Wal-mart

I've never been a huge fan of Wal-mart. In general, it's really low on my list of places to shop. The products I do look for there are all-cotton t-shirts for the kids and canning supplies when my other two places have run out. I've never shopped there for X-mas presents.

This year however, their layaway policy seemed promising. I'd never done layaway before but I decided I'd give it a try this year. I went in and located the items I wanted to get the kids for Christmas, put down $60 (more than the 10% required, but still just a token amount), and left.

I went back yesterday to finish the transaction.

60 minutes later I left having given them all my cash, with no presents. The computer burped whemn printing out the receipt and they thought they'd somehow credited my credit card hundreds -- while agreeing that was impossible because a) no manager had turned the key and b) we weren't working with those kinds of numbers.

I went back with Max 30 minutes later (I'd had to pick him up from basketball) and tried again to make some progress. At least this time I left with my copy of the receipt. I'd paid a LOT of money for a few expensive toys and had NOTHING.

This morning I went to my bank, obtained proof that they hadn't put anything into my account, went to Wal-mart. Thirty minutes later they were ready to give me a $10 gift card and send me on my way still with nothing while they "figured things out."

No.

I got a refund. And the $10 gift card. But it was too much. They refunded me the amount they owed me PLUS $88.77. I told the manager this when he gave me the money but he pointed to the receipt and swore it was right and I was now flustered enough to just take the money and go.

Halfway to Target I realized where the guy had gone wrong in his math. I was NOT going to go to hell for Wal-mart, but at the same time I wasn't going to turn around again.

I shopped at Target, got back in the truck, went to Wal-mart, gave back the the $88.77 and went home.

Personally? I think it should have been a $20 gift card, but for now we'll consider a simple sign that my usual inclination to shop in bright, clean, organized RED Target instead of dark, cold, massive, disorganized Wal-mart was spot on. Wal-mart is for canning supplies. Target is for everything else. At least for me.