I work part-time for Wal-Mart and my husband has worked there for over 20 years. One could say that we have a unique perspective on some of the issues raised in this thread so I’d like to respond to a few of them. Pardon the length.
Regarding messy stores. There are standards that are supposed to be met as directed by corporate. If a store is messy (product not fronted, filthy floors, etc.), then the blame rests on management. If the store is old, run-down and generally shoddy, then it’s corporate’s issue. Many stores get “re-set” every few years which can include moving entire departments, replacing the flooring, remodeling the vision center, etc., and it’s ALL done while the store is open. Yes, it’s a mess and a pain in the ass. However, the re-sets are oftentimes only done in cases where the store has “earned” it by having a good customer base combined with profits. If a store is in a depressed economic area, it’s less likely to be reset.
The store we work at has a fairly good management team and the store is kept clean. Ten miles up the road is a much newer super center and since it’s closer to our house, I’ll sometimes shop there. It, too, is clean but I’ve never seen the shelves fronted in all the times I’ve shopped there. It’s a minor point. I’m just using it as an example.
Yes, store managers are responsible for increasing profit margins at store level. However, it’s the corporate office that dictates increases or decreases in staffing. If a person wants to gripe about poorly staffed stores with long lines and few open registers, complain to the corporate office. The average manager can’t do much at store level. And they’re also being hamstrung by a relatively new policy for hiring. Drug testing has been around a while (and the number of applicants that weeds out is shocking) but they’ve also started doing background checks for applicants, which further decreases the number of potential hires. I know of one case where a man was trying to get hired but failed his background check because he was behind on his child support. He was wanting to work so he could get caught up on his child support. Sadly ironic, in his case.
Hell, it’s the corporate office that controls everything, including the damned temperature of the store (and that isn’t a joke). I’m firmly convinced that a lot of directives that come down from corporate are made by yahoos that have never worked at the store level out in the real world.
As far as the benefits for associates, it’s true that they’re not bad. Part-timers do get benefits. Health, dental, 401k, Aflac and your standard STD/LTD are all offered. For retail, the benefit package isn’t too shabby even if I do have some issues with specific coverage. The starting pay, for the most part, is competitive with the area. If a shopper has complaints about the quality of the employees, while a lot of that does reflect on the store management, a great deal of that is because of corporate policy. Corporate seems to have decided that it’s better to have constant turnover in employees rather than try to retain the long-timers. It is now virtually impossible to get an “exceeds” on one’s yearly review. We have been told that it takes a regional manager’s approval and then only a certain number are permitted in a given area. They have removed the incentive for an associate to go above and beyond their normal duties. Would the average person bust their ass, doing way more than required if they’re not going to get recognition or compensation for their hard work? Not in my experience. So a store can end up with a bunch of associates that just don’t give a crap or who do only what’s required of them and that’s it.
Another example of giving the shaft to the associate (and this is the one that really angers me) is in the case of the real long term employee. My husband is one of those associates that has gone above and beyond for this company for years. In years past, he would get recognition for this with excellent yearly reviews and merit raises apart from his yearly raise. He knows the store inside and out and can run it better than a lot of management, simply because he’s been there so long (he’s not the average department manager/stocker type. His job involves having knowledge of how the store runs as well as working closely with management). But because he’s achieved “exceeds” on every review (until the new policy was started) and has received merit raises over the years, he’s making too much money for his job code based on some corporate office number-cruncher’s arbitrary figure. Thus he will no longer receive ANY raises until that arbitrary number catches up to his hourly wage. He will NOT receive ANY cost of living adjustments. Here’s a man who’s worked over two decades for this company and they have effectively said “Bend over” without even the courtesy of a reach-around. So what if the cost of living goes up? Thank God the only debt we have is our mortgage but who knows how long it’ll be until he can get another raise. Think about all those things that continue to cost more money like property taxes, gas, electricity, groceries and you might get an understanding of how frustrating this has become. He has considered leaving but how do you find something new after you’ve been with a company for so long? It’s not easy to go back out into the workforce when one is almost 50 years old. It’s been very disheartening and my opinion of the company has hit an all-time low. It’s a hell of a way to reward an associate who’s worked so long for the company.
So why do I work there? For one, I live in a little podunk town without a lot of job options. Two, I only work part-time due to medical reasons but I’m having to consider finding full-time work elsewhere as I’m increasingly nervous about our future.
Is Wal-mart evil? It’s not the worst company out there. They have some good points but, in my opinion, every year the company is moving further and further away from what Sam Walton had envisioned, chasing that almighty dollar.
Oh, and I do our grocery shopping at our local Kroger.
