Why do people shop at Walmart? (quality, company, idea, customers)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't shop there.
I used to work there.
Yeah they offer insurance, but they don't always make it easy to obtain and keep it.
When I worked there part-time, us part-timers were not allowed it. I wanted full-time, but was not allowed full-time. At the time, I couldn't find full-time, it was better just to keep hoping for full-time. Then they worked me full-time hours, but I was still not allowed the full-time benefits because they decided to not put me at full-time status - I was to go back to part-time after the holidays. Perhaps it's changed now, but the situation was not so black & white in my experience.
I think it's more along the line of many walmart workers are paid so little they cannot afford the insurance walmart offers and still meet their other bills too. The company I work for is starting down that same path, hours are being cut drastically and few people get a full forty hour week now, raises all but eliminated, positions being replaced with lower paying titles for basically the same job, all in the chase after the almighty profit for 'investors'.
I figure after another year or two when my raise doesn't nearly keep up with COL I may join those people who decide the mortgage and groceries come before health insurance premiums.
This from a company whose CEO was given a bonus package that earns him double in a single day what our average minimum wage worker earns in a year. Vilify, maybe, but sometimes entirely justified to do so.
It's true that they don't start you out at much, and it depends on the position, but they do give regular raises which add up over time. We have a LOT of husbands and wives...and even their kids and in-laws!...that work in our store and many of them have been there long enough to be in the $15+ hour wage for each of them. Some of them have worked their way up into management and make more. Walmart doesn't decide who works full/part time...the employee does when they apply by stating their availability. However there are plenty of people who only want part time, like me, that they don't have to dictate our hours.
The average cost for heath insurance for a single person, no kids, is around $140 month which I don't think is so bad. You can get dental for a few dollars more and we get discounts on optical. We can also get life insurance, 401k and stock purchases. If we have to serve on jury duty we are paid our wages IN FULL for every day we serve regardless of length of any trial we are involved in from jury selection through 'the end'. They will also pay for motels/meals if we have to travel, which I do, because court is held in county seat. We do have a court here now and I much prefer coming home every day. I asked why they would be so generous for jury duty and was told that Walmart believes we should 'do our duty'. Okay...I will! Actually I would do it anyway because I feel the same way.
There are a few things that give us more money. For instance I get paid $1 hour more when I work on Sunday. They used to get time and a half and the ones who've been there a long time still do. I'll take my $1 and most Sundays I work 8 hours. But I like my short shift days so it's okay if I only work 5 or so. We get bonuses every three months and mine average around $350. Full time does get more because bonuses are paid based on hours worked...and bunch of other stuff too. They used to pay out once a year but paying every three months it comes out to a LOT more money. Honestly, I DO believe that they could afford to pay more, especially the starting wages but I'm patient and it will come. I've had four raises in three years and I'm not going anywhere.
I do think it's disgraceful that CEOs get as much as they do while their 'peons' have to work their tails off to make it. It's just sad but I don't see that there will be any changes any time soon.
I don't shop there.
I used to work there.
Yeah they offer insurance, but they don't always make it easy to obtain and keep it.
When I worked there part-time, us part-timers were not allowed it. I wanted full-time, but was not allowed full-time. At the time, I couldn't find full-time, it was better just to keep hoping for full-time. Then they worked me full-time hours, but I was still not allowed the full-time benefits because they decided to not put me at full-time status - I was to go back to part-time after the holidays. Perhaps it's changed now, but the situation was not so black & white in my experience.
I don't know how long ago you worked for them but things aren't that way anymore. It's true that if I wanted to switch to full time it would be a hassle but I don't want to so I don't care. I do know that if I work 37 hours for 12 weeks I would be so I'm glad to work my 32! During the holidays I frequently work nearly full time and am glad when it's over. As for the insurance...it's not hard to get. You just sign up for it. Don't know how long it takes to go into affect though as I've never had to have it.
I do think it's disgraceful that CEOs get as much as they do while their 'peons' have to work their tails off to make it. It's just sad but I don't see that there will be any changes any time soon.
For one thing, a CEO for a national / international company does infinitely more for that company than a "peon" (your word) does. If a "peon" makes a major mistake, they may cost the store a few bucks...if the CEO makes a major mistake, they can cost a company millions.
For one thing, a CEO for a national / international company does infinitely more for that company than a "peon" (your word) does. If a "peon" makes a major mistake, they may cost the store a few bucks...if the CEO makes a major mistake, they can cost a company millions.
Yep and then they often leave the company with a very nice package, move on to sit on the board of directors at another company or act as a consultant. I just can't feel too sorry for them and boohoo about the awful wieght that rests on their shoulders. I don't think they need the kind of compensation they receive for what they do. These guys make decisions that can and do take companies down and yet rarely ever does it cost them personally, rather they grab what they can in the short term and devil take the rest of it.
Yep and then they often leave the company with a very nice package, move on to sit on the board of directors at another company or act as a consultant.
True. Although the "parachute" compensation packages are usually negotiated upfront as part of their contract when they are hired. Without such packages, companies simply woud not be able to attract top candidates to those positions in the first place. That's the way the business world works, like it or not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
I don't think they need the kind of compensation they receive for what they do.
Usually such comments have at least a tinge of jealousy attached from people who do not / will not ever make that kind of money. That aside, when it comes to compensation in the workforce, the market is a driving factor - certain skill sets are valued more highly than others depending upon what those skills are as well as their supply and demand from the pool of potential employees. The people who have the skills, education and expertise to run a global company are few and far between; those who are able to stock shelves or work a cash register are quite plentiful. Hence the former is going to demand a much higher level of compensation than the latter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
These guys make decisions that can and do take companies down and yet rarely ever does it cost them personally
I would guess that very few of "these guys" (and gals) are making a concerted effort to take down their own company. Do they sometimes make bad decisions? yes. Do they sometimes make decisions that may be good ones but simply do not pan out? Yes. But at the end of the day, if the company does better, they will do better.
Often people shop at Walmart because there are no other options. They come into town, bury the local mom and pop businesses with their "everyday low prices" then when their the only game left, those prices start to creep back up. When you shop at Walmart, you're not even buying what you want to buy. You're buying what they want you to buy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.