Quote:
Originally Posted by go phillies
Amazing how he rails against Wal-Mart, yet works for Lowe's. I guarantee Lowe's has put more local businesses out of business than Wal-Mart has. The majority of local hardware stores and lumber yards went under once Lowe's and Home Depot came to town.
Yet Wal-Mart is some kind of "boogie man." Wal-Mart saves me money as I try to raise a family, so its OK in my book. Maybe I could afford to not shop at Wal-Mart if I still lived with my parents....  |
I'm sorry that I have enough common sense to patronize exclusively retailers that make a consistent effort to elevate the needs of their employees above their
own profit motives. I will incessantly defend Lowe's Home Improvement, my employer, because unlike Wal-Mart they pay us a
living wage. With my most recent customer commendations presented to me from corporate my next raise will likely have me earning over $11/hr. That escalates when commissions are taken into consideration. I'm the lowest-paid associate in my department, just to put things into perspective, with my specialist and team leader earning $1-$2/hr. more than I do and my department manager earning a few dollars per hour more than that. My co-workers, for the most part, drive newer vehicles, pay their own rent, and can support themselves WITHOUT relying on the Federal government for assistance (RE: Wal-Mart workers). We received a $35 Christmas bonus this year, despite the ailing economy. Each Friday our store engages in some sort of new and exciting way to keep employees motivated ("Crazy Hat Day", "Jimmie Johnson Day", "Potluck Dinner", etc.) It's actually
fun to come into work 51 Fridays of the year (with our recent Super Friday being the exception of course).
What is the end result? Compare how you are treated at a place like Lowe's to how you are treated at a place like Wal-Mart. I
never even once had an associate at the Pittston Township Wal-Mart even smile at me, much less approach me to offer me assistance. Contrariwise at Lowe's we have more of a "team" philosophy. There are stories in our monthly newsletters about some associates going the "extra mile" to help out when other departments are lacking. I've never seen someone at Wal-Mart do "personal shopping" for a customer whereas yesterday I spent about 20 minutes helping a deaf woman do her shopping around the store, trying to use my basic knowledge of sign language and giving her a pen and paper to help me help her. I worked off the clock on my day off to help another member of the NEPA forum to track down much-needed tile for a home improvement project, picking up the slack of the Dickson City store, which basically told him he was out-of-luck. The other day I had a customer tell me that I alone was the reason that she continues to come to our store even though she lives closer to the Wilkes-Barre Township location. Why do I go out of my way so much? I feel as if I
owe this sort of loyalty to my employer because I deem them to be compensating me fairly and justly. At Wal-Mart you never see an associate lift one extra finger more than they absolutely have to because they have no motivation to do so.
Companies like Wegman's, Lowe's Home Improvement, Target, etc. consistently garner very, very high consumer ratings because these companies have adopted the philosophy that the best way to drive sales is to keep their employees
happy. Shopping at Target vs. Wal-Mart, for example, is like driving a Cadillac Deville vs. driving a rusty K-Car. Shopping at Lowe's vs. (most) Home Depots is like the difference between getting a foot rub and getting an infected bunion removed without Novacaine. If so many of you have this "quantity over quality" mindset, then it's no wonder why our nation has so quickly and easily lost its path as the world's economic powerhouse. As for me I'd PREFER to pay a few extra dollars to shop at a mom-and-pop retailer over a big-box-store or to shop at an ETHICAL big-box retailer over the "bottom of the barrel" (i.e. Wal-Mart). I don't appreciate the fact that a portion of my mandatory payroll deductions from Lowe's go to help feed and clothe the children of Wal-Mart employees because THEIR employer, which dwarfs my own in terms of profits, just doesn't give a damn about their employees.
Most of you who love and defend Wal-Mart so much probably haven't worked much big-box retail in your lifetimes, have you? There's an unofficial "brotherhood" of sorts amongst we non-unionized retail warriors, and when some of our brethren are being mistreated we attempt to band together in order to boycott that business. I'm by FAR not the only one who finds Wal-Mart's labor standards to be abhorrent. Leave the bubble they call rural Pennsylvania sometime and head onto the broader forums on here, and you'll see MANY others who share my viewpoint. Watch "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" sometime, or even Google "Big-Box Mart" by JibJab. Then ask yourself "Is the $2 I saved on that pair of Reeboks really
worth it if it lines the pockets of a corrupt corporate family like the Waltons?" The Waltons are amongst the world's wealthiest people, yet so many of their employees are struggling to feed themselves without government assistance, even while working full-time? Most of you see absolutely NOTHING wrong with that picture?
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Another good topic, down the tubes!! Thanks Paul!
But I try to stay away from guys checking me out..
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