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I'm not seeing this the way some others are nor the same as the op. As much as I'm a critic of corporate America I think Wal-Mart and other retail stores get a bad rap maybe. People obviously want to work for them so maybe they're not as evil as people think. They provide jobs to millions of people just like McDonald's.
It's not Wal-Mart's fault you can't raise 5 out of wedlock kids on a cashier wage, nor should you be able to. Also plenty of people are looking for part time work and a place like Wal-Mart is perfect for that. I have family members that have worked for Wal-Mart and they didn't really mind other than the weekends do get old. I know of people that have worked on night turn stocking for years and there are definitely worse jobs out there as long as you don't mind night turn..some people prefer it.
Last edited by wanderlust76; 11-20-2013 at 09:57 AM..
Reason: (sp)
It has nothing to do with the job market, it has to do with people not educating themselves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HollaGeo
I'm sure the majority of those applicants don't have any college experience let alone a high school diploma.
I disagree you're underestimating Wal-Mart as an employer..many of the applicants might already have a job that requires a degree they might just want an extra 20 hours of work somewhere for some extra spending money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HokieFan
You realize educated people are also struggling to find work, right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by HollaGeo
Struggling to find the "perfect" job.
HollaGeo - I've only read 3 of your posts and I already don't like you.
Are these jobs the ones promised by the local political hacks at what they deem a "living wage", or are the level of wages going to be determined by the free interplay of supply and demand?
Anything along the lines of the former is doomed to fail -- you simply can't promise a wage level sufficient to support dependents when not everyone has dependents to support; (and many of them are currently supported by the "safety net" -- thin though it be).
We can't sustain the level of wages we knew in the Nineties because of globalization; we are no longer the only dominant player -- and any politico or unionist who tells you we can is blowing smoke. If you want to go back to a system that spawned two World Wars and a Global Depression -- I'll pass, thanks!
And like it or not, many small employers practice their own brand of "plantation paternalism"; Loyalty -- the knowledge of who can be trusted to stay put, and who will leave at the first opportunity -- often determines who gets what little more there is to be doled out.
And a lot of those people applying for jobs that are "beneath them" have options -- Unemployment, pensions, working spouses -- there are an infinite number of ways to "play the game" of seasonal/part-time employment if one has attained a mature age with a half-decent track record.
It's an ugly, frustrating situation; but it's always been that way, and like it or not, it's better than anything else yet devised.
So what you are saying is that you actually have experience in simiar types of roles and can use those as a reference. I too worked at a grocery store for a number of years (8) and while my experience wasn't terrible it was comparable to what I have seen at Walmart.
Most people that jump all over Walmart have likely never even worked in a retail type environment. If I wanted to advance my career in retail/grocery I would probably rather work at Walmart than almost any other company. The only company I have seen people advance as quickly as Walmart in the retail space is Publix.
The grocery store I worked at for 8 years we had the same store manager and assistant store manager the entire time and only had 2 grocery managers. Nobody moved, nobody was promoted, and honestly almost no one was moved into a full time role. That was in 8 years. My cousin in-law started working at Walmart when he graduated undergrad in 2005 and was in salaried management within 4 years and is now an assistant store manager. Like I said, I've seen similar movement at Publix, but nowhere else. There is definite upward mobility in Walmart unlike many retailers.
I'm not seeing this the way some others are nor the same as the op. As much as I'm a critic of corporate America I think Wal-Mart and other retail stores get a bad rap maybe. People obviously want to work for them so maybe they're not as evil as people think. They provide jobs to millions of people just like McDonald's.
It's not Wal-Mart's fault you can't raise 5 out of wedlock kids on a cashier wage, nor should you be able to. Also plenty of people are looking for part time work and a place like Wal-Mart is perfect for that. I have family members that have worked for Wal-Mart and they didn't really mind other than the weekends do get old. I know of people that have worked on night turn stocking for years and there are definitely worse jobs out there as long as you don't mind night turn..some people prefer it.
I have to agree with you on this. Many people forget that it is W-mart's dispicable jobs that supported them for their high school or whatever hard years. Just like most people forget that a journey of a thousand miles begins with single step. They forget that is the first single step that led them to their thousand miles. They then turn arround to laugh at their first steps. If you put McDonald's or w-mart down, what about those high school kids? Can they hold jobs at some fat big companies?
It reminds me when people bash work overseas. Taking things out of context always makes things look worse than they are.
I know a women making $1.25/hr in China. But a platter of food in china is $1, a bottle of brandy is $4, a customer made silk suit is $300. I personally bought two medications for 30 cents!
More importantly being in a factory at that rate is much more than working outside which would be probably half that. Development has to start somewhere. The median manufacturing wage was 50 cents an hour in 2000 and it's estimated to be $4.50 in 2015. Competition drives wages up. I know of a regional chain in the northeast that actually pays less than walmart. Their department managers make what a walmart cashier makes, their cashiers make just above minimum wage.
On the inverse Manhattan is an expensive place. Making 100k isn't nearly as much as what some might think outside of it.
You realize educated people are also struggling to find work, right?
No, they don't - that's the problem.
His kind of person really thinks that the only reason for unemployment is that people "want the perfect job" or some nonsense. Yes, I'm sure that's why millions of people are out of work since the Great Recession started - because they'd all rather have no job at all vs. an "imperfect one."
Maybe they should all apply at Wal-mart since that's not perfect and... oh, wait - Wal-mart already has more applicants than they have openings.
Danged if you do, danged if you don't, but it's still the fault of the unemployed - somehow - and not the clowns who got rid of all the jobs. Right...
That is hilarious. You have no idea how desirable Walmart is compared to most places to work if you don't have a lot of marketable skills. Here are some places I worked and would have quit in a heartbeat if offered a job at Walmart:
1) Stocker at a Korean grocery store, min. wage, no benefits. Got yelled at daily by the owner in Korean and then fired when his nephew needed a job.
2) A caddie at a middle class golf club. With tips, my average take home pay was less than min. wage for carrying 40 lbs for 4 hours in 80-90 degree weather for a bunch of insurance salesmen.
3) Stocker at a party store and balloon maker. Fun job, min. wage, but hours depended on the health of the business and was very inconsistent. Had to quit when my hours dropped to 16 hours per week.
4) Worked as a Farmhand for a summer. Paid above min. age, but brutal, physical work. Lived in dorm, felt isolated and lonely.
5) Worked as clerk/sales associate at clothing store. Didn't make my sales quota and was told to get my friends to hang out in the store and buy stuff there. Hated having to abuse my friendships for their lousy overpriced clothes.
6) Worked as a knife salesman and basically had to do high pressure sales tactics. Not fun and felt terrible doing it.
7) Data entry, helping a company installing a new computer system manually enter millions of pages of data into the new system. Paid $15 per hour, but wanted to shoot myself from the tedium.
8) Worked the grill at a restaurant. With tips, maybe $10 an hour and free drinks from the bar afterhours.
Walmart isn't the best place to work, but they pay more than min. wage, offer some benefits, have workplace rules that are enforced better than in small businesses where anything seems to go, can usually be clean most of the day, and actually have a possibility and path into management that isn't solely tied to your sales ability like in most retail places.
Thank you for saying that. I have worked for Walmart going on four years now and I'm happy with my job and the company has been good to me. Most people have NO idea how it all works, what benefits we actually get, how much GOOD Walmart actually does for their employees. All they know is that we are a bunch of dummies, unskilled, uneducated not much suited for any other kind of job and all on welfare. LOL Nothing could be further from the truth. If it were we wouldn't have thousands of people across the country who have been with the company for 5-25 years. The starting pay isn't so hot but the raises seem to come pretty fast. I had four in three years. Some people have been at my store so long they are making very good wages AND their 401k and stock options are healthy. Every single employee can have health insurance IF they want it...part time or full time. There's not much difference between full/part time bennies although some things we get ARE based on hours worked. Still good.
Because of the holiday hiring, for the first time ever, I saw signs at the application kiosk that said all positions have been filled. I know I'm seeing a LOT of new faces around and wonder who'll stay and who'll go when it's all said and done.
Contrary to what many on here think Wal-Mart is being welcomed in DC. Yes, there was some opposition but the reality is that the City is underserved for low to moderate priced goods.
In addition look at the unemployment rate for the City, it is always 2+% higher than the surrounding suburbs. Lots of reasons for that, education is a major one, but the reality is that there are thousands of un and underemployed DC residents for which the disdained Wal-Mart job is an opportunity.
So what you are saying is that you actually have experience in simiar types of roles and can use those as a reference. I too worked at a grocery store for a number of years (8) and while my experience wasn't terrible it was comparable to what I have seen at Walmart.
Most people that jump all over Walmart have likely never even worked in a retail type environment. If I wanted to advance my career in retail/grocery I would probably rather work at Walmart than almost any other company. The only company I have seen people advance as quickly as Walmart in the retail space is Publix.
The grocery store I worked at for 8 years we had the same store manager and assistant store manager the entire time and only had 2 grocery managers. Nobody moved, nobody was promoted, and honestly almost no one was moved into a full time role. That was in 8 years. My cousin in-law started working at Walmart when he graduated undergrad in 2005 and was in salaried management within 4 years and is now an assistant store manager. Like I said, I've seen similar movement at Publix, but nowhere else. There is definite upward mobility in Walmart unlike many retailers.
I can validate what you're saying about promotions at Walmart. Over the last few months I've seen a lot of people move up going from cashier, to CSM, from CSM to front end manager, to asst. store manager and a few sales associates taking over departments. Three managers just 'traded' departments and there are several new zone managers. Three CSMs went to dept. managers. It's amazing how many depts. Walmart has! And depts. within depts.! Oh yeah, and I don't think ANY of these people have college degrees but they did graduate high school and most have 'some' college.
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