if dante aligheri were alive today and wrote the divine comedy, on the night before good friday in the year 2008, undoubtedly, wal-mart (or at least this one) would rate its own circle of hell. perhaps somewhere between the gluttons and the avaricious. not quite the lower depths, but close.
lots of stuff, cheap. ordinarily a good thing for shoppers, but the experience here is miserable. unless you are there sunday before 9:00 a.m., it is crowded and people, including - and perhaps, especially - yours truly, are grouchy.
on the plus, you gain exposure to foreign languages. many of them. but, i assume, mostly the curse words, so the immersion is of dubious value. people operate their carts much like people in the boston area operate their cars - with reckless abandon for the welfare and safety of others; without looking or giving away any hint of their intent; and utterly devoid of the ability to sensibly park.
normally, i wouldn't knock a store for the inability of its customers to realize if they leave their cart in the middle of the aisle or park directly next to someone else, no one else will be able to get through. i will, however, hold it against wal-mart because their aisles are barely wide enough to fit two of their carts thus enabling the clientele's inconsiderate nature.
so why do i keep coming back? why do i relentlessly navigate the parking lot that resembles a mad max movie? why do i fight through the aisles and end up muttering "you must be the ONLY person in the world today" to people who block my way? lots of stuff. cheap.
i actually do like their sam's club fruit flavored sparkling water. since i have basically cut soda out of my life, it keeps me going with sparkling freshness. plus, it's a lot less sweet than the grocery store equivalent. so, one star for that. also, during my work days (when i'm not yelping) i'm usually stuffing my face with one of their trail mixes. give 'em another star. so, that's what keeps me coming back.
on a practical note, this wal-mart is not tremendously accessible without a car. the bus runs nearby at the bottom of falls boulevard, but i wouldn't want to have to carry all my stuff down that hill. this location also features a subway franchise and an optician in addition to the standard food, clothes, electronics, toys, pharmacy, hardware, seasonal goods, pet supplies, dvds, sporting goods, trashy romance novels and the like. read more