Print
Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 13 July 2018 13 July 2018

Photos by Mary Alice Murphy

Sandy Gonzales, Silver City Walmart store manager, at the store reopening on Friday, July 6, 2018, said the store had brought on 54 more people to help customers find items during and after the recent complete renovation and reorganization of the store.

She said the pickup tower is proving to be popular with customers. They order online, and when they come to pick up their order, they scan the order number barcode from their smartphone and the item either comes down out of the tower like a vending machine or a nearby locker door opens up for items that do not fit well into the tower, such as wobbly objects. 

"The tower is 16 feet tall and stores about 300 items, and so do the lockers," Gonzales said. "An item can be as large as a microwave or TV. We are the second of two in the state of New Mexico to have the pickup tower. Our associates stage the items in the machine or the lockers. It's all about fast and online. The items are shipped free to the store. It's a convenient innovation to the store."

In the meat section, all items are behind doors to help protect and preserve the meat. Every department has been reorganized, so for those who haven't been to the store in a while, they may have to hunt for the items they purchased last time they were there.

Editor's Note: This photographer/writer/editor was searching for something recently where it used to be. Finally had to ask where it had moved. I was reminded to look up at the new signs, which also help orient the customer.