this particular item in stock they would not take it back. I looked at the woman, who I think was some sort of department head, and told her if they did not sell inferior products it would have a brand name on it and if they kept the same stock, instead of changing it on a daily basis because the cost is cheaper from different manufactures and finally told her to keep the fan and the $20 bucks and I will never step foot in another Wal*Mart again and walked out of the store.
I then went to a local hardware store and purchased a Honeywell fan that cost me double the price of the Wal*Mart fan but I knew it was a quality product. When I returned back home and went to set the new fan up I noticed that the plug that the Wal*Mart fan was plugged into on the surge protector was melted. I then checked the wall outlet and that was also melted. I then had an electrician friend come check things out and he said that was the only damage done but if I had not woken up when I did and unplugged the fan the whole house could have burned down. That was nice to know when there are young children, animals and elderly people living in the house. I replaced the electrical items damaged by the fan and now everything is safe and fine.
Today, I rounded up every item I had purchased at Wal*Mart and had a sales receipt for in the last 30 days and returned it all. I, nor any member of my family and my friends, will ever spend another penny in Wal*Mart again. I am a small business owner and know the importance of the customer.in my opinion, Wal*Mart does NOT care about anything but the revenue. Be smart, support your local businesses!
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