My most hated store probably just became my favorite.

Ever since WalMart built a modern store here in Abbotsford and closed the old, converted Woolco; I have dreaded having to go near the store.  I go because I must, it would be unreasonable of me to spend more elsewhere for the same item I can get for a great price at Sam’s little store; but the Abbotsford store is the worst I have seen for line ups at the registers.  The number of registers open will vary, but it is always kept at the not-quite-enough level.  We tend to either do our shopping on Mondays or I will stop on the way home from work, just to avoid the crowds; but this did not make a difference at WalMart, you were guaranteed to spend at least 10 minutes in a queue.  I’ve been to old stores and modern ones, and stores in Canada, the US and Mexico; and none were as bad as our Abbotsford location.

As usual, we avoided going today; but when Karin could not find any suitable hair conditioner at Costco, she declared we would have to stop at WalMart.  Since were already doomed to the long line ups, we did grab some other items that we had been delaying until a WalMart run was forced on us, and then headed to the checkout lines at the front.  As we settled into the first line, I scanned to see what other lanes had the light on to see if even a quarter of them were open.  That’s when I spotted something new at the far end, and headed off with Karin in tow.  She protested as we went, figuring I was going to make this even longer than it needed to be.

Her mood suddenly changed when we arrived at what I had spotted; several rows of check out lanes had been removed and had been replaced with self-serve checkouts.  Now I realize that to an American reader, this might not be anything special; but I have not seen self-serve checkouts in Canada before (though Matthew tells me that they now have them at the Home Depot he works at, right next door to WalMart).

In just a couple of minutes I had scanned all of our items, dropped them into a bag, swiped my credit card, scrawled my name on the electronic signature pad, and we were out the door.  My source of hatred for this retail outlet has been relegated to the past.  Combining the lowest prices with the quickest exit possible will mean that I will now stop at WalMart before anywhere else.  I’ll also be looking forward to being able to make a quick stop on the way home from work, so that my weekends can be better spent.