I Have to Praise Wal*Mart on this one....

Depending on your point of view, Wal*Mart is either this evil corporate multi-headed firebreathing monster exploiting the toiling masses of the lower classes or they are the greatest discount retailer that's ever been on the face of the earth.  I'm not either pro-Walmart or anti-Walmart.  I don't personally like it when they open up a store in Benson (population 4600) or wanted to open up an outlet off the freeway exit in Portland where Ken & Gillian live (the locals were able to stop them), but I'm not going to waste mental energy hating them either.

Every now and then, a situation emerges where I will be in one.  One such situation emerged yesterday, when I needed to purchase an item from them that I could have gotten at Target.  I don't know about your area, but the Target closest to my house has exceptionally bad service, and I just won't go there.  I'll drive the extra few miles to Walmart in order to get certain items.

I was in there, and not only found my item, but they also saved me several shillings with the annual obligatory purchase of Halloween candy.  In years past I have made those purchases at Safeway while there for other food items, but I happened to notice that Walmart had better prices and so I ended up getting the candy too.  The express lane was open (which doesn't happen at Target) and so I was out of there quickly.  For me any visit to a store is a military mission.  Get in, get it done, and then get out.  Walmart lets me do that.

As I was walking back to my truck in the parking lot, something suddenly hit me.

The cashier at Walmart didn't hassle me about whether or not I had a "rewards" card or wanted one.  Think about it for a minute.  Most other places you go, they want you to sign up for a rewards card, provide your email address so that they can flood you with spam about their rewards card deals, and in some cases they insist that you sign up for a Rewards Card Credit Card Rewards Cash Back Card, with points redeemable for frequent flyer miles valid for places like Rawalpindi or Blagoveshchensk exclusive of holidays and days that end in "y".

Walmart didn't do that to me.  They don't bother with these rewards cards.  They pass along a low price to you in the first place, and you're out of there quickly most of the time (days like Black Friday excluded, of course).

I have to give them praise on that one.