boc4ever

I swung by Walmart today to get HPCOS because I figured they would be cheaper than Target, BB or CC. I was right, the sign read $14.24 and did not specify WS or Full Screen. At first I couldn't find a WS version, but was happy to discover there was a side of the display full of them. I think people missed them because they were behind another display.

When I got to the register, the DVD rang up at $21 and change. I told the clerk about the sale price and she verified with electronics that it was on sale. They must have put the sale price back into the register because the second time, it came up as $15.88 total. I knew that was more than I should be paying, but I didn't feel like haggling over $.75

The woman behind me had a copy of the Full Screen version. I had mentioned to her that I found some Widescreen versions if she was interested and she replied, "Thanks, but it is just a small crappy tv." I didn't think it was worth explaining to her, but it is a shame that people are still so uniformed about OAR. I found it interesting that she thought you needed a special tv to view the DVD.

Her DVD rang up at the sale price of $14.24 plus tax. The clerk said, "huh, why is that". Then she noticed I bought WS and said "oh, it must be because you bought widescreen". So I responded in a half joking fashion "I guess I get penalized for wanting widescreen".

I guess this is Walmarts plan to aid in the demise of widescreen versions for the majors. I guess they didn't order as many widescreen, so they were charging more. Nonetheless, it didn't sit well with me, and I thought I'd share...

atari2600

maybe she didnt want the picture being even smaller cuz her tv was so small to begin with.

dvd-fanman

So I guess size DOES matter then?

TNDVDFAN

My theory is that they saw you coming in and read your mind that you wanted a wide screen copy and changed the price so that you would waste several minutes of your life whining on an online forum. That's my theory.

bigjim25

Actually, it would have been over $3 you be getting. If item rings up wrong, they give you the difference + $3. Happened to me last week with a CD.

ALSO: Explaining WS to some people is like running your head into a wall.

Seeker

Don't explain - but you should have insisted on correct price, and the $3, if that was applicable.

eightiesguy

I don't even bother pointing out that WS is available if I see someone has picked up P&S. I figure that it's not my business what they perfer to watch (or not watch), and if they really wanted WS, they wouldn't have settled for P&S in the first place. I know I always double check to make sure that I pick up the right version.

boc4ever

Thanks for that info! I didn't know that was their policy. I'll keep that in mind for next time...

Eric F

Wha? If someone said that to me I'd assume they didn't care what they got, not that they needed a special TV.

boc4ever

The reason I thought she may have thought that is because her reaction to my question was obviously one of knowledge of widescreen. If she didn't know the difference between widescreen and full screen, I would have expected an answer like "what is widescreen?"

I think atari2600 might have a good point that if the tv was small, she knew the picture would be even smaller with widescreen. And assuming it was purchased for kids, they probably wouldn't have appreciated widescreen.

tanman

About the $3 policy, It can be a real pain in the A$$ to get them to apply this. For one none of them know about this policy and every instance I have pointed it out in their policy they still have to ask their supervisor or whatever to approve the $3.

I sometimes feel the term YMMV was invented for WM. Most of the times I get really old grouchy ladies who seem to get their kicks ticking their customers off. And a couple times I have gotten excellent over the top customer service. Whatever.