Taking a cue from Chipotle, Wal-Mart should shut its stores off for 24 hours, so it can redesign its layout and train its employees to improve customer service.
Wal-Mart doesn’t have Chipotle’s health scare issue. But it has another issue– poor customer services, as so vividly described by scores of commentators in previous pieces posted here.
Some commentators attribute Walmart’s poor customer service to the design of its stores, which makes it difficult for customers to find what they are looking for.
“Well it’s simple – Wal-Mart can only blame itself, it has to redesign its labels, change its color, then move around in the store, this they think will get people to look around more, not so, it makes us older people mad,” writes one commentator in a previous piece we did on Wal-Mart.  “It took me a few visits to fine the coffee I liked, color and location change and addthat it is always out of stock ,you cannot make money on it if it is not there to sell.”
“Wal-Mart has worked to its own detriment,” observes another commentator. “Choices have become less and less.Stores are just not being maintained.The price checkers in the stores are always not working.”
“When a second Wal-Mart was announced for our town, I was skeptical, wondering if we could actually support two Wal-Marts. The second store opened about a year ago, and the low prices for groceries and the convenience of getting everything in one place kept us coming back. The store was always clean and well-stocked, with friendly and helpful employees. Fast forward to today – same manager as before, but the grocery shelves are empty more often than not, the employees are not as pleasant, and the store’s looking a bit rough. We’re done with Wal-Mart. I’d rather pay a bit more for some items instead of constantly asking an employee to check the back for (fill in the blank) or having to make a second trip to another store.”

Other customers are concerned with employee behavior, from store managers to cashiers .  “Price, quality, service….pick one. 90% of Wal-Mart’s problems stem from the store managers they employ,”writes on commentator.“They set the tone for the culture in every store. These people, trusted with multi-million dollar stores, have no idea how to build a culture let alone lead people. If your local Wal-Mart is a bad place to shop, I can promise you that the store manager is no good.”
“Wal-Mart lost me for life when I received appalling rude behavior from employees at three different stores. My favorite: “I don’t work in that department so how would I know?”
To be fair, Wal-Mart was once the retailer for both low prices and good services. Store size and fast growth has changed that, at least when it comes to service. The company seems to have distanced itself from the customer, the ultimate boss of every capitalist enterprise.
Wall Street has taken notice, punishing the company’s stock, which has underperformed the broader market in recent years.
Stock /Index
12-month Performance
5-year Performance
Walmart
-29.09%
10.97%
S&P500
-7.4
49.10
That’s why it is time for Wal-Mart’s leadership to send a strong message to Main Street and Wall Street by taking the radical step of closing all stores for 24 hours. Make sure that the merchandise is properly arranged on the shop floor; and that the store managers and employees are properly trained to serve the customers who will walk into the stores once they are re-opened.