10,000 hopefuls keep eyes open for [400] Wal-Mart jobs

10,000 hopefuls keep eyes open for [400] Wal-Mart jobs

www.ajc.com

y HELENA OLIVIERO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/11/08
For the fourth consecutive day, people waited in long lines Thursday for a shot at a job at a new Wal-Mart in DeKalb County, pushing the total number of applicants beyond 10,000.

That's four times the entire population of Avondale Estates, the community next to the planned Memorial Drive store.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is nuts... the story goes on to say how there are only 400 jobs to be had and how this is a dramatic increase over the number of applicants at the earlier wak-mart opening.

www.ajc.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Wow. The unemployment rate must be high. It is $10.65 an hour for starters.

The economy is screwed. And who has what to gain? Look at this story for just an example. This Wal-Mart, because of circumstances with the "strong" economy, have a great number of people to choose from. We have all heard of WAY over-qualified people being forced to work for low wages.

I work at Wal-Mart. It bites. This news article should read, "9,600 People Are About To Have Something Good Happen."

The pay is dirt, the benefits are overpriced and pay out too little, and a large percentage of the customers are either stupid or disgusting. I suppose that third one isn't Wal-Mart's fault though.

And I don't mean the pay as a cart pusher or a cashier is dirt. Everyone gets paid dirt for what they do. As a salesperson in the electronics department, I receive about 25 cents per hour more than an ordinary cashier would.

That might not seem like such a big deal, but to do the job well actually requires a bigger skill set than you might think. I'm knowledgeable in computers in fields ranging from networking, to parts replacement, to software and games. I have to know all about televisions, from the different kinds, to the numerous types of inputs, to the dvd players and surround sound systems, plus how to hook it all up. I have to know about stereos, video game consoles, and telephones.

I also have to keep up with information about music, movies, and video games that I have absolutely no freaking interest in. Half my sales in those areas are, "Do you have that new movie with so-and-so in it?" or "I'm looking for the CD with that song whats-it-called on it." So it's not good enough to just memorize the titles of stuff.

Not only do I have to be able to know this stuff myself, I have to be able to teach it. I find myself teaching people stuff in 15 minutes what college professors teach people over the course a week for 50 grand a year or whatever they make... more than me, is all I know.

And of course, there's an unspoken "tech support" role that I have to play. If something happens to a display, I have to be able to fix it, whether it's a TV, a stereo, or a video game system. If a customer has a problem, quite often they'll call the store expecting us to know how to fix it. No, we don't get TRAINED in how to fix this stuff, we're just expected to learn it on our own somehow.

It's not simply enough to have the information in my head. I have to be good at presenting the information, also. I have to be outgoing, sociable, have a good ability to sell imported foreign crap like it's God's gift to mankind, and be able to keep smiling even when I'm under stress.

I'm also expected to ring people out, not merely throw it in their cart and send them on their way. So I have to be good with money and operating the cash register... okay, that's not such a big deal and anyone can do it, but still it's one more thing I have to do. Let's not forget the heavy lifting. 32 inch televisions are not light, by any means.

Then there's the whole trust-and-responsibility issue. I have access to the cash registers, all the locked-up merchandise in my department, and am given access to secured rooms in the back without question. Some of these things are extremely small objects that are worth obscene amounts of money, and of course I know how to get around allllll the security. My incentive not to make an extra hundred bucks a week fencing stolen goods is that I'm just not a thief.

I am, however, required to participate in monitoring for suspicious activity, keeping my department clean so maintenance doesn't have to do anything (ever), preventing safety hazards, and safeguarding expensive merchandise.

Cameras and cell phones are another department, but it's come down to teaching myself about those as well because they're right next to my department and customers can hardly be expected to realize it's not my job to sell those things. But I do it anyways, without compensation (the people HIRED in those departments make a few cents an hour more than me.)

And do you know why I get paid dirt despite having to do all this? Because Wal-Mart doesn't hire smart. They pay so little because out of the 10 people that work in my department, I'm only 1 of 2 that can honestly say they actually do all of what they're supposed to. My pay goes down because they distribute the pay evenly instead of according to the actual skills and responsibilities that any of us ACTUALLY take.

Don't even talk to me about commission. The idea that I should get a slice of the pie when I sell $2,000 worth of home entertainment products to somebody is basically a sour joke.

Instead of hiring for keeps, they hire for temporary spots. Turnover increases because they keep getting people who aren't good at it, and training costs skyrocket. Sales are affected by salespeople not being good at their jobs, which decreases money that can be made through profit sharing, not to mention what the store is willing to spend on handing out paychecks.

To add insult to injury, most people look at my job and assume it's easy just because it doesn't take a college education. Most people assume the job SHOULD pay low wages simply because it's "just retail" - nobody ever stops to think about what all is required to do the job WELL. But let me tell you something, if Wal-Mart hired people for their skill sets, knowledge, and dependability, they could offer better pay and benefits, have REAL career potential, and not be seen as just a "McJob."

And I haven't even touched on the way they treat us while mismanaging the company. And I won't, because I spend all day dealing with it.

reply to post by mattifikation


Wow!

They don't deserve you, dude!

You know what? You just got put on someone's list in Bentonville!

Here's some resources for all us Wal-Mart haters:

Walmart Really Sucks!, the webpage.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, the movie.

WalmartWatch.com, the activist site.

Did you know Wal-Mart registered over 50 sucks.com domain names to keep them out of the hands of Wal-Mart haters?

Here's a press release about one they didn't get:

Kenneth Harvey of Newfoundland has won the right to continue hosting a customer grievance web site at Wallmartcanadasucks.com following the first decision of its kind by a panel of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) that went against Wal-Mart, the retail giant.

Source | Out-Law.com

And here's a link to contact the smiling evil empire directly:

Wal-Mart Stores --- Contact

Excuse me, but I do the same job EXACT job you do every day, in the middle of the city. Sure the pay sucks, and the benefits are barely worth touching, but when the hell did you become a rocket scientist? All thsoe skills you mentioned are nothing more than commodoties in this new globalized world. If you think any one of them are worth any kind of money any more, than simply go to school, expamnd on them and make the money.

Bro the job is soo #ing easy I laugh at it. The only problem I see here is you think your worth something in the flat Earth with the knowledge any person can learn within 24 hours of reading online or in books. that is your job, it is what you are paid for, to teach and sell.

I love working at Wal-Mart because I am an extremely social person, and love daily interaction with such a host of new people. I am 22 and have workd there for four years. I met my spouse there, we had a beautiful child together. I met many friends there (but I can stop into a McDonalds and make a new friend), I have fun teaching people about these things, as simple as it may be.

I have worked recieveing 1st and second shift, deli department. I enjoyed them all. Yes there are many rough days, but that can be said about almost any job that exists. Frankly, I suppose the only thing I would enjoy is higher pay. Again, we do not exactly have anythign special worth paying more. That is the nature of the capitalist beast buddy. All the knowledge and supposed "skills" you listed are nothing but commodoties in the Flat Earth. If you don't want to do it, there will be someone else who will work for less who can.

Just do your job as best as possible, and take pride in it. You need to understand that at least 60% of our workforce is probably on the same level as ourselves. the only way to change it is to become "socialist" (ahh omg socialism is the devil that wants to eat your family and turn your soul black, because it actually works to put people before greed!!!!!!!!!)

If you find yourself miserable at a job that you are apparantley good at, find another one, or quit and join the Army. Better yet go to school and turn those complaints into money, well after you finish paying off the years of debt you will probably incur (go Capitalism again). If your study was a simply commodoty, then you will probably barely break even with the cost of your education after six years, until you realize you probably are not making much more than you would have in the beggining.

Stop being such a complainer man and just do something!

reply to post by mattifikation

You don't have to convince me that your skills far exceed your status or your pay. I worked for awhile at J.C. Penney before I got a job as a college professor. Being a college professor is easier.

The reason WalMart gets away with expecting so much for so little pay is because they can. There are too many people like the ones in the OP who will line up to work for what they offer. Where I live the going rate for retail jobs is $5-$8 an hour. Granted, most of those who apply are not as good at their jobs as you are, but you can't ask for too much because everyone is expendable and they probably believe they can easily replace you.

I think many people take jobs in retail because it is considered respectable work. There are many jobs that may pay better but have lower status.

There have been very few successful retail workers' unions but you need one. I understand Wal-Mart will fire anyone who even uses the word. Still, collective bargaining is the only way I know of to improve the lot of retail employees.




[edit on 11-1-2008 by Sestias]

Capitalism is just another word for Fascism, my friend. Working hard for the State, whether you like it or not. Just look at your paycheck every week. 1/3rd of it is disappearing. I cannot stand that. Maybe I would've kept a steady job recently if it didn't seem like the harder I worked for less money, the more they jacked my paycheck with all sorts of income taxes.

Bro, I suggest to you that you accept the crappy situation as it is, unless you and millions of other people are ready to stand up with me and revolt against capitalist corporate military industrial, technological, socialogical, psychological, and physiological slavery... but nobody's gunna do that. Face it, the death roll is just gunna keep on turning until something really really bad happens.

Until then, hey! We can all pretend to be satisfied and/or talk about change and have absolutely nobody listen because they're all too busy feasting on false pride. At this point, all you can do is breathe deeply on that oxygen mask and feel the euphoria, because this flaming wreck is falling fast.

Wal-Mart is miserable, dude. I'm sorry you have to work there. I can't even step foot into that grotesquerie without dying a little inside.

I dearly love the ranting against the Great Satan that is Wal Mart. Many of Wal Mart's detractors with whom I have experience are union supporters. Now to put this into perspective, I live in a suburb of Washington, DC. Last year I worked at a regioanl grocery store for six months. The store happens to be a union shop. Thankfully I live in Virginia which is a right to work state so I wasn't required to join the union.

So this union shop does not offer full-time cashier positions to new hires. All new cashiers are "part-time" employees and not eligible for benefits. I regularly worked 35 to 39 hours per week as a "part-time" employee. I seem to recall accusations of similar practices made against Wal Mart by union representatives in the past. They do have full-time cashiers, but they only have openings twice per year and they are awarded by seniority.

Also, starting pay for cashiers with no prior experience was $6.60 per hour in 2007 in our nation's capitol. Did I mention if you join the union you have to pay $10 per week in dues? At $6.60 per hour pay, your first 1.515 hours each and every week go to the union. There's also a $50 fee to join, but they usually waive it. That is so magnanimous of them.

And for this incredible job opportunity you get to deal with all the usual idiots who shop at your local grocery store. You're expected to learn where everything is in the store, because we all know cashier = information booth attendant. You're encouraged to memorize pages of product codes to speed check out of produce and other non-barcoded items. Speaking of produce, you really need to learn to recognize all the different fruits and vegetables -- exotic as well as mundane. It may not be rocket science, but it isn't simple either.

So how was the wonderful union contract better for the cashiers than if they worked at Wal Mart? The quick and dirty answer is... it wasn't. But we won't let facts get in the way of a good rant against an evil, non-union shop.

Having said all that, I did enjoy the job and would have probably stayed if the pay was better. I probably would have had a full-time position a month or two later since I was the most senior part-timer at my store when I left. Employee turnover is incredibly high, which is neither surprising nor unusual.

This most be a new store because this holiday season Wal-mart was at the short end of the holiday spending spree.

Because the problems with the poison on toys.

funny but in Atlanta 10 dollars an hour can not help you live on your own unless is to supplement another income.

I know because my daughter try to looks for jobs in the Atlanta area with a degree on her side and most employers do not want to pay more than 10 dollars, after doing the math it wasn't worth it.

This will play real good for the jobs creation in the overall employment numbers for the month.

I can see the head lines, "we created jobs" so America is doing great"

reply to post by mattifikation


You're in the wrong job. This one sentence gave you away - bolded part:

Originally posted by mattifikation
The pay is dirt, the benefits are overpriced and pay out too little, and a large percentage of the customers are either stupid or disgusting.

Your attitude disqualifies you for a job that deals with customers. Go somewhere where you'll be happier.

Your post proves my point, to an extent. If you feel that you have no special skills that make you ideal for the job, then you are part of the reason they can justify paying dirt. If you feel we don't deserve to be paid more, then why on earth should Wal-Mart feel that we deserve more money?

Don't take this the wrong way, but you sound like the typical "good enough" worker that Wal-Mart is used to employing and barely paying. When I look at the people I work with in my store, the ones who do their job well say it's hard. The ones who think it's easy are the ones who are coasting through the job without really putting their heart into it. Guess who's picking up the slack?

I'm not judging you though. I've never seen you work, I'm just making an observation about how things are in my own store. Maybe yours is managed in such a way that it's easier for you to get things done. Mine isn't.

I'm not saying we should be making the same cash flow as somebody at Raytheon with a Master's in rocket science. I'm just saying that we should be doing a little better than hovering just over minimum wage with terrible benefits. Don't let the propaganda they feed you at the grass roots meetings fool you, industry observers scoff at the pay and benefits Wal-Mart offers.

At any rate, I think maybe you've slightly misunderstood my point. I'm not saying Wal-Mart should just hand out raises all of a sudden. I'm saying that Wal-Mart has low expectations, and that's why they offer low pay. If they raised their expectations they would have better salespeople, and therefor better sales. This would translate into better profit for the company, and hopefully slightly larger pay. Even if the wages didn't go up, bonus checks would, and possibly even stock value.

I am not saying they should just give me a raise because I bust my hump for them. That would be arrogant. Truth be told, I could quite easily answer every question by pointing to an aisle and letting people read off the boxes. I prefer to do my job well, and it shows. If you came shopping in my department and asked one of the other associates here a question, 9 times out of 10 they'll just tell you to go find me.

I should have worded my post more constructively and less like whining. For that I apologize. But I still feel that if Wal-Mart raised their expectations, I would meet them. Others would not meet them. This would "trim the fat" and help the company immensely by decreasing the job turnover rate, lowering training costs, improving sales, and filling jobs with people who actually do them.

Jsobecky:

I guarantee you that everyone on earth has met people that they think are either stupid or disgusting. The only thing that varies between different people is the way they handle the situation. What qualifies me for a job serving customers is how I TREAT people.

Originally posted by mattifikation
That might not seem like such a big deal, but to do the job well actually requires a bigger skill set than you might think. I'm knowledgeable in computers in fields ranging from networking, to parts replacement, to software and games. I have to know all about televisions, from the different kinds, to the numerous types of inputs, to the dvd players and surround sound systems, plus how to hook it all up. I have to know about stereos, video game consoles, and telephones.

kudos... i wonder what walmart you work at, because all the ones by me are the opposite. Nobody knows ANYTHING.

reply to post by mattifikation


I'm sorry to say this, no offense, but public school teachers make about 45-50k salary, depending on where you live though. Professors at universities or colleges make about 100k or more.

reasons i hate walmart:

1) people hogging isles even after giving me a glance - if you see that i'm trying to get around you, why don't you exercise some frickin courtesy and move your ass? am i the only one that moves out of the way for people?

2) eating food off the shelves or from the mcdonald's at the front of the store and leaving food wrapers on the shelves and in the shopping carts (which are always destroyed to the point of not being able to push them in a straight line or without them shaking from one of the wheels being messed up). if you're going to eat in the store at least throw your crap away in the baskets that are RIGHT NEXT TO THE CART RETURNS. and don't let your kids get sticky candy goo all over the damn handle bar!

3) if you're going to have peak periods, STAFF THE CHECKOUT LANES! it's almost a given that i'll wait in line for 20 minutes because they have 5 out of 30 lanes open. there's self-checkout but the systems are always so screwed up (scales needing calibrated, cash only, credit only, etc) that they're almost not an option.

i started shopping at target across the street initially and it was like walking into paradise. yeah, it's just another big box retail place, but it was a FAR more pleasant experience. i'll pay an extra few cents on each product here and there for that. they just opened one down the street from us and it's equally pleasant. haven't been to walmart in over a month and we used to do 100% of our shopping there - food and all.

reply to post by indierockalien


At $10 an hour, 1/3 of your paycheck isn't disappearing. 0/3 of it is. The only people paying 1/3 of their paycheck are those with absolutely no deductions making 100+ grand a year. It IS a shame though, I'd prefer that we all be taxed equally. Then we can have that corporate fascism that you talked about which doesn't exist yet

I am also unsure of why everyone thinks a college degree guarantees them a job. So many people have degrees that it is becoming like a high school diploma. A college degree means nothing, and soon neither will a graduate degree. If you want to get a job, get a college degree in something where there is a _demand_ - and that is NOT english, philosophy, theatre, etc.

[edit on 11-1-2008 by LightinDarkness]

scientist,

That's exactly what I'm talking about. Wal-Mart has all kinds of rules about how we should act at our job, but I've never once heard of any rule requiring us to know our departments. I once tried to find an answer about firearms in sporting goods, and after asking every associate there and two different managers I joined a gun forum somewhere and asked people who knew what they were talking about.

I tried to share the information with the people in sporting goods, they just kind of shrugged me off and weren't interested in knowing. I was trying to find out the minimum length allowed for a shotgun barrel, by the way, which turns out to be basic knowledge for people who know anything about guns.

And that's what I mean by raising expectations. If Wal-Mart is going to hire somebody to sell something, they should hire somebody who knows something about it. I once had a manager flat out tell me that they don't take product knowledge into account when filling a position, because they will supposedly "learn it while they're on the job."

Product knowledge training comes in the form of "CBL" or "Computer Based Learning," where you watch boring videos and then take tests to see how much you remembered. The problem is, you can pass these tests with abysmal scores and the CBLs generally offer incomplete information that barely touches on the actual information you need to do the job.

mattifikation,

I've given you a star for your post.And not because it is rant,but because you seem to be a decent and logical individual who is just raising some points in a polite manner.
It looks like you can do your own training and research.Do it each day,keep at it and change your job.Don't expect a big company to care about you,they never do.
If you have the ability and stamina to learn 24 hours a day and keep on top of things,i believe you will be able to find something better.
I might be wrong,but then again,is just my opinion.
Good luck to you.
As a side note,I've been in this store only 5 times since it opened in Canada.I have no intention of going there again,and will leave it at that.

reply to post by mattifikation


I'm with you on this one Matt! After selling-out to the Corporatocracy and shipping all of our viable jobs overseas so some fat-bastard CEO could go from making $18 million a year to $26 million a year, the government has seen fit to skew the employment numbers to include such schlep BS slave-wage labor jobs in their "Jobs report" that it is fooling people into believing that the unemployment rate is lower than it really is. The problem here is that these "New" jobs that are being created don't provide anything CLOSE to a living wage. In fact, you'd need at least 2 of them, full-time, to be able to make it. Let's face it - that doesn't bode too well for America.

What I find upsetting is all of the people yammering about - get and education and get a better job. Um, apparently those folks don't get the law of availability. Let me give an example - real and truthful - I worked for years selling Engineering and Manufacturing software - very high-end stuff. I dealt with BSME's, MSME's, PE's and PhD's (That's Bachelor of Science Mechanical Engineering, Master of Science Mechanical Engineering, Professional Engineers and Doctorates). These guys made PHAT money. After NAFTA and other such treasonous corporate sell-outs allowed by the government a great many of them lost their jobs. The shop floor people lost their jobs and people in my industry - the support arm of manufacturing lost their jobs. People in my community - rustbelt city - couldn't find similar jobs because they didn't exist. A number of these people worked their asses off to reinvent themselves; some back to school, some to training some to new industries altogether to start over. Sadly though, the majority of them wound up working dead-end jobs for half the pay or less than what they were making before! To make matters worse, they were holding mortgages and such and simply couldn't pick up and move.

The point I'm trying to make is that the government (Corporate whores that they are) would have us believe that a Wal-mart job is a replacement for an Engineering or manufacturing job. THEY ARE NOT! This service economy is the death of middle-class Amerika and people had better wake up and do something about it now. The only people benfitting are the Walton WHORES for selling out Amerika.

Oh, and by the way, the minimum length permitted for a shotgun barrel is 18 inches.