Sales staff and clerks are always scarce at Walmart. That's the conclusion of those I know who shop there, and it is what I've observed the few times in recent years I've been in one.

I haven't had a problem at Sears or any other department store, because if I don't need help I tell them I don't need help. That seems to take care of it. At least they have people there to help you! I haven't been pressured to buy anything I didn't want or to unnecessarily upgrade. I rarely ever buy a service contract--if I'm buying something from the store I expect it to operate, or I wouldn't be buying it. I have my "Craftsman Club" discount card because I buy things like saws and drill bits and such more often than anything else there. Sears built a solid reputation on the quality and guarantee of its tools--but they don't undercut anyone else's price very often. You buy their tools because they're good. I usually go to Sears first and if they don't have what I want, then I head to Home Depot. Not many little hardware stores around any more for tools, none in my area. I can't think of a single thing that Walmart is famous for because of its superior quality. I used to go there to buy cheap medications like acetamenophen and ibuprophen, but I have since found that discount stores like Dollar General and such carry it much less expensively than Walmart.

SRS