As e-commerce market coach for Walmart’s online grocery pickup service in Northwest Arkansas, I’m here to tell you that your muscles know it when they’ve been carrying around 14-pound turkeys all day.
But it's not all about weight. With everything from elaborate Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts to New Year’s Eve spreads ramping up, customers rely on my team to come through. It’s about picking produce that’s ripened to perfection. Selecting the right pecans for mom’s very own homemade pie.
As joyous as the holidays can be, they tend to cause some people a bit of stress – and Walmart’s grocery pickup service is one way we’re working to make things a little easier. For many, being able to place their order online and have us bring it out to their car is a blessing. It's one less thing they have to worry about.
I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to help Walmart pilot our online grocery pickup service. It really was a new concept for Walmart in the U.S. And what I’ve enjoyed most has been the conversation with customers while we're loading groceries into their vehicles.
One customer – a mother of four – comes to mind immediately. That family has gotten to know one of our delivery associates so well that, as the mother pulls in, the kids pop their heads out the sunroof and call for him by name. They look forward to seeing him and talk up a storm every time. In the process, we’re able to save that mother a few valuable hours each week in grocery shopping.
For one gentleman, this service has helped him achieve a sense of independence. He rides in his wheelchair to the pickup location down the street from his home a few times a week for his orders. It’s the highlight of his day because it’s something he can do on his own, without assistance from others. And his smile tells the story.
So I was thrilled when, earlier this year, the program was expanded to include select Walmart stores in Charlotte and Fayetteville, N.C.; Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah; Nashville; Tucson, Ariz.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Atlanta. (It’s also available in several other markets – you can find out if your area is included by visiting walmart.com/grocery.) It's a fast, easy service with pickup that’s always free, and with no markups or subscriptions. But for me, it's so much more.
Helping bring this next phase of Walmart to life has been the best one and a half years of my life. It really has. Years ago, as an assistant manager with Sam’s Club, I helped develop a similar program, but for members who were small business owners. So the job I have now is right up my alley. I love the collaboration, the testing, the innovation that goes into creating a new facet of the business – especially when it’s all about making people’s lives easier.
I’m a country girl who grew up in southeast Missouri. I had
no idea I’d be part of something like this, but Walmart continues to trust and
open new doors for me. So I continue to do everything I can to make it the best
possible experience for our customers. And, right now, that means taking a
little weight off their shoulders during the holidays.