Continuing forward, here's a first view of the new Airport decor. In the foreground is the new railing and security gates that were standard in Walmart remodels over the last few years -- but notice anything odd about them? They're open without anyone walking through -- because they were zip-tied open! You can kind of see one of the zip ties on the one on the far right. This was probably a bad idea, since when I was waiting in the very long checkout line (more on that later, but you can already see some of it here), I saw someone with a full cart bail out on the line and walk right out through the gates. (I'm guessing they were zip-tied open as a precursor to full removal, since Walmart has dropped the one-way gate idea from almost all stores, from what I've seen lately.)
This does not look like anything Walmart that I know, but the story of long checkout lines and people bailing with full carts does sound like the Walmart I know. That's a big part of why I don't go to Walmart anymore! Well, at least I don't go there often at all these days.
ReplyDeleteThe 'Fresh' fence atop of the produce case is, well, strange. I can't say I like it, but I can't say I hate it either. Everything else looks Walmart-like, but in a way I've never seen before.
I've never seen those gates at a Walmart either, but my local Fiesta Mart has been using them for quite sometime. They aren't motorized so if one wants to push a cart through the entrance, they have to push the gate doors open with the cart. My local Kroger just recently, within the last month I would say, installed those gates at the main entrance. It is motorized though.
I still don't see anything even remotely looking like an airport here, lol.
Ha, yeah, same here. That and the lack of stock make shopping at Walmarts a frustrating experience (I actually bought some stuff while I was here, but they were out of two of the 5 or so things I wanted, and which their website said was in stock, so that was frustrating).
DeleteInteresting -- I've never seen gates like this anywhere but Walmart. Though I believe the Ballard Fred Meyer had them back before the Kroger days -- it would be funny if Kroger decided to put them back! The Walmart ones are supposed to be motorized (just like the ones I'm used to from Europe), but here, either they were broken or they just didn't want to use them any more. Non-motorized ones sound rather strange!
Ha -- my thoughts exactly! I mean, I suppose I can kind of see it with some of the wayfinding signage (which you can't see here), but not really. Heck, this store doesn't even have the actionway-corner directional signage that Walmarts have had for a long time, which seems more airport-like than any of the signage than this store actually has!