Wal-Mart shake-up??

[lakeman]

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[Camelot Farms]

RoPo, I commend you on your great posts and your willingness to offer some insight to corporate america that not all of us have.

Good job!

 

[Tala]

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YES YES YES!! I worked in 3 different stores in "a past life" lol

One of them sucked majorly to work at ===== because of the managers' attitude(s)!!!! The "new" store manager came in and actually said "I don't have to work overnights because I'm a woman and I have kids" right to the faces of 15 other mothers who DO work overnights to pay the bills.

Now store managers don't typically work an overnight shift, it's a perk of being upper management, and we all understand that. BUT ALL the assistant managers rotate to the overnight over the course of the year, and the store managers USUALLY visit overnight shift once a month.
When I went to that store I had worked for another store for 3 years without a single write up. I worked at crapola-store for barely 1 year and scraped by on 3 write ups in that time period! Don't tell ME that I suddenly became a bad employee worthy of being written up constantly. It was the managers' with big attitudes that wrote up everybody for everything. I went back to my old store for another year and managed to get all the write ups off my record (they "expire" after a year).

Overall I liked my retail job. I liked being a cashier. I liked being around people. I liked unloading trucks (except for the management that I had during that time). I had medical and dental insurance when I worked for WM - which I don't have at my current job. I got my paychecks on time and the hours were usually accurate --- can't say as much for my current job.

 

[DancesWithWolves]

I hate wal-mart anyway (no offense) they moved into a town near my home so now all the little stores that had been there for years and years r gone!!!!!!!!!! makes me so mad!!!!

 

[CityChicker]

I have a very strong opinion on this (imagine that), although I don't particularly want to argue about it or hurt anyone's feelings that works for or supports companies like Wal-Mart. I certainly understand the need to have a job and how awful it is to lose one. In more general terms though, companies like Wal-Mart are absolutely destroying this country. I literally think that our economy (especially in the global context) is going to eventually be in complete and total RUIN because of these "big-box" retailers. The writing is on the wall. It is a done deal and honestly, American consumers are a BIG part of the problem. This is a far more complex issue than having access to jobs and cheap goods. We have strengthened and industrialized other countries, many of which are our polar opposites politically, socially, and have some of the worst human rights records on the planet. All in the name of cheap goods and corporate profits.

As I said, this is a very complex issue that cuts far deeper than providing jobs. Going back to the point of this thread- Wal-Mart cutting jobs. That in and of itself should set off huge alarm bells.

FYI- I also recognize that I am a hypocrite because I shop at Wal-Mart too, LOL. You almost have to these days if you don't want to go broke.

 

[farmerlor]

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While I think the problem is more complex than that I do NOT support Wal-Mart or foreign manufacturing process if I can possibly help it. America needs to start producing quality goods HERE in America and quit being a parasite on the world. When we can once again compete in foreign markets with a product that other countries need instead of just standing here on the shore waiting until China spoon feeds us the next stupid techno-toy or poisoned food product then things will begin to look up for us.

 

[WalkingWolf]

We cannot compete with cheap foreign labor, which fuels walmart, yet when we ship overseas we are hit with stiff customs fees and tariffs. A lot of answers to both our debt and economy are with foreign trade. We need to go back to protecting our jobs, tariffs was how the government was intended to collect revenue, it is written in the constitution. We formed this country to avoid unfair taxes, and look how we ended up. We are taxed in everything we do, and the ones we borrow money from to keep us afloat are the ones flooding our markets with cheap goods. Walmart is not the villain, if it was not them it would be somebody else. We need to get back on track building our own goods, it won't be easy because we are hooked on cheap clothing, shoes, and flat screen tvs.

 

[Intheswamp]

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I agree, it’s hitting close to home. I’ll bet those small business owners that had to shut down were a bit scared, too…probably their employees, also. I know I’m worried and when I look at the three guys that work with me I’m sure they’re concerned about their families’ livelihood, too. But, from what’s been in several posts here…we don’t matter because we are a small business.

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Nobody said anything about mom and pop stores at the time this was written. Apparently you were already aware of the problems that Walmart has caused them. BTW, Walmart can’t hire “hundreds of thousands of people in a localized area” either…maybe nationally, but not locally...I believe WM employees something like 750k. According to data from the US Census Bureau, in 2004 there were 12,697,406 paid employees of companies with from 1-9 employees (small businesses). I wonder what would happen to the US economy if these 12+ million employees suddenly became unemployed…would Walmart hire them?

For the multi-millions of dollars that Walmart gets in government subsidies they should be giving/donating to the communities…after all, it was the communities money to start with.

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You oughta invest the last thirty-some years of your life and baically what you've worked for through that time and see it about to go POOF!!! Yelp, kinda sad, but being as I'm a small business owner I guess I don't matter in the big scheme of things, eh?

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Uh, think about it. How do you figure they give the small business owners and employees jobs “higher up in the store”? By the time the small business owner has to shut his business down and fire his employees those “higher up” positions have long been filled and are no longer available.

"Several hundreds of thousands of faces"? Small/independent businesses have several MILLIONS of faces.

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rodriguezpoultry, please please realize that to them you are simply a number and corporate could care less if they decided to write your name on a pink slip. Maybe at the local store level there’s some touchy-feely (and I’d be careful there) but corporate America today could care less about the folks in the trenches. I’ve worked for and ran a small business for over 30 years and have dealt with coporate America all that time and if stabbing you in the back is what it takes to accomplish their goals…so be it, that’s what they’ll do and they sleep very good at night afterwards, too. In my book, Walmart is one of the biggest corporate monsters around. A number.

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Touche’

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That’s a catch-22…the factory workers demand so much money for their labor and the companies have to pay it or…find a cheaper source of labor. Ol’ Ross Perot summed it up well the last run he made at the presidency…he warned us off of NAFTA…I’ll never forget the “Yes you can, Yucatan” ads promoting companies to move to Mexico and SA. So, we want the products, but we want a cheaper price on them, we get a cheaper price on them but the jobs go out of the country and then we can’t afford the cheaper products. Interestingly though, when the country was living within it's means we were affording the higher priced products when they were built here at home…and they were better quality.

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You know something…it’s pretty much a catastrophe for the Mom and Pop, too. You should ask some of them…on second thought, hang around a few months and you might can ask me or some of my guys who’ll no longer have family health care nor an income. I wonder if they’ll think it’s just sad?

The last several posts above this one are stating some things that should be evident to everybody. The messages are mostly not Walmart specific, they pertain to most large companies today. It also pertains to us as consumers…we have a choice, we can shop at Walmart or not. Unfortunately, as stated above, prices and availability of items drive many people to shop there.

Walmart has hurt Mom and Pop businesses greatly, there is no doubt in my mind. The economy is rotten…there to, no doubt in my mind. Do I feel sorry that Walmart is having to cut back…sorry, I don’t…they didn’t care that they hurt my business and they don’t care that I’m having to cut back even more now. I don’t wish trouble upon Walmart…but, as the fellow said “It’s tough all over”.

Here’s a couple of interesting links. Check the first one out if you have a Walmart store or distribution center close to you and see how much YOU paid to help have it built! I, a small business owner, have not taken a red cent of taxpayer money to run my business...Walmart has taken MILLIONS.

Our tax dollars subsidizing Walmart: http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtstudy.pdf
Short summary of Wal-Mart study: http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtrelease.pdf

Best wishes,
Ed
A disgusting “Mom and Pop Store” owner…you remember,…that father and mother team that built this country with the American Dream! But, hey,...who really cares about America anymore,...anyhow?

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Both Sides have good points, but this thread wasnt made to debate.

I dont know why every Random Ramblings thread on this forum MUST turn into an arguement, but its pretty sad.



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Who would have thought that an innocent post like that could start an SEVEN page arguement?

 

[DuckLady]

I agree. I think we have covered it all.

Thanks for your participation.