Too Much Ad Matching Could Get You Banned From Walmart for Life

(UPDATE: Be sure to read this followup: “Police Say ‘Banned From Walmart For Life’ Story is All Wrong”)

Ad matching at Walmart can be a great way to save money – unless you end up saving too much. Then Walmart just might ban you for life.

That’s what one man says happened to him. Joe Cantrell of Queen Creek, Arizona says a recent trip to Walmart ended with him being handcuffed, humiliated and banned from every Walmart in the world, forever.

Walmart employees, however, claim it’s for good reason.

It all started, Cantrell claims, when he went shopping for Christmas ornaments at his local Walmart last Monday. “Before I could check out, the guy behind my cashier told my cashier not to ad match anything for me,” he writes on his Facebook page. Cantrell was upset, but in a hurry, so he says he didn’t make too much of a stink.

But four days later, the next time he visited the same Walmart, he writes, “I look up and there’s two Pinal (County) sheriff officers” waiting at the self-checkout. It was only then that Cantrell realized the cashier from the other day had called the cops on him, and that he had been banned from ever coming back to Walmart.

And this is a guy who says, until now, he was intensely loyal to Walmart – often visiting twice a day. “I just love Walmart and that’s why I go,” he told Phoenix’s KNXV-TV.

Walmart has quite a different story to tell. In a statement to KNXV, Walmart said Cantrell “threatened our associate with bodily harm. Out of abundance of caution, local law enforcement was contacted. Due to continuous threats of violence, the customer is no longer welcome at the store.”

“I was upset but never once did I say anything to the gentleman,” Cantrell contends. But the police incident report, obtained by Coupons in the News, indicates that Cantrell had plenty to say.

Cantrell “became angry and began to yell,” the investigating officer reports. Among his alleged outbursts: “I’m going to mess this mother f****r up,” “I’m not the person to f*** with, next time I come in I will beat his a**,” and threatening to wait “outside for (the cashier) in the parking lot” so he could “do him in.” A woman in line behind Cantrell, small child in tow, “appeared to be frightened by the male,” the report reads. “The mother then calmed the child down and quickly left the store.”

Several Walmart employees told police that they have had run-ins with Cantrell before. One accused him of attempting to “fraudulently ad match items” in the past. KNXV spoke with a former Walmart employee who said Cantrell often used expired ads in an attempt to price match, and that they would often allow him to get away with it to avoid any trouble.

Despite the alleged fraud and profuse profanity on the part of the accused, there appears to be some questionable activity on the part of the Walmart employees as well. The incident report notes that the argument erupted after Cantrell was told that “only eggs and milk were on ad match, due to all the Black Friday ads.” While some Walmart locations have their own interpretation of Walmart’s corporate ad match policy – some don’t ad match store-brand eggs and milk at all – the company made it clear this year that it would match all competitors’ Black Friday offers, in addition to the everyday items it ad matches all year round. So it appears that these particular Walmart employees were either misreading or misunderstanding corporate policy – or making up their own policy, either to avoid the hassle of ad matching during a busy time of year, or to single out Cantrell for special treatment.

So far, Cantrell’s version of the story is the one that’s gaining traction. “Banned from Walmart for ad matching” has proven too tempting a story to resist, for media that haven’t done any digging for details. Cantrell says he’s already been contacted by national news outlets including CNN and Good Morning America. So look for a lot more from him tomorrow. In the meantime, he leaves fellow Walmart shoppers with this piece of advice: “I don’t recommend anybody ad matching, because the same thing could happen to you.”

And if it does, just try not to threaten to “do in” your cashier. Even if he is mistaken about Walmart’s ad match policy.