A little over a year after teaming up to offer in-store technical support, the folks in Bentonville have dumped Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) as their partner. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) now plans to use its Sam's Club division to help its consumer electronics customers.

Sam's Club will offer free technical support for many consumer electronics products offered in Walmart stores and will even offer home delivery and installation services for a fee. The question I have is this: does Sam's Club have employees with a decent level of technical expertise who can help instead of frustrate customers?

"Wal Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), the world's largest retailer, with $405 billion in revenues last year, has remained remarkably strong during the recession even as other retailers have floundered," says Stephen Leeb.

In his The Complete Investor, he explains, " Its low prices have lured more customers, while its product line-up emphasizes items seldom cut from consumer budgets, such as food and health care products." Here's his review.

"Its Wal-Mart stores draw an estimated 100 million people a week, explaining why the company dominates the U.S. supermarket industry, with a better than 25% market share. The company also sells under numerous other names, including Sam's Club.

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), whose competitors include Target (NYSE: TGT) and Costco (NASDAQ: COST), reported same-store sales for the month of March. According to the press release, things are going pretty well at the retailer, given current economic conditions. Domestic comps over the nine-week frame rose 3.1% on an overall basis. Breaking that down to performance stats for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club on an individual basis, we see that the former increased its comps by 2.6% and that the latter improved its same-store sales by 6.1%. Over the five-week frame, comps weren't as good. They came in at 1.4%. Wal-Mart itself barely saw a move in the metric, rising 0.6%. Fear not, shareholders, for you have to consider the timing of the Easter holiday. It came early last year.

Now, international net sales didn't fare so well because of currency translations. If you decide to include that effect, then sales dipped well over 14% last month. Excluding currencies gives you a much more positive 7.8% increase. Can't really do much about currency issues right now. As we all know, all companies with international exposure have to face them. Nevertheless, I like Wal-Mart's comps. And I particularly like the performance at Sam's Club. A lot of consumers seem to be using the warehouse club to save money during the tough times. Wal-Mart's management is apparently reaching that shopper.

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In troubled economic times, it seems like a no-brainer that discount retailers will fare better than their mid-market competitors. Of the discount group, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) garners extra points for its brand recognition, broad geographic reach, and dedication to its customers.

Speaking of customer service, I recall being mildly shocked earlier this year upon reading this BusinessWeek article, which alleges that Costco often chooses to cater to its customer base rather than pleasing its investors. Amid skyrocketing commodity costs in July, the mega-retailer warned of a quarterly earnings shortfall, because of a reluctance to hike its own prices and potentially alienate its customer base.

I'm no CEO, but to my mind, the happiness of Costco's investors is directly pegged to how satisfied its customers are. If shoppers are turned off by price increases and take their business over to, say, Sam's Club -- what have the investors won? It takes a clear-headed management team to consider the long-term effects on its core customer base over the short-term demands of frustrated traders.

Reports that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (NYSE: WMT) Sam's Club and Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:CSCO) were placing limits on the amount of staples such as rice and flour that customers can purchase have left me stunned. It makes me think of the food rationing that went during World War II.

Food inflation is getting out of control. Prices for everything from cereal to pastries have jumped. Pizza shop owners are getting squeezed by soaring costs for milk, flour and cheese. Rice prices alone have soared 68 percent since the start of the year, according to Reuters. Think of that the next time you order takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant. No wonder demand for Food Stamps is at a record.