What I Love About Walmart

I am a fan of Walmart. I am a student of Walmart. I am a customer of Walmart.?

Having lived almost my entire adult life in cities, I have spent a disproportionate amount of time in small manufacturing towns across the United States. I have been to 沃尔玛 stores that have parking for horses and those with modern parking garages (always free of course), have shopped for groceries, have purchased gifts for nieces and nephews, repeatedly used their highly accommodating pick-up service during COVID, and my wife and I regularly purchase our household essentials at our local Tyson's Corner store. I have known greeters on a first name basis. And yes, I also spent several nights sleeping in Walmart parking lots on a couple of long road trips.?

In the many small, rural towns they populate, the stores are a place to convene, to eat, to spend time with family, and of course, to shop. When it is announced that a new Walmart is coming to town, my experience is that the local residents get excited not only for the diversity and array of products the store will bring, but also the many, many jobs. I was happy to learn recently of their 3-for-1 stock split aimed at enabling more of their employees to access their stock ownership program. I admire how they have remained committed to their brick-and-mortar concept while integrating digital and ecommerce solutions. I admire that they have not fallen prey to the Amazon-effect, and in my best estimation, doubtfully will. And mostly, I admire their commitment to the customer. I admire their commitment to their employees.?

Sam Walton

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." Sam Walton - Walmart Founder

The above is true for all businesses. Whether B2B or B2C. Whether in tech, or retail, or industrial, or defense, or consumer, or banking markets; the customer determines with their spending choices the success or failure of most any company. Of the many companies that now speak to customer obsession, most all of them have taken plays and cues from Sam Walton’s playbook.?

He further said:?

"The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good-quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience." S.W.

Each element of a business must be scrutinized for how it supplies customer value and communicates customer appreciation. The attitudes, behaviors, and activities of the company’s employees instill the feeling of appreciation. In strict alignment with the focus on delivering customer value, Walton understood that his company must create a rewarding and good place to work. He famously observed: "Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune." Providing public attribution and praise for work well done, for decisions well-made, is an immense motivating factor for most team members I’ve managed, often in competition with compensation, and for some individuals, even more important.?

These details and approaches seem so obvious, but they get lost when things are busy, when challenges arise, when the attention and efforts of managers and executive are stretched across the myriad of issues they must address. It can also become easy to forgo the delivery of what is best for the customer when money can be saved, more money can be made, or when the customer is particularly upset or challenging to assist. The great customer service companies don’t lose focus. When I have an especially positive customer service experience, particularly when a problem needs to be resolved, I assume the company for which the representative works must be a good one and I often ask a string of questions about their experience working there. The feedback is almost always positive. Interactions like this breed customer loyalty, imbue employees with valuable, highly marketable skills, and birth legions of repeat customers. Sam Walton knew this, and Walmart grew wildly on this commitment.

He understood these values, engineered an approach that so many companies now try to emulate, and with great and deliberate vision built a legendary American company. And for that, I am grateful and forever admiring.

"Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else." S.W.