Shame on my Wal-Mart

[maat55]

I happened to be one of those people who stood in line to get a deal on a couple of Barbie jeeps. They were to hand out vouchers to buy at 12:01.

While in line, we were talking to some other shoppers who wanted to get a deal on a tv that did not go on sale till 5:01 am. They said they had other more important deals to be at latter.

At about 11:50pm, Wal-mart started handing out the vouches for the tv's that were to go on sale at 5:01. One of the ladies ion line was able to get one of them then go on to other places.

This is not fair. There had to be alot of mad people who might have showed up at 3 or 4am looking for these deals.

Shame on you Wal-Mart.

[Mr Nice Guy]

Wonder how many vouchers went unused? First come, first serve...

[maat55]

Wonder how many vouchers went unused? First come, first serve...

The vouchers were limited to supply. My guess is some of them went on sale on Craigslist.

[shengmei]

I thought it is pretty much the same thing as stores handing out gift cards.

[maat55]

I thought it is pretty much the same thing as stores handing out gift cards.

The vouchers were issued for specific big ticket items that had specific timelines for the reduced prices.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

At least they prevented a riot and death, if nothing else.

[cicy33]

I happened to be one of those people who stood in line to get a deal on a couple of Barbie jeeps. They were to hand out vouchers to buy at 12:01.

While in line, we were talking to some other shoppers who wanted to get a deal on a tv that did not go on sale till 5:01 am. They said they had other more important deals to be at latter.

At about 11:50pm, Wal-mart started handing out the vouches for the tv's that were to go on sale at 5:01. One of the ladies ion line was able to get one of them then go on to other places.

This is not fair. There had to be alot of mad people who might have showed up at 3 or 4am looking for these deals.

Shame on you Wal-Mart.

Actually this is my complaint from last year. I don't mind missing deals but it is not fair to hand out vouchers or whatever early. If there is a specified time set to get the voucher then they should stick to it to give everyone a fair chance. I was really mad last year because I had called and they told me the day before the sale they would not be giving out the vouchers until 5 am. I agree they should be ashamed on this note. Sure it is great that they prevented death and mayhem. bull. what they did was they got tired of waiting. what would have happened if someone who wasn't as rational as I am got violent cuz they handed out the vouchers hours early. then I guess they would have to rethink following the rules.

[seen]

I'm not sure I understand. You guys are upset that the vouchers are handed out early/unannounced? Or are you upset that they're giving them out at all, thus following a first come first serve approach?

[bjl584]

The whole voucher idea sprang from that unfortunate incident a few years back when that Walmart employee got trampled to death as he was unlocking the front doors on Black Friday. Now, to prevent people from stampeeding to the mearchandise like a heard of buffalo, vouchers are given out to people waiting outside. Now it's not who gets to the product first, but who was waiting in line first for it.

[disneysteve]

Now it's not who gets to the product first, but who was waiting in line first for it.

That makes a whole lot more sense. If there are 10 of something, the first 10 in line should be able to get them. What is the point of getting there early and waiting in line all night if you still might not get the item you came for?

The one thing I would complain about is if they advertised that vouchers would be given out at a certain time and then gave them out before that.

[bjl584]

That makes a whole lot more sense. If there are 10 of something, the first 10 in line should be able to get them. What is the point of getting there early and waiting in line all night if you still might not get the item you came for?

The one thing I would complain about is if they advertised that vouchers would be given out at a certain time and then gave them out before that.

Yes, that was wrong of them to start passing out the vouchers before the advertised time.

At the store I work at, they do something like this:

A manager will go outside with the vouchers about 30 minutes before the store opens and start asking each person that is in line what they are waiting for. Often the manager will have vouchers for several different items. For example, if there are 10 vouchers for a TV, the manager will pass out the 10 vouchers to the first 10 people in line that say that they are waiting for the TV. So, there is an advantage to standing in line all night, because if you are not one of the first 10 people in line for the TV, then you will not get a voucher for one, and therefore not get the TV. This takes away the impulse to charge into the store destroying everything in your path in hopes of getting ahold of one of the TV's. It's a safety thing more than anything.

[cicy33]

That makes a whole lot more sense. If there are 10 of something, the first 10 in line should be able to get them. What is the point of getting there early and waiting in line all night if you still might not get the item you came for?

The one thing I would complain about is if they advertised that vouchers would be given out at a certain time and then gave them out before that.

This was my complaint. They told me the day prior to the sale last year that they would not be giving them out until 5. so I figured getting there an hour earlier I might have a chance. nope, they had handed them all out at midnight. that was wrong.

[maat55]

I'm not sure I understand. You guys are upset that the vouchers are handed out early/unannounced? Or are you upset that they're giving them out at all, thus following a first come first serve approach?

The store advertised certain products to go on sale a certain time. Some went on sale at 12:01 and others at 5:01.

The store started handing out vouchers at before 12:01 for products that were not to go on sale until 5:01.

This was not fair for anyone who planned to get to the store a couple of hours early only to find out that they gave the vouchers away before the proper time.

The reason this is significant is that one of the ladies in line with me for a jeep, said she would not stay for a tv voucher, but since they gave them out early, she got one anyway.

[maat55]

[QUOTE]

That makes a whole lot more sense. If there are 10 of something, the first 10 in line should be able to get them. What is the point of getting there early and waiting in line all night if you still might not get the item you came for?

While we were in line for our jeeps, we took a head count of those in front of us who were getting the same jeeps, we stayed in line because we knew we would get one.

The one thing I would complain about is if they advertised that vouchers would be given out at a certain time and then gave them out before that.

This is what happened and is why I started this thread. The store did not stick to its advertisement. We got there early thinking we could just put them in our basket and pay for them at the advertised time. But they had them stored away and would only give out vouchers at a specific time.

Appearently, there was a line already formed before 12 o'clock for the tv's going on sale at 5am. What is wierd is that the lady in line with me daughter left our line, got a voucher and was back before we got our voucher for the 12 o'clock voucher.

IMO, lots of people got tv vouchers that would not have gotten them if they had to get them at 5am.

[disneysteve]

there was a line already formed before 12 o'clock for the tv's going on sale at 5am.

Sorry, but those people need professional help. You have to be a special kind of crazy to stand in line for 5 hours to buy a television.