Wednesday, February 20, 2008

On Walmart.

I went to buy a couple gallons of paint last night.
I am in between projects and figured I could kick out a good portion of the girls room today.
I had them mix up a celery/limey green color, and it was good.
Then I had them mix a pepto bismol pink.
It turned out purpley.
I walked around the store wondering if my eyes were buggy.
I even stopped and asked another lady if the paint on the top of the can and my paint swatch matched.
She was like "Not even close."
So I marched it back to the paint dude.
He rolled his eyes at me (really he did) and said "Well, I mixed it up right." (arms folded into his chest-chest puffed out)
I was like "Dude. It's wrong. Something is wrong with your machine then."
He was like "It looks right to me."
He kept putting the paint chip in the machine that matches paint.
I was like "Why don't you just read the information on the back of the chip to mix it, instead of trying to match it in the machine. That machine seems to be off."
I sat and argued with him for like ten minutes.

Meanwhile...
My kids are running amok in the store.
I told my older boys to watch the four year old.
They are all in Heeleys, pert near knocking displays over.
Then in the middle of waiting for the stupid paint I hear:
"attention walmart shoppers, there is a lost little girl....blah, blah"
Yeah, its mine.
I retrieve Mikayla from the smug front desk girl.
I find the boys oblivious to life playing the video games in electronics.
Rip them a hole.
Make all the kids stand there (skating in obnoxious circles around me like fruit flies) while I get the paint issue resolved.

He finally mixed up another gallon. Matching the chip (again) in the MACHINE!
It was too purpley too.
I was like "Can anyone else try?"
My hell. It was THEIR paint chip!!
He said "I pretty much trained everyone in this store." (on mixing paint.)
I left the pink there.
I go up to buy the green.
The rang me up in the check-out and I didn't have enough cash? What?
He had picked the wrong kind of paint.
He grabbed the can of some ultra exterior expensive crap.
It was like $30.00 a gallon!
I left it too.
I am NOT paying that for Walmart crap.
So now I have no paint.

The last time I went in to get paint some dude had a seizure right in the middle of the floor in front of the paint counter.
So the paint dude hops the counter and goes over to look important, and place several pillows underneath him from domestics.
(Which incidentally, post-seizure, they just threw those pillows back into the wire cage to be sold to some unsuspecting customer)
Don't get me wrong. I felt incredibly bad for the guy having a seizure.
I really did.
And I was glad paint guy went over there. But...

My paint was literally ready to go in that mixer machine.

Paintman is over helping seizureman, right...so the ambulance people come, and take over.
Where does the paint guy go?
Who the hell knows?
He never came back.

I waited 45 minutes!
Crickets.
I left.

You would think I would learn, but no.
Like an abusive relationship...I keep going back.

I am going to go somewhere else tomorrow.
Not there.
I am still ticked today.

Any recommendations?

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your blog...I always go to Home Depot. They match the paint right all the time. and it's usually on sale. HTH.

Janet O. said...

Home Depot.
(although your story is funny, I will admit)
yep...home depot.

Sara said...

Home Depot without question....unless you have a Sherwin Williams near you. Love when you blog about the "Devil's Warehouse"! Cracks me up each time!!

All8 said...

Lowe's isn't bad either but for the best paint go to Sherwin Williams. (I shouldn't tell you this but, our house was painted with product from Volde-Mart. UGH!!) I hate that place!!!

laura vegas said...

home depot for me too! love this story shaunte! i feel for you, really i do! and i love the "fruitfly" analogy ... that is so true ... i feel that way all the time. kids swarming around me like crazy ... and all i want to do is swat them far, far away!

Anonymous said...

Hey - Home Depot is literally 50 yards away from Wal-Mart, and less than a half mile from there is a great Sherwin Williams (over across from Kohl's), and Kwal-Howell (across the street, south of Smith's). Home Depot's Behr paint is my personal favorite, but Kwal-Howell and Sherwin Williams are also excellent. Run from Wal-Mart like the plague.

Anonymous said...

good Housekeeping rated Behr paint from Home depot the best for it's price. I'm a Behr girl hope you find your paint.

Anonymous said...

Oh Shaunte I feel your pain all walmart employees around here must go to some type of training for them to just plain be annoying LOL. Last time one of my girls and I went in to our local walmart even the customers were rude and we were run into at least four times with no excuse me's. The last straw was when a lady acidently hit me in the head with a broom and my daughter said mom I think we should go home this is not our day.

Anonymous said...

behr ... behr ... behr ...
unfortunately, paint is one of those things that you get what you pay for. i did the whole cheap walmart paint thing, couldn't even wipe the walls with a slightly-damp cloth without the paint coming off then changing visually forever!! spend the extra $5 bucks per gallon at the Home Depot and get the best interior paint anywhere, BEHR. less coats, better quality, less fading, i promise!
Les

Amy Sorensen said...

We love Kwal Howell paint. If you want to go there, I even have a discount card you could borrow if you'd like. My DH is one of those research-everything-before-you-buy kinda guys and Kwal Howell is supposed to be the best!

I HATE HATE HATE Walmart. It is getting so bad around here, I can't stand to go, but eventually we need things like...food. Damn.

Mickey Family said...

HOme Depot's Baer/Bayr/something like that. It's good.

Melanie said...

Home Depot Behr paint. Or Sherwin Williams. I am NOT a wal mart fan. Your story is a great example of why. Hope you get some good paint. :)

Anonymous said...

i vote for kwal.
KWAL.
not anything else.
just KWAL.
and a purdy brush.
cause purdy brushes make for purdy paint jobs :)

Mickey Family said...

"BEHR" That's it. That's the right spelling. That was driving me crazy! Not that you couldn't have figured it out without my lovely help, but I don't want to be known as the "dumb- girl-who-can't-spell-who-posts-on-Wadley's blog" girl!

Anonymous said...

Were you in Lawrence Kansas buying paint??? Your story sounds like our experience buying paint at Alyson's Walmart, sans the kids!!! Too funny. Jenn

Unknown said...

thank you. this story made my day.

so sorry about that, the missing child, the fruitflies, but it's funny. Find a Home Depot, and get your paint!!!

Calene said...

Hey, Shaunte, the ONLY place in town to get paint is at Jones Paint and Glass. You know, right next to the bowling alley?? ;) They are wonderful and they will match any paint chip you bring in from any store, even the Ralph Lauren colors from Home Depot. And guess what? They are all painters, so they know what to do and how to mix!

Have fun!

Anonymous said...

I have to agree that Behr is soooo much better than walmart. I once finished painting my boys room when I noticed there were two labels on the paint can. I pulled the top one off...The semi-gloss paint I purchased was actually flat. Not good for boys. I'm sure the Walmart guy messed up so he fixed it with a new label. Craptastic!!!

Anonymous said...

Sherwin Williams has the best paint and the colors are usually right-on. I have friends who are interior designers and they will ONLY use Sherwin Williams paint. Not sure why.

Jennifer Stewart said...

Lowe's, Sherwin Williams, or Home Depot. Don't buy paint at Walmart. Walmart STINKS all around.

Jen

Lora3677 said...

I feel your pain.... i hate walmart to