Frank K.
Yelp
Unquestionably the worst store in the Wilmington area- hands down, and nothing even comes close.
I want to begin by saying I'm not a regular Walmart shopper. I also know that Walmart, and Walmart customers, have been stereotyped to a great degree. So it's important for me to say from the outset that I don't buy into all these stereotypes. I'm also not a regular customer based solely on distance. Distance wise, Walmart for me is not convenient.
I needed a new laptop computer, and I needed it fast. So it was that need that prompted me to visit this store. I found exactly what I was looking for at a great price, and confirmed online that it was in stock at this location.
I arrived at the store at around 11:00 AM on a weekday. Upon entering, I saw the first red flag. The "customer service" desk is to the left, and there was a line of about twenty people standing in that line waiting. There was one disinterested and admittedly overworked person working that desk. When I left about 20 minutes later, the line had barely moved. Pity those poor souls stuck in that line...
On the way to the electronics area, I had to walk by the grocery area. I thought I would check it out, because I have a friend who said they have some great buys here. I couldn't find a single item that I buy regularly that came even remotely close to grocery store prices. I found single blocks of cream cheese on "rollback" prices for $4.00- and this was not two for four. Boxes of cereal for four or five dollars that cost $2.99 at Food Lion or Shoprite. Frozen pizza that was $6.39 that costs $4.99 at a grocery store. Insanity...
OK. So I'm not here to buy groceries. I make a beeline to electronics, which is swamped with customers and overworked employees. I find the computer on display, but it is priced in store $100 more than online pricing. After ten minutes, I find someone to help. I had already pulled up the online, in store price for the computer, and the page shows it in stock at this location.
She tells me yes they did have one at that price, but they sold that one, and the rest are $100 more. When I was looking for a computer, I also saw some big screen TV's at this location that were prices too good to be true. Curiously, I didn't see any of these on display. I asked about these as well, and was told they too were out of stock.
Seriously?
Can there be any other explanation than this is a bait and switch? This store shows some great prices on any number of electronic items, and also shows them in stock at this location. And when you get there, none of them are in stock or seem to exist.
Again, I'm not a regular Walmart shopper. It isn't because of any bias based on the reputation of either the chain or the customers.
Walmart's reputation always seem to be based on some shortcomings in terms of customer service. OK. I get that. And their success seemed to be based on people willing to put up with that for a lower price. I get that too. But if the lower price doesn't exist, and in fact they are playing some crazy game of bait and switch, then who is crazy enough to go to this place? What reason is there for the existence of this place?
I'm seriously considering forwarding my experience to the Consumer Affairs Division in the Attorney General's office. If this is an ongoing practice, it needs to be stopped.
Also, I'd like to say I've never left a bad review on Yelp. I'm relatively new here, but I would think long and hard about leaving a bad review for any business. It's not something I would do lightly. But this place is so bad, so dishonest, I feel compelled to warn others.