Windy Sydney

I went to Wal-Mart (or Wally-World as most of my friends call it) today with roomie to pick up a few odds and ends. I always take my camera with me. Always. I usually take photos of the flowers in the garden center, or strange things I see in the foods section... I have never once had an issue with any employee of Wal-Mart on the many trips I have made. Never.

Today was different.

We walk in the store, pick up our shopping cart, and walk in. The greeter ignored us because she was chatting with another customer. I didn't think much of it because they rarely do anything but smile and wave. Nothing wrong with that.

The first thing I saw when I got past her was this huge Valentine's Day display. It was full of flowers, stuffed animals, chocolates. It was pretty, and I just wanted a couple close-up shots of the flowers. Again, never had an issue with anyone before... never. Well, the greeter who ignored me on the way in hurried over to me and said:

"Excuse me... are you here for Wal-Mart?"


I kid you not. Of course I am here for Wal-Mart... I have a basket, a wallet, yes... I am here for Wal-Mart. She then proceeded to tell me that taking pictures inside the store was against the rules and that she had been in trouble for it before. Well, I kind of find that hard to believe. Why is it that I was allowed to take photos inside the store countless other times? I think this chick just wanted to pretend to be important for a few minutes.

I almost challenged her and brought up the countless number of camera phones people bring into the store every day. I didn't though, I didn't want to be combative even though I was super-annoyed.

I can understand they don't want me to take photos of other customers... I would never do that. I would never take a photo of someone without their permission. It's creepy. I also understand they might not want me to take photos of the obvious safety issues I find in Wally-World every time I go there, like the ladders left alone in the aisles or the wet floors with no obvious signs. Again, I am not here to hurt anyone... I just want a picture of a pretty flower.

She then asked me to take the camera outside. I told her no. It is a very expensive camera, and there is no way in hell I am leaving it in my car. I told her I would respect her wishes and not take photos inside the store, and I meant it. I left the camera off for the entire time.


I moved on and did my shopping. I was a little angry about the encounter, and then everything started to get on my nerves. I never noticed how hard it is to get around that store. Ladders left in the aisles (2 of them), Wally-World workers restocking the shelves and taking up the whole walkway in order to do it, trash on the ground, the items on the shelves in disarray... I hate it there now. It took that encounter to totally make me see Wal-Mart in a bad way. It seems harsh, but it's the honest truth.

Super-friendly greeter-lady then eyed me as I was exiting as if she wanted to check my camera. I shot her a "go directly to hell" look.


When I got home I went directly to flickr to see if anyone else was able to take photos inside Wal-Mart. Photos of the store facade, photos of the aisles, photos of employee only areas... why was taking a shot of a little flower so bad?

" We found 18,792 results for photos matching Wal-Mart."

If this is a rule, it should be enforced all the time... not once in a while. WTF?

Sorry, needed to vent.

I will now be shopping at places that don't mind my photo-taking... even if they are slightly more expensive. Next time someone asks me if I am "here for Wal-Mart" I will say no.

I hate Wal-Mart.