Wal-Mart try to look good for the medias !

[member5726]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...64&e=4&u=/nm/20050405/ts_nm/retail_walmart_dc

They try to look good for the cameras, those bastard... :ban: :thefinger


One store here in Quebec was about to bring the union in, but suddenly the store was "profitable" so they will close in a few weeks...

 

[XanderJack]

Wal-Mart, I hate that store so much. Yet I am drawn to their low prices, if only I weren't so cheap I could keep from going there.

 

[foxycougar]

Me too, Xander...I hate going there but it's so much cheaper than everywhere else..

 

[DangerousMunkey]

Let it burn!

Having worked for a year as a teenager within the Wallmart industry all I can do is quote from what was writting in black permenant marker on the inside of the nasty employee bathroom stall: "Someone burn this place to the ground/Let the motherf*cker burn!"

All I can say is the country is going to hell morally and economically, but at least someone's making a good buck at our expense. Thank God for capitalism, right?

 

[jod0565]

Wal Mart has a big smiley face.

 

[juballs]

Wal-Mart= child labour and labour laws being broken all around the world

i refuse to shop there, as i refuse to go to a number of other retail stores and restaurants for those reasons

 

[The Captain]

I worked for them too. They are an evil empire that must be stopped.

 

[member2686]

I bet I'll get a lot of flak for saying this, but screw it lol:

I have absolutely no problem with WalMart (or Aldi or any other discount store) being a massive megastore. It's economics. Supply, demand, competition. They did it first, did it best, and have beaten out many other stores. Due to their massive buying power from suppliers, they can offer things at lower prices than "the little guys," yes, but the little guys have the same opportunity to "one-up" WalMart and create their own, superior business plans/models. It's economic Darwinism. I would rather pay $1.50 for a "widget" at WalMart than pay $2.39 for it at Ma & Pa's corner store. That frees up 89 cents for me and MY family (if I were married with kids, etc.) which we would be more likely to spend at other businesses or save for retirement or university, etc.

Just because a company is massive, it's not inherently evil. Sure, WalMart has gotten into trouble and controversy for some bad policies and decisions, but every time a new store opens, people are CLAMORING to work there. They provide a lot of needed jobs in the communities where they are. I DO have issues with WalMart's (what I perceive to be) abuse of influence with municipalities of the USA's "emminent domain" laws. But that's another topic altogether...lol

Cheers... :hatsoff:

 

[juballs]

I bet I'll get a lot of flak for saying this, but screw it lol:

I have absolutely no problem with WalMart (or Aldi or any other discount store) being a massive megastore. It's economics. Supply, demand, competition. They did it first, did it best, and have beaten out many other stores. Due to their massive buying power from suppliers, they can offer things at lower prices than "the little guys," yes, but the little guys have the same opportunity to "one-up" WalMart and create their own, superior business plans/models. It's economic Darwinism. I would rather pay $1.50 for a "widget" at WalMart than pay $2.39 for it at Ma & Pa's corner store. That frees up 89 cents for me and MY family (if I were married with kids, etc.) which we would be more likely to spend at other businesses or save for retirement or university, etc.

Just because a company is massive, it's not inherently evil. Sure, WalMart has gotten into trouble and controversy for some bad policies and decisions, but every time a new store opens, people are CLAMORING to work there. They provide a lot of needed jobs in the communities where they are. I DO have issues with WalMart's (what I perceive to be) abuse of influence with municipalities of the USA's "emminent domain" laws. But that's another topic altogether...lol

Cheers... :hatsoff:

i totally respect that nighfly, but i would be fine if the wal mart corporation had lower prices because it was best for the consumer but it isnt.
they have lower prices cause then can, because they dont pay the people manufacturing the goods enough.
i will shop at wal mart when a 13 year old chinese girl dosent manufacture the goods that i can buy at another store for 3 dollars more
i know that what is to say that this troe dosent do the same thing, well wal mart has been prove to do theis and if any other stor does it i would cease to shop there as well

 

[QBall1970]

I guess I'll add my own two cents into the fray:

Back when Sam Walton was still alive and Wal-Mart hadn't yet even begun to stay open 24 hours a day, let alone have MEGA-stores, it was a nice place to shop. The stores were clean, the help seemed genuinely interested in providing quality custoemr service to their customers, and EVERYONE took pride in their jobs, no matter how menial.

Now that the old man has been dead for ten years or so, the whole concept of what he created has been turned upside down and inside out. I get so damned frustrated every single time I go to a Wal-Mart SuperStore. Either there aren't enough cashiers manning their stations or they're all off ina corner gabbing and laughing with each other.

My girlfriend and I just went to Wal-Mart earlier tonight to pick up some items for her new job and I took notice then of just how inattentive the staff was to the customers. It seemed as if the door greeters were the only ones who spoke to us with ANY semblance of hospitality in their voices.

I guess I come from the old school train of thought with respect to the fact that you treat the customer like GOLD. I mean, I look at it this way:

MY MONEY NOT ONLY HELPS TO PAY YOUR SALARY, BUT IT KEEPS THE STORE IN BUSINESS.

I want to be treated with respect; with deference. Don't tell me, "What?!" when I ask you a simple question about a product in your department. YOU are there to help ME... the customer, not the other way around, buddy boy. I'm asking because I genuinely want to know about the product. I'm not asking my question to tear you away from your oh-so-important conversation with Jimmy Joe-Bob about who fucked whom last night. Get off of your lazy fucking ass and do the job that they HIRED you for; quit riding the clock and collecting a measly paycheck that pales in comparison to the salaries I have made.

I vented to 'K' tonight about how many people take it for granted that they are employed by such a HUGE corporation. They come in, punch a clock, and stand around bullshitting with each other... I can almost guarantee 100% that that crap wouldn't have happened under the old man if he were still alive.

Anyway...

I've become more and more increasingly frustrated with the Wal-Mart concept here lately... unfortunately, they do offer lower prices on a LOT of things. But I've been asking myself more & more frequently: is it really worth the hassle of dealing with people who would rather stand around bullshitting about silly shit and not performing the jobs for which they were HIRED for... or go somewhere else where the prices are higher and actually get quality CUSTOMER SERVICE?????

I dunno... :dunno:

If more people would voice their complaints, I truly believe that the Walton family would be forced to re-think the direction in which their stores are headed.

Whatever happened to:

> Taking pride in your job;
> Greeting people with a sincere smile;
> Providing QUALITY customer service;
> Ensuring that the customer is SATISFIED.

Three months ago I was BEGGING Wal-Mart to hire me. After FOUR interviews they told me I was "over-qualified"...

Maybe I'm "over-qualified" because I DO believe in the above characteristics, traits, and qualities of a REAL Customer Service Representative.


Regardless... rant OVER. Sorry, y'all... I just got started and couldn't stop.

:hatsoff: :thumbsup:

 

[Slackercrumbs]

Be fair to the wal-mart employees...no one wants to do their job no matter where you go.

 

[The Captain]

I guess I'll add my own two cents into the fray:

Back when Sam Walton was still alive and Wal-Mart hadn't yet even begun to stay open 24 hours a day, let alone have MEGA-stores, it was a nice place to shop. The stores were clean, the help seemed genuinely interested in providing quality custoemr service to their customers, and EVERYONE took pride in their jobs, no matter how menial.

Now that the old man has been dead for ten years or so, the whole concept of what he created has been turned upside down and inside out. I get so damned frustrated every single time I go to a Wal-Mart SuperStore. Either there aren't enough cashiers manning their stations or they're all off ina corner gabbing and laughing with each other.

My girlfriend and I just went to Wal-Mart earlier tonight to pick up some items for her new job and I took notice then of just how inattentive the staff was to the customers. It seemed as if the door greeters were the only ones who spoke to us with ANY semblance of hospitality in their voices.

I guess I come from the old school train of thought with respect to the fact that you treat the customer like GOLD. I mean, I look at it this way:

MY MONEY NOT ONLY HELPS TO PAY YOUR SALARY, BUT IT KEEPS THE STORE IN BUSINESS.

I want to be treated with respect; with deference. Don't tell me, "What?!" when I ask you a simple question about a product in your department. YOU are there to help ME... the customer, not the other way around, buddy boy. I'm asking because I genuinely want to know about the product. I'm not asking my question to tear you away from your oh-so-important conversation with Jimmy Joe-Bob about who fucked whom last night. Get off of your lazy fucking ass and do the job that they HIRED you for; quit riding the clock and collecting a measly paycheck that pales in comparison to the salaries I have made.

I vented to 'K' tonight about how many people take it for granted that they are employed by such a HUGE corporation. They come in, punch a clock, and stand around bullshitting with each other... I can almost guarantee 100% that that crap wouldn't have happened under the old man if he were still alive.

Anyway...

I've become more and more increasingly frustrated with the Wal-Mart concept here lately... unfortunately, they do offer lower prices on a LOT of things. But I've been asking myself more & more frequently: is it really worth the hassle of dealing with people who would rather stand around bullshitting about silly shit and not performing the jobs for which they were HIRED for... or go somewhere else where the prices are higher and actually get quality CUSTOMER SERVICE?????

I dunno... :dunno:

If more people would voice their complaints, I truly believe that the Walton family would be forced to re-think the direction in which their stores are headed.

Whatever happened to:

> Taking pride in your job;
> Greeting people with a sincere smile;
> Providing QUALITY customer service;
> Ensuring that the customer is SATISFIED.

Three months ago I was BEGGING Wal-Mart to hire me. After FOUR interviews they told me I was "over-qualified"...

Maybe I'm "over-qualified" because I DO believe in the above characteristics, traits, and qualities of a REAL Customer Service Representative.


Regardless... rant OVER. Sorry, y'all... I just got started and couldn't stop.

:hatsoff: :thumbsup:

The problem is the employees are treated extremely bad. I know first hand, I worked for them. They constantly screw employees out of hourly pay, via their computer system. They shafted me to high heaven. They won't honor a doctors excuse for anything. If you get one of them from your doctor, they will let you go. Ask for a day off regardless of the reason, they let you go. Managment will always lie to you to protect themselves. There are many other things that they do, and they get away with it because they kiss the governments ass and the gov. looks the other way. The only reason people work there is because they need a job and can't get one anywhere else. So don't bash the people that work there, bash the evil expliotive company that you chose to shop at. I will NEVER shop there if I can avoid it, and even then, I'd need to be desprate.

 

[jdb67]

> Taking pride in your job;
> Greeting people with a sincere smile;
> Providing QUALITY customer service;
> Ensuring that the customer is SATISFIED.

The erosion of these Principles started and end's with Profit!!!! As long as profit is good, the Hierarchy dont give a damn..... A similar situation has occurred here in Australia. We have a Company here called "Bunnings Home Hardware" which is a copy of "Home Depot" in the US. When they hit the Market,The Company was owned by a Family. The Customer was the "most important person" and the "Team Member" or employee was considered part of the " Bunnings" family and this was reflected by the Service...... When Bunnings was bought out by a Conglomerate, The company was floated on the Stoke Exchange and was quite successful..... The Big conglomerate then set about knocking out the competition by way of agressive take overs & price wars. ......They won......

Now Bunnings has nearly 40% of the Market and the same attitudes mentioned by all of you has occurred here because of Reduction in Staff, poor Training, Bad Management & a Union that has little or no effect in dealing with the Conglomerate.

In Effect, as long as the profits continue to climb nothing will change..... Profits will continue to climb, because the Customer has very little choice in comparison to prices......

 

[QBall1970]

The problem is the employees are treated extremely bad. I know first hand, I worked for them. They constantly screw employees out of hourly pay, via their computer system. They shafted me to high heaven. They won't honor a doctors excuse for anything. If you get one of them from your doctor, they will let you go. Ask for a day off regardless of the reason, they let you go. Managment will always lie to you to protect themselves. There are many other things that they do, and they get away with it because they kiss the governments ass and the gov. looks the other way. The only reason people work there is because they need a job and can't get one anywhere else. So don't bash the people that work there, bash the evil expliotive company that you chose to shop at. I will NEVER shop there if I can avoid it, and even then, I'd need to be desprate.

If that's really the case, then the employees who are let go need to go to their respective state employment agency and file official complaints to have the company investigated.

I don't know how it is elsewhere, but Texas is an "at will" state; meaning that both the employee and employer can terminate the employment contract ant any time for no reason.

Maybe you should check into this, TheCaptain.

And as for the other comment I read about taking it out on employees...

PUH-LEASE.

No offense, slackercrumbs, but hey...I've worked some SHIT jobs in my lifetime for minimum wage, too. I STILL took pride in my job and did exactly what I was supposed to do and what was reasonably expected of me. It's called "work ethics". If you are HIRED to do something for a specific amount of pay, you do it... or you move along and find another job. This whole "blame them" attitude that is prevalent in the generation(s) below mine reinforces my impression of said generations... a "gimme / owe me" attitude.

Let's face it: even MY generation is full of people who have no solid or credible work ethics.

What I don't understand is why people don't stand up and go to their respective employment agencies and file complaints. The more negative attention a company receives, the more likely they are to overhaul their human resources department.

Workers have rights. If you people who are sitting here bitching and complaining about how unfairly and poorly you're being treated would speak out to the proper agencies, You Might find that changes WILL indeed occur... otherwise, if you sit on your thumbs and bitch about it, all that's gonna happen is you get made fun of by people like me for being unappreciative of the fact that you DO/DID have a job.

PERIOD.

All i'm hearing are excuses. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.

"They" did this. "They" did that.

"THEY" are in the business to make MONEY... y'know, that green stuff that people spend like crazy?? I don't care WHO you are and how much you get paid - even if it's PENNIES on the dollar - if you AGREE to do a job, you do it. No exceptions. After all... didn't "they" discuss pay, benefits, etc. whenever you were hired. Didn't "they" also advise you of the Employee Handbook/Manual? Didn't "they" take a chance and hire your lazy ass when no one else would?

You can't blame it ALL on the the "evil" corporation and their goverment lackeys. All that is, is an excuse... and it falls on deaf ears as far as I'm concerned.

Trust me, from the moment I turned fifteen (twenty years ago, folks) I've held a job in some shape, form, or fashion. I've worked in a landscaping / nursery for minimum wage; twelve hours a day in the fucking hot sun. I've worked for Wal-Mart under Sam Walton. I've worked for UPS. I've worked for Blockbuster Video; Omaha Steaks, MCI Telecommunications, Protection One, Barnes & Noble. The list goes on.

None of you can tell me how shitty it is to work for corporations that don't care about their employees. If you do the job you were hired for, you will EARN money... regardless of how little or much it is. If you goof off, fuck off, or whatever - and get penalized for it - that's YOUR fault... not theirs. They are in the business to make money... not spend it on immature, lazy people who are only there to collect a check and fuck the rest.

I'm in the customer service business, people. I've managed upwards of two hundred people plus; PERSONALLY making sure that my employees KNEW what was expected of them and what they could expect of ME in return. So please... don't hand me this juvenile nonsense about how "they" are evil and mistreat their employees. What it boils down to is WORK ETHICS. If you do the job that's expected of you, the company WILL reward you. If you FUCK OFF, the company has EVERY right to nail you up the ass anytime you expect them to drop everything and cater to your needs.

But again... documentation is the key word. If you feel you are being unfairly treated or targeted, document it, and then contact the appropriate employment agencies. It WORKS. I've seen it work.

Otherwise... all that I have heard are EXCUSES.

Period.

 

[asgood]

i worked for wal mart for about a year, thats how long it took me to realize they are crooks, sadly they had good medical , i think thats what kept me there. i cant speak for all the stores but mine was just trash. i will give you a situation and you tell me what you think.

ok so i worked in the electronics department and i actually loved it, i mean i had acess to new games, cd's , dvd's ect right as they arrived so i was happy, i was one of the employess who liked to help people who had questions (rare!) anyway one day i was working during the day, friday i believe. there was me and two other employess (old ladies who didnt know a dvd was diferent than a cd) needles to say the workload was mostly on me as far as helping people out. apperently there was this group of 6 people who shoplifted around 50 printer ink cartriges while i was there, heres what happened.
printer ink is in the last isle, the put one person at each end (2)
2 people roaming the department (2)
and then last two stuffing them into a trash can they were buying(2)
now we are supposed to walk each isle all day, not stand around, which i did but as i came closer to the last isle one od the roamers came to me to guide me away from the theft buy asking questions about items at the other end of the department, so as i follow her helping her i am distracted doing my job.
same case with the other 2 employes, now the theft is finished and they all leave , seperatly ...done and done...

about 3 hours later the store manager and head of security page me to the back and ask me to explain why i LET this theft occur..first off i didnt know what theft so they showed me the tape...then informed me my job was now at risk.. WTF?!? i WAS doing my job , rule 1 at wal mart customer is always right, help them when they ask, which i did, then the store manager says to me "in this case you tell them "excuese me, i need to walk the isles before i can help you" ..ok, now you tell me as a customer, what would you say if i told you "i cant help you right now, i need to go walk around a bit first"

so i told them my ass was clean and feel free to kiss it and left walmart, as i was leaving they asked me if I was involved in any theft in that deprment..
all this from me doing my job as i am supposed to...oh and the 2 older ladies were not even questioned...so being a good employee at wal mart doesnt garuntee you will be treated as such..they are dirty..but then again i guess most buisness is.

 

[jdb67]

i worked for wal mart for about a year, thats how long it took me to realize they are crooks, sadly they had good medical , i think thats what kept me there. i cant speak for all the stores but mine was just trash. i will give you a situation and you tell me what you think.

ok so i worked in the electronics department and i actually loved it, i mean i had acess to new games, cd's , dvd's ect right as they arrived so i was happy, i was one of the employess who liked to help people who had questions (rare!) anyway one day i was working during the day, friday i believe. there was me and two other employess (old ladies who didnt know a dvd was diferent than a cd) needles to say the workload was mostly on me as far as helping people out. apperently there was this group of 6 people who shoplifted around 50 printer ink cartriges while i was there, heres what happened.
printer ink is in the last isle, the put one person at each end (2)
2 people roaming the department (2)
and then last two stuffing them into a trash can they were buying(2)
now we are supposed to walk each isle all day, not stand around, which i did but as i came closer to the last isle one od the roamers came to me to guide me away from the theft buy asking questions about items at the other end of the department, so as i follow her helping her i am distracted doing my job.
same case with the other 2 employes, now the theft is finished and they all leave , seperatly ...done and done...

about 3 hours later the store manager and head of security page me to the back and ask me to explain why i LET this theft occur..first off i didnt know what theft so they showed me the tape...then informed me my job was now at risk.. WTF?!? i WAS doing my job , rule 1 at wal mart customer is always right, help them when they ask, which i did, then the store manager says to me "in this case you tell them "excuese me, i need to walk the isles before i can help you" ..ok, now you tell me as a customer, what would you say if i told you "i cant help you right now, i need to go walk around a bit first"

so i told them my ass was clean and feel free to kiss it and left walmart, as i was leaving they asked me if I was involved in any theft in that deprment..
all this from me doing my job as i am supposed to...oh and the 2 older ladies were not even questioned...so being a good employee at wal mart doesnt garuntee you will be treated as such..they are dirty..but then again i guess most buisness is.

Heard this story 100 times mate, you are not the only one!!!

 

[The Captain]

If that's really the case, then the employees who are let go need to go to their respective state employment agency and file official complaints to have the company investigated.

I don't know how it is elsewhere, but Texas is an "at will" state; meaning that both the employee and employer can terminate the employment contract ant any time for no reason.

Maybe you should check into this, TheCaptain.

And as for the other comment I read about taking it out on employees...

PUH-LEASE.

No offense, slackercrumbs, but hey...I've worked some SHIT jobs in my lifetime for minimum wage, too. I STILL took pride in my job and did exactly what I was supposed to do and what was reasonably expected of me. It's called "work ethics". If you are HIRED to do something for a specific amount of pay, you do it... or you move along and find another job. This whole "blame them" attitude that is prevalent in the generation(s) below mine reinforces my impression of said generations... a "gimme / owe me" attitude.

Let's face it: even MY generation is full of people who have no solid or credible work ethics.

What I don't understand is why people don't stand up and go to their respective employment agencies and file complaints. The more negative attention a company receives, the more likely they are to overhaul their human resources department.

Workers have rights. If you people who are sitting here bitching and complaining about how unfairly and poorly you're being treated would speak out to the proper agencies, You Might find that changes WILL indeed occur... otherwise, if you sit on your thumbs and bitch about it, all that's gonna happen is you get made fun of by people like me for being unappreciative of the fact that you DO/DID have a job.

PERIOD.

All i'm hearing are excuses. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.

"They" did this. "They" did that.

"THEY" are in the business to make MONEY... y'know, that green stuff that people spend like crazy?? I don't care WHO you are and how much you get paid - even if it's PENNIES on the dollar - if you AGREE to do a job, you do it. No exceptions. After all... didn't "they" discuss pay, benefits, etc. whenever you were hired. Didn't "they" also advise you of the Employee Handbook/Manual? Didn't "they" take a chance and hire your lazy ass when no one else would?

You can't blame it ALL on the the "evil" corporation and their goverment lackeys. All that is, is an excuse... and it falls on deaf ears as far as I'm concerned.

Trust me, from the moment I turned fifteen (twenty years ago, folks) I've held a job in some shape, form, or fashion. I've worked in a landscaping / nursery for minimum wage; twelve hours a day in the fucking hot sun. I've worked for Wal-Mart under Sam Walton. I've worked for UPS. I've worked for Blockbuster Video; Omaha Steaks, MCI Telecommunications, Protection One, Barnes & Noble. The list goes on.

None of you can tell me how shitty it is to work for corporations that don't care about their employees. If you do the job you were hired for, you will EARN money... regardless of how little or much it is. If you goof off, fuck off, or whatever - and get penalized for it - that's YOUR fault... not theirs. They are in the business to make money... not spend it on immature, lazy people who are only there to collect a check and fuck the rest.

I'm in the customer service business, people. I've managed upwards of two hundred people plus; PERSONALLY making sure that my employees KNEW what was expected of them and what they could expect of ME in return. So please... don't hand me this juvenile nonsense about how "they" are evil and mistreat their employees. What it boils down to is WORK ETHICS. If you do the job that's expected of you, the company WILL reward you. If you FUCK OFF, the company has EVERY right to nail you up the ass anytime you expect them to drop everything and cater to your needs.

But again... documentation is the key word. If you feel you are being unfairly treated or targeted, document it, and then contact the appropriate employment agencies. It WORKS. I've seen it work.

Otherwise... all that I have heard are EXCUSES.

Period.

We have gone to the labor and employment boards. They won't do anything against Wal*Mart because they are a gov. ass kisser as I've said. Thats why we have resorted to talking them to court. I'm sueing them mainly because I want the 4 weeks of pay they shafted me out of. If you insist on defending them, then you go work for them. Then you will see that what were saying is the truth.

 

[QBall1970]

I repeat... in the event of ANY mistreatment by an employer or an employer's management representative (i.e., Ass't Dept. Mgr, Dep't. Mgr., Team Leader, Shift Supervisor, Floor Supervisor, Supervisor, Loss Prevention Officer, Ass't Mgr., Ass't Store Mgr., and Store Mgr.) you do the following:

> Document the conversation. You have this right by LAW in ALL 50 states in the U.S. Ask the questioning person to sign his.her name to the document. If they refuse, no problem. Immediately inform them that YOU refuse to sign THEIR documentation and you will be consulting an attorney as well as that state's respective EEOC Representative.

> Ask to see what proof they have of any alleged wrongdoing. Review the Employee Handbook with said person. Request a meeting with that store's H.R. Representative.

> Refuse to sign ANY documentation until you speak with that H.R. Representative.

> Consult your state's EEOC Representative.

> DOCUMENT ALL CONVERSATIONS.


Period. It's not hard. It's not anything that will require any extraordinary effort. It's YOU protecting YOUR ass. Believe me, people, these three posts I've made thus far are based upon experiences and knowledge that I've picked up over the past twenty years.

Omaha Steaks International tried to pull some of the same shit on me back in 1995. There were only TWO of us working in their retail outlet in a suburb of Houston; me... and the Store Manager (who just so happened to be a friend of my Mom's).

She had been involved in sales for YEARS... first as a salesperson, then as a buyer, and on, and on until she made Store Manager. Well, her hook to entice customer's to buy the gourmet food products Omaha sold was to give away FREE product (and trust me, that stuff AIN'T cheap!) for every certain amount a customer purchased. Well, lo and behold, it eventually caught up to her and her inventory started showing up short every month.

This went for six or so months; compounding the problem every month on inventory. Now, keep in mind, there was only TWO of us - me & her - at this particular store. The inventory situation got to be so bad that she started trying to cover her ass by "writing off" product as bad, spoiled, etc. and also paying for it out of her own pocket. Well, her impression was that because I worked there as well - and supervised the store when she was off or away - that I should help HER pay for HER mistakes. Being a new employee still - and eager to make a good impression - I consented and wound up spending almost a grand of my hard-earned money on product I had never even TOUCHED let alone ate and enjoyed.

Well, after about two months of this routine, I started watching her more closely. Come to find out, she was pocketing MY money and continuing to write off the missing product as damaged.

Being who I am, I knew this was wrong and I called her out on it. She became extremely defensive and pissed off. Told me that she would make sure I was implicated if I blew the whistle on her, etc. So... playing the game... I went along with her ploy and started documenting her every move on the paperwork... all the while making sure I kept MY ass clean in all respects.

Sure enough, she fucked up one fine day when the Regional Manager was at the store for its monthly review. We were down almost $2000.00 in product with no explanations as to where it went or how it happened. She started making up excuse after excuse and finally started dragging ME into her little web of deceipt.

I calmly walked out to my truck, got my portfolio, brought it back in, and presented my documentation to the Regional Manger. I sat there for a minute or two while the Regional Manager read my notes and cross-checked the Inventory logs. Ten, fifteen, maybe twenty minutes passed. I sat there just as calm as I am right now; waiting for the Manager to squirm her way out of this one.

The Regional Manager finally quit reading my documentation, laid her glasses on the table, looked at me, and asked me what my motivation was in providing this information to her and not the Store Manager first. I explained the situation and asked her if SHE would trust her Store Manager with ANYTHING if she were in my shoes.

I obviously got the answer I expected. She looked at the Manager... calmly pointed to me... and told her to pack her shit, that she was fired. I, too, was let go for complacency and inventory mismanagement.

BUT... given my documentation (and the fact that I had MULTIPLE copies of it) I went to the Texas Employment Commission; filed a grievance against Omaha Steaks for unlawful termination, went through a series of interviews, and eventually got my job back along with a new title as well as a PUBLIC (and written) apology from the OWNER of Omaha Steaks.

Now...

ALL cases are different, however, employees have just as many right as the employer. You people who are being mistreated need to start documenting each occurence and write-up. Do the legwork, follow up, raise hell, etc.

The more complacent you become, the more these companies will take advantage of their employees. You have to raise your voice to be heard... otherwise, you'll be considered a pushover and you will get fucked every time... simply because they ARE lower paying jobs and they can fill the slots within 24 hours of your termination or resignation.

WORK ETHICS, y'all.

If you work hard and do what you're supposed to do, you WILL reap the rewards. Otherwise, if you fuck off and goof around, you WILL get your ass handed to you on a silver platter... and there won't be a damned thing you can about it.

Q

 

[QBall1970]

We have gone to the labor and employment boards. They won't do anything against Wal*Mart because they are a gov. ass kisser as I've said. Thats why we have resorted to talking them to court. I'm sueing them mainly because I want the 4 weeks of pay they shafted me out of. If you insist on defending them, then you go work for them. Then you will see that what were saying is the truth.

E.E.O.C. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commision)

That is, if you are in the U.S.

> http://www.eeoc.gov/

A.C.L.U. (American Civil Liberties Union)

Again, if you are in the U.S.

> http://www.aclu.org/

Aside from that... consult a labor law attorney as well.

Work your case, man. Observe. Document. Plan. Present.


This is the ONLY way to stop the national/international corporations from taking advantage of its employees.

As for me "defending" them... you know what? It's a JOB, man. I haven't been able to find a job for the past three months simply because the economy here in Houston sucks... taht, and the fact that I'm "over-qualified" for retail jobs. And here you are, belly-aching and complaining about a company that HIRED you... no matter how deceitful they turned out to be.

I'm not "defending" nor "chastising".... I'm only trying to get you - and the others - to understand that there are people out there who NEED those jobs you so sweetly piss & moan about. Think about THAT next time you start to chastise me for actually trying to help YOU out.

I've held jobs that have treated me like shit, paid me shit, and pretty much fucked me up the ass... but you know what... they were JOBS. And I was GODDAMNED proud to have those jobs...

Think about those people who are out on the street... no homes, no food, no NOTHING. What would THEY give to have YOUR job that you so eloquently bitch about? Think about that, man... and then come back to me and tell me I'm "defending" a corporation that obviously needs to have action taken against it.

If you feel so strongly about Wal-Mart and all those other "evil" corporations.... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Make a stand. Stand up and friggin' scream until you can't scream anymore. It's THAT simple.

Otherwise... be GRATEFUL you do/did have a job... and you weren't worrying about where your next meal was going to come from, or if you would lose your home, or whatever.

Do you see how selfish these posts sounds now? I'm not coming down on YOU personally... just your cynical, jaded view (of which you are wholeheartedly entitled to...) Too many people think like this... the "what can you do for ME' attitude is what I call it.

Put yourself in one of those people's shoes... wouldn't YOU be grateful for a job - ANY job - no matter how much it paid? God knows I WOULD trade places with you, man... in a fucking heartbeat. I have pride and integrity. I also know how to swallow it when the time comes. :hatsoff:

One final thought:

No one forced any of you to work at Wal-Mart, right. No one held a gun to your heads... handcuffed you... beat you... etc. Right? You ALWAYS had the option of tendering a resignation, quitting, and moseying on down that golden highway to find a new place of employment. Instead, you made that conscious effort to remain in a job that had already proven to be duplicitous and underhanded in its dealing with its employees. Sounds pretty naive, huh?

Were it me... if I despised where I worked so much... I would make a definitive effort to find a new place of employment and leave that old one far, far behind. Guess that's just me, though.

 

[member2686]

Maybe it's the part of town in which I live, but the Wal-Marts around here are impeccably clean, the staff helpful, and the prices are low. I don't care if they sell widgets made in China for cheap labor, and why - because as illustrated by some posters above, they refuse to take a job like that here in the USA. For example, Levi Strauss jeans, an icon of Americana (blue jeans!), closed its last USA factory last year. Why? Unions and overly paid unskilled laborers refused to work for what the company was willing to pay. Why pay some schlumpf in Podunkville $10 an hour to box up jeans for shipping when there's a guy in China who will do it for $5 an hour?

As for the USA labor situation, I think it's repugnant and embarassing how bad our work ethic has become. People piss and moan about jobs going overseas, but they don't realize that they've been overpaid for what they've been doing. They're not being competitive. People will say to you, "Oh I'm not doing THAT job. It doesn't pay enough. So their lazy asses sit at home collecting welfare and unemployment checks until something they deem "worthy of them" comes along, and we taxpayers foot the bill for their sloth and laziness. It's repulsive.

And so I stand by my earlier comments. More power to Wal-Mart. It's all economics and competition, and I'm glad to be able to shop there for cheaper prices.

Q - you act as if when you go to Wal-Mart you have no idea where nothing is and need a handholding by their associates. lol Wal-Mart's clerks are typically hired to cashier and/or stock shelves. They're not really there wandering the aisles asking customers if they need help. That's really not terribly efficient for a store like that, and would drive prices up. It's not a store in a mall where you have sales associates wandering the store chatting up customers and asking them if there is anything with which they need help. I've personally only had to ask for help finding something one time at a Wal-Mart, and it was for matches. lol I checked the sporting good area, the home goods area and could not for the life of me find any matches! The associate was very friendly and pointed me to exactly where they were - and the package was TINY and I had simply overlooked it.

Juballs, Wal-Mart doesn't pay the people manufacturing the things they sell. The company who makes the products that are sold pays its own employees. lol

Man, this is a hot topic!!!

P.S. As I've mentioned before in other threads, I used to practice law, and I am very familiar with the EEOC, have volunteered for the ACLU, and am also quite familiar with job discrimination/whisteblower laws. There IS job discrimination out there, but people seem to think that they have an inherent RIGHT to a job and that their work performance cannot be criticized by their employer.

I once got a call from some woman who wanted to sue a major retailer because she didn't get a promotion. A newer employee had "leapfrogged" her and gotten the promotion. In reviewing her documentation, and that of the other employee, I had her out of my office within an hour. Meritless claim. She wanted to go after the retailer for sex and age discrimination...it turns out though that she had terrible attendance issues (late, no call/no show, excessive absenteeism), had been disciplined for poor money management when she cashiered (coming up way short at the end of her shift), and a couple more minor issues. The other employee's performance was stellar.

I told the woman that it was my opinion that she was lucky to even still HAVE her job, and that whining about being passed over for a promotion was fruitless, that she needed to improve her work performance, and she then left my office near tears. She felt she deserved the promotion just because she had been with the company longer. It's that "they owe me" attitude, and that's just not the way the world turns. You reap what you sow.

Oh well, this post is too long. Besides, as Georges would say, I want to see some "boobies" in some other threads!!! lmao

Cheers!