Saying goodbye to the greeter at the Marion Walmart - WLOS

MARION, N.C. (WLOS) — If you live in McDowell County, you probably know Jay Melton. He's been a staple at the Walmart in Marion for nearly two decades.

"Everybody in the county knows Jay," his dad, Jim Melton, said.

"Jay is tops,” Walmart customer Jana Riddle said. “He's everybody's buddy."

"When you walk into the store, you feel welcome at Walmart," Michele Ivy, another Walmart customer, said.

Jay has cerebral palsy and can’t walk without assistance, but Jim said that doesn’t stop him from enjoying the simple things in life.

"Walmart, going to church and Carolina basketball. That’s what he looks forward to,” his dad said. “That's it."

And while he’s been going to church and cheering for the Tar Heels his whole life, Jay has also been a greeter at the Marion Walmart for quite some time.

"On the 17th of September, it will be 17 years," Jay said.

"Walmart is a godsend for Jay," his dad said.

Jay said his favorite part of being a greeter is "mainly watching kids grow up and getting a lot of hugs."

But on Monday, Jay found out the Marion Walmart is getting rid of the greeter job.

"You get upset and you get mad when all of a sudden they cut it out and you had no idea any of this was going to happen," Jim said.

A Walmart spokesperson sent this statement to News 13:

“More than two years ago, we started a program in more than 1,000 stores using customer hosts to staff entrances. Customer hosts give customers a welcome as they enter our stores and keep the front clean, safe and secure.

“Over the last two years, we’ve continue to expand this program and introduce more customer host roles in our stores, adding more responsibility and pay to the traditional people greeter role.

“We recognize this is a unique situation, and it will take time to explore possible solutions. As we phase the greeter role out of this store over a 60-day period, our store management and local human resource teams will be available to Jay as we explore every available option to him. We will be thoughtful during the process.

“We’re committed to always providing our customers with a positive and safe shopping experience, and we know there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to staffing our entrances and serving customers. We look at the data from each store individually to structure the appropriate door coverage.”

Because of his cerebral palsy, Jay doesn’t meet the requirements to apply for the customer host position.

"I’d hate to see him go,” customer William Henry Hatfield said. “He's been a blessing to Walmart and to the public here."

"It’s hard,” Jay said. “But I’ll get through it somehow."

The Marion Walmart will be phasing out the greeter position during the next 60 days.

As of now there is no other job Jay can do at that location.

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