Haiku for Walmart

I don't like Walmart for all the reasons other people don't like it. It treats their employees horribly. Customer service is atrocious. It runs the small businesses out of the area. They don't have any regard for the environment. Etc. Etc. Other reasons include that they don't carry a strong variety of certain items and sometimes the store is messy. And my biggest complaint is that when we are financially strapped, Walmart's prices lure me in, making me put my convictions aside.  Damn you, Walmart!

 "Let's check Walmart first," my middle kid would say when he bought toys for himself. He liked the prices. I was conflicted about him frequenting Walmart. But, it gave him more bang for his buck and, at his age, it's a good thing to learn how to compare prices. So, I didn't stop him. He asked why I don't like Walmart, and I told him. In his then 11 year old mind he couldn't do anything about those things, but he can save a buck, so why not? At the time, I thought, one day he will understand. And as the visits to Walmart continued over the next two years, he is showing some understanding of the negative side of Walmart. No one showed up when we requested help in the bike department. He complained about waiting in the check out lane "forever" and why, when they have 25 lanes, are only 3 cashiers working? He frowned and muttered about it being stupid that Walmart doesn't carry his ice cream (the non-dairy type). Don't they know that there are lots of people out there that can't have dairy? And this morning I'm thinking about the straw that broke his camel's back. They didn't carry the music CD he wanted to purchase with his Walmart Christmas gift card. He had researched prior to the shopping trip. Walmart.com ensured him that it could be bought at the store. But, no. "Oh, we won't be carrying that," we were told by a blank-faced employee, who looked like he couldn't care less. My boy rolled his eyes and grumbled that their website said it would be. "They're liars. Walmart lies. It ought to be here. They  said it would be." I tried to comfort him. I told him that he has every reason to be disappointed and mad. Boo, Walmart!

My haiku is to Walmart, who is teaching my son, that sometimes, the lower price isn't worth it. 

Boo, Sam Walton's store!

You turned my happy boy cross

I can't forgive you.