Hell-Mart

I loathe Wal-Mart. If I never ever had to step foot in another store again, I would be quite happy. The problem for me currently is that my budget needs Wal-Mart. And so I find myself there among all of the People of Wal-Mart and feel that I can no longer judge these people as I am among them more than I care to admit.

Today I went to the doctor. I got a prescription and as I was walking out, the doctor said, "I wrote that prescription for a 90 day supply which you can often find at Wal-Mart for $10." This is a prescription that I have been paying $20 a month for almost as long as I can remember. So being sucked in by that price tag, I visited the pharmacy there for the first time.

Here is the difference in my experience there as compared to my local pharmacy. No eye contact whatsoever! Absolutely not one smile, nor one attempt to connect on a human level at all. There will never be any personalization because I counted 25 state licenses on the wall! 25! That's a lot of people. There is no way they can get to know their customers and they obviously don't care to. At my local pharmacy they know my name, they know I have three girls and often ask about them if they aren't with me. They give stickers and suckers and make phone calls about my prescription with a smile on their faces. They come out and suggest options for me if I am looking at an over the counter med that I am unfamiliar with.

Today my quandry is this, I want to support local businesses. Especially friendly ones with excellent service, but right now I can't afford to. It upsets me. I honestly felt like I was cheating on my pharmacy. I have issues...I am well aware. And this is exactly what drives local businesses out of business. They can't compete and I am forced into their store by my budget. BUT I swear as soon as my budget allows, I will be back to my friendly local pharmacy where I will be greeted once again with smiles.