This mom was just trying to get some baby formula that was behind lock and key. But it took way too long for a Walmart employee to come around and help her.
Customers are so over the overt anti-theft methods retailers like Walmart, Target, and Walgreens have taken in recent years.
Many people expect loss prevention to be monitored on cameras and even with secret shoppers in the store. However, several shoppers argue the sheer amount of items that are now locked not only seems excessive, but they also affect the customer experience.
One man said an item on his Walmart+ order couldn’t be delivered because it was locked up, and his shopper didn’t have the key. Another Walmart shopper said it took nearly 40 minutes for someone to unlock a craft item for her.
But what is a person like this mom supposed to do in an emergency where you need an essential item but no one is around to help?
Why couldn’t this Walmart shopper get baby formula?
In a viral video with more than 229,000, influencer Em (@luvley.m7) called out Walmart for its bad customer experience with the locked product cases.
Already anticipating a negative experience, Em starts filming to document just how long it’s going to take her to get baby formula.
At 4:37 pm, Em presses the button. Five minutes later, no one came, so she asked an employee for help.
The worker doesn’t have the key, so they ask her to wait for someone else to come. In past videos, Walmart employees have explained that while some employees do have key access, they may not have the right key.
They may have a key for a beauty item or electronics, but the keys are not universal. Even managers don’t have access to every key and rely on the designated key holder for that item or area.
Another employee arrived, but “they just ignored me and left,” Em says.
As Em keeps waiting, several people gather in the aisle, also pressing the button for assistance.
“This is ridiculous; there’s still no one here to come open the freaking case for the formula. Pressing it again cause this is crazy. Ridiculous,” Em says.
She said another customer “took one for the team” and went to ask an associate for help.
At 4:50pm, 13 minutes after she initially pressed the button, Em finally got what she needed.
“That was ridiculous. Walmart, you need to step up your customer service response rate because that was crazy,” Em says.
“The amount of people that left because nobody ever went to help them out.”
Are Walmart’s ‘call help’ buttons fake?
Unlike elevator close buttons and crosswalk buttons at stoplights, which rarely work and end up functioning more as a placebo, the help buttons at Walmart do work.
In a Reddit thread, employees explained that when you click the button, “they dial right into the walkie and a robot voice pages for help in the designated area.”
One person said, “We have them but we don’t change the batteries so they’re all dead. So basically, we don’t have them.”
They added that while there are areas where it’s not as much of a problem because employees are paid to walk around monitoring it, there are other parts of the store where it’s hard to find an employee for help.
Even then, it’s hit or miss whether the employee you find will even have that key.
“It’s just not a fun process for anyone. Wish Walmart would be more selective on what we lock up and where we keep the lock ups. No fun for anyone when they lock up items they don’t have a good game plan for,” they wrote.
Shoppers think the buttons are fake
“I’m convinced the buttons are just there for us to think someone is coming,” a top comment read.
“One time I waited so damn long I ended up calling the store to see if anyone could come over—someone came instantly,” a person said.
@luvley.m7 @Walmart ♬ original sound – Luvley.M7💗
“I even go to customer service and they say it over the intercom and I have to wait another whole 20 minutes before someone comes to finally open it!” another shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Em for comment via email and Instagram direct message and to Walmart via email.
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