WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

watson3

Active Member
Originally Posted by Agent707
Walmart has low prices NOW... but wait until they are the only store left....
That is like saying wait until Starbucks comes to your town and the small places will die off..Not True...
 

tree

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Do any of you know people who actually work for Wal Mart???
Again, the employees I know, they are darn happy.
Yes, and even recently they have complained about being forced to clock out for their break even when they are still on the floor working through the break. But it is also one of the only places in that area that will hire almost anyone so they at least have a job so they never make an official complaint. It may just be that particular store. I know in the area I live now there are 2 Wally worlds. One is filthy & they can barely staff it. The other is clean, still understaffed but the staff seems to stay a long time so they must not be too unhappy.
In the beginning the idealism behind Walmart was great. Discount prices and products made in America. That rapidly changed to discount prices but made in the cheapest place possible. They however still do quite a bit of charity work so there is still some good left there.
I will still shop there occassionally but it definitely doesn't get all my business. I prefer the mom & pop stores where I might pay a little more, but I know the $ is going to people in my community.
 

jon321

Member
For the record, Ive been working at walmart for the past 4 years. Started in grade 11. I started at $7.70/h and got a 30cent raise per year. I never worked 1 minute I was not being paid. I got 39 hours per week (they work you the MAX without having to pay you overtime, overtime is 41+ hours here). Working for walmart is great, they schedule around school, When I come back home from university they hire me over the summer, and even for 3 weeks over xmas break. They have charity and free employee incentive all the time including free bbqs, free brunches, and free walmart shares. Ill admit, there are alot of incompitent employees who are 35 years old and working part time, but there are also alot of people who climb the walmart ladder to the top almost overnight. I give walmart

Jon
 

garnet13aj

Active Member
do you know how HIGHLY illegal this is??? there is NO way that 100's of employees would stand for working off the clock...
Illegal, yes...happening, yes! No, I don't work there, but the documentary lays it out plain and clear. There are employees from a variety of levels on the movie talking about what they saw and what they did. I bet they don't work there anymore, but there were managers there speaking about how they deleated hours and how they saw every other manager doing it. I don't just throw information out there, to cause a riot, this is real.
 

watson3

Active Member
Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Illegal, yes...happening, yes! No, I don't work there, but the documentary lays it out plain and clear.
Once again, really a he said she said (not really she said because a woman at Wal-Mart would not be in this position)
 

velvetchs

Member
Wal-Mart should not be a career goal! The people that work there should be the elderly, retired folks who want some extra money, college kids, 16yrs olds with their first job, etc... Wal-Mart should notbe what someone aspires to. I don't remember hearing anyone in my high school class that their ultimate life goal was to work at Wal-Mart.
For the record, Ive been working at walmart for the past 4 years. Started in grade 11. I started at $7.70/h and got a 30cent raise per year. I never worked 1 minute I was not being paid. I got 39 hours per week (they work you the MAX without having to pay you overtime, overtime is 41+ hours here). Working for walmart is great, they schedule around school, When I come back home from university they hire me over the summer, and even for 3 weeks over xmas break.
This is exactly what Wal-Mart is for.
There is a small rural area right outside Wilmington, NC called Leland. No one wanted to live here; no real businesses existed, very little in the "city". When people want to shop they had to drive the 20 - 30 minutes into Wilmington or 30 - 35 minutes to Southport, NC. Last year, Wal-Mart decided to build a store there (even though there were 2 in Wilmington and 1 in Southport). The city of Leland did everything possible to fight them building - including trying to rezone the property Wal-Mart bought and was already building on. This store is supposed to open in March. Since Wal-Mart has broken ground, there have been dozens of companies opening brand new stores, hiring more people and the home values in Leland have now soared. You can barely touch a property for under $200,000 in the area now. In this case, the Wal-Mart has been great for the local economy.
 

ruaround

Active Member
i agree that no one aspires to work at Wal Mart... but if youre working there in High School and you hear that the management team is rolling 6 figures (or real close to) a year... it may change your view and then you work your way up the ladder...
 

codyc

New Member
Originally Posted by velvetchs
Wal-Mart should not be a career goal! The people that work there should be the elderly, retired folks who want some extra money, college kids, 16yrs olds with their first job, etc... Wal-Mart should notbe what someone aspires to. I don't remember hearing anyone in my high school class that their ultimate life goal was to work at Wal-Mart.
Why not? Do you realize how big of a company walmart is? You think all walmart employees are minimum wage? If someone wants to aspire to be a store manager or even president of marketing for Walmart North America then good for them.
 

watson3

Active Member
Originally Posted by ruaround
i agree that no one aspires to work at Wal Mart... but if youre working there in High School and you hear that the management team is rolling 6 figures (or real close to) a year... it may change your view and then you work your way up the ladder...
Am I missing the documentary on the guy that started at Wal-Mart when he was sixteen and now he is in charge of something, or has that one not been made...I am not saying it is impossible, but show me the guy on the board that worked his way up..
 

ruaround

Active Member
Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Illegal, yes...happening, yes! No, I don't work there, but the documentary lays it out plain and clear. There are employees from a variety of levels on the movie talking about what they saw and what they did. I bet they don't work there anymore, but there were managers there speaking about how they deleated hours and how they saw every other manager doing it. I don't just throw information out there, to cause a riot, this is real.
sounds like a bunch of disgruntles EX-emplyees trying to get a buck out of a multi billion dollar company cuz they fealt like they werent treated fairly... happens all the time in corp America...
i am intrigued now and will have to watch this...
 

ruaround

Active Member
Originally Posted by watson3
Am I missing the documentary on the guy that started at Wal-Mart when he was sixteen and now he is in charge of something, or has that one not been made...I am not saying it is impossible, but show me the guy on the board that worked his way up..
i did it... not for Wal - Mart but another major grocery chain... worked there from my sophomore year til 3 1/2 years ago...
alot of my colleagues jumped ship when Wal Mart came into town... i still keep in touch with these people and they are doin rather well for them selves and still think they made the right move because the company treats them well... im sure there isnt a documentary about this, but it is probably documented...
 

oceanists

Active Member
Originally Posted by ruaround
i agree that no one aspires to work at Wal Mart... but if youre working there in High School and you hear that the management team is rolling 6 figures (or real close to) a year... it may change your view and then you work your way up the ladder...

Yeah chances are if you are still working clerical for Walmart when you 30ish something in your life didnt go as planned .... I highly doubt anybody in their right mind wakes up in the morning rolls out of bed with a light bulb over their head saying .... I WANNA WORK FOR WALMART FOR THE REST IF MY LIFE!...
I agree great jobs for Kids and ederly people, and in my mind they are just running a businuss and not doing anything wrong.
 

oceanists

Active Member
Originally Posted by ruaround
sounds like a bunch of disgruntles EX-emplyees trying to get a buck out of a multi billion dollar company cuz they fealt like they werent treated fairly... happens all the time in corp America...
i am intrigued now and will have to watch this...

Can I add the majority of employees that I see at Walmart that arent kids or elderly people , look like they might need to be checked into a rehab and are allready collecting SSI and only working at wal mart bvecause it supplements money that they dont recieve in the middle of the month.
 

watson3

Active Member
Originally Posted by ruaround
i did it... not for Wal - Mart but another major grocery chain... worked there from my sophomore year til 3 1/2 years ago...
alot of my colleagues jumped ship when Wal Mart came into town... i still keep in touch with these people and they are doin rather well for them selves and still think they made the right move because the company treats them well... im sure there isnt a documentary about this, but it is probably documented...
I mean head office type..I am sure everything is working out for you and your friends, but again it was not Wal-Mart...I prefer Target anyway for quick inexpensive items..
 

oceanists

Active Member
Originally Posted by watson3
I mean head office type..I am sure everything is working out for you and your friends, but again it was not Wal-Mart...I prefer Target anyway for quick inexpensive items..

lol Its Tarjay ... get it right ...
 

velvetchs

Member
Maybe I should clarify my position a bit...
Good for someone if they start out as an associate and have the ability to work their way up the coroporate ladder. I am all for that. However, I bet they worked their butts off for years first.
What bothers me are the people who complain that they are only making minimum wage and don't have health insurance while they work at Wal-Mart. You can't go into a job as an associate or cashier at 30, 35 years old at someplace like Wal-Mart and expect just because they are this huge company that they will just go "Oh, you want us to fully pay for your insurance, OK. You want more money an hour, sure, why not?"
I think too many people expect too much out of this company, they are a business; there are in it to make money.
 

watson3

Active Member
Originally Posted by Oceanists
lol Its Tarjay ... get it right ...
It all in the pronunciation...
 
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