Checking out for free

The latest move by Walmart seems to be a stroke of genius. By eliminating jobs and putting employees on the street to add to our unemployment problem, Walmart is in the process of training customers to do these jobs and thereby saving salaries.

It is a disgusting turn of events. Sam Walton always made a show of taking care of the customer because he knew the customer made him successful. Today’s CEOs seem to forget the customers are the reason they get their six- and seven-figure salaries.

Many of us are not “computer people” and don’t want the hassle of working them for a basket of purchases. The few people working the self-service checkouts can’t be everywhere, and it leads to frustration for many. It would seem Walmart is successful enough to continue to provide the service of checkout without going down the tubes. They put the almighty dollar ahead of respecting and supporting those who support them. Had I been able to find the manager, l would have taken him my basket and told him I am not paid to check out and I am certainly not paid to stock shelves, so he could restock them himself; then I would have walked out.

Harps and Walgreens are a couple of miles closer. Lowe’s is handy and they all check me out. I can easily order more online from Amazon, so my days as a customer of Walmart since the ’60s are winding down. A couple of self-checkouts is fine for those with a couple of purchases to move through, but I suspect most of us would like the courtesy of being checked out and having our purchases bagged. I would like Walmart to reconsider this move and continue to provide the customer assistance they have in the past. I suspect, however, that the top folks at Walmart couldn’t care less about a few disgruntled customers and will continue to take advantage of those who have been loyal to them.

MICHAEL RAPP

Siloam Springs