Missing Bags and Missing Compassion: My Walmart Experience.

I got my groceries. But I lost a little faith.

Yesterday started like any other errand day. I went to Walmart to pick up groceries—nothing fancy, just the usual essentials. I don’t drive anymore, so I took an Uber there and back. The trip home was uneventful. My Uber driver was kind, even helped carry the bags into the house. But when I started putting things away, I realized something was off. Two bags were missing.

I double-checked the counters, the fridge, the pantry. Nothing. I thought maybe the driver had accidentally left them in the car. So I filed a report with Uber, not wanting to jump to conclusions. He’d been so helpful, and I didn’t want to cause trouble for someone who’d gone out of his way to assist me.

Then I tried calling Walmart.

No answer.

I called again. And again. Still nothing. It’s baffling to me that a store of that size, with that much traffic, can’t manage to answer the phone. Hire some admin help, I thought. I’m not asking for the moon—just someone to pick up and say, “How can I help?”

So I took another Uber back to the store. That’s $20 out of my pocket, by the way. I’m not made of money, and I shouldn’t have to pay twice just to get what I already bought.

When I arrived, I asked to speak with a manager. He came out, looked me over, and told me he would review the security footage. And then, according to him, the cameras showed all my items being loaded into my car. I blinked. “I didn’t drive,” I said. “I took an Uber.”

He didn’t seem to care. He insisted the footage showed everything being loaded. Then he shrugged. Told me there was nothing he could do.

I sat down on the bench near customer service to book another Uber home. I’m older, and I move slower these days. I needed a moment. I’d been there less than five minutes when the same manager came back and told me I had to leave. “You’re loitering,” he said.

Loitering.

I looked up at him, stunned. I wasn’t panhandling. I wasn’t causing a scene. I was sitting quietly on a bench at the front of the store, obviously on my phone, trying to get home. But he repeated it—“You need to leave”—and walked off.

I felt humiliated. I felt small.

Then I saw the cashier who had checked me out earlier. I approached him gently and asked if he remembered me. “Yes,” he said. “Your groceries went to customer service.”

My heart jumped. “Can you get me a different manager?” I asked.

He nodded and did.

The second manager was calm, respectful, and actually listened. Within minutes, I had my missing bags. No accusations. No threats. Just basic decency.

The first manager? He never checked the footage. I’m convinced of that. He didn’t want to be bothered. He saw an older woman asking questions and decided to project his bile onto me. He threatened me with police intervention. He assumed I was trying to steal. And he made me feel like a criminal for sitting on a bench.

I contacted the Uber driver again and apologized profusely. He could have gotten in trouble, he could have lost his job, and it wasn’t his fault. I increased his tip. He deserved it.

But Walmart? I’m done.

I won’t be shopping there again. It’s not worth the stress, the humiliation, the $20 in extra Uber rides. I got my groceries, yes. But I also got a front-row seat to the kind of casual cruelty that seems to be spreading in the world.

I don’t understand the hatred. The maliciousness. The lack of empathy.

And I’m not alone.

Other Walmart Customer Service Nightmares

Walmart has a long history of customer service complaints. A quick search reveals hundreds of stories like mine:

- Security footage disputes: Customers often report being told footage was reviewed when it wasn’t. According to ExpertBeacon, Walmart stores retain footage anywhere from 21 days to 24 months depending on location, but access is tightly controlled and often denied without justification.

- Phone support failures: Walmart’s Help Center acknowledges frequent issues with missing items and unreachable staff. Many customers report calling repeatedly with no answer, forcing them to return in person.

- Aggressive management behavior: Reddit threads and BBB complaints detail managers threatening police action, refusing refunds, and dismissing elderly or disabled customers as “loiterers” or “problematic.”

- Customer service desk confusion: In one widely shared story, a woman waited over an hour for help with a missing prescription, only to be told it had been “misplaced” and she’d need to reorder it.

- Online orders gone wrong: Walmart’s online support is notoriously slow. Customers report being bounced between departments, receiving canned responses, and waiting weeks for refunds.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t ask for much. Just my groceries. Just a little kindness. Just a moment to sit and breathe.

Instead, I got suspicion, threats, and a reminder that sometimes the biggest corporations forget the smallest courtesies.

So yeah, Walmart sucks.

And I won’t be going back.