The idiots at Walmart! - Page 2

[captain optimism]

Icequeen, it's time for you to start writing a column for the local newspaper, or blogging and sending the URL to local TV stations, or something like that. You need to start publicizing the problem of the anti-breastfeeding culture where you live. I know, I know, it's all over the US. But you are encountering so much cr*p. The babies of Alaska need you.

[soccerchic21]

I would definitely call and speak to a manager as well as write a few letters. What state do you live in? I know in my state (Washington) that girl would have been breaking the law to tell me that I couldn't breastfeed there.

Hello not to mention you were going into a dressing room and from what I have heard most of the people who get flack for NIP are always asked to go to a dressing room.

Good for you I would have done the same thing by grabbing a shirt. Raise hell momma!

[Icequeen_in_ak]

You know Captain... you might be onto something! I know enough BFing mama's in this town (well... about 10 of us... but there have to be more of us hiding in the woodwork) that I betcha we could raise enough h*ll to start making an impression.

I'm sure my husband will want to curl up in a whole and disappear (he works in a public position, so the more low profile we keep the better to him) but dang it... I just want to help the new mama's that are being treated like I am/have been and those who have been fed b.s. by the medical community. I truly feel like it's becoming my calling!!!

[steffanie3]

I would have used another bench, usually there is a wooden one by the dressing room. Wal-Mart policy is to never bother a nursing mom. If the dressing rooms were busy maybe she was trying to do her job, I would call the store manager and bring it to their attention if the rooms were not busy.


Just my opinion

[sarahbay]

I try to make it a point to nurse out in the open, especially at WM, not that I go there much :

I'm discreet and everything, but there are far too few nursing in public moms up here, and if only one sees me and gets confidence, all the better!

If you bring it up to the Manger, they will have to address the issue. If enough people bring it up, and it looks like possible trouble, WM will have to talk with their employees about it.

That could mean changes for other moms like you.

Maybe a chair somewhere to sit and nurse in their huge, take up 8 city blocks, and have nowhere to fit one stinking chair stupid store.

[Irishmommy]

Well I fully agree with Janice in Canada.

[thedevinemissm]

I have to agree with "Janice in Canada". I really think it was more that you asked to use the dressing room for something other than trying on clothes.

I would also like to ad that the two Wal-Marts we regularly use have been very curtious & supportive of myself & other BFing moms. Though, I nurse in public & there are benches everywhere. If I can't find a bench I camp out in the furniture department.

I think you should contact the manager. I think you should address that the DR clerk was rude. You might acknowledge that you were rude in-turn because you were so shocked by her response. Most importantly, I would ask the manager where in the store they have set-up for BFing? (the whole concept behind WM ~ especially the SuperStores is for a person to spend hours in the place). Also encourage him/her to inform employees of this info so that if any other mom asks. If no place exists, ask that one be created.

[mamaduck]

As a retail worker, I have to agree with those who have said that it is more about using the dressing rooms for trying on clothes. I don't think it was anti-nip. I will provide a chair in my store for any nursing mother who asks for a space to nurse. However, I will not unlock the fitting room if she wants to sit in there an nurse. We have only 2 fitting rooms and we need them for customers who want to try on clothing.

As a mom who has nursed babies and toddlers everywhere and anywhere, I would be *mortified* if someone reported me to my DM as "anti-NIP" because of this! I would seriously die. But the fitting rooms are not a place that any woman has a legal "right" to be for any reason. They are place for trying on clothing.

[Kiki Runs]

I agree with those who've said it was probably more about the "correct" use of dressing rooms than being anti-NIP. I also am wondering why you *wanted* to bf in the dressing room (sorry if you said in the OP, it's been a while since I read it).

I've bf'd all over Wal-Mart, and it never once occurred to me to do so in the dressing room (well, except for the one time I was trying on clothes and DS decided he was hungry).

What I used to do when DS was younger was head over to where the folding chairs were, unfold one right in the aisle and have a seat! It was a back aisle, so not much traffic, and I never had a problem. ONCE a Wal-Mart employee walked past and did a double-take (and boy, did I start gearing up for a speech about my rights and my son's rights and talking to the manager), but then he smiled and walked on past. I saw him walk past a few minutes later with three other employees who also made eye contact with me and smiled.

There are a couple of reasons why *I* wouldn't choose to bf in a dressing room:

1) bfing makes me HOT!! The dressing rooms I've been in were so small and warm (and stinky uke) that I couldn't imagine bfing there - I'd have drowned in my own sweat!

2) I wanted other moms to see me bfing in public. I have seen so few mamas bfing in public, and that's something I look for! This was an easy way to let mamas know it's okay.

3) I wanted EVERYONE to see me bfing in public. I wanted them to know that breasts aren't just for decoration - they have a purpose! I'm tired of breasts being looked at as only sexual, and by extension, bfing being seen as inappropriate, etc. Trust me, the first couple months post-partum, I was the least sexually provocative person you've ever seen in your LIFE, and I knew that if people saw me bfing, there was no way they could turn it into anything sexy. :LOL



Kinsey

PS. Icequeen, do you happen to have a link to BF Protection info here in AK? I need to look that up, just in case!

[Icequeen_in_ak]

Originally Posted by mamaduck

However, I will not unlock the fitting room if she wants to sit in there an nurse. We have only 2 fitting rooms and we need them for customers who want to try on clothing.

I should have pointed out that it was 10:00am in the middle of the week. They have almost 15 rooms and 1 was occupied.

I don't want to seem unreasonable, and I completely see your point, but I truly didn't see the harm in requesting a room when there were no customers to be found.

Kinsey - I requested the dressing room because there is only one bench in the store and it is at the pharmacy, which was very busy at the time and too distracting for DD. One person suggested the furniture department, and I'm now assuming all Walmarts are different, because our furniture section is up on racks about 4 feet off the ground. The Walmart is less than a month old, so it's far from stinking or gross yet, and it's open (basically like partitions in the middle of the store) and are very large in comparision to most dressing rooms. They are just down right comfy, and isolated enough to not be so distracting to my DD. If the garden center hadn't been invested with bugs that day, I'd have gone in there... but they had a serious case of fruit flies that day and it was nasty.

[Kiki Runs]

Gotcha. I completely understand about the bench in the pharmacy - the very first time I nursed in Wal-Mart (the DAY I went home after my c/s - WTH was I thinking going to Wal-Mart? - anyway...), DH and my mom ran around picking up all my stuff, while I plopped myself on a bench at the pharmacy.

I tried that six or so months later, and there was NO WAY that was going to fly w/DS. Latch on, pop off, look at people, latch back on, and so on and so forth. That's when I started just nursing him on the go (I know, you'd think he'd still be distracted, huh? But no, he gets right down to business). No point in trying to sit down and nurse if all you're doing is preparing a comfortable seat for people-watching, KWIM?


I understand your frustration re:the dressing room "policy", but now I'm wondering if you might have better luck bringing Wal-Mart's "oversight" (ie, lack of seating/benches) to the manager's attention VS a complaint about the employee. After all, Wal-Mart can always rely on the "it's policy" line, but you could point out that new mamas/elderly folks/whoever else might be more likely to shop there if they knew there was a resting place. Money talks, and I'm sure that Wal-Mart wants to do everything it can to draw people through its doors.

Kinsey

[Amys1st]

This adds another reason to the many I do not shop at Walmart. It dosen't surprise me considering their track record on human rights and the way they treat their employees and vendors.

[buttercup]

LOL - I just love what you did Good for you!

[Rainbow]

As someone whose DH works for the hellmart- They actually have official policy on BFing & pumping being allowed anywhere- including but not limited to the dressing rooms. Dh's office has a lactation room in it purely for moms to nurse and pump- not fancy but a fridge, tables, and cozy rocking chairs. They send out policy reminders to all managers and it is the managers responsibility to make sure the employees are informed.
So *DO* call the manager- eh will likely know of the policy and likely address it with his team. According to official policy an employee has one chance- if they continue to deny BFing rights or if they refuse to sign their warning for doing so than they are fired.

[Rainbow]

Walmart has plenty of changing rooms to offer that as a convenience. Personally I don't go to WM- but if I did I'm unsure where I'd want to nurse as I ahve a 3 yr old I can't let get away from me or have vulnerable for kidnapping. With my first I sat on the floor a lot wherever I was because it was the coziest place. If I had to nurse at WM today though- I probably would choose a dressing room because I don't think they are dirty like a bathroom and my 3 yr old could be more confined and could take a toy in to keep her busy. It isn't about hiding, it is about safety to me. I just don't feel safe nursing with a toddler to watch in a large place.

They also have in their "official policy" (DH brought i home for me to see and I was impressed) that store empoyees be allowed to pump or nurse their babies on any regular breaks and other reasonable breaks determined by need in a suitable space- not to be confined to a bathroom or fitting room. They have to be provided with an office or break room to pump or nurse.

[Heavenly]

I just wanted to speak up for Walmart. I have nursed everywhere in Walmart (Ontario, Canada) - on furniture displays, lawn chairs, on the floor, walking around, whatever. I have never gotten any negative feedback.

I agree that while she didn't need to be rude her first thought was that she needed to leave the rooms open for customers who wanted to buy clothes.

[Rainbow]

lots of people have had negative experiences there- usually comes downt o staff not properly trained on the subject.

[Rainbow]

BTW- why are you guys shopping at WM? :LOL