View Full Version : Wal-Mart Holds a Food Drive for Its Own Struggling Workers



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Achilleslastand
11-20-2013, 12:48 PM
Wal-Mart Holds a Food Drive for Its Own Struggling Workers - The Wire (http://www.thewire.com/national/2013/11/wal-mart-holds-food-drive-its-own-struggling-workers/71717/#disqus_thread)

An Ohio Wal-Mart is holding a food drive for underprivileged families who can't afford Thanksgiving dinner, which seems like a noble enough venture, until you realize the collection box is for the store's own workers, who are apparently in need because Wal-Mart doesn't pay them enough.

As the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, the collection reads simply "Please donate food items here so Associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner." The photo is making the rounds via the union-backed group OUR Walmart, which has been organizing walk-outs and heightening pressure on the retailer to pay a living wage since a major round of strikes last Black Friday, followed by large-scale resistance in early September.

At any rate, the food drive is eerily well-timed for those pushing back against the retail giant. The National Labor Relations Board is reportedly about to announce that it will file charges against Wal-Mart for retaliating against striking or unionizing workers. ThinkProgress reports that the ruling may mean backpay or reversal of disciplinary action for workers. If nothing else, the food drive puts a dent in the company's own consistent claim that it pays competitive wages. Despite those longtime complaints, Kory Lundberg, a Wal-Mart spokesperson, touts the collection as evidence of the store's culture of caring, as he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer:


"It is for associates who have had some hardships come up," he said. "Maybe their spouse lost a job.

"This is part of the company's culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships," he said.

Of course, the real way to "take care of" Wal-Mart associates, most of whom earn below $25,000 a year, would be to pay them enough that they don't need to turn to a collection plate to afford Thanksgiving. Maybe soon enough the massive retailer will follow McDonald's' lead and simply tell its workers to sign up for food stamps.

OUR Walmart, meanwhile, is organizing further strikes today in Cincinnati and Dayton, with more to follow on Black Friday.

HangryHippo
11-20-2013, 12:56 PM
How disgusting. The extreme hardship they suffer is because they can't earn a reasonable wage for their work.

Richard at Remax
11-20-2013, 12:57 PM
This probably wont be popular, but I don't mind the food drive for the associates. They could have done nothing. Yeah walmart doesn't pay well, but there are thousands of other jobs out there that don't pay well either. And yes I know walmart makes a ton of money but so do other companies that don't pay well.

HangryHippo
11-20-2013, 01:08 PM
This probably wont be popular, but I don't mind the food drive for the associates. They could have done nothing. Yeah walmart doesn't pay well, but there are thousands of other jobs out there that don't pay well either. And yes I know walmart makes a ton of money but so do other companies that don't pay well.

Very true. Just sad that this is the state of affairs for so many.

Bunty
11-20-2013, 01:09 PM
Costco needs to add more and more stores, so it can swipe workers from Wal-Mart, who want to make more money and better benefits working for Costco.

venture
11-20-2013, 02:10 PM
I read this when it first came out. My two thoughts...

1) Yes wages should be better, they should take care of their own better, but at some points workers need to talk with their feet and leave. Granted it won't mean much I know.

2) They state this is for those who are in trouble. In most cases, a person earning under 25k a year isn't going to be able to support a family. Whereas they would be fine with a working spouse earning the same or more - depending on the number of kids. The fact that the people at the store are rallying around those in need is a good thing...specially when it is a case of say a spouse losing their job and an unplanned emergency happens.

Where I work we do fund raisers and such all the time for co-workers in need. Whether it is cancer treatment, a sick child, house destroyed in a disaster...we come together to take care of each other. It really isn't all that different from what the Walmart store is saying about this food drive.

okcboomer
11-20-2013, 02:21 PM
Walmart=crap. I don't step foot in one.

Lord Helmet
11-20-2013, 03:26 PM
Walmart=crap. I don't step foot in one.

Me neither. I haven't been in a Wal-Mart in nearly 4 years now.

adaniel
11-20-2013, 03:49 PM
I read this when it first came out. My two thoughts...

1) Yes wages should be better, they should take care of their own better, but at some points workers need to talk with their feet and leave. Granted it won't mean much I know.


Can't say I disagree with this.

At the same time, what is not reported is that a huge number of Wal Mart employees qualify for Food Stamps, Section 8, WIC, etc. If you believe this article (http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/04/news/companies/walmart-medicaid/), one average Wal Mart SuperCenter is subsidized about 900K just in the welfare benefits its employees are using. So yes it very much affects people outside of WalMart.

Truth be told, the level of marketable skills a cashier possesses means they are not going to command a high wage. But considering the fact that this company makes $15 billion a year in profit, I have to think there is some sort of middle ground here.

mugofbeer
11-20-2013, 04:17 PM
Don't like Wal- Mart, then do t shop there. Don't like the wage or benefit package, work elsewhere. Its as simple as that. Thousands of other businesses pay low wages but the Wal-Mart bigots on here pick any opportunity available to cry about it because its a politically popular whipping boy. Some jobs aren't meant to be family supporting career jobs. Profit is relative to the size of the firm and its shareholders. Theirs is $1.14/sh which is far less than many firms. I applaude them for trying to help their employees

Stew
11-20-2013, 08:47 PM
I'd like Walmart better if they didn't suck so much. Geeze, a trip to Walmart is starting to rival a trip to the dentist (I mean no disrespect to dentists). Yeah Target treats its employees just as crappy but at least they figured out how to do so without bumming out the customer. Customers like Target. Customers tolerate Walmart. And that's nobody's fault but WM's.

mugofbeer
11-20-2013, 09:29 PM
I'd like Walmart better if they didn't suck so much. Geeze, a trip to Walmart is starting to rival a trip to the dentist (I mean no disrespect to dentists). Yeah Target treats its employees just as crappy but at least they figured out how to do so without bumming out the customer. Customers like Target. Customers tolerate Walmart. And that's nobody's fault but WM's.

That sounds like a personal problem. I see plenty of happy customers at my local Wal Mart - some even using Target coupons.

Plutonic Panda
11-20-2013, 09:51 PM
Wow, ok. Walmart is a completely legitimate company and I will post later with my opinions on this. The one thing I will say for now, don't like it, don't shop or work there.

BBatesokc
11-21-2013, 07:38 AM
I like Stew's assessment and it certainly fits my opinion - "people like Target and tolerate WalMart."

I shop at both, but I tend to spend more money at WalMart because their prices on everyday items are better.

I also agree, people like to pile-on when it comes to WalMart but they employ a lot of people. If your skill-set is such that cashier is the pinnacle of your career then you need to live a lifestyle accordingly. Don't think you're gonna ring up baskets of crap all day and make $40,000 year. You're also not gonna be able to support yourself AND kids.

okcboomer
11-21-2013, 10:57 AM
Hey more power to you if you want to support crap.

BBatesokc
11-21-2013, 11:24 AM
Hey more power to you if you want to support crap.

Which is a completely useless comment.

What does 'support crap' even mean?

For every negative a person can throw at WalMart a supporter can reply with a positive. They obviously fill a real or perceived need or they wouldn't be so successful.

okcboomer
11-21-2013, 12:22 PM
Read post #7.

venture
11-21-2013, 12:29 PM
Read post #7.

Which just reinforces you don't like Walmart, but give no justification. You made your point, move on unless you have more to add. Otherwise you are just saying the same thing over and over and if you want to play that game, the Politics section is filled with those type of posts. :)

For me personally, I go to Walmart for very few things. I still to Homeland for food since they have the better coupon policy and I always walk out with $300 of groceries for $40. :)

SoonerDave
11-21-2013, 12:50 PM
Can't say I disagree with this.

At the same time, what is not reported is that a huge number of Wal Mart employees qualify for Food Stamps, Section 8, WIC, etc. If you believe this article (http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/04/news/companies/walmart-medicaid/), one average Wal Mart SuperCenter is subsidized about 900K just in the welfare benefits its employees are using. So yes it very much affects people outside of WalMart.

Truth be told, the level of marketable skills a cashier possesses means they are not going to command a high wage. But considering the fact that this company makes $15 billion a year in profit, I have to think there is some sort of middle ground here.

Read most of that article, and the clear intent is to construct the notion that but were it for Wal Mart, these folks wouldn't be on the dole. Nonsense. If their skill set were such that they could fill a higher-wage job, surely they wouldn't be working at WalMart in the first place.

From the opposite end of the telescope, if those entitlements were ended tomorrow - ALL of them - would WalMart suddenly pay those employees 100% of the difference to keep the compensation level identical? Of course not. Why would they? Eliminating the government dole would almost certainly increase the pool of laborers that would put downward pressure on wages. Either way you slice the salami, this grand effort to construct the "government subsidy" nonsense is just more specious class warfare journalism.

I'm just not getting this mentality that says someone working a part-time job at a discount store is somehow fundamentally entitled to more than $10/hour. The employer, whether you love them or hate them, has a need to fill a job that has a defined value. Its awfully difficult for me to get around the idea of making yourself more attractive to more employers by offering them more work value. But it almost seems such a suggestion is politically incorrect these days. *sigh*

Bunty
11-21-2013, 12:51 PM
I'd like Walmart better if they didn't suck so much. Geeze, a trip to Walmart is starting to rival a trip to the dentist (I mean no disrespect to dentists). Yeah Target treats its employees just as crappy but at least they figured out how to do so without bumming out the customer. Customers like Target. Customers tolerate Walmart. And that's nobody's fault but WM's.

Wal-Mart customers suck. They are all chilled out, taking their sweet time, shopping in slow motion with their carts. If I'm in a hurry when I go to Wal-Mart, I have to slow down, or else I'm going to collide with someone.

Dubya61
11-21-2013, 01:04 PM
I think every time someone sees something potentially negative at a place they dislike, their confirmation bias kicks in, and suddenly the place sucks even worse. If you dislike Walmart so much, exercise your freedoms here in America and organize a boycott. Or, start another anti-Walmart thread on OKC Talk and see if that has any effect.

SoonerDave
11-21-2013, 01:09 PM
I think every time someone sees something potentially negative at a place they dislike, their confirmation bias kicks in, and suddenly the place sucks even worse. If you dislike Walmart so much, exercise your freedoms here in America and organize a boycott. Or, start another anti-Walmart thread on OKC Talk and see if that has any effect.

I think its a matter of choosing battles. I'm no fan of WM. I find their stores to be largely dirty and willfully unkempt. Some even smell. So, to the extent possible, I don't go there. Does that mean I never go there? Nope. I'm guessing I've been in WM probably three or four times this year. But I do take the extra couple of minutes drive time and go to the one in TriCity rather than that upholstered toilet seat on I-240 and Santa Fe. That place is nasty. I'm no neat freak, don't get me wrong, but good grief, throw a couple of buckets of mop water on the floor once a month...it just...reeks. No other way to put it. Not trying to be insulting to anyone, it's just the way it is. So not going there unless absolutely necessary is about the best way as a consumer I can vote.

BBatesokc
11-21-2013, 01:16 PM
I've never really understood how the experience of going to Target, as opposed to WalMart, is so much better. I'm an average consumer and as such I honestly don't care what they are paying their employees. What I care about is a clean parking lot, a clean store, knowledgable employees, selection, convenience, a good to fair price and easy checkout.

I get all those things at Target so I enjoy the experience more.

However, WalMart always seems to be closer to me, is often open 24-hours (I like to shop 5am) and their prices and overall selection are generally better. Other than that, Target wins hands down. Considering their prices are often very close, I just don't get why they are so laxed in all those other areas.

onthestrip
11-21-2013, 01:47 PM
At this point the complaining has to go to the federal govt and for them to raise the min wage. Wal Mart, McDonalds, etc obviously arent going to do anything about barring a country-wide walk out.

But please, stop saying these people can find work elsewhere if they dont like it. You have no idea if this is true and you havent took a step in their shoes. Its so easy for people to say go find another job, but its much harder for it to be a realistic option to some of these workers.

Dubya61
11-21-2013, 02:04 PM
At this point the complaining has to go to the federal govt and for them to raise the min wage. Wal Mart, McDonalds, etc obviously arent going to do anything about barring a country-wide walk out.

But please, stop saying these people can find work elsewhere if they dont like it. You have no idea if this is true and you havent took a step in their shoes. Its so easy for people to say go find another job, but its much harder for it to be a realistic option to some of these workers.

I think that efforts to shame Walmart, McDonalds or any of the other whipping boys in this effort into providing a living wage won't work. If we could figure out why CostCo or Hobby Lobby chooses to do the right thing but Walmart feels no obligation, that would be a fantastic thing, but that eludes at least me.
I am of two (or more) minds about what do do about the minimum wage. There's a big part of my opinion that says let the market decide, but why throw wage to the deep shark pool of the market when everything else is maniacally managed?
Where I think we could make a big difference is how we treat these programs that deal out unemployment benefits and poverty subsistence. I'm not of the mind to terminate these programs, but think we end up throwing money at the problem and see no success when we could be working with the individuals who get subsistence and work at Walmart (or any other low wage whipping boy) or unemployment payments with very personalized training and subsistence to find a realistic option to some of these workers that might look at the current employment market realistically, measure the individual's capabilities and aptitude, find them a job that pays a living wage or train them into one. I know that it would cost a lot and would just be another government program that could easily underachieve and overspend, but that's what I would do if I were King for a day.

onthestrip: I fully agree with your point.

SoonerDave
11-21-2013, 02:08 PM
At this point the complaining has to go to the federal govt and for them to raise the min wage. Wal Mart, McDonalds, etc obviously arent going to do anything about barring a country-wide walk out.

But please, stop saying these people can find work elsewhere if they dont like it. You have no idea if this is true and you havent took a step in their shoes. Its so easy for people to say go find another job, but its much harder for it to be a realistic option to some of these workers.

But that's just it - raising the minimum wage doesn't solve the problem. Never has. Never will. The answer to the problem, while unpleasant, and not simple, and not easy, is to make yourselves permanently more marketable to employers.

Who, anywhere in this thread, said finding another job was easy? If they're working at WalMart, the presumption is that they have limited skillsets that makes it hard for them to find a job in the first place. Raising the minimum wage is like putting a kiddie bandage on a hemorrhaging gunshot wound. Low minimum wages aren't a cause; they're a symptom of an undertrained and underskilled work force. Why is it WalMart's problem that one of their cashiers is a single mom at age 19 or 20 or (whatever the age was); why is it incumbent upon WalMart to subsidize her life situation? And since she has a child, if the needs-based rhetoric prevails, why shouldn't WalMart be forced to pay her more than a single worker with no kids?

See? The spiral never stops. That's why, as a matter of necessity, the employer-employee relationship has to be about what the employer needs and what the employee can provide. That's where enduring, long-term value is discovered, realized, and encouraged, to the benefit of both - precisely how its supposed to work in the first place.

BBatesokc
11-21-2013, 02:15 PM
At this point the complaining has to go to the federal govt and for them to raise the min wage.

Does Target pay their employees significantly more than WalMart? If not, then as a consumer I really don't know what raising the wage is going to do to make my shopping experience better.

I'm betting Target employees make the same to a small percentage more than WalMart employees (I have zero data to back this up - just my gut) - yet the shopping experience is totally different. And, I'd argue the bulk of the customers are different too.


But please, stop saying these people can find work elsewhere if they dont like it. You have no idea if this is true and you havent took a step in their shoes. ts so easy for people to say go find another job, but its much harder for it to be a realistic option to some of these workers.

And, its so easy to continue to make excuses for people who complain about their situation yet do little to try and improve it. Speaking of, it seems its usually the people who are indeed not walking in those people's shoes that are making the most fuss over their situation and how bad it is.

I know people who work for WalMart and Sams and all are young adults (20's) and none sit around complaining. They see the job as either temporary or one where they need to continually be looking to move up the ladder. One works for Sam's as some sort of floor manager (started at the very bottom) and supports a wife and biological and adopted kids.

To say the bulk can't work elsewhere if they want is IMO just being an apologist. Sure, some may not be able to, but working a register at WalMart allows you to work a register at just about anywhere else - but guess what - they probably don't pay any better, or offer better perks or flexible schedules.

Oh yeah, and I was a WalMart employee many years ago.

onthestrip
11-21-2013, 02:36 PM
But that's just it - raising the minimum wage doesn't solve the problem. Never has. Never will. The answer to the problem, while unpleasant, and not simple, and not easy, is to make yourselves permanently more marketable to employers.

Who, anywhere in this thread, said finding another job was easy? If they're working at WalMart, the presumption is that they have limited skillsets that makes it hard for them to find a job in the first place. Raising the minimum wage is like putting a kiddie bandage on a hemorrhaging gunshot wound. Low minimum wages aren't a cause; they're a symptom of an undertrained and underskilled work force. Why is it WalMart's problem that one of their cashiers is a single mom at age 19 or 20 or (whatever the age was); why is it incumbent upon WalMart to subsidize her life situation? And since she has a child, if the needs-based rhetoric prevails, why shouldn't WalMart be forced to pay her more than a single worker with no kids?

See? The spiral never stops. That's why, as a matter of necessity, the employer-employee relationship has to be about what the employer needs and what the employee can provide. That's where enduring, long-term value is discovered, realized, and encouraged, to the benefit of both - precisely how its supposed to work in the first place.

Even if they were skilled and trained Wal Mart would still need cashiers. Having everyone in the country be trained in skilled in something wont change the fact that Wal Mart still would need cashiers. And who said paying people based on whether they have kids or any other circumstances. I just think a bump in min wage (to around $10) and one that is tied to inflation would benefit workers, the tax payers who are subsidizing them now, and likely the economy as more people would have more to spend.

BBatesokc
11-21-2013, 02:54 PM
Even if they were skilled and trained Wal Mart would still need cashiers. Having everyone in the country be trained in skilled in something wont change the fact that Wal Mart still would need cashiers. And who said paying people based on whether they have kids or any other circumstances. I just think a bump in min wage (to around $10) and one that is tied to inflation would benefit workers, the tax payers who are subsidizing them now, and likely the economy as more people would have more to spend.

I have a hunch you'll get your wish, but at a hefty price. Sure, 'cashiers' will get a raise - lets say to $10/hr - however, cashier positions will be cut by more than 50%.

I'm already seeing this at the Edmond WalMart (E 15 and I-35) and the Edmond Home Depot (Broadway).

Both stores push heavily for patrons to self-checkout, which equates to only one 'cashier' for 6 or more self-serve registers. At some hours you can't even find a full service register at either location.

WalMart also now offers Scan-and-Go.

You'll get your $10/hr - there just won't be anyone to collect it.

BBatesokc
11-21-2013, 03:59 PM
A may shop there, but I'm not going into the bathroom..... News9.com Videos - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/category/116601/video-page?autostart=true&clipId=9552579)

Prunepicker
11-21-2013, 10:15 PM
I do my best to avoid Walmart. It's a last resort for me and the reason
being that I spend more than I intended to. However, I'm all for business.
I see no problem with them having a food drive for their employes. I have
no problem with the wages they pay.

The purpose of a business is to make money for the owners or stock
holders. That's all. Nothing more. Employment, civic improvements, or
any other nicety is only the result of a successful business and nothing
more. The business doesn't owe the community one red cent.

If you don't like Walmart then don't shop there. Get off of it.

Good grief.

ljbab728
11-21-2013, 11:14 PM
If you don't like Walmart then don't shop there. Get off of it.

Good grief.

I think that is exactly what many posters here are saying they do.

MWCGuy
11-22-2013, 02:53 AM
I spent 8 years in the retail game. I am here to tell they all underpay their employees. The retailers that appear to pay well get away with it by working their employees on a 30-32 work week. In just about every retail store the majority of employees are part time workers which is why most qualify for public assistance programs. The only people that are full time in retail are supervisors and managers. Some retail stores still have a few veteran employees from the old days where full time was the norm. However, they are slowly disappearing because of voluntary or involuntary retirement.

Retail jobs became just like fast food jobs during the last decade just simply because you don't have to have any special skills anymore or any special training. The internet and smartphones have eliminated the need for trained sales staff. You just have to be able to show up everyday and show up on time. Since no special skills are required the pay has pretty much hit rock bottom. Retail is pretty much down to three types of employees, managers, cashiers and task workers (counter help, janitors, stockers and home delivery/install and cash office) Anybody walking in off the street looking for work can be trained to do those jobs in just a couple of days with someone shadowing them. In my retail days the majority of my coworkers were college students or married people bringing in a secondary income to their household or working a second job to pay off a few bills.

What it all comes down to is the retail worker has to make the decision to move on to better things? If you want Walmart and all retailers to pay better, we have to create a shortage of non skilled workers. We have to sell the people we know in these trades on getting out of the retail stores and taking classes at the Career Techs and Community Colleges around our country.

kelroy55
11-22-2013, 11:06 AM
Could be worse... you can work for McDonalds

McFail: McDonald?s debt advice to employees ? return purchases, skip the takeout - NBC News.com (http://www.nbcnews.com/business/mcfail-mcdonalds-debt-advice-employees-return-purchases-skip-takeout-2D11638179)

mugofbeer
11-22-2013, 01:51 PM
I think that is exactly what many posters here are saying they do.

Along with saying the store sucks, the employees suck, the company sucks and anyone who shops there sucks over and over again without showing how Wal Mart differs from its direct competitors. Its clear that for most of the posters that they say this, mostly, because its what Operah , PBS or MSNBC tells them to do rather than from a point of view that shows any knowledge of business. Wal Mart is the politically correct whipping boy.

Just the facts
11-22-2013, 02:00 PM
Love Walmart or hate Walmart - everyone should watch these documentaries. If you think people can just stop working at Walmart you don't understand how Walmart operates.

Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices

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Store Wars (full movie available on Netflix instant)

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Dubya61
11-22-2013, 02:07 PM
Love Walmart or hate Walmart - everyone should watch these documentaries. If you think people can just stop working at Walmart you don't understand how Walmart operates.

JTF. for a couple of stupid reasons, I can't watch those. Would you mind answering a couple of questions?
In those documentaries, although they focus on Walmart, would you say that it's different at Target? or is it a different story when Target or K-Mart come to town?

Just the facts
11-22-2013, 02:34 PM
The effects of a suburban Target or K-mart are the same on the towns involved as Walmart is. In the first video (High Cost of Low Prices) I have no sympathy for the Ace Hardware guy because he did just as much to destroy the Main St of his hometown as Walmart did - and he did it first.

Where the difference comes in is at the individual level. Walmart hires and retains employees by destroying their sense of self-worth. People they can't break either quit themselves very early in their Walmart experience or Walmart fires them. They don't want people with high self-worth working for them at the store level so they get them out of the way. This is why a new Walmart opens with 350 positions but by the end of the first year it is down to 250 and those other 100 are never replaced. Those are the 100 Walmart doesn't want working for them. The other 250 they put on government assistance to supplement their Walmart wage. This is why Walmart supports all social programs. Walmart employee total compensation = pay check + government assistance. If government assistance goes up Walmart can lower their pay check. Eventually the employee becomes trapped because they make just enough to get by and have to depend on the employee discount to put food on the table. It is a ***** way to business.

Walmart is the number 1 employer in 34 states and they have a higher number of employees on public assistance of any other company. I am not aware of Target or K-mart operating on a similar level.

BBatesokc
11-22-2013, 06:17 PM
...Walmart hires and retains employees by destroying their sense of self-worth. People they can't break either quit themselves very early in their Walmart experience or Walmart fires them. They don't want people with high self-worth working for them at the store level so they get them out of the way...

That's probably one of the most ridiculous statements I've read on this forum lately (and that's saying something).

Like I said, I worked for them in the past. My former roommate for years worked for them and I know people now that work for WalMart and Sam's.

I'd have ZERO issue going to work for them again - either full time, if it was a necessity, or part-time if I needed some extra cash.

Our son even worked for them in recent years and had zero issues with it.

'destroy their sense of worth' - 'people they can't break' .... Truly bizarre.

I can see people not liking their business model, blah, blah, but the description above leaves me almost speechless.

OKCretro
11-22-2013, 07:32 PM
That's probably one of the most ridiculous statements I've read on this forum lately (and that's saying something).

Like I said, I worked for them in the past. My former roommate for years worked for them and I know people now that work for WalMart and Sam's.

I'd have ZERO issue going to work for them again - either full time, if it was a necessity, or part-time if I needed some extra cash.

Our son even worked for them in recent years and had zero issues with it.

'destroy their sense of worth' - 'people they can't break' .... Truly bizarre.

I can see people not liking their business model, blah, blah, but the description above leaves me almost speechless.


Yea no kidding. With that type of view point I am surprised he isn't still camped out at Kerr park doing his occupyokc thing.

Prunepicker
11-22-2013, 07:40 PM
I'm not a fan of Walmart and try hard not to patronized. Not because I
believe it's an evil entity but because I tend to spend more than
necessary when I'm there. They've done their homework. The same
goes for Whole Foods and other stores like them. Hey, they play with
your intellect and emotions before you pass the "fresh" flowers and
continue for the rest of your trip.

I like Target. When I'm there, I don't want to spend a single cent.

Just the facts
11-22-2013, 10:22 PM
Brian - why don't you work at Walmart right now?

MWCGuy
11-23-2013, 12:09 AM
I really don't know why people even waste their time complaining about Walmart. They don't care that people hate their company and their stores. For every person complaining a hundred people are walking in their doors saying "Please take my money, I want buy the stuff you have for sale."

I don't blame Walmart or any big retail company for the failure of other businesses just simply because for every failed business there are 3 to 5 others that found a way to survive in the Walmart world. In any business you have to operate in a competitive manner. If you can't beat a competing business's prices, provide the world's best customer service, carry things they don't, communicate with your customers and meet their needs. Most people will pay extra and come back often if they know they will be taken care of every time they come in the door. One of my favorite stores is New Balance Edmond. Sure I could buy New Balance anywhere but, choose to shop there because of the experience and the fact they treat every customer like royalty.

Small town businesses can blame Walmart all they want. In the end it was their businesses practices that put them under. Being in a small town allowed them to live in a bubble that has not existed in the cities for decades. Circuit City failed because they assumed that doing things the way they have always done them would keep them ahead of the pack. Best Buy got better, Walmart and Target expanded their electronics departments. The next thing they knew they were number three and the regional stores were nipping at their heels to put them even lower on the totem pole. By the time they started doing something about it the competition was a long way down the road. Circuit City went under now Best Buy is finding themselves in Circuit City's shoes. Online retailers are and will replace Best Buy because they are behind the curve and getting left behind. Nobody mourned Circuit City's death. Nobody blamed big business. They blamed the company's poor leadership. Poor leadership is why businesses fail in this country. Big retail has no more effect than Smith's Hardware opening across the street from Jones' Hardware.

BBatesokc
11-23-2013, 06:30 AM
Brian - why don't you work at Walmart right now?

The same reason I haven't worked for anyone in many, many years. I prefer to work for myself and have been very fortunate to be able to do that.

As I get older and possibly cannot continue to work for myself, I wouldn't not consider working for WalMart. Working for WalMart is like working anywhere - they have certain staffing positions with certain pay scales and responsibilities. Its not like they keep any of it secret and then trick people into becoming their slave labor.

I recall when I went back to college and took some initial journalism classes at Rose State. The classes always contained people - often young single mom's - who wanted out of retail or the food industry and were taking classes to get a degree, skills or some sort of certificate to better themselves.

Saying some people cannot just go find another job doesn't make it the fault of their current employer - in fact, if they are so unemployable then they should most likely be thanking their current employer to be having a job at all!

Just the facts
11-23-2013, 12:14 PM
I really don't know why people even waste their time complaining about Walmart.

Because they are using taxpayer dollars to supplement their employees income. When they implemented that model they made it our business. The misidentified right-wingers can't simultaneously complain of the welfare state and the part-time employment Obama recovery and then pat Walmart on the back. They are all the same thing!

bchris02
11-23-2013, 12:29 PM
I've never really understood how the experience of going to Target, as opposed to WalMart, is so much better.

Target stores are usually cleaner, better stocked, quieter, and usually have enough registers open to accommodate the amount of customers in the store. Wal-Mart, no matter that time of day, usually only has a few registers open and that means long waits.

Just the facts
11-23-2013, 12:44 PM
The same reason I haven't worked for anyone in many, many years. I prefer to work for myself and have been very fortunate to be able to do that.

As I get older and possibly cannot continue to work for myself, I wouldn't not consider working for WalMart. Working for WalMart is like working anywhere - they have certain staffing positions with certain pay scales and responsibilities. Its not like they keep any of it secret and then trick people into becoming their slave labor.

I recall when I went back to college and took some initial journalism classes at Rose State. The classes always contained people - often young single mom's - who wanted out of retail or the food industry and were taking classes to get a degree, skills or some sort of certificate to better themselves.

Saying some people cannot just go find another job doesn't make it the fault of their current employer - in fact, if they are so unemployable then they should most likely be thanking their current employer to be having a job at all!

Brian, you are so close I can almost taste it. What if Walmart has a way to target the 'so unemployable' group and that is all they hire? Then they keep them at Walmart by making them fear leaving, and they do this by paying them so little that they need to have the employee discount just to cloth and feed their children. Are you familiar with the concept of the company store?

BBatesokc
11-23-2013, 01:43 PM
Brian, you are so close I can almost taste it. What if Walmart has a way to target the 'so unemployable' group and that is all they hire? Then they keep them at Walmart by making them fear leaving, and they do this by paying them so little that they need to have the employee discount just to cloth and feed their children. Are you familiar with the concept of the company store?

When i worked there and my son worked there they didn't 'target the so unemployable.' In fact, they mentioned to me when I was hired and my son that they liked the fact that in each case we were in college - hardly unemployable.

When I left I did so even after being started on a management path with them. It just wasn't what I wanted to do.

I haven't inquired about the employee discount in years, but when I worked there it just barely covered more than the sales tax. Even our Christmas employee shopping day wasn't much of a discount. Certainly not enough to be an incentive to stay.

RadicalModerate
11-23-2013, 02:04 PM
Brian, you are so close I can almost taste it. What if Walmart has a way to target the 'so unemployable' group and that is all they hire? Then they keep them at Walmart by making them fear leaving, and they do this by paying them so little that they need to have the employee discount just to cloth and feed their children. Are you familiar with the concept of the company store?

For the children . . . In the interests of historical enlightenment.
jIfu2A0ezq0
It hasn't been proven that Sam Walton was a big fan of this tune.
Not yet, anyways.

(I love that Jim Nabors type vocalizing at the end.)

MWCGuy
11-27-2013, 03:31 AM
Because they are using taxpayer dollars to supplement their employees income. When they implemented that model they made it our business. The misidentified right-wingers can't simultaneously complain of the welfare state and the part-time employment Obama recovery and then pat Walmart on the back. They are all the same thing!

I am not one to complain about welfare programs. These programs are desperately needed for people that have never been able to work because of illness or injury. Most conservatives I know agree with me. Where the problem lies is in young abled bodied and mind workers (18-40) who don't want to reach for something better or don't want to work at all. I know people in this position because they are my family members and some of my friends. The sad thing about it is the majority of jobs today just require you to show up and talk to people or operate a computer. It's not like the 1800's were you were working in a hot sweaty factory doing back breaking labor 12 hours a day. It's easy work in a clean climate controlled environment, where you only work for maybe 60% of the day. The rest your hanging out waiting for customers to arrive or doing easy side work like filing, cleaning or data entry. The crazy thing about it all is the people that deserve to be on a government program because of illness or injury are actually out there working and loving it.

I worked the retail game and I know you cannot make a living on it regardless if your part time or full time. Managers don't even make real money until they reach the post of Store Manager or District Manager. It does not matter who you work for in the retail world you are going to make a crappy wage that cannot support a family. You either work 40 hours for a $8-$10 an hour or you work 30-32 hours a week for $11-$13. If you sign up for benefits, you drop down to $7-$9 an hour or $10-$12 an hour.

What it takes is for people to wake up and move on to other jobs. The career techs and community colleges will help you no matter where your at skill level wise. In some cases they will even go as far as teaching you how to read and write if necessary.

For the record Walmart's employee discount is 10%. Every employee gets a credit card like card to use when they make purchases. It basically wipes out the cost of sales tax + 1-2% depending on what store you shop. In an Oklahoma City Walmart you get a whopping 1.25% off your purchase and Walmart picks up the sales tax. Not a good discount plan in my opinion. It's just a matter of teaching these folks there are better opportunities and better benefits.

I really hope that we see a mass exodus in the retail industry as a result of so many stores choosing to be open on Thanksgiving. I know if I still worked it I would be building a resume and looking at schools I could afford next week. It's just right that you have to work everyday of the week anymore to make a living including holidays when you should be home with family or home relaxing if you have no family. You shouldn't be working putting up with crabby customers because they missed out on a 99 cent DVD or $200 big screen TV that will crap out in 6 months.

Just the facts
11-27-2013, 06:54 AM
Okay you guys win - Walmart is a great place to work. Their employees just have to go on welfare, hold food drives for themselves, and get a stingy 10% discount from a company raking in billions in profits. Where do I go to sign up for that?

Bunty
11-27-2013, 10:33 AM
Small town businesses can blame Walmart all they want. In the end it was their businesses practices that put them under. Being in a small town allowed them to live in a bubble that has not existed in the cities for decades. Circuit City failed because they assumed that doing things the way they have always done them would keep them ahead of the pack. Best Buy got better, Walmart and Target expanded their electronics departments. The next thing they knew they were number three and the regional stores were nipping at their heels to put them even lower on the totem pole. By the time they started doing something about it the competition was a long way down the road. Circuit City went under now Best Buy is finding themselves in Circuit City's shoes. Online retailers are and will replace Best Buy because they are behind the curve and getting left behind. Nobody mourned Circuit City's death. Nobody blamed big business. They blamed the company's poor leadership. Poor leadership is why businesses fail in this country. Big retail has no more effect than Smith's Hardware opening across the street from Jones' Hardware.

But Best Buy is doing something right. This is because its stock price has tripled in the past year. I think it's recognition that they have no major competition after Wal-Mart and online sellers like Amazon. Best Buy also has a good online site.

Bunty
11-27-2013, 10:37 AM
Okay you guys win - Walmart is a great place to work. Their employees just have to go on welfare, hold food drives for themselves, and get a stingy 10% discount from a company raking in billions in profits. Where do I go to sign up for that?

So don't have kids while working at Wal-Mart, assuming one can resist that means becoming eligible to get on welfare. Hopefully, single Wal-Mart workers aren't eligible for welfare.

bchris02
11-27-2013, 10:42 AM
Small town businesses can blame Walmart all they want. In the end it was their businesses practices that put them under. Being in a small town allowed them to live in a bubble that has not existed in the cities for decades. Circuit City failed because they assumed that doing things the way they have always done them would keep them ahead of the pack. Best Buy got better, Walmart and Target expanded their electronics departments. The next thing they knew they were number three and the regional stores were nipping at their heels to put them even lower on the totem pole. By the time they started doing something about it the competition was a long way down the road. Circuit City went under now Best Buy is finding themselves in Circuit City's shoes. Online retailers are and will replace Best Buy because they are behind the curve and getting left behind. Nobody mourned Circuit City's death. Nobody blamed big business. They blamed the company's poor leadership. Poor leadership is why businesses fail in this country. Big retail has no more effect than Smith's Hardware opening across the street from Jones' Hardware.

The thing is if Best Buy goes that will be the last of the national electronics retailers gone. First CompUSA failed, then Circuit City and Ultimate Electronics. It's not like Best Buy is another domino to fall - it is the last domino. There would be a few left in the nation's largest cities like Fry's and MicroCenter but for the most part many decently sized cities including OKC would be left entirely without an electronics superstore. Is there still a market for a brick and mortar electronics store? If there is, then Best Buy will survive because its the only game in town.

OKCbyTRANSFER
11-27-2013, 11:11 AM
This: I really hope that we see a mass exodus in the retail industry as a result of so many stores choosing to be open on Thanksgiving.

I also worked retail, in the govenment sector, and enjoyed the weekdends and most holidays off, until they too got greedy and expanded our hours with no extra staff and the expectiation I work 12-14 days about 6 days a week. Even for a manager, that became too much.

Just the facts
11-27-2013, 11:30 AM
I guess it just come down to have the courage to believe the truth and the fortitude to act on it.

With so many atheists today why shouldn't stores be open on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day? I mean, we don't want to force our beliefs of everyone do we?

Stew
11-27-2013, 01:26 PM
I never considered Black Friday Eve a religious holiday.

Dubya61
11-27-2013, 02:12 PM
Hahn appliances refers to Black Friday as the most sacred shopping day of the year in their commercials for a pre-Black Friday sale this year.

Dubya61
12-12-2013, 11:57 AM
Walmart Haters! and Loyal Walmart Patrons!
Before you read this article, have a change of underwear handy (for differing reasons).
3 Ways Walmart Can Save Itself From Extinction | Breakout - Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/3-ways-walmart-can-save-itself-from-extinction-174859703.html)
Wait! What?! Walmart is slated for extinction? Well, Yahoo! Finance writer Jeff Macke says the writing's on the wall.

There’s ample evidence the company’s become a rotting shell of its former self. Where once stood a devastatingly efficient retail machine, there is now a rapidly aging corporate empire being brought down by internal rot and external attacks from scores of hungrier, more nimble competitors.
Yup. Mene, Mene, Tekel, MotherF... -- well, Jeff Macke is also known for nothing short of a meltdown on cable television just before he oddly disappeared from television completely. If, however, Doug McMillon (Walmart's new CEO who started his Walmart career on the loading docks) is a fan of Jeff Bezos, he may not be too surprised to see the writing on the wall. In a December 2 interview with 60 Minutes' Charlie Rose, Jeff Bezos says Amazon's days are numbered, as well, but he's not worried.

Jeff Bezos: Companies have short life spans Charlie. And Amazon will be disrupted one day.
Charlie Rose: And you worry about that?
Jeff Bezos: I don’t worry about it 'cause I know it’s inevitable. Companies come and go. And the companies that are, you know, the shiniest and most important of any era, you wait a few decades and they’re gone.
Charlie Rose: And your job is to make sure that you delay that date?
Jeff Bezos: I would love for it to be after I’m dead.
More from Jeff Macke:

According to Brain Sozzi of Belus Capital Advisors, Walmart is in a fight for its very existence. Unless McMillon is able to make drastic strategic and cultural changes, Walmart as we know it will be a thing of the past in the next 15 years. If that seems impossible, consider that Sears was the country’s top merchant from 1950 until 1988. Today Sears is the 41st largest retailer by revenue and was recently named the 7th worst company to work for in the U.S.
What are his three reforms?
1. Start Closing Stores,
2. Become America's Grocer, and
3. "Show some love to employees".

bchris02, JTF, you're gonna want to read the article where he confirms what you say and I've been saying is just your imagination -- sort of.
Although my snippets below just barely leave any of the article out, here's some salient points.

According to Brain Sozzi of Belus Capital Advisors, Walmart is in a fight for its very existence. Unless McMillon is able to make drastic strategic and cultural changes, Walmart as we know it will be a thing of the past in the next 15 years. If that seems impossible, consider that Sears was the country’s top merchant from 1950 until 1988. Today Sears is the 41st largest retailer by revenue and was recently named the 7th worst company to work for in the U.S.

Walmart may still be pulling in more than a billion dollars a day in revenue, but that’s masking the fact that five-acre stores are ill-suited to American’s becoming ever more accustomed to immediate shopping gratification. When Walmart legitimately offered the lowest prices on virtually any good it made sense to have more than 600,000,000 square feet of selling space in the US. Those days are gone.
Sozzi thinks Walmart’s first step should be closing the 300 U.S. locations producing negative sales growth of 5 - 7%. Conceding that closing 300 stores isn’t going to happen, Sozzi suggests McMillon close 50 stores “as a show of good faith to Wall Street.”

To make up for lost revenue from closing non-performing traditional stores, Sozzi recommends a more aggressive roll-out of something Walmart is doing already. “The next area of Walmart is what they call the neighborhood market concept. They need to be thinking ‘how do I put Safeway out of business? How do I put Kroger out of business? How do I put Target out of business?’ That’s their next growth area. That’s what they need to do (instead of) rolling out more shrines to retail.”
For the record, Walmart is already doing a pretty good job killing the supermarket industry. According to a study by the government’s Capacity Building Initiative, the total U.S. grocery industry was over $1 trillion in 2009, $557 billion of which consisting of supermarket sales. Of that total Walmart had a 38% share.
Regardless of that already massive share, the grocery industry overall is slow-growth and inefficient. Not at all unlike the mom-and-pop stores Walmart so effectively rolled-up on its way to becoming the largest company in the world by revenue.

Sozzi’s last suggestion is the most difficult but potentially the most rewarding. “2013 has been the year of the employees coming back to Walmart and saying ‘you’re not treating us right’... if you work in Walmart but still have to use food stamps, something's wrong.”
Here’s the biggest challenge facing McMillon. With 2.2 million workers, Walmart is the third largest employer in the world. The only institutions with more employees are the U.S. Department of Defense and the People’s Liberation Army of China. More than 1% of all working Americans have jobs at Walmart.
That size makes Walmart an easy scapegoat for everything wrong with the employment situation in America. It also makes it easy to ignore the amazingly progressive things Walmart is doing on behalf of American workers. In the last year Walmart has paid $8 billion in taxes and has 1.4 million Americans on its payrolls. The company offers benefits to same-sex partners in all 50 states, no questions asked despite only 16 states recognizing gay marriage. In terms of upward mobility and opportunity, the new CEO himself started at the the company by working on the shipping docks as a summer employee.
None of that matters because it’s easier to blame Walmart for being evil than it is to pay attention to what really ails America. Walmart isn’t a charitable organization. It’s never claimed to be. Whether or not paying more to workers would do anything to improve Walmart’s reputation, or for that matter, really make workers lives better on a net basis, is very much open to debate. Regardless, Sozzi says the company needs to try.

Maybe. What’s undeniable is that Walmart has problems and injecting fresh blood into the corner office barely scratches the surface. It may not be apparent now, or become clear next week, but Walmart can and will fail just like Sears and every other corporate empire to come before it. Doug McMillon has a chance to delay the threat if not reverse the trend entirely. The question is whether or not he realizes just how troubled his empire is.

Just the facts
12-12-2013, 12:48 PM
McMillon - that is an 'i' short of the perfect name for a Walmart CEO.