Walmart Experience

Last night, without much desire to sleep and the need for more windshield fluid, I decided to take a voyage to a nearby 24/7 Walmart. It's been almost three years since moving to the Hoosier state and I have fully taken advantage of the convenience of the numerous 24/7 grocery/superstores around town. This was a change growing from Rhode Island, where they didn't seem to have any grocery stores opened beyond midnight pm (which seems to still be the case).

Ever since moving here, I've enjoyed the serenity and vacant space of shopping at extremely odd hours during the week. No squeaking of the shopping cart wheels and the sound of employees stocking the shelves. 

But it's an entirely different adventure when you go on a late night on the weekends. A diverse of demographics can be seen at Walmart during these hours. First you have the teenagers from the community with time to kill meandering throughout the entire store. With alcohol sales permitted till 3 AM, you'll see plenty of young adults heading to the beer/liquor aisle in order to have something to enjoy for the night and/or the morning after. Then, you have the parents with their kids shopping for the week's grocery; some of which are shopping because they just received their paycheck. Some parents look drained and the last thing they want to deal with is their crazy energetic children. A night trip to Walmart can really remind you the various walks of life there are. 

Since I was shopping for windshield fluid, I had to trek to the complete opposite side of the store from the entrance to the auto department. While journeying to that corner of the store, something hit me. There are a ridiculous number of products in the store. As a customer, I was bombarded by merchandise constantly and had to weave left and right just to get to one part of the store. I wouldn't call my state of mind overwhelmed by the share number of products, but a feeling of slight disgust. Maybe it was the cleanliness of the Walmart or the constraining space in the walking aisles. (I don't remember Walmart being so crammed and disheveled in the past).

But thankfully, the smell of the auto department made it all better. And on the way to the register, I realized I needed soap. So, that was convenient.

If you've ever purchased anything at a Walmart during late night, you know full well that it's a frustrating process checking out. There are never enough cash registers in operation. Yesterday, there were only to two cash registers open with four self-serve stations. I was probably in line for a good fifteen minutes; this was longer than my actual shopping time. It's surprising they don't take full advantage of all their self-serve stations. I guess it doesn't matter much to them since customers shopping that late will wait it out.

There's never a dull moment in shopping late at night on the weekends. I had not been to a Walmart in a long while; it certainly attracts a different demographic than Target/Kroger/Meijer.