# Equal opportunity hiring at Wal-Mart has got to have its limits **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039 "2003-03-17T17:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/41 "2003-03-19T00:50:03Z")
Kmart also offered an insurance plan, but I never got a chance to get into it. (When I found out I was eligible, that’s when I was having stress-related illness). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Harrison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Harrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Harrison)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/42 "2003-03-19T01:26:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*$16,000 per year. > > That’s what $8 an hour adds up to at 40 hours per week. > > Where in the US is that a liveable wage? It might be competitive, but is it liveable? \*\* I lived quite comfortably in Burlington, NC on about $18,000 per year. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/43 "2003-03-19T01:57:32Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by featherlou_ > Sapphire wolf, I think you missed the point in Clint’s post. The problem wasn’t the physical labour involved in lifting a finger and pointing; the problem was not being able to communicate in the language of the land in a place where he had a reasonable expectation of being able to communicate with the employees he needed to communicate with. A waiter not being able to speak English could be a big deal; anyone with food allergies will tell you that. Food allergies? How about someone who’s just mildly picky about their food? How do you indicate via pointing things like, “Hold the mayo,” or “well-done,” or “I want the dressing on the side”? A waiter who can’t communicate with the majority of his or her customers is by definition a poor waiter. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/44 "2003-03-19T13:31:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Harrison \* > \*\*I lived quite comfortably in Burlington, NC on about $18,000 per year. \*\* When? Kids? Mortgage? Maybe I’m just skewed by living in one of the highest C-O-L areas in the country (Washington DC region) but $18,000 isn’t even going to get you a lean-to around here. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/45 "2003-03-19T14:18:39Z")
> [@](#): > > **Jonathan Chance** asked: > Where in the US is that a liveable wage? It might be competitive, but is it liveable? I lived on $8/hour in Pittsburgh while I was also taking out student loans to pay college tuition. Lived on as in that $8/hour paid for my housing, utilities, food, entertainment, clothes, school books, etc. > [@](#): > > **Eats Crayons** asked: > Is this the case at all in the U.S.? Is it still the case in Canada? I don’t know if this is true for **Thea** too, but my sister who works at Wal_Mart has health insurance including eye and dental (UPMC HMO) through Wal_Mart. > [@](#): > > **Jonathan Chance** said: > Maybe I’m just skewed by living in one of the highest C-O-L areas in the country (Washington DC region) but $18,000 isn’t even going to get you a lean-to around here. C-O-L is much higher in DC than where I live now, but in general around here a single person with no kids can live decently on 18,000 to 20,000$ a year. Married people with one or two kids live decently on 30,000 - 35,000$ per year in this area, which is not that far south of Pittsburrgh, PA. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Harrison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Harrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Harrison)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/46 "2003-03-19T20:12:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*When? Kids? Mortgage? > > Maybe I’m just skewed by living in one of the highest C-O-L areas in the country (Washington DC region) but $18,000 isn’t even going to get you a lean-to around here. \*\* 1993 - 1996. No kids, escpecially since I was not making much money. I had a 1 bdrm apartment for $350/month, including water and steam heat. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/47 "2003-03-19T20:52:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Harrison \* > \*\*1993 - 1996. No kids, escpecially since I was not making much money. I had a 1 bdrm apartment for $350/month, including water and steam heat. \*\* _faint_ Wow… In Toronto, it’s hard to find a _room_ in a shared basement apartment for under $400. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/48 "2003-03-19T22:04:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Frankly, in this little tale here, between the guy who isn’t ABLE to speak clearly and the customer who isn’t WILLING to try something else, I think I might have a slightly different take on where the “disability” lies. Oh, please. You must be kidding- the OP wasn’t about the fact that someone was inconvenienced by the workers problem. See this: > [@](#): > > All that is going to do is either make the guy mad or sad and more likely than not hurt his feelings. If you get a real ignorrant customer, they’d probably get worse. That is absolutely true- a person who cannot communicate does not belong on a sales floor where people expect them to talk to them. To assign someone to work on a sales floor that cannot properly communicate seems cruel to me, and can only serve to frustrate the worker and the customer. I would guess that the employee was probably not usually a floor worker and was on his way to break or something when he got stopped, or at least I hope that’s the case. If he is regularly a floor worker, he should have some means to communicate or have the ability to go get another worker to assist him in dealing with customers. Even the floor stock people at Wal-Mart get asked where things are, and management knows that. What exactly did the lady in the OP do wrong? Bernse showed her where the shredders were, so the communication issue was solved that way, but come one- is everyone supposed to carry paper and pen in case someone they come in contact with cannot speak? Is this reasonable? Or does it make more sense that a person who cannot speak has some alternatives when dealing with customers? ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039/49 "2003-03-21T07:10:27Z")
My experience at Home Depot. I had bought some gear that would not fit into my car, so I had to rent their truck to haul it. After I set this up, the manager sent two guys out with me to help me load it. One guy said something to me that sounded like, “You got de lodin go?” Sorry? “You got de lodin go?” he said, irritated. “I just want this stuff in the truck,” I said. “De lodin go?” Finally I just gave up and walked out and said, here, this truck. He shook his head in disgust. After my gear is strapped down, I look at the side of the truck and notice a logo that says something like “Load 'n Go.” The idiot gopher thought that just because he called the truck the “Load 'n Go,” everyone in the world must know the name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/equal-opportunity-hiring-at-wal-mart-has-got-to-have-its-limits/162039.md?page=2)