Walmart

When it comes to shopping there are 3 things: service, quality and price. The catch is you’re lucky to only get ²⁄₃ of these with any shopping experience, Walmart is no exception. The prime motivator for going to Walmart is generally always price, going in with expectations of exceptional service is just asking for disappointment. Quality here is reasonable enough, so there’s your ²⁄₃: price and quality. Leave your expectation at this and you should be okay!
With the Walmart Macleod Supercentre I go in expecting to save money because of lower priced items that still meet the quality of a big name store, and this is exactly what I get. Walmart has all your major departments you’d expect from a department store: appliances, auto, baby, clothing, electronics & entertainment, furniture, health & beauty, home & pets, jewelry & accessories, office, outdoor, sports & rec and toys. What makes it a Supercentre location is the Grocery and Pharmacy, this location also includes a vision centre, photo centre, wireless solutions, McDonald’s, Mr. Lube and Western Union.
The primary reason I visit this location is for home and grocery, so I’m actually quite happy that this is a Supercentre location. The prices for the grocery items blow the competition nearby out of the water (Safeway and Co-​op), but is still pretty comparable to Superstore. Their grocery selection is a little more limited to traditional items compared to a primary grocery store but it’s not lousy by any means and they get some newer items as well. They’re a little more limited for health food items, but they have some choices. Produce is actually quite decent here and priced great, as is their bread, dry goods and frozen items. Their meat is probably where they suffer the most, it’s very reasonably priced but the quality of these items tends to be a little bit lower than other grocery stores. They also don’t have a fresh deli, although their selection of deli items is quite large. So I usually stock up on all my major items on my visits and just grab my meats elsewhere.
One thing I hate about this store is how narrow the aisles are. It’s hard enough to get around with the crowd this store draws, but when you add in aisles that aren’t wide enough for two carts it can be a tad bit annoying. Nothing they can really do to fix this either since the store layout is at capacity and the problem is likely just limited room more than poor organization. So often you’ll find yourself barely squeezing by people or backing out of aisles, not an easy up and down aisle kind of store. While on this topic it’s also very busy in general and the parking lot can be a nightmare, I’m surprised I haven’t seen an accident here with how packed it gets. Close parking is also rarely an option. Even though the cashiers get backed up on a regular basis the staff does to a good job getting people through quickly, and they’re actually trained pretty good for produce codes for a department/​grocery store. There’s also the express lane that works in a logistically efficient first in/​first out method for small volume purchases. As mentioned earlier service is not something you generally get with your visits, the staff are rarely happy and almost never go above and beyond to make your visit exceptional. Most seem to be there as an ends to a means and don’t take pride in their role. Don’t expect to be approached for help either, if you need assistance you’re probably going to have to ask.
The electronics section can be an exception to this at times, I think the staff in this area are typically trained a bit better and have more invested interest in their department. The rest of the store is pretty neutral, but one plus is beyond the grocery area things quiet down a little and the shopping experience improves. Kind of ironic because the grocery store is my primary reason I come here but also the part I end up getting most frustrated with lol. To summarize: come to save some $, but don’t expect too much more!

Called for a question about a purchase I made online. The woman had poor English, which is not a problem if she could understand a bit of what I was saying, and didn’t say goodbye, rather she hung up the phone in my ear. this after waiting a while to get through in the first place.

My first review in Canada and it’s a Wal-​Mart. There’s just something weird about that, I guess. But since it’s right across the street from both my hotel and my customer, I can see that I will be here a few times during my visit to Calgary.
It’s still a Wal-​Mart but this one has a different feel from the ones I have patronized in the States. Shelves don’t seem to be as tall and the food section (yes, this is a Supercentre so it has groceries) aisles aren’t as long. They have all the other departments you would expect, including toys, electronics, clothing, tire & lube, etc.
Staff is friendly and the signs are (of course) in both English and French. Bön jour.

They’ve recently turned this location into a Supercentre so it’s way better than it used to be. Before this latest changeover I don’t think they had done anything to the store since they took it over from Woolco in the early 90’s.
The layout is still basically the same as before, just now there’s fresh produce in the middle of the store right when you walk in.

Right here we go, Wal-​Mart, closest one to me and never go often except for Photo’s (Kodak Booth), Work Boots and the reason I’m reviewing Winter Tyres (European Spelling, sorry old dog), I like to shop about which in the end drives me up the wall but these had by far the best deal on winter tyres, ok there not high end brand names but low cost winter tyres are far better than any high end M+S tyres.
Service is not great and its first come first serve no appointments (unless your willing to wait weeks) expect line ups when first snow fall comes, BUT they have the best deals on winter tyres I have found, even if you line up and cant get a slot for fitting you can buy the tyres there and then and go back at a later date with receipt and get them fitted at cost.
Wally World Winter Tyres cheap as chips!

Thought I should get a tire quote at the Walmart across from Canadian Tire on Macleod Trail. Parking was a bit messy today, as Christmas shopping is well into its inertia. A woman formally greeted people at door and with me she greeted me in my native language which was surprising and a nice personal gesture.
I got to the tire counter and there was no one around for 15 minutes, there was also a note on the door revealing that they were fully booked today for appointments and this was on a Sunday. A saleslady finally appeared out of nowhere and punched in my specs on the computer but didn’t have enough expertise to fully find me the right tire. Although she was friendly and polite, it was very low service compared to the full service I received at Canadian Tire where the salesman there actually pointed out tires to me and gave me good recommendations.
So counter service is definitely lacking here. I went away with a print out but I still didn’t not know if the price she quoted me were the prices specific for my vehicle and usually she said there would be a two week waits for tires there as their stock is limited. I guess I could come back and check but why would I come back here in the future? When what I will expect is the same ambiguous answers about my vehicle; what a waste of time that would be.
So I walked out of the store a little disappointed but at least I had an answer. While I was leaving, I noticed how disorganised Walmart was that day, I don’t know if it is the fluorescent lighting or the lower ceilings with that tacky ceiling tile; but everything seemed a bit in disarray.
Shopping at Coop or Costco or the Superstore just has a more spacious airy feeling. I suddenly felt claustrophobic and had to get out.
The woman at the door was the only refreshing element at Walmart that day who bid me goodbye again in my native language.