Big Lots

This store pretty much has everything you need for a quick in and out shopping trip. Positives: decent selection for a reasonable price, lines are never too long and cashiers are generally friendly. Why the 4 star rating? This store is not as clean as others like it. There are often dead bugs on the floor and expired items on the shelves so male sure you check the date on your purchase before you leave the store. They sometimes have $ 1.00 and $ 2.00 monster energy drinks and when they do, I stock up like a fiend. And if you become a member of their rewards program, they give you exclusive in — store specials.
All in all, it’s a good place to stop for a quick shop.

A Unilocal friend of mine, Jill W., currently has a headline that reads «Don’t give me songs. Give me something to sing about.» That’s the perfect opening for my review of this Big Lots store.
Shopping for me is a visual experience. I know how to chase a bargain like nobody’s business. I’ll do the HEB Plus stampede on Black Friday. I’ll do the early morning openings at Mal*Wart and Target the day after Christmas. So, clearly, I don’t need the presentation of Nordstrom to provide shopping motivation. Then again, the nacho cheese smeared floors of K-​marts send me running screaming in the opposite direction.
The disorganization and total merchandising clusterfark that is the hallmark of this store just about sends me to the outer limits of my sanity. Not to mention they charge top dollar (and sometimes more) for things that are commonplace everyday value items at Target and Mal*Wart. In short, Big Lots (and not just this store) reeks of Eau de Juncque.
Last week, I visited this store for the first time in search of Rubbermaid storage containers. I knew they were likely to have what I wanted since I saw tons of them at the Big Lots on Parmer and Mopac. You have to understand that most mass merchandisers have gone to Sterilite, which are – excuse me – absolute craptastic quality.
I was in luck, they had what I needed and several options to choose from. But the lids were on one aisle, and the containers were on the next aisle over. For a moment, I thought that some of the items were being fire-​saled without lids, but this wasn’t the case. Big Lots had been kind enough to invite me to their idea of a treasure trove hunt! If this had been just one item, it would have been fine, but it was several. And many items were stocked in multiple locations on the same aisle.
It all seemed rather random, like someone with untreated ADD was responsible for the stocking plan. I wanted to shop for more items, and wound up getting one or two little things I found handy. But the total freakazoid that represented the store’s merchandising scheme overwhelmed me in the end and I left. I did come away with an assortment of four sizes of Rubbermaid storage containers, including a buy-​out of the last quantity of a Rough Tote I really thought was cool.
Unfortunately, when I got to the car, I noticed one of the Rough Totes was cracked. So I trekked back into the store to get a refund, which was handled promptly, apologetically, and courteously. Refreshingly so, I might add. Costco South could occasionally take a lesson from these guys on how to graciously handle a return.
Big Lots has some things i really need and could use. I’m just unsure if it’s worth all the aggravation and frustration to find the needle in the haystack. When I shop, I consider myself the customer – not the stocker, not the warehouse worker, and not the quality control person. If I’m expected to do those jobs in addition to the functional equivalent of a dumpster dive, I expect a steeper discount than this store provides.
When you drive home thinking about spending nearly $ 60 for 10 items at an alleged bargain store under chaotic conditions, you really wonder why you shopped there to begin with. When I want to save money in the future, I’ll start at Dollar Tree and move on to Dollar General and save Big Lots to last. They may not always have what I need, but they provide a far more satisfying shopping experience.
I’ve sweated over the ratings on this one. I started with a two, but the way they handled the whole damaged item return really impressed me, so I’ll happily call it a three.