Cost-Cutting at Wal-Mart Proving To Be A Disaster

Customers Flee Wal-Mart's Empty Shelves For Target, Costco



My own hope is that when Wal-Mart craters, Corporate America gets the message that cutting jobs and wages shouldn't be the first move when trying to trim overhead, but the truth is that those idiots have proven themselves to be extremely thick-headed.

That said, I appreciate that this story showed up in Bloomberg. That's a business/finance paper....isn't it? Maybe someone in that circus has taken a walk around the outside of the tent to see what it actually looks like, or maybe it's just the business of journalism feeding on the business of [*SNIP*] regular people over.


again....

reply to post by NorEaster

and the lines were about five deep.

Is that really shocking in America? Man you guys are spoiled.

The store would go weeks without products he wanted to buy, such as men’s dress shirts, which he found only in very large or small sizes and unpopular colors, he said.

Never buy clothes in the same place you buy your food. I'm not a classy person by any means, but that's just awful.

I was watching Question Time the other week and Theo Paphitis claimed that UK corporations have bigger balances right now than at any other time in the past few decades because they're hoarding money instead of spending it. If it's true, I'd imagine the same is true in America, so this isn't a "we have no money for staff" problem, it's a "we don't want to spend money on staff" problem, purely of their own making. Oh well, if they go out of business, the other companies which do things right will stay in business and expand. The system works!

reply to post by NorEaster

Whats the premise, that they have fired so many people, there arent enough to stock the shelves?

If that is the premise, its completely wrong.

Firstly, I agree with the article, Walmart is often out of certain items but I dont think its a staffing issue. I think its a competent staffing issue.

From what I understand, every area has a buyer. Its their responsibility to ensure that products are re-ordered. If they dont do their job properly and the person above them is a slacker, you get empty shelves.

reply to post by gladtobehere


From what I understand, it's not about filling the stockrooms - the stockrooms are full. There is no problem with the ordering system.

It looks like the staff who are there don't have enough time to get stock from the back and put it on the shelves because they have to cover the tills and help customers.

Originally posted by Dispo
reply to post by gladtobehere

 

From what I understand, it's not about filling the stockrooms - the stockrooms are full. There is no problem with the ordering system.

It looks like the staff who are there don't have enough time to get stock from the back and put it on the shelves because they have to cover the tills and help customers.

That was the major problem I had at Food Lion running frozen and dairy orders and stock by myself for 30 hours a week.. It's not a 30 hour a week job.. Then on top of that they called us back to be cashiers and baggers/ cart grabbers.. Then they wondered why I was running around all day and my shelves weren't perfect looking..

Originally posted by Dispo
Never buy clothes in the same place you buy your food. I'm not a classy person by any means, but that's just awful.

I completely agree!! I have in the past shopped at Wal-Mart because I was there and it was just easier. I will never buy certain things like fresh produce and meat from them again. The meat is ALWAYS sub-par and the produce is just awful. Tomatoes that looked gorgeous on the outside and were nuclear green inside... almost glowing. Bunches of grapes that were completely moldy along the inside. Now we buy our groceries from a local store and our clothes and other items from thrift stores of trades with other families.

IMO Wal-Mart can go under. Yes we will have less jobs but Wal-Mart is a horrible company to work for anyways. (Been there done that.) And local businesses can pick up income and offer jobs to cover the increased business. Besides local businesses don't generally ship their jobs overseas and I am completely against in support of keeping jobs in the country!

Every since around Christmas I too have noticed empty shelves..it made me wonder. Sometimes the bread isle has a lot of empty space and the bacon too is always missing. All of the missing/empty shelves are mostly in the food dept. I chalked it up to people buying up too much stuff thinking the price of meat and nonperishable items skyrocketing..but I guess it is lack of service/staff. I never understood why walmart has like 50 check outs and then only 1 or 2 opened.

They aren't the only ones though..have you been in a building store lately? A person could literally rob Home Depot and Lowes blind. It takes FOREVER to find help..and there is hardly anyone in there. Plumbing projects would be no problem..an unsavory person could stuff a bag full of plumbing or small parts and waltz right out the door..I have even seen the loading area open with no one attending.. When I went back to help my husband load up some fencing one time I was thinking..a person could throw on as many fences as like..no one is around..it's a ghost town..

Living in a small town, Wal-Mart is a necessary evil but I still go there only at gunpoint when they are the last store in town to sell something I need. lol

But the article is right on several aspects- they shot themselves in the foot. I haven't noticed many empty shelves but I stopped going regularly for a few reasons:

1). Terribly long lines. I would literally see people with ice puddles under their cart where their frozen products were thawing because the lines were so long. The grocer right down the road is excellent so I go there now for my groceries. When I first moved to this small town, the Wal-Mart advertised all lanes open on Friday-Sunday. Now there might be 6 lanes open for 50 people trying to check out. No thanks! Especially do not buy frozen products- it will be melted by the time you're done.

2). You can't get customer service. If you need the video games section opened or a security device unlocked to get a product off the shelf- good luck! I would have to give up getting help and just go somewhere else.

3). Simple services like carry-outs. The grocer right down the road still does carry outs. I go there. I have to beg Wal-Mart if I buy something big to get help out to the car. But my grocer will walk me out if I have just a gallon of milk. lol

I have noticed they will be out of something here and there so I will just go somewhere else but I haven't noticed any wide-spread lack of merchandise.

The lines are what aggravates me. There are around 30 check out lanes and they have maybe five open.

If you run in for just a few items it can take 20 to 30 minutes to check out. I have been going to Kroger almost all their lines are open.

Originally posted by pslr2301

Originally posted by Dispo
Never buy clothes in the same place you buy your food. I'm not a classy person by any means, but that's just awful.

I completely agree!! I have in the past shopped at Wal-Mart because I was there and it was just easier. I will never buy certain things like fresh produce and meat from them again. The meat is ALWAYS sub-par and the produce is just awful. Tomatoes that looked gorgeous on the outside and were nuclear green inside... almost glowing. Bunches of grapes that were completely moldy along the inside. Now we buy our groceries from a local store and our clothes and other items from thrift stores of trades with other families.

IMO Wal-Mart can go under. Yes we will have less jobs but Wal-Mart is a horrible company to work for anyways. (Been there done that.) And local businesses can pick up income and offer jobs to cover the increased business. Besides local businesses don't generally ship their jobs overseas and I am completely against in support of keeping jobs in the country!

KEEP IT UP! If we ALL did this Walmart wouldn't even matter anymore

Oh, and for the record, I will *NEVER* shop at Sam's again. We even have a commercial account but I tossed my card. I was disgusted to be treated like a thief.

My husband and I went to buy our son a large LCD TV for Christmas, complete with all the fixings like shelves, DVR, DVD player, etc.

After paying, we had to stop at about three different checkpoints due to our purchase. We had security guards, managers, clerks, and door personal constantly checking our stuff. I know Sam's has always checked receipts when leaving- no big deal.

But I've never been stopped so many times while they had to check so much stuff. From the time I paid for the purchase to the time I finally made it out the door to my car, I probably spent 15 minutes being checked by random employees to make sure we weren't stealing anything.

I'm no stranger to going into full 'Oh no you didn't!' mode so I made a damn big scene about it in the store. I would have marched right back to the customer service desk and gotten my money back if my husband hadn't stopped me. lol

Originally posted by gladtobehere
reply to post by NorEaster

 

Whats the premise, that they have fired so many people, there arent enough to stock the shelves?

If that is the premise, its completely wrong.

Firstly, I agree with the article, Walmart is often out of certain items but I dont think its a staffing issue. I think its a competent staffing issue.

From what I understand, every area has a buyer. Its their responsibility to ensure that products are re-ordered. If they dont do their job properly and the person above them is a slacker, you get empty shelves.

The premise is that the idiotic "bottom line" thinking that drives all corporate decisions, and that is most obvious in the retail industry, is starting to cost the companies that are best at implementing that "bottom line" thinking to the detriment of their own employees. They can do what they want. It's their store to destroy if they want. I'm just kind of tickled to see these jerks bleed a little from their own mishandling of their cost cutting tools.

The shelves are empty because they trimmed these specific stores' staffs to an unrealistic level, and then cut the wages and benefits and hours to the point where they can't even get new hires to rescue them from their idiocy. Read the article. It's very specific as to what's causing the problem.

I used to work as a consultant in the PLM Industry, and one of our company's principles loved to refer to trimming skilled workers from payrolls (via automating the product development process) as "walking bellybuttons out the door". What an *sshole. When a breakaway faction of us invented a user-configurable PLM out-of-box solution, and with it tanked the PLM consulting business model, he was one of the first to fully splat on the pavement, never to rise off that pavement again.

I still smile now and then when I think of him. What a dick he was.

I'm just kind of tickled to see these jerks bleed



I smiled to myself





I vowed never to step into a Wal-Mart years ago.

Their corporate policies, treatment of employees and customers, and the fact that I had to wait in line for an hour so the Pig Waltons could wipe their a$$ with another $1000 bill instead of paying for enough staff at an adequate wage.

LET THEM BURN!!

I'm elated. The Walmart superstore near me is shutting down. They can't compete with a local food grocer. That makes me happy. There should never be a company so big that it shuts down the moms and pops. To heck with them and don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

I have been going to wallmart lately because they are the only ones that have enough handicap shopping carts.
My insurance will not cover one. .. Frys carts are always broken and the working ones getting stolen.

I have noticed if you goto wallmart late at night, actually morning, 2am, shelves are nice and stocked!!!
Go in the day, so much is sold out , or not kept up. I Know a manager that works there. they are not allowed overtime and has not had one hour ot in over 5 years. ...

Originally posted by amatrine


I have noticed if you goto wallmart late at night, actually morning, 2am, shelves are nice and stocked!!!
Go in the day, so much is sold out , or not kept up.

Yes...because shopping at 2am is what we all want to do.

LET THEM BURN!!

Speaking as a person who not once, but twice entered into Wal Mart management ( quit pretty quickly both times ) I can tell you that it's not laziness on the part of their employees ( though they certainly do have some lazy ones - as does any large business ). The problems are their staffing and customer service policies. Wal Mart is a greedy corporation that does everything it can to minimize how much money their hourly employees make. As mentioned above, overtime is impossible. Heck, getting to 40 hours is impossible. To make matters worse their policies treat the employees so badly that even a worker with pride and a strong work ethic gets turned into a shell-shocked zombie within the first few weeks of employment.

At Wal Mart the customer is always right. That means that employees, even long term employees, live with the fear that a single irate customer will be the end of their job. I witnessed a 20 year veteran fired because a spoiled rotten woman falsely complained about her as a means of getting a discount on a large purchase. The intent and the scam were obvious - but the general manager still fired the veteran employee simply to appease the faux-angry customer.

Another fun thing. At Wal Mart you get a half hour lunch, if you're lucky and work enough hours to merit one. But the policy states that if any customer talks to you while you are going to your lunch break, you HAVE to assist them - on YOUR OWN TIME! Wal Mart will retroactively pay you for that time - but you end up missing your lunch. Given that the stores have a skeleton staff to begin with and there are usually dozens of customers wandering the store looking for anyone to help them? Just getting to the break room is a rare treat. Most lunches get sidetracked by people wanting DVD's or video games pulled out of cases ( the break rooms are always right behind the electronics section it seems. Coincidence or by design? )

Long story short is that Wal Mart doesn't care about human beings at all. Not their staff nor their customers. All they care about is the bottom line on their profits and losses ledger. A bottom line that isn't going to change in the near future. But, then again, I was born into a world where K-mart was the same way and they thought they were unbeatable. I imagine that Wal Mart will one day go the way of K-mart.

Every since around Christmas I too have noticed empty shelves

Me too. The ammo shelves. Empty. And I've never seen them get anything in either.

reply to post by NorEaster


I was shopping at our local wal-mart just this afternoon.
I was really surprised on how low the shelves were in there.
I bought the last few packages they had in mens' thin,white
socks.The ladies undies were a bit picked over as well.I did
get another 8 pack for safe keeping.
You might as well forget going over to the ammo section.Shelf
after shelf empty with just a few boxes of 12 and 20 gauge and 410.
I did over hear a couple of employees talking.One wanted to know why
the strawberries weren't put out on the shelves?He was told that there
was a pricing problem and they couldn't be put out.Hummm...pricing
issue and empty shelves.

Originally posted by NorEaster
Customers Flee Wal-Mart's Empty Shelves For Target, Costco

My own hope is that when Wal-Mart craters, Corporate America gets the message that cutting jobs and wages shouldn't be the first move when trying to trim overhead, but the truth is that those idiots have proven themselves to be extremely thick-headed.

Well dang it....I see NorEastern has lent his considerable intellect to this topic.

But yes....it sends a fearfull and frightfull message out into small towns all around america when Walmart starts cutting jobs. If you are Walmart you want to look firm in the face of it all....show support in labor and customers and faith that their way of doing things can weather any storm. You know considering its the only place to shop now that eveybody else got put out of business.

Last time I was in there the lady in electronics told me of the small staff. I watched as she left a line of people and locked up her register to personaly go to the back and bring out TVs and ect on a flat cart. But by God security was ever hovering around the ten express lanes....only two working at the time.