The Wal mart scam

Originally posted by ironjello
wow so walmart is banned and small business can thrive in your town. must be nice

Yeah that must be great to pay twice as much for the same stuff just because you live in a town full of commies.

The Wal-Mart in my area looks like a piece of crap. So yeah, I'm kinda following you there.

Hilary Clinton used to serve on the Board of Directors of Wal-Mart. I am sure if Wal-Mart wanted to have some gov't money they could just ask and it would be granted with a small portion allocated to something.

There is of course an ironic joke about how she was the one that made Universal Healthcare such a talking point during Bill's presidency when Wal-Mart is the poster child of workers not receiving benefits from a corporation large enough and profitable enough to afford 100% free coverage for all their full-time employees.

But why dig in your own pocket when you can dig into someone else's, I suppose.

I just did a 3 month contract with walmart. they are going for a new image, have you noticed they are going away from the smiley face and now its a sunshine burst type logo?

they just want a new image.
the walmart i worked for pulled around $125,000 -> $200,000 daily, and thats an average day. If they remodel it into a "super" walmart they will easily ...well atleast double their profits.

there is no conspiracy other then further more raping a cities economy.


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walmart is banned in your city eh? just wait, walmart has ways around that.
Give it a little bit...they have pricey lawyers. Guelph ontario here in canada banned walmart from the city. Did walmart give up? no. they found the city limits and built right on the other side of them.

A walmart is coming, dont worry.

[edit on 15-8-2009 by epitaph.one]

What is the problem? WalMart is just trying to get in on all the goodies being dished out by a corrupt administration. No one ELSE that gets money needs it, either. You aren't asking the right questions.

I doubt they would try for some kind of bailout. The employees would revolt and the whole can of worms will open on how they are against unions and the methods in which they treat their workers. I worked for wal*mart for two years before my supervisor gave me the shaft . I know how much rage this would generate from within.

Another reason they are revamping is reducing the visible ties they have to China since the economy is in the tank. They want that Chinese like star * gone.
Lose the squiggly

[edit on 8/15/2009 by Soulhacking]

I only go to 2 in Houston, they both Just finished a re-Model. Maybe its a tax duck not to pay taxes and not to show too much of a profit in these hard times. And as you said looking for free money.

[edit on 15-8-2009 by SharkBait]

Lets put on the thinking caps, erm, i mean the tin foil head shields for a moment. What if they're remodeling because when we all get rounded up, we'll be herded to walmarts? they're making them prisoner friendly? its a fully stocked herding station, with seven or eight in close vicinities of each other, a cities populace could easily fit. With all the Greater Value poptarts one could possibly want

You may now return to your sane and rational discussions.

love and peace

Wal mart the evil empire, this company has done many changes. started out waltons mart. went from main building color blue to red, takes pride in lying to customers just look at the end caps for your deals i bet if you walk down the aisle you find the same thing up to 10 cents cheaper they just know the world is becoming lazy and big signs and a flase smile get people all kinds of happy. How do i know this I was a third shift stocker for 6 months its all in the training manual. which takes three days for them to make you into a drone, where all you can do is smile and say how can i help you. you wanna talk about rip off try working in the back near the government claims area youd be surprised how many things get broke or opened by owners and a barcode gets turned in for reimbursment. and the best part its the only spot that a camera is no where to be seen.

WOW, I was wondering why our Walmart here just put in all new freezer and milk displays..I mean tons of them! All brand new...that musta cost a fortune! Im in Missouri btw..so Walmart is like GOD .

The Sams Club in St. Clairsville Ohio is doing some uneeded remodeling...

I was there a few weeks ago and thought it was odd they were remodeling the entrance. The building is only about 8 years old or so.

Speaking as a former Wal*Mart Assistant Manager I can tell you exactly what it's like here in West Michigan. I am closely related to the market assistant and good friends with the district manager as well as several store managers here on this side of the state and I can tell you that it is not a conspiracy, nor is Wal*Mart trying to rip off the people in any way shape or form.

And here is why:

#1--The reason that certain products aren't carried is due to the economy in that given part of town and each sub-district of the region. Every few weeks each and every department in the store changes their shelves in what is called a "modular reset" to which different products are brought in and some products are removed. Each of these products are chosen by the home office in Bentonville, AK. The reason for these modulars changing items even from some of your favorites is not because the company wants to screw you out of a product, but it is based on overall sales of that item per quarter. If a given item such as laundry detergent is a good seller such as "Xtra", one of WM's top sellers, it's facings on the shelf will increase due to high volume and high public demand. However if the "Tide" brand detergent of the same size is not selling adequately enough they will reduce it's facing to 2,1, or remove it altogether. The company is not out to get you, only to provide the products that are of high demand to the given town that they are selling to, and at the same time they also try to introduce new products to each department based on the demographic, psychographic and geographic location to which they are based.

#2 IMS: Commonly known in Wal*Mart circles as the "Inventory Management System" was a computer inventory program put into place several years ago that takes away the "let me look in back for you" answer that most customers got annoyed with. The IMS program is a series of labels that automatically bins and assigns a location to any given item in the store and tracks that item's sales, ordering product automatically so that they are never out of stock of the items they carry. This is not always the case as high selling items can still go out of stock if one individual buys numerous quantities and leaves none for the rest. Secondly this system allows for the location of each given item to be accessed from any handheld terminal in the building and any associate no matter the department can scan a shelf tag and walk right to the back on the steel warehouse racks and get another case of said item if it is out on the shelf. The system is also designed to automatically pick the items during the day for replenishment based on sales during that day to which one associate is assigned the task of taking it out to the sales floor and stocking it via a special screen on the handheld. Which brings me to my third point:

#3 Equipment: One of the biggest issues when working in each department at walmart is the quality of the computer terminals that each department manager and associate have at their disposal. The store that I just left is using the same equipment for over 11 years. This includes computer terminals and printers that they must struggle to accurately complete price changes which come down to benefit the customer. If the equipment is not working properly then they cannot pass the savings on to the customer in a timely manner.

#4 Store standards: Several of the stores that are being remodeled here in West Michigan are being done specifically because they have not been upgraded since they were built. My former store in particular is over 11 years old, and the average remodel is I think about 5 years. This is over twice the amount of time that the store has gone without being refreshed. They are not being remodeled to post a loss and aquire a bailout, but rather they are remodeling the stores because they genuinely need it. The stores that are being remodeled have broken fixtures, outdated bathroom fixtures, some of them cast iron models that are not even produced anymore, and a fresh layout incorporating new "centers" where certain themes can be applied for customer satisfaction such as a celebration center or an on-site chef in the supercenters.

#5 Budget: The reason that the stores are posting losses in so many markets is due to the economy and the application of the stimulus checks. Do you know that the average customer spent 85% or more of their stimulus check on high end electronics and not on survival needs such as food or clothing? Even in a tough economy Wal*Mart is striving to provide customers with the essentials necessary for their survival. If you really look at the trend throuought most walmarts the emphasis is on basic need items such as laundry detergents, food and basic home goods that fit the season. Very seldom do you see special items that are unecessary unless it is brought in by the store manager for that specific store.

My recommendation to you all would be to actually talk to an associate about how they feel and you will be suprised to find out that they are just as unhappy as you are, yet they are still happy to be employed in one of the toughest employment decades since the great depression. Michigan is leading the unemployment rate currently and they are not slowing down. I am not a cheerleader for Wal*mart as we have had our differences, but I am thankful that I was working for such a company that actually cared about the individual in a time when everyone else just cares about money.

Yep, in Cheesetown, Wisconsin they are taking down the old regular walmart and building a super walmart a short distance away. What's odd is that no one in my town wanted the super walmart. I don't know a single person that voted to get the super but for some very odd reason it still went through and they are almost done building it and moving stuff over from the old smaller store to it.

reply to post by nixie_nox


Lol thats funny. Target..Wal-mart has dominated Target for a LONG time. Perhaps not in more well-off neighborhoods, but trust me on this one, I've worked for both. I've been with Wal-Mart for 5 years, and guess where the most recent CEO came from? Target. Some people in my industry actually think that this new "management" is forcing new changes within the company to sabotage the origional mission statement by Sam Walton. All I can say, is that when I started, things were much better.

Me, I'm not sure but lately things have not been looking well. I'll give you an example of how things have gone sour lately. The "home office" which is in Bentonville, now controls the schedule of every hourly associate who works at Wal-Mart. If you have kids, or are in college, then you *need* to close your "availability" if you do not wish to work certain hours. However, if you close your avaliability, then you are subject to cuts to your hours. There is a lady I work with, who has limited "avaliability", now she works 4 hours a week if she's lucky.

Back on topic....Wal-mart re-models the majority of their stores every 5-7 years. I've been through 2 in just 5 years at 2 different stores. The store I'm at now, is due for another one in about 3 years. I would not put too much stock in the fact that this is some kind of cover-up for a Wal-Mart conspiracy. If they wanted to have an "excuse" for spending money, then trust me, I would be making a lot more.



[edit on 17-8-2009 by Wookiep]

I don't understand all the hate for WALMART.

Where else am I going to find my Titanium Battlestar Galactica Mark VII Viper replicas, Xtra-Large Men's Tropic Thunder Tee, Antihistamine/Diphenhydramine Allergy Pills 100 count bottles, Fancy Feast Gourmet Chicken by the case, Race to Witch Mountain DVD, Twilight 2 Disc DVD set, At Grave's End: A Night Huntress Novel book, a Spyderco Delica 4" VG-10 Steel SpyderEdge Knife , Jeno's Pizza Rolls, a can of creamed corn, BBQ'd Corn Nutz, a spatula and an oil change at significant rollback savings.

I like the remodeling of the stores. I haven't noticed the aisle shrinkage that others have mentioned here in the midwest but I rather doubt they are losing money. They are always packed when I shop there.

[edit on 17-8-2009 by carnival_of_souls2047]

reply to post by Kingalbrect79

Wow, Im so glad you find working for them a satisfactory experiance...but wait, as a Manager....
Now how about as an hourly paid associate?
Lets see....
1) the person I know, quit after 4 yrs service, went back after 8 months away and suposedly his former boss was so glad he was, yet hired him in at the lowest wage possible($4 less then when he quit), the associate took the job because his wife was pregnant and he needed to have the work.
2)He found out after the manager was sent to another department, he hired him in so low as a punishment for leaving him the first time...and now the associate is waiting on months of back pay at a higher wage, several paydays have passed and no backpay as promised. the comment "Ill get on that" or "oh they should have sent that by now" keeps being mentioned...
3)the associates schedule is now made by a computer, not a person....because he works in the automotive area, doing the tires and oil, there should be at least 2 people working in the shop at all times, air tools and lifts and such. because of computer scheduling, he has many times worked for hours, ALONE. this is against OSHA regs.....and walmart gets away with it.
4) to cut costs, they are cutting employees hours...if the computer schedules you for less than 32 hours a week, for 3 consecutive weeks, your FT status gets down graded to PT status with you loosing all benefits and so on, with out you knowing unless youre smart enough to figure your hours.

So......being a manager is peachy im sure, being an associate? Walmart does NOT care for their employees....

All of my local walmarts have remodeled. They do this so that people have to wander to find the stuff they want to buy, causing them to see more, making them want to buy more.

reply to post by suthainn


Well let me tell you that being an assistant manager is the hardest job in the entire corporation. I was responsible for all consumable departments in the store, the entire back room team and IMS process and was limited to one associate in my entire foods department alone.

Just for reference for you, having this limitation just got me fired last week because I "couldn't perform" at a managerial level. Let me tell you that being a manager is far more difficult than being an associate because if you do not get your job completed on the minimized payroll that is alloted for me to schedule and understaffed, I get to stay and finish it for you. I worked many double shifts and put in an average of 65-70 hours a week if I got out at a decent time. I spent more time working on the floor to help my associates than I did doing my own job which ended up getting me into trouble. Unfortunately you are correct in one aspect and that is that the payroll is drastically under-rated in at least the division 1 stores (non-supercenters for the layperson).

I busted my butt every day to help out every single associate I could in my areas and even in areas outside my responsibility and yet I still wasn't good enough. The associates had more respect for me than alot of the other managers because I would get out there and work on the floor with them for hours at a time and not just spout off orders. Unfortunately this does not comply with upper management requirements.

In the end I payed the price for trying to run departments with only one full time associate and one part time associate that moved in two different areas. Literally there was not enough time or people to do the work required but being consumable areas they turned 3 times as fast as the other assistants areas that were always staffed with at least 2 people and covered workwise.

As far as the scheduling goes, the assistant manager is as fault for not properly scheduling the service areas, if he or she is not scheduling people to work the area based on the customer count, then that assistant is responsible for your working alone, not the home office. The F6 button modifies a shift when the shedules are being done 3 weeks in advance, so sorry to burst your bubble on that one. If you are working short handed then that is another issue altogether.

As far as losing full time status, any changes in an associates hours must be reported to the market manager immediately by the personell manager each week and therfore is a moot point. They are not purposely put on that restriction because it is not allowed, however exceptions are made in certain circumstances depending on staffing and budget and even then they are not allowed to change the schedule without associate concent. This of course could go to the labor board.

Being an associate is far easier than being management, if you think it's so bad, try taking a step up and see how bad it can really get.

Originally posted by Phlynx
All of my local walmarts have remodeled. They do this so that people have to wander to find the stuff they want to buy, causing them to see more, making them want to buy more.

That is comlpetely ludacris and holds no water whatsoever. This is purely your opinion based on your experience and frustration when a mod is set in the department. If you have any question on why the departments change, actually read the thread to it's entirety or at least scroll up and read my previous post explaining why. It's rather lengthy and will explain why you are wrong in detail.

The Walmarts here where I live in VA have also remodeled. One was less than 5 years old. Sounds very expensive in a down economy!!!!!