Last week, I made a routine stop at my MS-friendly Walmart. I’ve been going to this location for years. I know the manager, staff and even trained a few cashiers on how to deal with “gamers.”
[UPDATE 8/15/19: I returned to the Walmart location this morning and was informed the new rule was implemented by a new manager. The staff explained the situation to during a team meeting and the manager approved the reversal of the new policy on a case-by-case basis. Basically, it’s now up to the cashiers whether they want to sell you money order or not. Get your Krispy Kreme stamp card out!]
I walked in, greeted one of my favorite cashiers and when I told her I wanted four money orders for $999.12 each, she looked at me, surprised. “You don’t know about the new rules?” I hadn’t been there in about a week.
She explained that the store manager had implemented a new rule: Only one transaction per customer, per day. The worst part? Purchase amounts are limited to $2,000. That’s crazy, considering every other (non-MS friendly) Walmart will still allow four swipes, i.e. $4,000 per transaction. I verified that this applies to everyone.
The said unfortunately it does. I asked her what brought this new rule about. After all, the points and miles customers routinely fill out customer service surveys, which greatly help the store. And generally, we’re all very good about letting customers ahead of us when there’s a long line. I think there were a few issues that lead to this shut-down:
1. Fraud
Recently, a regular gamer got banned for what I’m told was using a fake ID and false personal information while buying money orders. That’s really serious, considering Walmart reports this information to the IRS.
The fact that this person lied on what is essentially the FinCen form created a huge compliance issue for this Walmart store. This is the second customer I’m aware of who got banned for this reason.
2. Long lines
I’ve always made it a habit of letting other customers go ahead of me in between transactions. To keep the line moving and avoid complaints from customers. But I noticed not everyone else did the same.
About a month ago, I was told that since lines were such a problem, the store had implemented a new policy: Gamers had to get in the back of the line in between transactions.
I visited this store in the mornings on my way to work, so lines weren’t an issue for me. But clearly, it was getting out of hand. Which brings me to my next point:
3. Surveys
One of the redeeming qualities of gamers was that the store could count on us to fill out customer service surveys. These are really important. Too many negative reviews and the store gets penalized. One cashier told me she got promoted off all the surveys I completed for her.
The incentives were so high that the store rewarded its employees with a $5 lunch credit for every positive survey that mentioned their name.
I’m sure not everyone took time to complete the surveys. On more than one occasion when I walked into this store after a long hiatus, I was greeted enthusiastically and asked, “Can you please help us with surveys? We got several negative results and need at least 10 to offset each one.”
I think the long lines, which ticked off customers, had something to do with that. And when gamers didn’t fill out the surveys, the store lost its incentive to accommodate us.
I think the demise of this MS cash cow was really due to a perfect storm of things going wrong. Ultimately, selling money orders isn’t hugely profitable for Walmart and when it involves gamers, there is some risk. When people weren’t following the rules and creating more trouble than they were worth, the store manager put his foot down.
The importance of having a back-up plan
I’ll wait for the dust to settle before I check in with the manager. But this is why it’s so important to have a back-up plan. I have access to at least four other Walmart stores where I can buy money orders, though the maximum transaction amount is one.
That’s not too bad when $1,000 Visa gift cards from Simon Mall are involved. It is, however, problematic when using lower denomination gift cards from cheaper sources.
Next steps
Getting shut down by my MS-friendly Walmart is disappointing but ultimately it’s a blessing in disguise. I’m leaving my job at the end of the month, which means I can’t drop by this location on my way to work anymore.
Driving out there for just a money order run isn’t worth it, even at $8,000. That’s why I usually brought along people to help me liquidate Visa gift cards in bulk. Regardless, MS’ing at that particular location was going to be a bit of a hassle going forward. At the very least, I can liquidate $2,000 – $4,000 worth of gift cards per day at two other stores close to home.
I know a few of my readers visit the same store I referenced. Has this thrown a wrench into your manufactured spending routine? What would you do if Walmart stopped accepting gift cards for money order purchases?
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