Ask a Wal-Mart worker...

[dijital101]

Oh no, not the return of the "Ask A" threads. But seriously the thread about the boy and the Madden game got me thinking. I've been with Wal-Mart over 6 years and have done literally almost every job in the store from cleaning bathrooms to apprehending thieves to managing. I promise I won't sugar-coat my answers (I have seen the absolute best and the absolute worst that this company can be). Please don't use this as a Wal-Mart bashing thread as that is just annoying and gets you nowhere.

So, ask away.

 

[Trivun]

Sorry that this isn't a question as a first response for the topic, but I went to WalMart several times when on holiday in Florida last year. Something actually surprised me over those two weeks, but in a pleasant way, in that the staff in WalMart (and people in general) seemed much friendlier and nicer than people here in the UK. I'm not sure if it's just a local trait of people in Kissimmee (possible), or if it's a general thing in the US, since I've heard about plenty of arrogant bastards in the US of A and was therefore generally pleased to meet such decent people during my time in the country. Especially given this occured a lot in WalMart, whereas British shop staff are generally irritating or idiotic (especially in Asda, which is coincidentally owned by WalMart).

By the way, I toyed with the idea of buying a DVD in WalMart but wasn't sure if it would work on a PAL DVD player or Xbox 360 back in the UK.

 

[Atak Cat]

How would you explain the popularity/hatred of WalMart to an non American?

Seriously as a Brit I can't see what the fuss is about surely WalMart is another supermarket like all the others right?

 

[Abedeus]

Same like Cat, I have no idea why Wal-Mart is so big. It's just another Tesco.

 

[Trivun]

How would you explain the popularity/hatred of WalMart to an non American?

Seriously as a Brit I can't see what the fuss is about surely WalMart is another supermarket like all the others right?

Well, yes, but it is apparently the largest supermarket chain in the world, and apparently employs more people in America than any other brand name store. Plus, as a Brit you're obviously familiar with Asda, which just happens to be owned by WalMart...

 

[dijital101]

Sorry that this isn't a question as a first response for the topic, but I went to WalMart several times when on holiday in Florida last year. Something actually surprised me over those two weeks, but in a pleasant way, in that the staff in WalMart (and people in general) seemed much friendlier and nicer than people here in the UK. I'm not sure if it's just a local trait of people in Kissimmee (possible), or if it's a general thing in the US, since I've heard about plenty of arrogant bastards in the US of A and was therefore generally pleased to meet such decent people during my time in the country. Especially given this occured a lot in WalMart, whereas British shop staff are generally irritating or idiotic (especially in Asda, which is coincidentally owned by WalMart).

By the way, I toyed with the idea of buying a DVD in WalMart but wasn't sure if it would work on a PAL DVD player or Xbox 360 back in the UK.

Generally Americans are nice. We have our share of assholes and they're are more noticeable and outspoken and easily become fodder for anecdotal "ugly american" horror stories.

As for the PAL. No, it usually won't work unless your player is NTSC compatible which is fairly rare.

 

[I III II X4]

Okay, I once saw a guy nab a DVD player and waltz outta the store, well, it wasn't so much as waltzing, but more like mad dashing, anyway the cart wranglers were tearing after him. My question is this:

What is the top speed of the average Wal-Mart employee?

 

[J-Man]

Ok, I'll play along.

What are the wages like? Don't Wal-Mart have a reputation for being stingy when it comes to workers?

Do you guys have a union? How much power does it have?

How do you feel about the fact you're working for a company owned by an extremely selfish family? I remember reading about this tornado relief fund that the wal-mart workers raised an incredible amount for, and the wal-mart family contributed something like $6000. (I think that was in the book freakonomics.

Do you ever get bored?

Do you ever mess with customers?

Have you ever skimmed the cashier-machines, or stolen something?

 

[sarahvait]

I worked as a cashier in Walmart for about four summers and 3 months. I liked my Wal-mart and the people working there, which is why I stayed all long as I did. I've heard horror stories about other ones though.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Do you see us at Target as a full competitor, overlapping competitor, or do you think we cater to a different market? Also kudos on the sales increase in a down economy +1.6% I believe. It pays to be the big discount retailer doesn't it.

Lol I'm sure that wasn't the type of question you had in mind.

EDIT also whats the daily sales of your store? both a weekday number and weekend.

Do you guys have a union? How much power does it have?

No Wally world does not have a Union, if I recall correctly a store tried to organize one and they just closed the store down. Which is awesome retail and unions just don't mix.(efficiently at least)

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will close one of its Canadian stores, just as some 200 workers at the location are near winning the first-ever union contract from the world's largest retailer.

Wal-Mart said it was shuttering the store in Jonquiere, Quebec, in response to unreasonable demands from union negotiators that would make it impossible for the store to sustain itself.

"We were hoping it wouldn't come to this," Andrew Pelletier, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada, said Wednesday. "Despite nine days of meetings over three months, we've been unable to reach an agreement with the union that in our view will allow the store to operate efficiently and profitably."


Pierre Martineau, left, and Patrice Bergeron, two of the Wal-Mart workers who initiated the unionization, stand in front of their workplace, a Wal-Mart department store, Tuesday Sept. 28, 2004 in Jonquiere, Que. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday, Feb. 9, 2005, it will close the Canadian store. (AP Photo/CP PHOTO/Jacques Boissinot)
Pelletier said the store will close in May.

EDIT2 reading later post does wally world have a union?

 

[dijital101]

How would you explain the popularity/hatred of WalMart to an non American?

Seriously as a Brit I can't see what the fuss is about surely WalMart is another supermarket like all the others right?

As for the popularity I would say it is because it is so ubiquitous and synonymous with saving money. Pretty much anywhere you go in the US you can find a Wal-Mart relatively close. Also Wal-Mart has such a wide variety of items that it has become a "one-stop shop" for a good number of consumers.

As for the hatred, it is usually because it is easy to hate the faceless giant. The incidents of mistreated workers are isolated but make attention catching news stories.

Wal-Mart also catches alot of flack because people claim we sell substandard products. The products we sell are no different than the substandard products sold at every other store they shop at instead. There's no separate "sub-par assembly line" for products shipped to Wal-Mart.

There is also quite a bit of complaining about the low wages that wal-mart pays their employees. The wages are no different than any other job that requires minimal training and minimal work skills. I can attest that once hired and you start showing your abilities and skills, the wages increase rapidly.

 

[bue519]

How would you explain the popularity/hatred of WalMart to an non American?

Seriously as a Brit I can't see what the fuss is about surely WalMart is another supermarket like all the others right?

Yeah, but everything is much cheeper than other stores, and you can buy just about anything there from gardening supplies to groceries. Its an overall nice place for a college kid on a budget.

 

[dijital101]

I am thinking about getting a part time job, moving into full time in the summer. Wal-Mart is an option. Seriously, what is it like.

It's really not as bad as people make it out to be. It's really easy to make friends and because of the union's pressure the benefits are getting better every day.

It really just matters what kind of person you are. If you're shy and easily bossed around then you probably won't like it because there are going to be people there that take advantage of it.

 

[Rath709]

I'm looking for a tap & dye, and some WD-40. Now where in the hell would I go?


Carlos?

 

[dijital101]

Okay, I once saw a guy nab a DVD player and waltz outta the store, well, it wasn't so much as waltzing, but more like mad dashing, anyway the cart wranglers were tearing after him. My question is this:

What is the top speed of the average Wal-Mart employee?

Well, the door greeters take our average down a few mph but with my store hiring a lot of college students I'd say about 16 mph.

 

[zirnitra]

How would you explain the popularity/hatred of WalMart to an non American?

Seriously as a Brit I can't see what the fuss is about surely WalMart is another supermarket like all the others right?

Well, yes, but it is apparently the largest supermarket chain in the world, and apparently employs more people in America than any other brand name store. Plus, as a Brit you're obviously familiar with Asda, which just happens to be owned by WalMart...

oh so if it's like Asda then it's full of poor quality generic brands at cheap prices of everything and nobody would shop there if they didn't have to. (never been into one and proud.)
my question, how much hate and abuse do you get when someone asks you where you work?

 

[PumpItUp]

These Ask a... threads are pointless. Everyone has a different opinion and everyone will present their opinion differently. A Wal-Mart Ask a... thread is even worse because Wal-Mart employees are as varied as society itself and as it seems, EVERYONE holds on opinion on Wal-Mart.

In addition, the circumstances at one particular store will be incredibly different from a store across the state, province, country, or world. In short, anything you say cannot and should not e construed as fact because it is wholly opinion based and entirely irrelevant.

End Thread.

 

[Rath709]

What is that chinging noise?

 

[dijital101]

Ok, I'll play along.

What are the wages like? Don't Wal-Mart have a reputation for being stingy when it comes to workers?

Do you guys have a union? How much power does it have?

How do you feel about the fact you're working for a company owned by an extremely selfish family? I remember reading about this tornado relief fund that the wal-mart workers raised an incredible amount for, and the wal-mart family contributed something like $6000. (I think that was in the book freakonomics.

Do you ever get bored?

Do you ever mess with customers?

Have you ever skimmed the cashier-machines, or stolen something?

The wages aren't as bad as people say. I've got co-workers (regular stockers) that make $40,000/year, I don't make that much but I do pretty well.

No union (that's one of the reasons I prefer to work there, I'm staunchly anti-union). Only one store has gone union. It was in Canada and they got screwed by there stewards and ended up paying out of pocket to dissolve the union.

Yes, the walton's are fucking nutjobs but luckily they have very little to do with the company now.

I get bored quite a bit but you can always find something to occupy your time. It's like a giant toybox. I've opened toys and played with them and spent a good deal of time playing games in electronics.

Messing with customers is one of my favorite things. If they come to me with a bad attitude I'll act like I'm deaf or it's my first day.

Never stole from them (Loss-prevention there is surprisingly good at catching employees and I'm friends with the 2 plain-clothes we have at our store).