unbelievable

I must have thought that word atleast 50 times when I was standing in line at Wal-mart today. I don't ever go to Wal-mart not expecting to wait in line, but today topped the charts in terms of ridiculous things I have encountered at Wal-mart. Prepare for my venting....

Today, after I had a cart full of groceries, I got in a line behind one person after I had passed up lines with 4 or 5 people in them. No brainer, right? Apparently not...the other people seemed to know what I didn't. And that was - the lady I was behind was taking full advantage of the fact that Wal-mart will match any other competitor's price. Translation: she had 3 or 4 ads with her from various grocery stores and expected the cashier to change every Wal-mart price to match the sale price at every other store for the items she had. I must say - I was dumbfounded. And this is why I thought "unbelievable" over and over again for the next 10 (yes, atleast 10) minutes that I waited for 3 (yes, 3) cashiers to go through her items and correct the prices at the register against the prices in the ads.

I wasn't angry...I was just amazed that this was happening. It does baffle me that people do not think about how their actions affect those around them. (I couldn't change lines because there were also several people behind me at this point). In fact...I think I would have stayed in line anyway, just to make sure what I was seeing was actually what was going on. It was truly unbelievable.

I wish I could say the story stops there, but it doesn't! After the cashier had (very patiently) rung up each of the ladies' items, the customer handed over about 20 coupons to be scanned as well. At that point, the cashier informed the customer that she would be unable to use the coupons because she had used the sell prices from other stores (many were BOGO free items). The lady was furious! And again, I was dumbfounded (that's the best word for my disbelief at this point). She refused to pay for her items without being able to use the coupons, and after yelling at the cashier, she asked to speak with the manager. All I know is...I had already finished checking out (and I had a lot of stuff) and the lady was still there complaining. I can't help but tell you that the words "I wouldn't have wasted an hour here - I would have gone to Food Lion if I knew this was going to happen" actually came out of her mouth. UNBELIEVABLE. I must say...everyone around her wished that she would have gone to Food Lion. And I must say...it just would have made sense (seeing as their items were already on sale). I mean, I like to get good deals...but the whole scene I witnessed today seemed very selfish. I'm a huge fan of coupons. In fact, I'm usually at Lowe's Foods with my many coupons each week because they double them and if I'm lucky the things I have coupons for are even on sale. But this....this was a whole other level.

Ok...I think I'm through venting. I wish I was ready with a spiritual application, but the majority of things that have run through my head today have been more about how ridiculous that lady was. Maybe there will be something to come. We'll see. Until then...I'm waiting to see what will happen on my next Wal-mart trip.