WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price

[agent707]

I think the 90 year (greeter) old person holding themselves up with a walker in the entrance is just a "PR" tactic... to make people think they are a "nice" company to work for.
My wife used to work there for a few years (in the

[hr]
) way back when... no, they didn't make her work over-time for no pay... but she has stories.
Also, her mother worked there for a few years too... also has some interesting stories.
No, I don't believe it is some "evil" company out to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!! But I do believe they practive "bad business" in the name of "PROFIT".
And for that reason, I don't shop there. Haven't stepped in the store in (can't remember).
Yes, "PROFIT" is on the rung of the corporate ladder.... but I believe it shouldn't be a rung above "PEOPLE".
Unfortunately, of 99% of Large companies (just my guess), it is....

 

[watson3]

Originally Posted by fatcats
they may pay their managers nicley but the bottom workers ie. stockers, chaisers, truck unloaders, janitors, get cheated.
This is called starting at the bottom..The CEO in my company gets paid more than me..I cannot sue him..I can however work harder to better myself and my pay scale

 

[watson3]

I work for a company that wants a PROFIT..Does that make them bad, NO..If they did not want a PROFIT, I would be out of a job, and many others would go without..It is insane to want to boycott a business that wants to make a PROFIT..This could be turned around to say that you boycotting Wal-Mart is cutting into the checks of the people you feel sorry for :thinking:

 

[dfurbee]

After seeing that documentry, our family never goes to Wally World

 

[watson3]

Originally Posted by dfurbee
After seeing that documentry, our family never goes to Wally World

Where do people who do not go to Wal-Mart go?

 

[jmick]

I don't think I've been inside a Walmart in at least 5 years...not since I first graduated college.

 

[catawaba]

IMO, people choose to work there, and choose to shop there.
Actions speak louder than words--if you don't like your job--change it. If you don't like to shop there--shop somewhere else.
Money speaks even louder. If you don't like their business practices, don't shop there. You many only be one person, but their loss of the revenue you would've provided will go to support a business that you do.
It is a business and each locations city/town/area will bear it's presence because it brings economy to the area.....just my observations. I don't recall ever driving past a Wal-Mart and seeing the parking lot empty.

 

[catawaba]

Originally Posted by watson3
Where do people who do not go to Wal-Mart go?
Target, KMart, Walgreens, JCPenney, sporting goods store, electronics store, grocery store chain....etc I don't think Wal-Mart has the exclusive market for anything they sell....you can get each of the items somewhere else....whether it is a box of band aids, shampoo, a pair of socks, or a tire for your car.

 

[reefreak29]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Has anyone seen this documentary? I'm watching it right now and it's making me sick! If you frequent a walmart store because you think it is saving you money and leading to a better quality of life for your family, you should rent this documentary. You're in for a big suprise. This movie shows that walmart doesn't care about anything except making its owners rich. I'd always heard a lot of negative references to the store and I never knew what they were about, now I do.
im starting to believe that u believe everything on tv, or what scientists say
if its put together well as a documentary its gotta be true

 

[garnet13aj]

That would be an incorrect assumption, but it doesn't hurt me if you make it. I certainly don't believe everything on tv, but there are some sources that are a lot more credible than others. What I do believe is that when the scientific method is used and experiments are done by a wide range of scientists and they all have the same outcome then it is highly likely that what they find is true.
I do trust documentaries, but I also look into them before sharing the information in them with others. News stories and books have also been written about the "horrors of walmart" and there is an imense amount of material on global warming and evolution and that is why I believe them.
This forum is here for people to discuss things, I made the post, people have said things for and against walmart and it's up to each person to weigh this issues and form their own opinion on the issue.
Just because I've mentioned 2 documentaries doesn't mean that that is where I get all my information from.
Also reefreak, have you ever considered that you are criticizing me for documentaries that you refuse to see so you actually don't know anything about their factuality or legitimacy?
Catawaba, I agree w/what you've said. The issue is that if people don't know what goes on behind the curtains of an company, how will they know if they are making the right decision in where they go to shop.
Everyone in the store who worked there x amount of days got a bonus...
That information is much more valid than the one friend you talked about before, and is something to consider, but weighing it against the people that talked about their experience is also something to consider. I don't know a lot about it really. Does the good they do really erase the bad, not in my opinion, but to each his own.

 

[agent707]

Originally Posted by watson3
I work for a company that wants a PROFIT..Does that make them bad, NO..If they did not want a PROFIT, I would be out of a job, and many others would go without..It is insane to want to boycott a business that wants to make a PROFIT..This could be turned around to say that you boycotting Wal-Mart is cutting into the checks of the people you feel sorry for :thinking:
Uuuuuh.... What?

Man, if that is all you got from my post.... that's pathetic.

 

[jon321]

Originally Posted by xDave
Here's a little retail secret the Walmart disguises and pure hometown friendliness; do you know what the main purpose of the Walmart greeter is? Theft prevention! People who have been spoken to by a store employee are 10 times less likely to steal. It goes even higher if the employee is older than the customer. Ever seen a Walmart greeter younger than you?
The walmart greeter does ALOT more than that. They monitor the number of carts, they help elderly get motorized carts, they dry cart handles when its raining/snowing, aswell as misc. things like watching for spills, anti-theft, help customers, direct customers to the part of the building they need to be in BEFORE they walk in and get lost, etc, etc. In my 4 years I have worked greeting shifts, and our walmart has a full time female greeter who is 16 years of age. ALL of these generalizations come from poor store managers not the company as a whole. Good help is hard to find these days....even in the management sector.
Jon

 

[garnet13aj]

As a side note, if the walmart greeter's sole purpose is to watch out for theft (which is sounds like their not), so what. Why is it bad to hire someone to make sure people don't steal if that is something that happens a lot in a store?

 

[watson3]

Originally Posted by Agent707
Uuuuuh.... What?

Man, if that is all you got from my post.... that's pathetic.
I am starting to want to drive to Tenn more and more...

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by Jmick
I don't I've been inside a Walmart in at least 5 years...not since I first graduated college.

Me neither. I will go to Meijer or Target.
Does anyone know when this documentary will be on again?

 

[garnet13aj]

Someone was talking about one on PBS, but the one I watched was one I rented. It's called Wal-mart: The High Cost of Low Prices.

 

[reefreak29]

sorry i didnt mean to poke fun
all the docs ive seen are very biosed they can edit and make u believe what they want u to believe and it could be very convincing
i saw a documentery on the world traid centers on 911
they were saying it was plained by bush and big corperations and actually showed u detinations going of from outside the building , everyone in the room was convinced bush blew them up

 

[jmick]

Thought this was interesting:
In a recent Congressional report, Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart, the Democratic staff of the House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce estimates an average salary range for a Wal-Mart “Associate” worker of between $7.50 and $8.50 per hour. With managers operating on instructions from the corporate brass to keep overhead at a bare minimum, Wal-Mart employees have “an average on-the-clock workweek of 32 hours.”8 Since 2002, when Wal-Mart's definition of part-time employment changed to include anyone working fewer than 34 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, the cost burden of employee benefits coverage has shifted considerably onto the employees themselves. According to the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW):
Most Wal-Mart employees cannot afford to pay the expensive premiums and deductibles required for coverage. The average worker would have to pay one fifth of his paycheck for health care coverage at Wal-Mart. On a wage of about $8 an hour and 29-32 hours of work a week, many workers must rely on state programs or family members or simply live without health insurance.9
Full-time employees wait six months before becoming eligible to enroll in an Associate worker's health plan. For part-time employees the wait is four times as as long; after two years' work, these employees qualify only for individual coverage. According to an October 2003 AFL-CIO report, these prohibitive eligibility policies are a natural outgrowth of Wal-Mart's cost-cutting priorities.
These waiting periods are particularly important for holding down the company’s health {costs} because turnover rates appear to be very high among hourly Wal-Mart store employees. At some stores, turnover may well be more than 100 percent per year.10
The kindest available estimates indicate merely 46 percent of non-managerial Wal-Mart employees are actually insured by a company health plan. Far from going the extra mile to make health care accessible to its workforce, Wal-Mart leaves many of its uninsured or under-insured employees with little recourse but to seek outside assistance for a wide array of uncovered services.

 

[catawaba]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
Catawaba, I agree w/what you've said. The issue is that if people don't know what goes on behind the curtains of an company, how will they know if they are making the right decision in where they go to shop.
Understood. I think the best anyone can do is to hope others are conscientious about where they shop and why. Those that care about the big picture will seek out information, those that don't---well, there's just not much we can do except hope they see the documentary or hear others speak about the facts. Unfortunately, money speaks volumes. There is a segment of the population that will shop there for their 'prices' regardless of what the company believes and/or the business practices they support.
I personally do not care to shop there. I won't shop at Walgreen's either.

 

[ice4ice]

Originally Posted by TriGa22
I like BJ's, The store lol.
As a former employee of BJ's for 11 years and was laid off 2 yrs ago, I will let you in on a little secret. Wait within 5 years and BJs will be no more ...
How do I know ? BJs has been losing money (management deny they are but I know the real truth) for some quite time and they keep raising their membership dues every 6 months or so. Plus, the most recent CEO resigned due to BJs profits not meeting their expectations. They have been losing money for the last 3 years since they expanded their store hours 8 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week. BJs don't make a profit during the 1st hour of opening and the last 2-3 hours before closing. Hardly any people shopping during those times.
Consider this - BJs 401K is partially owned by Walmart shareholders. BJs said no to Walmart when they were approached about buying them out to build Sam's Club.
Just you wait and see : BJs losing $$$, 2 CEOs resigned withing the last 4 years, staff cuts throughout the store - heck they didn't even bother to hire any extra Christmas help this past holiday season.
Although BJs has "denied" a buyout rumour but that will come soon. Can you say Costco ? Just you wait ....