Be Careful When Shopping at WalMart in Gardendale, AL

I have gradually lessened my trips to WalMart and my most recent trip only served to remind me why.  I was at the WalMart in Gardendale, Alabama on Friday.  On a table in the shoes/clothing department, they had numerous pairs of men's tennis shoes on clearance.  There were various brands, styles, colors and prices.  I then found more of the same on one of the shelves marked with large "Clearance" balloons.  I finally settled on a pair of Starter men's tennis shoes, black, in size 9 1/2, and marked on the box as $9.00.  The shoes were in the box, one still wrapped in the tissue paper. 

My mother was shopping for flowers for an upcoming Decoration Day at the cemetery.  We were in the flower department and, while none of the bunches of flowers had individual prices marked on them, the rack was marked with $3.00 price stickers from one end to the other.  She selected four bunches of flowers, got her other needed supplies and we proceeded to the cashier.

I checked out first and, when the cashier scanned the shoes, they rang up at $15.00.  I called her attention to this and to the $9.00 sticker price on the box.  She scanned the shoes again and, again, they showed a price of $15.00.  At this point, she simply stated the obvious -that the shoes were ringing up at $15.00.  I told her that if that were the case, they should not have a $9.00 sticker on them.  She left the register, presumably to find a manager.  When she returned to the register, she was peeling the $9.00 sticker off the box and stated that the manager said that sticker did not go with those shoes.  I told her that I did not want the shoes in that case.

My mother then checked out and all four of the bunches of flowers rang up at $5.00 each, in spite of the $3.00 stickers on the rack.  I told the cashier about the stickers, but it did not help the situation.

Now, WalMart advertises that it will match any competitors' price, but apparently they will not even honor their own price stickers.  As a matter of fact, in September of 2011, a lawsuit was filed and won against WalMart in Pennsylvania over just this specific matter - merchandise ringing up at prices higher than those marked for the items.  Needless to say, I think this is pretty poor business on their part.  If an item is marked a specific price, that is what I plan to pay for it and I believe that is what the store should HAVE to sell the item for.  If someone has made a mistake and put the wrong sticker on a product, the store should honor the price they have marked and then have someone check the merchandise in question and correct any errors.

Just be careful shopping at WalMart - be sure that your merchandise rings up at the price that is marked for the item.  If anyone else has had a similar problem with WalMart, I would certainly be interested in your comments.