Wal-Mart, something from a demonic realm?

[Death's Head]

Wal-Mart has received accusations pretaining to unlawful activites. All manners of them. I've seen the documentary of Wal-Mart, with comments from those who have worked there. They have all complained about piss-poor wages, and a weak health plan. Many things they've said, all in all. And all in a negative light. Which brings me to this question: What do you all think of the criticism Wal-Mart endures? Is it factual, or alleged?

[Draconic]

Factual.

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/walmart/manuals_internal_documents.php

Read some of this stuff about 'em.

http://www.counterpunch.org/patton1125.html

In one of my classes, one of the videos we watched in class was an expose on Wal-Mart's anti-union tactics, brainwashing tactics, and slogans. "I'm not anti-union, I'm pro-assiciate." Managers are encouraged to to illegal things to keep people from talking about unionization.. It's pretty crazy. Wal-Mart will fire associates who even say the word "Union".

Sounds like they've got something to hide.

[Spitfire]

I think if they hired people who spoke English and could help me when I ask them a question I'd give a crap. But since they don't and hire morons who don't do their job and stand around talking in Chinese then I could care less about crappy they get paid. They don't do their jobs anyways and I always just see old Asian people working there. And this is every Wal-mart I've been to not just mine.

[Katie]

you have to admit that their strategy is brilliant though...

They hire people at low wages...so they can in turn only afford to shop at Wal-Mart...which means that the salaries they pay to the employees get put back into the store via sales to employees, thus nulling some of their expenses. Truely a brilliant business strategy (among many others they have)

*shrugs* I'm so freaking poor that I cannot afford to shop anywear else....I'm part of the viscious cycle. I'm glad they are there in a way cause I need to be able to buy..y'know...food and stuff....but I hate that they run small business away.

[jeff the cheff]

Some kid in my writing class wrote a paper about wal mart being evil.

Then an economics proffesor tried to tell them that what they do isn't realy as bad as it seems.

I don't care cause I think Target is way better, and apparantley they aren't evil.

[Roseangelo]

There are a lot of truths about "evil" WalMart, but there are a lot of stretched truths, too.

It is true that WalMart has been found guilty of hiring illegal aliens and forcing people to work off the clock or through breaks. It is also true that they try to hire people who won't be with the company for more 6 months - 1 year (to avoid giving them raises, because after a couple raises the people aren't likely to leave because they can't go anywhere else for better pay. Thus, the people stick around and WalMart has to pay them more for service that they've determined to be no better than the guy they hired yesterday at minimum wage). And it's true that they tell their store managers to hire "healty people" who are less likely to use the health insurance that the company offers (as if anyone can afford it in the first place).

I have not been a fan of WalMart for a very long time. I've worked in retail and I honestly think that people who work in retail have the absolute worst job there is in terms of amount of effort given and amount of reward received. And WalMart always just seemed to be worse than anyone else (no, I've never worked for WalMart). So for the longest time I was subscribed to the newsletter from WakeUpWalMart.com (http://www.wakeupwalmart.com).

Then about a year ago I noticed that pretty much every newsletter I got from them blamed George W. Bush and all Republicans for making WalMart evil. As a person who leans Republican and also doesn't like WalMart, I found these newsletters to be full of a bunch of B as in B, S as in S. So I unsubscribed.

A few months later I went to the website out of boredom and browsed through. If you read their employee stories that are supposed to convince us of how evil WalMart is, you'll read a whole bunch of stories that could (and probably have) happened at any retail store in the country. There is absolutely nothing unique about them.

So I still don't like WalMart as a corporation (I think their hiring practices, as I described at the beginning, are very shady and not in the best interest of the consumer), but I don't avoid going there as much as I used to. If I need to go there, I go there. But I do make an effort to go through the store with as little employee contact as possible, just because I know those guys are working hard and getting paid little, so if I can manage not to bother any of them, it's the least I can do.

[That Matt Guy]

As long as they keep Marvel Legends and Warsteiner beer stocked, then I don't care if they flog their workers with chains.

[KROW]

I hate Wal-Mart and only go if I need something and it happens to be 11 at night or later. Two of my friends worked there and often regaled me with their grievances about the place.

One said that he got yelled at by his superior for helping someone simply because he wasn't in his designated area of the store.

The other suffered back problems from stocking furniture without help when there was a definitive image on the packages that the items he was lifting required two people. He also got reamed for helping a co-worker just because he was not working in his assigned area of the store.

As for me, I was shopping there with Stormy one day looking for those bags that you put blankets and pillows in, then suck the air out with your vacuum making it easy for you to store them away. I couldn't find them in the vacuum/dustbuster/etc. aisle, so Stormy asked a nearby associate for assistance. With a frustrating sigh and a roll of the eyes, she pointed us in the right direction and spoke in a very taciturn voice. Stormy gave a nonchalant thank you, whereas I glared at her with a semi-furrowed brow.

Maybe they should alter the wording on their vests from, "How may I help you?" to "If I help you, will you go away?"

EDIT: Any day now, the greeters will meet you with, "Welcome to Wal-Mart, get your sh*t and get out."

[Peanut]

As long as they keep Marvel Legends and Warsteiner beer stocked, then I don't care if they flog their workers with chains.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA! That was great.

I good friend of mine has a brother who's worked at Wal-Mart for years. He loves it there, so I don't know about all of this.

[iris]

Wal*Mart employs one of my best friends, as well as over half the population of my pa's little home town in NH. What happens is management: Some stores have good management. Some have despicable management. The higher-ups don't actually care that much, so there's the problem.

My problem with Wal*Mart is on the supply end. They force local wholesalers to play their game or die from Wal*Mart-mediated attrition. They eat the competition, and then the wholesalers have nobody but Wal*Mart as a prime customer. That's how they get their low-low-low prices. Many Americans think of low prices as being an element of social responsibility, but I don't think people understand how those low prices come about.

[Ra]

Wal-Mart is pure evil. And you know how I know? Because this guy said so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LInSdnbMcE0

[mikey2007]

my brother works at Wal*Mart but the only problems he's had with them is that they were screwing him over on hours at one point, just let him work almost enough to get benefits or something like that, but not quite, so they would send him home if he was close to the specified hours or whatever....then he hurt his back unloading produce by himself. My biggest beef i have with Wal*Mart is that they never have the Ninja Turtle stuff i want to find, especially lately, they haven't got anything new since the fast forward show started (got like 2 fast forward things) and still have yet to get the movie..ANYTHING! grrr, and don't have a single turtle thing there now, i thought about boycotting my Wal*Mart, but the evilness can only be avoided so long before it sucks u right back in (if anyone saw that episode of south Park where they make fun of wal*mart, u know what i'm talkin about, lol:lol: )

[Raph's Girl]

I like wal-mart. Yes I've heard some horror stories but that can be said about any retail store really.

Many people hate Wal-Mart cuz they believe the mom and pop stores in the area will be effected. There's a town just north of here that's banned the word Wal-mart at their town meetings cuz it causes lots of flak.

There are signs in some areas here that say "Stop Wal-mart!"....They need to take the signs down now that Wal-Mart is open (one just opened up the street here.).

People were mostly protesting cuz of all the traffic it would cause... pft....they've fixed up the roads so traffic won't be a problem.

Another Wal-mart store that just opened up in Washington State is causing a bit of controversy because it's bigger than what they told the town they'd be.

So yes I like Wal-mart but to be honest...I prefer Wal-Greens anyday. *shrugs*

Oh and Mom and Pop stores....um...there aren't any around here...but the Fred Meyer store up the road from the new Wal-mart here is a bit worried. I don't see why.... Fred Meyer has some stuff that Wal-Mart doesn't.

[Death's Head]

To sum it up, it seems Wal-Mat has good prices and selections, but terrible customer service.

[Sage Ninja]

ok, I work at wal-mart. And I have to say their is a middle ground to all the horror stories. Some of them are true and some of them are stretched. I personally don't like working at Wal-Mart as much as I did a year ago when I started there. there is to much intolarance for little nessacary things like being sick or occasinally being late. And they retailate against you if you do. Once when i called out sick, I noticed that I was getting crappy hours and odd work shifts for like a month.

Also they have a way of making it appear you have to do something when it isn't even in your job discription. Every weekend it seems that I am pulled off the floor to go unload the truck or fill the freezer or pull pallets onto the floor when it isn't my job . I have almost been injured doing these things and when I act less than enthusastic (spelling?) when I'm asked to do these things suddenly i'm not a team player.

However my biggest gripe at work is the customers. I understand that everybody deserves good customer service but seriously its nice to get customers who don't use them as thier persoanl puch bag to get out their days frustrations on you. Its not pleasant. ANd I'm sorry if you are having a bad day or if you are impatient thats no reason to be nasty to some one. I'm usaully calm and polite to people but as soon as they start giveing an attitude I get angry and I lose my politeness really fast. Once I had to walk away from an elder man because je was upsetting me so bad, and honest to God I think I would have lost it if I hadn't.

my two cents from a Wal-Mart employees POV