Why doesn't Bedford deserve a Wal-Mart "Supercenter" as "Super" as other towns?

On a recent business trip, I stopped at the Tell City Wal-Mart Supercenter to do some shopping.The store was bright, clean, music was playing (why doesn't the Bedford store play music?) and overall a very pleasurable and fun store to shop at.
Most of ALL.....No long lines at the check outs!
A manager was actually directing customers to available checkout clerks!

How many of us miss the old Wal-Mart on 16th street when there were no long check out lines?

Last Saturday night I was at a local grocery store at closing time. (Since it was closing time) they only had one check out lane open.
There was a bit of a line formed and I overheard a woman toward the back of the line talking into her cell phone "This is as bad as Wal-Mart".
It's sad that our Wal-Mart has such a reputation.

Try shopping at the Bedford Wal-Mart late at night.
First of all - The parking lot is full of shopping carts scattered throughout and you just hope the wind or something else doesn't knock one into your car.
When your ready to check-out, there is only one check-out lane open, with a long line of other frustrated customers.
How many of us have spent more time in the check-out lane then the time it actually took for us to shop?

I'm not blaming the actual (hardworking probably underpaid) employees, but I do blame the stores General Management and incompetent night managers.

Dear Mr. or Ms General Manager:
Some night I invite YOU to go shopping at the Bedford Wal-Mart "Supercenter".

I have avoided writing this post for many, many months because of my personal bias, but I will at least post my agreement with JAYBLA. It is absolutely ridiculous the amount of time wasted standing in line while they have twenty some odd registers and millions of dollars available for labor. They realize that the consumer is going to keep shopping there for lower prices regardless of the service, atmosphere or even cleanliness. They have no incentive to change. The consumer has all of the power. They will only improve if we demand it by cutting our spending. They only listen with their wallets. Maybe its time for some "screaming". In the meantime, we do have alternatives in the area with some very nice mom & pop shops. OOPS, there goes my personal bias again. Oh well, at least we do have music playing, with wonderful, helpful ladies to assist anyone who needs help.

The good news is by 2020 this will no longer be an issue. Walmart has started it's retail shopping restructure several years ago. We can already see it's implementations on Walmart.com with features like Site to Store shipping. This is only the beginning of the end of big store retail. The days of Supercenters are numbered. Supercenters are costly to build, uneconomical, ecologically unfit, and expensive to run.

Walmart board members and investors are completely fed up with unmerited lawsuits and complaints by current and disgruntle employees. These employees act as though they own their job, when it fact it's a privilege and honor to be an employee of Walmart.

Walmart will be able to reduced it's workforce by 80% by 2020. There are ever advancing technologies and software like Kinset that brings a vibrant retail experience onto any home computer. A Walmart customer will be able to shop a virtual Supercenter from the comfort of their own home. They'll experience the sites and sounds of a Walmart but never leave their home. They will make their purchase and a local distribution center will email or text message them when their order is filled and ready for pickup. If such is inconvenient they can have it delivered for a fee of 75 cents per mile.

If a customer chooses to pick it up. They simply drive to the distribution stations drive through. Then they scan their receipt and their order is sent down the conveyor in reusable bags. They then easily put the order in their trunk. The next trip they put the bags in the bag return slot.

This is the future of all retail. It's fast, efficient, reduces pollution, lowers prices, no more lines, complaining employees. It's a bright and beautiful future.

In fact the hope is to have such distribution stations be fully automated with no employees at all. All order filling would be done by robotics or mechanics and all station operations monitored 24 hours a day by outsourced employees in India. The hope is to one day eliminate the need for human employees period.

Wow Jim - That's GREAT news!

But What are we suppose to do until 2020?
In the mean time - could we get some music playing in our "Super-Center", the shopping carts
cleared from the parking lot at night and MORE check-out lanes open, before I have to move to India to find work?

I recommend you contact them. http://walmartstores.com/contactus/feedback.aspx. They are awesome about responding. When you send feedback about a specific store, the store manager will actually call you and talk about they. If they catch your voicemail they'll leave a message and you can call them back. If it's in regard to something more Walmart wide you'll get either an email or call from a company representative.

"Walmart board members and investors are completely fed up with unmerited lawsuits and complaints by current and disgruntle employees. These employees act as though they own their job, when it fact it's a privilege and honor to be an employee of Walmart. "

ROTFLMAO, privilege and honor eh? LOL

"...the shopping carts
cleared from the parking lot at night..."

I can't believe the most lazy people I've ever seen at this walmart. Employees and customers alike. They'll leave a cart they just used sitting right in the parking space and won't move it an inch from the last place they took an item out of it.

When they get out of the car to go in they'll push a cart further away rather than just push it back in where they need one any way.

Those are the laziest fat useless slobs I've ever seen any where.

Just when I though it couldn't get worse....

Late Saturday night/Sunday morning (out of necessity) I pull into Wal-Mart for some late night grocery shopping.
I have to hunt for a parking space (not due to other cars - but for the shopping carts scattered thru out the lot).

I finish my shopping and head toward the only check-out lane open.
I get to the lane - and NO CLERK.
I wait - wait - wait and still no sign of ANYONE in sight.
I decide to use their store phone located at the counter.
I dial 0 and I can hear a phone ringing somewhere....but no answer.
I finally shout "HELLOOO" as loud as possible.
(As I hear my voice echoing thru the store) I finally get someone to help me check out.
Yes Wal-Mart, that's me. Lane 19 about 3:45am - check your security tapes. :-/

As I'm leaving - I woundn't have even noticed the "Greeter" If he hadn't said goodnight. (I must have broken his attention away from the DVD dispenser that he was more interested in).

And again I ask - Why doesn't Bedford deserve a "Supercenter" as "Super" as others?

Oh yeah and how come no in-store music played?

Who cares about the stupid in store music?

That's the last of my concerns with Mao Marts US distributor. I hate their choices of music and don't really want to listen to any of it when I'm trying to shop any way.

I will have to agree with most of the folks talking here. I would like to see what they will do with the old Walmart building here on 16th St. Walmart to too huge of a store to go food shopping. I think it would be really nice to have a nice Mall in the old Walmart building. We need a mall closer then Bloomington. It would also be nice to have markets there too,
like a farmers market. I miss our old Walmart a lot.
Babs: