After reading the article, the impression I am left with is that this started out to be a hit piece on the ease of buying a gun at WallyWorld, and ended up being a hit piece on their somewhat bumbling customer service.
The subtext seems to be that while she could not buy from Walmart due to Walmart's policies and ineptitude, rather than Walmart simply complying with federal regs, shopping elsewhere would have sidestepped much of the process:
I had invested several hours across two days on this. If I were actually in the market for a rifle, I would have gone to a local gun shop instead after about five minutes of trying to figure out which Walmart stores sold guns.
I like to think a truly inquisitive journalist, looking to do a story on the ease of purchasing firearms, would have done some research before hand, learning the actual regulations and requirements - and in the process been prepared to spring a 'gotchya' had Walmart slipped up.
But such is modern 'journalism'.