Why we love conflict in an instant gratification world

Not a day goes by that Wal-Mart is not raked over the coals by critics, consumer groups, or big media. For a litany of reasons, everything from the importation of Chinese goods to causing the demise of small retailers, the world's largest retailer is a target. It's pretty well known that being the largest in a particular industry comes with a price: the largest bull's-eye on the back of your name and brand. Nowhere is this more true than in Wal-Mart.

We love to live in a world of black and white -- but reality is not shaped that way. Everything -- and I mean everything -- is gray. There are no absolutes in daily life (well, outside of physics, right), yet critics love to take an angle and run with it. Conflict sells, and a balanced look at any entity is not something I regularly witness from most critics. Why doesn't "good" sell?

Any media psychologist will tell you that "good" is generally boring to the instant-gratification individual, which I would posit makes up the majority of the U.S. population. We all want it all, and right now. Do you think this is a reason for such a complete nightmare in the U.S. housing industry right now? In addition to liking everything right now, we also love tension. When the entire world is just perfect and peachy keen, misery does not love company. When there is conflict in the world, we as consumers stay glued to the internet, television, newspapers, and radio to get our fix.

The good that Wal-Mart is capable of

When Hurricane Katrina came to town in New Orleans several years ago, Wal-Mart and other retailers were some of the first to get needed emergency supplies out to the affected public as fast as possible -- even before the federal government. Steven Horwitz, who performed an exhaustive study on the response to Hurricane Katrina itself, noted "nearly unanimous agreement by local officials that Wal-Mart's response was crucial in preventing the crisis from being even worse than it was."

Wow -- Wal-Mart's response was found to be crucial for keeping the situation from becoming even worse? Wal-Mart delivered almost 2,500 truckloads of supplies (like bottled water and prescription drugs) to the New Orleans area affected by Katrina. Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) contributed 800 truckloads of supplies as well. Yet, the recognition when these retailers did good was not nearly as striking or promoted as everything they do that the media perceives as bad. Why is this? In case you didn't get it the first time -- conflict sells. Doing good is not going to rack up those all-important ratings, viewership, page views, or readership points.

Empowerment is what customers recognize

In many instances, retail store managers didn't waste time waiting for a red-tape answer to supplying those directly affected by Katrina from corporate headquarters. This is a good thing: empowerment by local officials in a crisis should be expected. Time is of the essence, in other words. Local management is who customers interact with -- not corporate management. Empower the local employee to make moves that work for the customer when the need arises and you're doing one of the best things you can do for being shown in a positive light then the time comes.

And then, there are other signs retailers are doing good, such as allowing customers to negotiate prices on retail items with a sales clerk. Have you ever walked into a Wal-Mart or Home Depot location, located a moderately expensive item, and asked a sales clerk or checkout person for a lower price? Do you think you can get it?

Never hurts to try -- and with the dryness in retail at the moment due to consumer spending cutbacks, you would probably have good luck at least a few times if you were to ask for a lower price on something compared to its shelf sticker. Is this something retailers want known? Of course not -- but do they receive recognition for it? I don't think they would want that, or every customer would try negotiating. Even pricing can sway away from the black and white and into the gray. One has to wonder if the promotion of "pricing negotiation" would actually become a marketing tactic to get more customers buying in certain retail stores (more traffic and more incremental ticket, in industry terms).

A company's response to a local emergency situation and the flexibility of its employees to take lower prices (or risk losing a sale) are two areas that should be lauded. Yet, they appear as situations then go away quietly, while constant negativity rules the day and keeps the consuming public entertained and angry. That doesn't mean good acts by Wal-Mart -- or any other retailer -- should not be recognized for what they are, right? Sound off below in comments and let me know what you think.

Stay tuned right here this time next week for another edition of The Wal-Mart Weekly. Until then, have a safe week!