SHOPPING THE SUPER WAL-MART

It wasn't so long ago that Wal-Mart came to this community – maybe 15 years ago? They built a store on the top of Thain Grade in Lewiston. Everyone complained about that store – that it was crowded, wasn't clean, had narrow aisles, and the lines at check-out were long, but as near as I could see, it was well-visited. I joked that going to Wal-Mart was what people here did for entertainment, and to a certain extent, I think that was true. Then Wal-Mart, "in its infinite wisdom," as they say, decided to abandon that building and build a big new Super Wal-Mart across the river in Clarkston, Washington. If you can by-pass the fact that the community didn't need another empty, non-descript building, it's perhaps not such a bad thing to have a mart in Clarkston. For one thing, outside of a couple of hardware stores, one major grocery store, Costco, a Dollar Tree, and a few specialty shops, shopping in Clarkston has been limited and expensive – in other words, no marts for the masses.

Yesterday I decided to familiarize myself with Wal-Mart's new store and do my grocery shopping there. I went alone because I wanted to take my time. My first negative experience happened as I drove there. I got caught in the middle of an intersection. I stopped at the red light and when it changed, I assumed it was safe to follow the car ahead of me. But no – there's a 4-way stop not half a block away. A right turn takes you into Costco near the gas station while left is Wal-Mart's main entrance, and there's no left-turn bay. There's enough traffic coming straight to bog down those left turns and back up traffic at the light. (Welcome to Lewis-Clark Valley traffic.) Once I parked at Wal-Mart, I looked around for a better way out than the way I came in, but I didn't see one.

Walking into the store, I immediately had "déjà vu." Where am I? – Boise? Denver? Nope, this is the new Wal-Mart in my community – spacious and somehow uninviting (perhaps just unfamiliar). I don't know why I felt rather unwelcome. Perhaps it was because the door greeter was not yet on duty. I grabbed a cart and began my tour with the non-grocery side of the store. I was really just walking the aisles, but I found plastic juice boxes for my Mickey. He lost his and they have proved elusive in recent years, so I tossed two into my cart. I was saddened by the lack of sewing notions and yarn, since that was useful to me. I understand Wal-Mart no longer carries these things nationwide, which means the interests of some of us are not being well-served. I noticed a half dozen male associates in the tire department who seemed to have nothing better to do than stand behind the counter and watch me. Creepy! I was glad to turn the corner and head the other way. Apparently the tire department has not yet caught on.

Other shoppers seemed to be mainly elderly and parents with very young children – and that makes sense since it was Wednesday morning. After gaining an understanding of the floor plan (yeah – right), I headed to the grocery department. I was amazed by the prices – bananas, $.47/lb.; apples, $.56/lb.; milk, $1.45/gal. I haven't seen prices that low in years. I was enticed to buy – and buy I did. I was a little disappointed by a lack of variety, but I also wonder if the store has yet to hit its stride. The whole store seemed a little sparse.

The biggest complaint I have is that it must have taken 15 minutes to check out, and it wasn't service with a smile – no "how are you today?" and "did you find everything?" I don't really care, but at other stores I do have my favorite checkers where I enjoy a friendly word or two. (Maybe they should grab a couple of those guys from the tire department and put them at the front check-out . . .)

"Wow!" said Mike when I told him about the price of milk. "Yes, but it's not a place where you'd drop in just to pick up a gallon of milk or something you need," I explained to him. "You have to walk too far – both outside and inside – and then it takes too long to check out." Would I shop there again? Probably – but it won't be my first choice, and I'll be choosy about the time of day. KW