🎥 Hays Walmart $5M renovation finishes ahead of schedule

Walmart employees celebrate the completion of their store remodel Friday with members of the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Although it took a week longer than expected, the remodel project of the Hays Walmart Supercenter still finished a week ahead of schedule.

A grand reopening ribbon cutting with the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce was held Friday morning.

Co-manager Tanya Whitter talked about some of the major improvements which started in the front store area with new entrance gates for customers.

New entry gates at both doors automatically open for customers.

“They automatically open when you come through,” Whitter explained. The store also has new security systems in the front end.

New signage fills the store walls as well as the different departments. The entire store floor has been retiled with new concrete pathways leading into the store.

New refrigeration coolers and cases line the grocery area. The produce department has new lighting which Whitter says ensures the fruits and vegetables look like the colors they actually are.

“It’s just a fresh look for the store,” she added, “not just what the customers see but also things the customers don’t see. There’s lot of changes and lots of improvements.”

Employees working the new 3 in 1 counter are cross-trained to help customers with gun purchases, the automotive center and the paint department.

There’s now a new “3 in 1” counter. “Our automotive department, our paint department, and sporting goods – for the gun sales – with brand new cases. It’s basically an all-in-one counter…making it convenient for the customers.” Employees working the 3-in 1 counter are cross-trained to help customers in all three departments.

Restrooms have been updated with a mothers’ room added in the back restroom for nursing privacy.

The 11-week project exceeded $5 million, according to Whitter. “It’s a huge financial investment in our store and we’ve also invested in training of our associates.”

Perhaps the most highly anticipated change is the addition of the OGP department, or Online Grocery Pickup, which opened July 5.

Ten parking spaces are reserved at the north end of Walmart for pickup of online orders.

“You’ve seen all the parking stalls outside for it. You can go online and order your groceries and show up, pick a time, and we bring them out to your car for you,” Whitter explained to the crowd. “It’s very fast, very convenient. It’s a free service that Walmart provides.” She believes it will be very successful for the store.

The Walmart app used to order groceries online can also be used by customers to determine if an item is in stock and its aisle location in the store.

Computer screens at the checkout counters have also been updated with touch screens.

“It’s remarkable how advanced things are now,” added Whitter.

Even the parking lot got a facelift with restriping of the parking stalls and new trash cans.

She and co-manager Adam Armstrong both made a point of thanking the Walmart employees and its customers.

“We ask our associates to do a lot of things every day and then we through a remodel on top of that. We asked them to do their job plus we turned their department upside down and moved it halfway across the store,” Armstrong said with a smile. “But our associates, in Walmart fashion, did an outstanding job.”

Because the store is open 24/7, the renovation work took place while people were shopping.

“Our customers put up with us for 11 weeks. It’s kind of like coming into your house after you’ve been gone for a week and somebody rearranges your furniture and you run into stuff,” quipped Armstrong. “You don’t know where things are.”

“But we should be good for at least another seven years now, I think. We won’t be moving things. Everything’s where it’s gonna be.”

A lot of departments were rearranged on the general merchandise side to make for a better shopping experience, according to Armstrong.

“The way things are laid out now – once people get used to it – should honestly make more sense as they shop throughout the store,” he said. “As an example, we put the bacon next to the eggs, which most people buy together.”

Sarah Meitner, Brent Kaiser and Kathy McAdoo accept a $10,000 donation from Hays Walmart for the Accessible Recreation Complex park project. They’re flanked by Co-Manager Adam Armstrong and Community Involvement Coordinator Dawn Malott.

During Friday’s celebration, the Walmart employees also presented a $10,000 donation through the Walmart Foundation to the Hays ARC park project for an accessible playground in Seven Hills Park.

The Hays Walmart store, which has nearly 300 employees, is among 10 in Kansas scheduled for renovations and improvements this year.

Walmart has been in Hays for 35 years.

The Supercenter has been in its current location, 4301 Vine, for 18 years. Prior to that it was in the Vine Street shopping center now occupied by Hobby Lobby, ACE Hardware and the former Hastings store.