I shop at the Walmart on 6134 White Horse Rd, Greenville, SC, and it's become a nightmare. Initially, Walmart announced a remodel, and I was hopeful that it would improve the store experience. While the store's appearance did improve, especially the clothing section which now reminds me of Target, the service has deteriorated drastically.

During the remodeling, I was in Mexico, so I didn't experience the changes firsthand. However, I was optimistic that we'd get used to the new layout over time. One significant change was the addition of more self-checkout stations. As an introvert who dislikes interacting with people, I thought this was a good idea, especially since the cashiers often seemed disengaged.

However, by December-January, Walmart started hiring security guards, which was puzzling. Later, they even brought in a police officer, making the atmosphere uncomfortable for someone like me. By late April to May, they closed down the cashiers for a few days, presumably for maintenance, but when they reopened, it was clear there weren't enough cashiers.

The real issue began when they restricted self-checkout to Spark drivers and Walmart+ members only, forcing regular customers like me to wait up to 30 minutes for a cashier. This is inexcusable in an area where people rely on quick shopping trips.

Walmart claims this change is due to "high crime in the area," but that's clearly not true. Other nearby stores don't have these issues. Instead of hiring more security and cops, which doesn't solve anything, they should hire more workers to man the cash registers.

This store is located in a low-income area where people mainly shop here because it's convenient—until now. The longer lines are unacceptable when there are better ways to prevent theft that are cheaper in the long run.

Sign this petition if you agree that Walmart should bring back unrestricted self-checkout and stop wasting resources on unnecessary security measures!

UPDATE: The security here is terrible. One day, I saw two young girls stealing, and the security guard did nothing to prevent it. Instead of spending money on more workers, Walmart is burning money on ineffective security and theft prevention.