I am giving Wal-Mart a big thumbs down this morning.
I went there to get a few items on my Christmas list. Normally, I try to shop at Target, Meijer or Kmart (really anywhere other than Wal-Mart) but found myself to be intrigued about the many television ads featuring Wal-Mart’s so-called AMAZING layaway.
Well, fellow parents, I am here to tell you that Wal-Mart’s layaway policy sucks and that you are pretty much better off putting your purchases on a credit card if you cannot afford the presents up front.
Here’s why:
1. You cannot put an item below $15 on layaway. SO that means each item has to be $15 or more.
2. You cannot put clothes on layaway.
3. Layaway officially ends on December 16th.
4. You have to pay a ridiculous $5.80 fee just to put stuff on layaway (this fee DOES NOT go toward your purchases).
Here’s the thing– I am pretty sure I am not the only parent out there who sees Christmas as an opportunity to buy their children things OTHER THAN toys — like pajamas (for instance), or cheap kiddie watches. Not to mention, some of the smaller toys are under the $15 limit.
I had my cart filled with all kinds of stuff and i’m sure my grand total would have been well over $300. But because of Wal-Mart’s crappy layaway policy, I only laid a few things away and put the rest back. They lost out on $200.
In conclusion, I tried out Wal-Mart’s Layaway and found their policy to be extremely restrictive and ridiculous. If Wal-Mart really wanted to help their customers be more economical this holiday season, they would revise their Layaway policy. As it is, the only people benefiting from Wal-Mart’s Layaway policy is Wal-Mart — customers be damned.
So — I urge you good parents to think twice before shopping at Wal-Mart or using their Layaway. I don’t know about you — but as a customer I am tired for “paying the price” for Wal-Mart’s greed.
Okay, i just had to comment. I hate Walmart – I worked there for two years in the 1990s (senior year of HS, freshman year of college). I had to work layaway both Christmases – what a nightmare it was. Mind you, rules were a little different back then, so I’ll tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
You could put anything on layaway except for clearance items or perishable items. There weren’t dollar amount limits on individual items, but you had to have at least $30 total to start a layaway account. There was a 60-day limit, and you had to put down 10% and make regular payments. Everything had to be completely out by 12/21. The good? It made buying things much easier. If you defaulted on your payments, things were put back on the shelves and Walmart would refund 100% of the money you’d paid. You could bring in your ticket and pay off particular items in the order if you wanted something out sooner. That was cool.
The bad? By the end of Black Friday, the storage bins (called bins, but were rows and rows of warehouse shelves) were full, and we’d have to turn away orders. There was no room. Customers would flip shit. People would grab 3-4 of a hard to get item (tickle me elmo, for example) and put on layaway. Customers would flip shit on EACH OTHER over that. But the fact that we very quickly ran out of storage space was the biggest problem.
The Ugly: employees would cancel orders that had not yet expired, so they could buy the item (like tickle me elmo). It was virtually impossible back then to track down who cancelled someone’s order weeks before.
Anyway, the lack of space was the biggest problem, and I’m sure that’s one of the big reasons the return of layaway has so many limitations. Because layaway was ended so many years ago by Walmart, I’m sure that this year, they had even more limited space, which would explain why they would only allow bigger ticket items to be considered. So for that, I understand.
Candace, I had no idea that Wal-Mart had so many issues with their original Layaway. It sounds like it was a total cluster-you-know-what!
I had heard sometime ago that Wal-Mart got rid of their Layaway in favor of the Wal-Mart credit card.
I use it. I agree that it was better back when they had it all the time, but I’ll take what I can get. Smaller items, the under $15, are no big deal to me, I can pick them up here and there when I have the cash to do so. Clothes can be expensive, but I look at them the same way, several smaller shopping trips if needed.
Layaway has always had start up fees, for as long as I remember. The store is offering a service and you pay a few dollars for that.
I don’t really have too big of a problem with the Layaway fee. I think it became somewhat of a problem when I realized that the Layaway rules and regulations were so restrictive. I could go on smaller trips I guess, but I am so busy and have a hard time getting out of the house and especially escaping without kids. So, for me, not being able to get everything done in one shot is a deal breaker. Granted, i’m sure that Wal-Mart Layaway worked well for some people. But i’m betting that it was too restrictive for others.
Ok feeling the need to comment. I also worked at WalMart and in layaway about 9 years ago. When I was there we had no start up fees and yes Christmas layaways were the worst. I don’t ever remember turning away customers for layaway. We found room somehow and somewhere. It was a good thing but what made it go bad were the customers. People would take advantage of it. Purposefully put on a item knowing it would go on clearance while in layaway, coming to take a item out early (this caused many problems), or not paying for their layaway and expecting us to still have it. I remember our layaway ended around the 15th so we would have time to get all the unpaid merchandise back on the shelves for other customers to buy it and not have a huge amount to go on clearance after Christmas. Also we allowed some wiggle room on that 15th but everything was gone by the 20th. Those were the rules and if you couldn’t follow them it was not the fault of the company. It was clearly written on your slip, signs and more signs. I for one was sad to see it go away since I could have bought my stuff a month or two ago and paid for it in small amounts (can’t do this on a credit card).
Now as for the new layaway. I am not sure. I personally couldn’t use it due to the dollar amount per item. I am not purchasing anything that high. The fee is to cover all the paper work that it takes to run that area (and it takes A LOT). I know KMart makes you pay a start up fee also. The out by date is fine since it gives a opportunity for the items on layaway to get back on the shelf and be sold to customers that truly want that item.
As for WalMart as a company I think they are fine. I personally shop them more than anywhere and wish the one in Grandville would become a supercenter (which it was suppose to do about 7 years ago according to the plans I saw while working there). Yes I price watch and compare to other stores but heck they will match the others (gift card thing for Christmas is a little weird but oh well). I was never treated unfairly while working there and would love to go back but physically can not do that type of job any more.
Ok that is my two sense.
Thank you for sharing your experience Tammy!
I get that rules are rules. HOWEVER, more often than not I have had bad experiences with Wal-Mart– not just the layaway thing although that was kind of the icing on the cake. I get that the company makes rules for a reason but I find that their rules are not always that well thought out. With Candace’s comment, she mentioned that Wal-Mart layaway many years ago was total chaos. Is that the fault of the customer or the company? Now– since Candace shared her experience working for Wal-Mart, I understand why they are so restrictive today and maybe that’s a good thing.
My feeling is what she is describing is a one store problem. I know we did not have that many problems. Many of our problems we had were customer related for not following the rules and getting mad associates that followed them. Now we did do what we could to make them happy but we all can’t be saints. I am not saying WalMart is perfect but honestly I have had about the same amount of problems at all the stores. Each to their own. I will continue to shop there.
I am currently using the Walmart Layaway out of necessity. Personally, if I weren’t in the particular situation I’m in, I wouldn’t. I completely understand and respect rules. But I can’t help but think some of the rules are a little wonky.
I don’t understand the $15 minimum. I would rather see them go back to the minimum total. Like the original writer, had the store allowed me to use everything that I intended to use, my balance would have been higher and they would have made more money. I don’t have a problem with the service fee or the minimum deposit. But I did think it was a little weird that I had to pay the service fee separately. If I had been using a credit card instead of my bank card, I’d have been upset. And while I understand the deadline, I still think there should have been a set time (i.e 30-45 days) just to offer a little more flexibility.
Overall, if I had to give Walmart’s Layaway a grade in comparison to the policies of other stores, I’d give it a B-. Nice, adequate, but could use improvement.
I worked at the Walmart in owosso – not a huge one, and the one in Pontiac (huge Walmart near the Silverdome). Same experience at both stores.