Wal Mart Gives Raises

[Flasch186]

My GF mom works at one and it looks like all the PR is getting to them....she got a $2 raise / hour. Not much i guess in the grand scheme of things, but apparently a bunch of people got em....

thats better, let those earnings come to those who really earn em.

[stevew]

It'd be nice if Michael Moore would do a film about Wal-Mart.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Wal-Mart is evil.

[SunDancer]

Wal-Mart is evil.

Agree...It seems that Wal-Mart is starting to enter communities, or trying to expand, where they are being told no. But in a way, I don't feel overly sorry for the people who work their. Its their choice.

[mauchow]

Yup. I just got an increase of 40 cents. I'm so PUMPED!

[SackAttack]

What's crazy is there are some communities where there are two and even THREE of these things. Word is that where I live, they're trying to build a second location about 5 miles down the road from their existing one. Whatever slows 'em down, I'm all for.

[GoldenEagle]

The busiest Wal-Mart in the world is located in Southaven, MS. Should I be bragging about that?

[Flasch186]

Ive heard, on their employment applications it tells where those employees can get financial aid and other aid from the gov't. That's seems kinda shady. Like telling fans, come to the games and we'll try to at least have a winning season, instead of shooting for the best.

[SunDancer]

What's crazy is there are some communities where there are two and even THREE of these things. Word is that where I live, they're trying to build a second location about 5 miles down the road from their existing one. Whatever slows 'em down, I'm all for.

Yeah. I find it funny that people don't want a Wal-Mart and try to fight one, but they still buy from them.

[MacroGuru]

Where I live in Lindon, we have a super center going up about 2 blocks away from my house. Lindon is a small community that is squished between another small community (Pleasant Grove) and a bigger city (Orem).

Anyways, there is a Walmart Super Center in South Orem, which is about a 15 minute drive from my house and we have another one in American Fork, which is another 15 minute drive from my house.

So all in all, I will have 3 SuperCenters all within 15 minutes of my home. And if I wanted to branch out further, I think it is right around 8 SuperCenters within a 30 minute drive.

[Desnudo]

My GF mom works at one and it looks like all the PR is getting to them....she got a $2 raise / hour. Not much i guess in the grand scheme of things, but apparently a bunch of people got em....

thats better, let those earnings come to those who really earn em.

That's a substantial raise if you're making around $6-8/hour. 25-33%.

[henry296]

Where I live in Lindon, we have a super center going up about 2 blocks away from my house. Lindon is a small community that is squished between another small community (Pleasant Grove) and a bigger city (Orem).

Anyways, there is a Walmart Super Center in South Orem, which is about a 15 minute drive from my house and we have another one in American Fork, which is another 15 minute drive from my house.

So all in all, I will have 3 SuperCenters all within 15 minutes of my home. And if I wanted to branch out further, I think it is right around 8 SuperCenters within a 30 minute drive.

Think about how many grocery stores, Best Buys, Targets, etc are in the same drive and you'll see that Wal-Mart isn't that different.

[JonInMiddleGA]

So all in all, I will have 3 SuperCenters all within 15 minutes of my home. And if I wanted to branch out further, I think it is right around 8 SuperCenters within a 30 minute drive.
Well I'm pretty much jealous at this point.

My closest Wal-Mart of any kind is 30 mins & they're both older, smaller models. My closest Super is more like 40-45 mins away.

Of course, I'd rather have a SuperTarget than a SuperWalMart but hey ...

[MacroGuru]

Think about how many grocery stores, Best Buys, Targets, etc are in the same drive and you'll see that Wal-Mart isn't that different.
BestBuy is 45 minutes away. I have a Smiths Grocery Store 5 minutes aways and an Albertsons another 5 minutes.

I have a SuperTarget about 5 minutes away from the SuperWalmart in South Orem.

But in all honesty, the major grocery chains for us (Smiths, Albertsons) are at least spaced a bit than the Walmart SuperCenters.

[Ragone]

Heres what walmart doesn't want you to know..

they decided to raise the per store wage average somewhere around 4-5 bucks per hour per store.. so really its up to the managers discretion who is getting raises.. and from what my friend told me.. its basically managers pets.. kissup types that are getting the raises in the store he works at. And that walmart didn't want this info to leak out because they figured what i said above would happen.

Ask your Gf's mom if she was required to sign a paper saying she would never mention the raise to anyone.. I know its fairly standard practice by business's to prohibit discussion of wages.. but not raises. but i think they are making people sign legal documents to not discuss said raises..

Walmart truely is Satan's hometown store

[stevew]

Heres what walmart doesn't want you to know..

they decided to raise the per store wage average somewhere around 4-5 bucks per hour per store.. so really its up to the managers discretion who is getting raises.. and from what my friend told me.. its basically managers pets.. kissup types that are getting the raises in the store he works at. And that walmart didn't want this info to leak out because they figured what i said above would happen.

Ask your Gf's mom if she was required to sign a paper saying she would never mention the raise to anyone.. I know its fairly standard practice by business's to prohibit discussion of wages.. but not raises. but i think they are making people sign legal documents to not discuss said raises..

Walmart truely is Satan's hometown store

Wow....thats superugly.

[Draft Dodger]

well, the still haven't done what they need to do to get my business: pay me to shop there.

[Ragone]

this fall.. the day after thanksgiving.. i'm gonna go to a walmart with a hidden camera and just watch and tape the fights/etc.. should be worth the effort.. :)

The only thing walmart is good for is getting games/dvd's way before their street release date..

[Franklinnoble]

I will say this about Wal-Mart (and other stores like it):

On Sunday morning, I called a local auto parts store that I usually shop at. A friend of mine had given me four tires that would fit my pickup, and I wanted to know if they could install them for me. The guy said, "Nope. We sold the equipment and closed the shop about two months ago. Nearest place to get that done now is Wal-Mart."

Now, the Wal-Mart in Placerville has been open about a year, complete with a tire center. I'm thinking "Wow, those no-good Wal-Mart bastards are putting Diamond Auto out of business." The tires are still sitting in my driveway, as I figure I'll call some friends and ask around if anyone else can do the job locally. Gotta stick it to the man, right?

Fast forward to 6:15 p.m., that same day. I'm changing the brakes and rotors (purchased at the local mom & pop auto parts place) on one of my other cars. I need a c-clamp or a big damned pair of vise grips to push the brake caliper piston back in to make room for the new brake pads. I don't have one. I need to go buy one, now, because I can't leave my damned wheels off as I need to drive the car to work the next morning.

The only place open after 6 p.m. on a Sunday where I can get a c-clamp?

Wal Mart.

[BishopMVP]

I don't understand why people dislike Walmart so much...they're paying their workers as little as they can for your benefit as the consumer.

[sovereignstar]

I don't understand why people dislike Walmart so much...they're paying their workers as little as they can for your benefit as the consumer.
Or they're just trying to maximize their profits...

[Ragone]

You all do know wal-marts own "american made" brand is made in sweat shops in mexico and asia right?

[QuikSand]

Or they're just trying to maximize their profits...

And this is wrong... why?

[Ragone]

Nothing wrong with maximizing profits.. but don't make it appear like your some messiah to the white trash of america with your rollback prices..

Honestly.. the super centers are TOO big for a enjoyable shopping experience.. if you don't know what your looking for.. chances are your not going to find it.. or find someone willing to help you..

[Flasch186]

On Bishop's path we will eventually have the super rich, the companies owning the city and we will all pay our sales taxes and school taxes to them. We will rely so heavily on them to support our city that If, Which I know they would never do this, If they decided to be immoral or unethical and "cook their books" and go under, the entire city will be destroyed. Think Flint, MI times 250%. Sure, im speculating and much of that is conjecture but what do you think the eventual 50 year outcome will be? How could it be anything else? Rich owning the poor per se in that all social services, all city functions, most of the taxation will be taken in by those companies, via sales taxes (how many Wal Mart employees shop at their own Walmart; Ill bet the number is astronomical) and paying to the city in their taxes. Where will the rest of the "city" get its taxes from? Mom and pop stores will be gone, the rich certainly arent going to pass a law to raise their taxes and the poor will fall below the poverty line, or a "living wage" at most....so do you raise taxes on them? In all seriousness, without some Commercial conciousness of the long term effects of Only looking at the biggest Profit possible and the burnt ground they leave in their wake what else is possible?

EDIT: I believe the proposal in California was an Actual attempt to have the Wal-Mart technically be its own city, outside of the city's control? I guess were already on our way.

[Franklinnoble]

On Bishop's path we will eventually have the super rich, the companies owning the city and we will all pay our sales taxes and school taxes to them. We will rely so heavily on them to support our city that If, Which I know they would never do this, If they decided to be immoral or unethical and "cook their books" and go under, the entire city will be destroyed. Think Flint, MI times 250%. Sure, im speculating and much of that is conjecture but what do you think the eventual 50 year outcome will be? How could it be anything else? Rich owning the poor per se in that all social services, all city functions, most of the taxation will be taken in by those companies, via sales taxes (how many Wal Mart employees shop at their own Walmart; Ill bet the number is astronomical) and paying to the city in their taxes. Where will the rest of the "city" get its taxes from? Mom and pop stores will be gone, the rich certainly arent going to pass a law to raise their taxes and the poor will fall below the poverty line, or a "living wage" at most....so do you raise taxes on them? In all seriousness, without some Commercial conciousness of the long term effects of Only looking at the biggest Profit possible and the burnt ground they leave in their wake what else is possible?

EDIT: I believe the proposal in California was an Actual attempt to have the Wal-Mart technically be its own city, outside of the city's control? I guess were already on our way.
Nobody makes any money by putting everyone in America below the poverty line. I think you're being a tad alarmist.

Besides, you won't have to worry about it much after you get off your ass and become super-rich anyway, right?

[Flasch186]

i understand that it is far reaching but thats the path weve begun....and the people making the money will have their employess shop there. And their employees will live in "their" city. I just think we need to be carefiul that the super rich have a collective concious.

[Wolfpack]

Oh, these are the same super-rich like every left-leaning mega-star in Hollywood, most professional athletes, George Soros, Warren Buffett, just about anyone who can afford a place on Manhattan Island, the Kerry family, the Kennedy family....

Yep, gotta watch out for the super-rich trying to gang up on us little people.

[sovereignstar]

And this is wrong... why?
I'm searching for the judgement I never laid down.

[mauchow]

Which reminds me, I signed a piece of paper...

But I didn't read what it said... All I heard from my manager was "more money.. Sign here."

Oh well, I won't be there long :)

[Ksyrup]

Nothing wrong with maximizing profits.. but don't make it appear like your some messiah to the white trash of america with your rollback prices..
Who says these are mutually exclusive concepts? It seems to me that they are able to provide lower prices on most items, while still maintaining a healthy profit margin.


Honestly.. the super centers are TOO big for a enjoyable shopping experience.. if you don't know what your looking for.. chances are your not going to find it.. or find someone willing to help you..
Then don't shop or work there. I'm able to find exactly what I need, but I get lost in Publix. Go figure.

[Ksyrup]

I'm so sick of hearing about "mom and pop" stores. Quaint, yes. A nice reminder of a simpler life, sure. A good deal on the items they sell? Hell no.

I'm sorry, but in most places, mom and pop can't sell me what I want for a low price, so I wouldn't go there even if I'd never heard of Sam Walton. Times change, business models change, etc. You learn to adapt, roll with the punches, or you get flattened. It's not like consolidation in the business world just popped up over night. People put a premium on their time and want to accomplish menial tasks as efficiently as possible, and spend as little money doing it as possible. Wal-Mart meets that demand; mom and pop do not.

[ISiddiqui]

I don't understand why people dislike Walmart so much...they're paying their workers as little as they can for your benefit as the consumer.

It ain't just that, it's that they treat their workers like crap. They constantly yell and harangue workers who just messed up a little bit. It's enough to make customers squemish at times. Not saying that is reason to close 'em down. But that is reason for me to try to avoid them as much as possible.

[BishopMVP]

Or they're just trying to maximize their profits...Do you think if they increased their employees salaries that most of the increase would come out of the profit margin or by increasing the price of goods?

And, yes, Flasch, despite the fact that your doomsday scenario regularly repeats itself under heavily regulated markets and not free markets, and this evil capitalism is the reason the US is so much better off than the rest of the world I'm just an evil person who wants to effectively enslave the masses.

[ice4277]

For those that hate WalMart so much, don't shop there. Nobody is holding a gun to your head to go there, and nobody is holding a gun to employees' heads to work there. Everybody bitches about how little they are getting paid, but everybody also bitches when prices go up. Can't have it both ways unfortunately. Personally, I can't stand the place, but its not because of their handling of employees and/or business practices. As JonInMiddleGA said, give me a Target or Super Target any day of the week over Wal-Mart.

[mauchow]

There are only a few things I get at Wal-Mart... I won't buy meat there, and a number of things I don't remember.. I need to go to bed again.

[stevew]

For those that hate WalMart so much, don't shop there. Nobody is holding a gun to your head to go there, and nobody is holding a gun to employees' heads to work there. Everybody bitches about how little they are getting paid, but everybody also bitches when prices go up. Can't have it both ways unfortunately. Personally, I can't stand the place, but its not because of their handling of employees and/or business practices. As JonInMiddleGA said, give me a Target or Super Target any day of the week over Wal-Mart.

Target treats its employees like garbage too. Just cause "they ain't Wal Mart" doesnt make them good either. Substandard wages, and overwork make SteveW a very unhappy boy.

[Flasch186]

nothing personal

[Ksyrup]

We had this discussion before. In our family, we don't buy clothing at Wal-Mart (well, at least for the wife and me), because it's just not good quality. Pet supplies, toiletries, food products, yes. Meat - 50/50. I usually go to Albertson's for some stuff, but will also buy a few things every week at WM. Never seafood, though - too expensive and not a very good selection.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Target treats its employees like garbage too. Just cause "they ain't Wal Mart" doesnt make them good either. Substandard wages, and overwork make SteveW a very unhappy boy.
Umm ... FTR, my preference for Target/SuperTarget is strictly related to their merchandise & store layout, has nothing at all to do with me having anything against Wal-Mart.

[mauchow]

I work at Wal-Mart, and if the managers tick me off in any way, I'll just leave work still clocked in and go catch a movie or something. I know I won't get caught. But they do piss me off plenty.

[ice4277]

Target treats its employees like garbage too. Just cause "they ain't Wal Mart" doesnt make them good either. Substandard wages, and overwork make SteveW a very unhappy boy.
I never said the wages of the employees made any difference to me in either case. It would be great if both paid their employees more but that is the last thing on my mind when I decide where to shop.

[larrymcg421]

If I didn't shop at places that treated their employees like crap, then I would probably starve, own no electronics, and wouldn't be making this post right now.

[Ragone]

Face it.. in this day and age.. the only people who really are overpaid for their work are goverment workers.. or pro sports athletes..

[Draft Dodger]

I generally don't shop at Wal-Mart because of the following:

- a lot of the stuff they sell there is crap. cheap crap is still crap.
- some (not all) of the people who work there are miserable toads who don't seem to know the first thing about customer service. No offense to Mauboy.
- some (not all) of the people who shop there are miserable toads who don't seem to know the first thing about moving in crowds. No offense to Kysrup.
- the parking lot at my local store (just one, thanks) is way too small for the WalMart and the grocery store that are there. Getting in and out of there without ramming the blue hair driving in front of me at .001 MPH is difficult.

of course, the above can be said about lots and lots of places (our KMart has plenty of parking, but has even worse toads working there). I don't really care how much the people make, how they are treatred, or about the mom & pop stores that have been encroached on. But I also care about a lot more than the bottom line that is so important in this country.

if a business has generally treated me right (combination of price and service) I keep using them. for everything else, there's the internet.

[sooner333]

Look, WalMart had a brilliant strategy. They would have never worked if they had started like most strores, in the middle of a big city with lots of customers. What Walton did was start in the area he could price-compete best. Of course, rural shoppers were paying the most for their goods and it would be easy to compete with the local electronics store in prices of TVs and CD players. It wouldn't be easy to compete with city stores for electronic goods, etc. So, he makes a bunch of these stores in small-town Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, etc. and starts getting enough stores to get huge mark-downs from his suppliers, allowing their prices to get even lower, low enough to invade the big city. That is where we are now.

That sounds like a brilliant business plan to me, and it really paid off. Do I think Walmart will destroy America? Of course not. There are many times when people need expertise or need some specialty item that is either too good for Walmart of not in enough production for them to get a great discount. Will some stores be shutdown because of Walmart? Of course, and they already have. But that is capitalism for you, if they shut down all of the stores and then markup all of their prices, then a new Walmart competitor will do exactly what they did.

[sooner333]

DOLA- I would have considered working at Walmart this summer, but it seems that a "real job" will be hard for me to achieve given that my parents decided to go on a two-week vacation at the end of July (the dead middle of my summer) making it hard to get a job now, then tell them in two weeks that i'm going on a two week vacation in two more weeks (like a two-weeks notice of that). I wouldn't get my job back and more likely, they'd just let me go on the spot.

[pjstp20]

Hasn't this thread been done before? Where were all you when I got rolled under the bus by the pro Wal-Marters?

[WussGawd]

Wal-Mart receives $1 Billion of corporate welfare a year.

Many of their employees are so poorly paid that they need public assistance for things like housing and healthcare.

Wal-Mart is a ridiculously large corporate polluter for their industry. They often negotiate deals with the cities they move into to circumvent local environmental standards.

Wal-Mart censors their book selections. Left-leaning authors need not apply.

Basically, if you shop at Wal-Mart, you're a tool of the Neocons...so no, I don't shop at Wal-Mart.

[pjstp20]

Who cares about all that I can buy potato chips for 50 cents off. As long as it doesn't effect me I don't care.

I'm being sarcastic by the way.

[Draft Dodger]

Hasn't this thread been done before? Where were all you when I got rolled under the bus by the pro Wal-Marters?

shopping, of course.

[SunDancer]

How is Wal-Mart differnet from companies that outsource jobs, that get the products made in third-world countries (atleast they dont charge a major premiun like Nike)?

To me, Wal-Mart does not force people who work for them to work. They have a choice (the workers).

[JonInMiddleGA]

shopping, of course. Now that you mention it ... $139.60 worth, about an hour ago.

And to make it even better:
-- it's a brand new SuperCenter
-- the employees were {gasp} both hustling hard and pleasant
-- Everything from coffee filters to Hot Wheels Monster Trucks to Miracle on DVD.
-- In & out in just under 30 minutes.

Left-leaning authors need not apply.
And then I get this little gem to make me feel even happier about my shopping experience.

Anybody still wonder why they're so successful?

[pjstp20]

Was anybody wondering why they're succesful?

After 10 o'clock is about the only time you'll be in and out in under 30 minutes.

[vex]

Which reminds me, I signed a piece of paper...

But I didn't read what it said... All I heard from my manager was "more money.. Sign here."

Oh well, I won't be there long :)

That's about what I did.

[vex]

And yes, we're not supposed to talk about pay at all on the salesfloor, because it has always been ground for termination.