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In Hastings we have a Target on the south side of HWY 55 and a super WalMart on the north side. The Walmart appears to do excellent business and the Target, I am told by an ex-Target Corp. employee, has the lowest revenues of any Target in the state. Hands down reason is price. Yes, women love Target. Not totally sure why. It drives me crazy when my wife buys a load of household supplies from Target, when I know we could have gotten them a lot cheaper at Walmart.
Our not very old prior Walmart was abandoned on the south side of town so they could build a new super Walmart on the west side of town. The place is very clean and well organized imo. It is huge which is a bit of a downside.
I often drive to that Walmart. It is a nice one. I don't mind the size but if you had mobility issues or something it would be a problem.
You will find that most Walmarts that are the "main" shopping port in towns like Marshall, etc. are actually very clean and fairly nice but that isn't the case where they have more competition.
Not sure what you are asking but yes, the clientele in Marshall would probably have a higher than average income then say a Walmart in North Minneapolis, for example, as everyone in town from the corporate CEO's on down shop there.
Location: Moved to Gladstone, MO in June 2022 and back to Minnesota in September 2022
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I literally just started working at Walmart. So far I quite enjoy it, stocking shelves and what not, my supervisors and department manager are all really nice, my coworkers are too, I'm guaranteed 40 hours and it's 45 cents above minimum wage which is $7.70, considering im 20 and just graduated high school in may of 2011 and only have 1 semester worth of college completed, I will gladly take the extra 45 cents. I actually really like it, i stock shelves and what not, my coworkers and managers and supervisors are friendly, which really helps make it much more pleasant and enjoyable.
I shop at both, some things are cheaper at Walmart, others cheaper at Target. Some items Walmart has that Target doesn't carry, and vice versa. For example, the cat food I buy is not available at Walmart, but it is at Target. Both serve a purpose, and competition is a GOOD thing.
Walmart has the better coupon and price match policy. I like that Target has recycling bins in the front of their store for like empty ink cartridges or old cell phones. Walmart has a paint department and sporting goods department. I probably prefer Target, and I think their stores in general are nicer and cleaner, but one isn't really worse than the other, other than I guess Target originated in Minnesota. Not sure why one always has to be better or superior. They both have their pros and cons. You don't have to be loyal and only shop at one store and never step foot in the other. Do you only drink one kind of soda or eat at one restaurant or only get gas at one gas station?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Creek Hollow
I have both stores within equal distance. I do not shop at Walmart because of their hiring practices.
How do they differ I had an interview at Walmart and Target, and a ton of other places. They both were nearly identical. 2 short interviews with 2 seperate people, with the interviews consisting of 4-5 behavioral questions and that is pretty much it. All the managers that interviewed me at both Walmart and Target were very friendly and professional.
And both Walmart and Target here use the same drug testing company. when I went for my drug test for walmart, you had to sign in on a piece of paper with your name and what company you are drug testing for. Pretty much all the people there were for Walmart and Target.
I went with Walmart because it was a permanant position, whereas Target was for a seasonal. And Walmart guarantees me 40 hours a week, Target explicitly told me they can't guarantee me full time hours, and that I might end up being part time for a lot of weeks. The pay at both places was pretty much the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by knke0204
What a joke. You have to work 2 hours to pay for the 3 gallons of gas it took to get to and from work for the week.
I don't get how a corporation can pay somebody that low.
ummmm, Minimum wage is $7.25, they don't have to pay a cent above that. You don't understand why it's legal for a company to pay someone 50 cents above minimum wage? And it sure doesn't take me anywhere close to 3 gallons of gas to get to and from work. i usually go home for lunch too since Walmart requires an hour lunch (no clue about Target) and it still doesn't take me 3 gallons. Some people, absolutely it will take that much, because some people at my Walmart drive from places that are like 45 minutes away.
I can't speak for other companies, but at Walmart you have performance reviews every so often and can get like a 40 cent wage. Considering i just graduated high school in 2011 and have only had 1 semester at a community college of general classes, being guaranteed 40 hours and I get paid $7.70 which is 45 cents above minimum wage, I will happily take that considering I have zero experience and pretty much no college education, and especially with this economy companies are hiring more and more part timers and temporary/seasonal jobs. And it's not a bad job, and all my supervisors and managers and coworkers are friendly, which is a huge plus and makes it a much more pleasant place to work.
I'm currently not in college, undecided what I want to do at the moment, and if I am not happy with being paid under 8 dollars an hour for a simple bottom of the line job which requires no experience or education, or I get sick of working a dead end job with very little chance for opportunity down the road, than I can go back to college and get my education, than get a better job.
Maybe it's because I didn't grow up spoiled or rich with everything handed to me on a silver platter, but I didn't expect a job paying 15-20 dollars an hour to fall upon my lap upon graduating high school. If I don't like it, I can go back to college and get my degree.
One other thing I love is after you work there 6 months you pretty much can transfer to any Walmart in the country you want to. If I want to go to Seattle, than great! I can do that. I don't know what Target's transfer policy is, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have something similar.
And I will admit, some of those inner city Walmarts down in the Twin Cities are pretty filthy and sketchy. I have not actually been in an inner city Target, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're just as bad.
Last edited by Radical_Car; 10-25-2012 at 01:00 AM..
I am from a very small town and visit there frequently. I have watched 4 out of 6 Mom & Pop grocery stores go out of business because of Walmart. Direct cause, no question.
I shop at Target & Walmart. Target for miscellaneous household items and Walmart for food. I thoroughly enjoy going to Target because the stores are clean and well organized. I loathe shopping at Walmart but the grocery prices are very good so I make myself go.
I much prefer Target to Walmart for the same reason you cited. I will only go to Walmart if I absolutely must. I was just in one in Tucson yesterday and for being a Super Walmart, they had a crappy selection of national brands. They were out of all brands of curry. Strange thing to be out of. They also had only one kind of dip and that was an onion dip and I was looking for the Marzetti Veggie dip.
In Hastings we have a Target on the south side of HWY 55 and a super WalMart on the north side. The Walmart appears to do excellent business and the Target, I am told by an ex-Target Corp. employee, has the lowest revenues of any Target in the state. Hands down reason is price. Yes, women love Target. Not totally sure why. It drives me crazy when my wife buys a load of household supplies from Target, when I know we could have gotten them a lot cheaper at Walmart.
Our not very old prior Walmart was abandoned on the south side of town so they could build a new super Walmart on the west side of town. The place is very clean and well organized imo. It is huge which is a bit of a downside.
I have often wondered how that small Target in Hastings fares against the Walmart across the street. It seems there is never anyone in the parking lot. Even though I am not a Walmart fan, I have to admit, I have considered checking out the Walmart in Hastings. It looks pretty nice.
I don't like the new Walmarts with all the slanted aisles. They were so much easier with the horizontal aisles, then they got this idea of slanting them and making more shorter aisles. I got lost so many times, I said screw it!
I literally just started working at Walmart. So far I quite enjoy it, stocking shelves and what not, my supervisors and department manager are all really nice, my coworkers are too, I'm guaranteed 40 hours and it's 45 cents above minimum wage which is $7.70, considering im 20 and just graduated high school in may of 2011 and only have 1 semester worth of college completed, I will gladly take the extra 45 cents. I actually really like it, i stock shelves and what not, my coworkers and managers and supervisors are friendly, which really helps make it much more pleasant and enjoyable.
I shop at both, some things are cheaper at Walmart, others cheaper at Target. Some items Walmart has that Target doesn't carry, and vice versa. For example, the cat food I buy is not available at Walmart, but it is at Target. Both serve a purpose, and competition is a GOOD thing.
Walmart has the better coupon and price match policy. I like that Target has recycling bins in the front of their store for like empty ink cartridges or old cell phones. Walmart has a paint department and sporting goods department. I probably prefer Target, and I think their stores in general are nicer and cleaner, but one isn't really worse than the other, other than I guess Target originated in Minnesota. Not sure why one always has to be better or superior. They both have their pros and cons. You don't have to be loyal and only shop at one store and never step foot in the other. Do you only drink one kind of soda or eat at one restaurant or only get gas at one gas station?
How do they differ I had an interview at Walmart and Target, and a ton of other places. They both were nearly identical. 2 short interviews with 2 seperate people, with the interviews consisting of 4-5 behavioral questions and that is pretty much it. All the managers that interviewed me at both Walmart and Target were very friendly and professional.
And both Walmart and Target here use the same drug testing company. when I went for my drug test for walmart, you had to sign in on a piece of paper with your name and what company you are drug testing for. Pretty much all the people there were for Walmart and Target.
I went with Walmart because it was a permanant position, whereas Target was for a seasonal. And Walmart guarantees me 40 hours a week, Target explicitly told me they can't guarantee me full time hours, and that I might end up being part time for a lot of weeks. The pay at both places was pretty much the same.
ummmm, Minimum wage is $7.25, they don't have to pay a cent above that. You don't understand why it's legal for a company to pay someone 50 cents above minimum wage? And it sure doesn't take me anywhere close to 3 gallons of gas to get to and from work. i usually go home for lunch too since Walmart requires an hour lunch (no clue about Target) and it still doesn't take me 3 gallons. Some people, absolutely it will take that much, because some people at my Walmart drive from places that are like 45 minutes away.
I do understand how minimum wage works, and it's a joke. Minumum wage should be $10.00 an hour. The corporations can certainly afford it. The middle class in this country is shrinking fast, and it's because the middle class is gone. It's no longer feasible for mom or dad to work at places like this and make a somewhat managable wage. It's pathetic. $7.25 an hour? after taxes you have to work like 12 hours a month to pay for a cell phone bill. It's unreal. Working capital is one thing, especially in a free market - if you don't like your job or the wage you can always leave and try to find better. Unfortunately not everyone has that luxery.
I do understand how minimum wage works, and it's a joke. Minumum wage should be $10.00 an hour. The corporations can certainly afford it. The middle class in this country is shrinking fast, and it's because the middle class is gone. It's no longer feasible for mom or dad to work at places like this and make a somewhat managable wage. It's pathetic. $7.25 an hour? after taxes you have to work like 12 hours a month to pay for a cell phone bill. It's unreal. Working capital is one thing, especially in a free market - if you don't like your job or the wage you can always leave and try to find better. Unfortunately not everyone has that luxery.
Catch 22--raise the output for wages at businesses and prices increase, making goods and services unaffordable to those making $10/hour. Simple economics really. If you are making $7.25/hour you probably shouldn't have a cell phone if you can't afford it, again, simple economics. A land line can be had for $15 or less in most markets.
Catch 22--raise the output for wages at businesses and prices increase, making goods and services unaffordable to those making $10/hour. Simple economics really. If you are making $7.25/hour you probably shouldn't have a cell phone if you can't afford it, again, simple economics. A land line can be had for $15 or less in most markets.
I agree about the catch 22, kind of like Students needing High speed internet and computers at home.
I understand that, but that's not how it works. I remember in the 80's and early 90's I had an aunt who worked at Fleet Farm. My uncle didn't make great money, but they did alright. Cost of Living was lower, and wages were more in touch with inflation. It was feasible for mom to work at a place like Walmart or Fleet Farm in her instance and still be able to provide. The only ones who could work for $7.25 an hour now are teens, or single people. Definitely not heads of family.
I understand the land line argument too. but it also reminds me of the school administrator that yells out "Well there are free computers with internet that can be used at community libraries" in arguing that every student NEEDS a computer at home these days. I graduated HS in early 2000s and we didn't have a computer and internet until 2000. But I really never needed a computer at home. Nowadays they do, and simply saying "using the library computer will suffice".. It's logical, but just doesn't make sense.
I literally just started working at Walmart. So far I quite enjoy it, stocking shelves and what not, my supervisors and department manager are all really nice, my coworkers are too, I'm guaranteed 40 hours and it's 45 cents above minimum wage which is $7.70, considering im 20 and just graduated high school in may of 2011 and only have 1 semester worth of college completed, I will gladly take the extra 45 cents. I actually really like it, i stock shelves and what not, my coworkers and managers and supervisors are friendly, which really helps make it much more pleasant and enjoyable.
I shop at both, some things are cheaper at Walmart, others cheaper at Target. Some items Walmart has that Target doesn't carry, and vice versa. For example, the cat food I buy is not available at Walmart, but it is at Target. Both serve a purpose, and competition is a GOOD thing.
Walmart has the better coupon and price match policy. I like that Target has recycling bins in the front of their store for like empty ink cartridges or old cell phones. Walmart has a paint department and sporting goods department. I probably prefer Target, and I think their stores in general are nicer and cleaner, but one isn't really worse than the other, other than I guess Target originated in Minnesota. Not sure why one always has to be better or superior. They both have their pros and cons. You don't have to be loyal and only shop at one store and never step foot in the other. Do you only drink one kind of soda or eat at one restaurant or only get gas at one gas station?
How do they differ I had an interview at Walmart and Target, and a ton of other places. They both were nearly identical. 2 short interviews with 2 seperate people, with the interviews consisting of 4-5 behavioral questions and that is pretty much it. All the managers that interviewed me at both Walmart and Target were very friendly and professional.
And both Walmart and Target here use the same drug testing company. when I went for my drug test for walmart, you had to sign in on a piece of paper with your name and what company you are drug testing for. Pretty much all the people there were for Walmart and Target.
I went with Walmart because it was a permanant position, whereas Target was for a seasonal. And Walmart guarantees me 40 hours a week, Target explicitly told me they can't guarantee me full time hours, and that I might end up being part time for a lot of weeks. The pay at both places was pretty much the same.
ummmm, Minimum wage is $7.25, they don't have to pay a cent above that. You don't understand why it's legal for a company to pay someone 50 cents above minimum wage? And it sure doesn't take me anywhere close to 3 gallons of gas to get to and from work. i usually go home for lunch too since Walmart requires an hour lunch (no clue about Target) and it still doesn't take me 3 gallons. Some people, absolutely it will take that much, because some people at my Walmart drive from places that are like 45 minutes away.
I can't speak for other companies, but at Walmart you have performance reviews every so often and can get like a 40 cent wage. Considering i just graduated high school in 2011 and have only had 1 semester at a community college of general classes, being guaranteed 40 hours and I get paid $7.70 which is 45 cents above minimum wage, I will happily take that considering I have zero experience and pretty much no college education, and especially with this economy companies are hiring more and more part timers and temporary/seasonal jobs. And it's not a bad job, and all my supervisors and managers and coworkers are friendly, which is a huge plus and makes it a much more pleasant place to work.
I'm currently not in college, undecided what I want to do at the moment, and if I am not happy with being paid under 8 dollars an hour for a simple bottom of the line job which requires no experience or education, or I get sick of working a dead end job with very little chance for opportunity down the road, than I can go back to college and get my education, than get a better job.
Maybe it's because I didn't grow up spoiled or rich with everything handed to me on a silver platter, but I didn't expect a job paying 15-20 dollars an hour to fall upon my lap upon graduating high school. If I don't like it, I can go back to college and get my degree.
One other thing I love is after you work there 6 months you pretty much can transfer to any Walmart in the country you want to. If I want to go to Seattle, than great! I can do that. I don't know what Target's transfer policy is, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have something similar.
And I will admit, some of those inner city Walmarts down in the Twin Cities are pretty filthy and sketchy. I have not actually been in an inner city Target, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're just as bad.
To begin with, I wish you the best in your new job. Given the current economic conditions and the lack of sincere concern by either major political party, simply having a job is important. Being comfortable with your co-workers is always a bonus.
I would correct you on one very important point. No wage earner at Wal-Mart is guaranteed any amount of hours. Any such verbal guaranty is worth no more than the paper on which it's written. The company is free to (and will) manipulate your hours in the manner which best suits their business needs--at least Target was honest with you on that account. Retail is a highly seasonally-dependent industry. Even if you have an occasional forty hour week through the end of the year, your hours will almost certainly be reduced after the holidays. As an "at will" employee, you can be terminated at any time for any reason (aside from membership in a legally protected demographic class).
While your personal situation may allow you to exist on the pay you're receiving, the "living wage" is a far more important number for typical workers. The living wage is the wage required (assuming a forty hour week) to keep a family of four above the poverty level. Currently, in The Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, the living wage is just over $12.00 per hour.
If you haven't had one yet, you'll experience a "captive audience meeting". This is usually done within the orientation process. You will be instructed on why the company feels you don't need union representation. If you get to the point that you really want to mess with them, start talking with your co-workers about organizing--you'll very quickly have a meeting with the store manager and/or an HR representative.
On a more serious note, be aware that you have a legal right to engage in concerted activity with your co-workers: talking about, advocating for, actively pursuing collective labor action. This doesn't have to involve a traditional trade union--many Wal-Mart workers are taking matters into their own hands by creating informal worker collectives.
Wal-Mart isn't the only offender, it's merely the most prominent one. We've exchanged millions of middle-class jobs with benefits--for millions of poverty-level jobs without benefits. "Low, Low Prices!" has a human cost--whether it's tabulated in Asian sweatshops, the decline of local small businesses, or the callous mistreatment of American workers--in the end, we all share the hidden cost of Wal-Mart's success.
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I had an interview at Walmart and Target, and a ton of other places. They both were nearly identical. 2 short interviews with 2 seperate people, with the interviews consisting of 4-5 behavioral questions and that is pretty much it. All the managers that interviewed me at both Walmart and Target were very friendly and professional. 
