My Shopping "Trip" Last Week

One more rant. This is the trip that I talked about in the last ranting post. Last Tuesday I went grocery shopping late because Paul was going out of town early Wednesday morning and I did not want to try and get groceries by myself with the kids.

I am going about doing my business at Walmart. I unfortunately got a horrible buggy that did not turn well. I did not realize how bad it was until it started getting full though (and it was too late to get a new one). My buggy was overflowing and all I had left to get was produce. Before I started getting my produce, I realized I forgot lunchmeat and some crescent rolls. Instead of taking the horrible buggy full of groceries all the way to the other end of the store, I decided to leave it at produce. I get the lunchmeat and I am walking to where the biscuits are, which is by eggs. As I walk in front of eggs, my feet went right out from underneath me. There was NO saving myself.

I get up and am covered in SLIME! My feet were so slippery when I got up that I almost fell again. I had to find clean floor to wipe the slime off my feet so I could walk. I looked at the floor, figuring it was eggs, but was wrong. I don't know if ya'll have seem the packs with beads in them that they have started using for liquid spills, but they put these packs down and it swells up as it absorbs the liquid. Everytime I go into the store, I see these packs, usually full in different places in the store. THere is not usually a wet floor sign or anything, just these packs.

The pack itself had been shoved (probaby by a buggy) under the shelf so you could not see it. The gel stuff was clear and it was like walking on baby oil! It did not look like anything was there. I had to walk back to bakery (at the other end of the store) to find a Walmart employee. I went to the bakery and asked for some paper towels and told them that I had fallen in front of eggs and someone needs to clean up the mess immediately because you could not see anything on the floor. I did not even want to leave that spot so someone else did not fall, but since I had to go to the other end of the store to get an employee I did not have a choice!

I finally get some paper towels and am cleaning gel off of me (and my WHITE pants) and waiting for a manager so I can fill out an accident report. By now my shoulder, hand and hip/thigh are hurting. When the manager finally comes over, I tell her before I worry about filling out the paperwork, someone needed to clean the mess up before someone else fell. She called the operator with her walkie and was told there was no maintnance until 10 (It was 9:15 pm when I fell). She said okay and started telling me to fill out the paperwork. I again said that she needed to get someone to clean the mess (we are still at bakery). She told a guy in produce to get an orange cone and put over there. He asked where it was at and I told him and told him what it was. He, on his own, went and got a mop and cone.

I filled out my accident report and while I was, one of the families that saw me fall were getting some groceries close by. I told the manager that the family over there had seen me fall and she needed to get them to do some kind of witness report. She said okay, but never got them. I finished filling out the paperwork and got her name and she told me who to call if I needed to go to the hospital.

Then, I go to check out and get a cashier that is too busy talking to her boyfriend that is standing there (or the guy she wants to be her boyfriend). He walked away and she asked me if I thought he was cute. I told her I had not looked at him, I was trying to get my groceries unloaded. She says "Oh, well watch and when he turns around see what you think." I did not watch, I waited for her to ring my stuff up so I could finish unloading my basket (I did not wait in any line, she just was not working so I could not unload my entire basket).

I finally got done, and by the time I got home, I was in tears. My entire right side - all the way down pretty much - was hurting. Paul gives me a bad time about how big my purse (or suitcase as he refers to it) is. The only reason my ribs did not get hurt was because I had my purse on that side. When I fell I hit the egg bunker (the shelf thingie that holds the eggs) with my right side the entire way down. I had bruises coming up on my shoulder, hand, hip/thigh and down my leg. I took tylenol to go to bed and got up Wednesday morning STIFF! I had bruises on my left knee and foot that came up over night. I don't know where I hit them during the fall, but I did at some point.

I stewed about the accident and the way it was handled all morning. I was looking at my receipt and realized that the cashier, while talking to he boyfriend, had rung 3 or 4 things up twice. I had to go to Walmart to get my money back on that stuff and decided to ask for the store manager. A CSM came up and asked if she could help.

"I don't mean to offend you, but I would really like to talk to the store manager."
"He is on vacation."
"Then I would like to talk to whoever is in charge."
"I am sorry, but all of the managers are in a meeting."
"A manager needs to leave the meeting for a minute, or I am going to go over the stores head and go to the district manager."

Amazingly, a manager managed to get to me. I did not feel comfortable complainging to a CSM about an assistant manager (since a CSM is under an assistant manager). I am sorry, but if all of the managers at a store are going to be in a meeting than they need to have someone ready to leave the meeting if there is a customer that needs them.

When he came up to me he was very polite, as was I. I told him that I had done my grocery shopping the night before and had fallen while I was there. He asked me what happened and I told him. I told him that I felt the situation was handled poorly. He asked why and I said first off, I worked at Walmart for over 3 years and I know that customer, as well as employee safety was supposed to be number one. I said that when I got here, before I came to the service desk and called him, I walked back to eggs. There were 5 gel packs in the middle of the floor (this time with a cone). I told him I did not know if they were there from last night, but that I was sure they were not designed to take the place of cleaning a mess. THat they were probably designed to put on a spill until someone could clean it and that is not the way they are being used. I also told him about asking the manager to get it cleaned before the accident report was filled out and when she was told there was no maintnance, she let it go. I told him she should have either gone and done it herself, or gotten the first employee she saw to do it. Secondly, I pointed out a witness to me falling and asked the manager to get them to fill out a witness form (which was a part of my accident report) and she didn't. I told him that was as much for their security as it was mine and she should have had it filled out since I pointed them out.

I went on to tell him he needed to be glad I had grabbed a crappy buggy. If I had the buggy with me when I fell, my feet would have pushed the bottom of the buggy and I would probably still be holding the handle and would have dumped the overflowing buggy ontop of me. Furthermore, this was the first time I had grocery shopped without the kids (usually the whole family goes) and if they had been with me and gotten injured (they probably would have hit their heads) he could have counted on a lawsuit! And I also told him the reason I had to come back was to get money back on items that had been rung up twice and told him about the cashier.

He took my name and the name of the assisstant manager that did the accident report. I also informed him that I was a month pregnant and that the store had better hope nothing happened to the baby. I showed him the bruises on my shoulder and hand (I was wearing jeans so could not show him the rest). He told me that he would get the accident report and talk to the store manager about it.

Paul asked what I was planning to accomplish from making a complaint. I told him I was not planning on sueing or anything, but since I had to go up there because of the cashier not doing her job then I was going to wait and make a complaint. If no one complains and they keep using those pads like they are someone was going to get seriously injured. What if it had been one of the little old men and women that go through and how many people get eggs when they get groceries? I mean that is like milk and bread - just about everyone uses them!

I think we just need a grocery store that delivers my groceries so I don't have to deal with people!!!!