Wal-Mart, trying to cut out the little guy?

Question

Wal-Mart was founded by a poor farm boy named Sam Walton. Many people began shopping at Wal-Mart, when the chain began for that reason, that and because Sam Walton charged reasonable prices, guaranteed his product most were made in USA, and he paid his employees well. Sam is now deceased Since his departure, prices have gone up, most Wal-marts now pay their employees minimum wage to start out, the employees who began working for Wal-Mart prior to Sams death get paid a higher wage, and most started out making more than minimum wage at that time, there are now more imports in Wal-Mart stores than ever before and now they are building self checkout registers so they won't need as many employees at all. (except to stock the shelves of chourse. I was talking to one of the older Wal-Mart employees the other day and she told me that they have switched her schedule to ridiculous hours and said she felt like she was being forced out the door. I am boycotting Wal-Mart.

Answer 1

I`m with you Tammy C.. I think only a very small percentage of wal -mart items are made in America. Thats` the 1st reason for my personal boycott of wal-mart , but wal-mart outdid themselves now that they broadcast ads over their intercom system in wal-mart stores in SPANISH . That`s it for me , have you ever had to shop and listen to 2 or 3 minute SPANISH ads .. Stick a fork in wal-mart , they`re done !!! Also , TARGET is on the crap list as they are a french company , and they don`t allow Marines to collect toys for tots at Christmas, they don`t allow the Salvation Army to ring the bell for charity at Christmas , they don`t allow American Veterans to display US flags and take donations for American Vets Families , they don`t deserve to be in business in the USA !! I boycott target and anything made in france ...

Answer 2

just remember their are two sides to every story, why is it they switched this persons schedule, because she was only available to work certain hours, and the other employees are willing to work whenever and wherever, they will always give the associates with open availability preference first and then fill in the hours that are left with people who closed availability last. That is the way retail work, they are in the business to serve the needs of the customers and the customers don't care why you need a day off, they expect someone to be there when they need them to be. And no walmart doesn't just start out at minimum wages. they have reconstructed their whole pay scale and sometimes, people walking in the door are making more than people who have been there a couple of years. they are building self checkouts, to make the customers experience at walmart a better place to shop, so that customers can no longer complain about the long lines, you get your stuff, check it out and your outta there. , I agree that some of the practices Sam implemented are gone and they are only in it for the money, but Walmart is a huge company, one person boycotting it, wont do anything, first really talk to lots of Walmart associates and see if there is a problem and then maybe talking with the President of the Company about your concerns.And as far as Fulltime associates, in the store i use to work at the number of fulltime associates ratio was about 80% and they offer a several different insurance plans that are very affordable for the needs of the associate.

Answer 3

It's a funny thing.

Yes - Sam Walton was good to the people that worked for him. He was because he knew that if he wasn't, his "empire" would be nothing.

With the cost of American Wages, prices for American made products have gone up to support the wages paid to those that make them. In order to keep prices down, Wal-Mart, like many other retailers, have been forced to purchase products from over seas. It is the viscious cycle called commerce.

Prices of products imported has gone up due to tarrifs that companies have to pay to get their product into the country. With the threat of terrorism looming, there is tightened security, and higher demands on packaging, shipping and unloading of product. More man hours equals more pay. More pay equals higher prices to the consumer. Again, the viscious cycle.

While I do not agree with how Wal-Mart does business (going into towns and driving the "little guy" out of business by undercutting prices), I understand how it is done. Employees are bias. Retail is a very demanding profession, and it is one that demands open schedules. Too many of the "older" people think they will be able to work retail, and do it Monday thru Friday, from 9am - 5pm. It doesn't work that way. Not even for store upper management. Everyone has to work a night or two, and weekends are mandatory. Anyone that thinks otherwise is delusional.

The self checkouts are not meant to drive people out of jobs. They are done because if you survey people shopping at a major retailer like Wal-Mart and Target, you will find the number one complaint is the waiting to get checked out. Wal-Mart does this to eliminate the wait for a cashier. It is so they don't have to schedule as many cashiers on at the same time. You have the option of standing and waiting in line for a human to ring you up, or you can find an open self-check out lane and use it. Your choice. If you don't like that, don't use it.

I just found so many inaccuracies in your thinking. I admire you not shopping at Wal-Mart. I don't. But I worked retail for many years, and know the nature of the beast. Thinking that retailers are just rolling in the dough and that they do what they want to just make more money is very short sighted. I am sure that the board of Wal-Mart understands that if they offered more products at the lowest prices they would make more money. They are extremely competitive, and if you compare their pricing with others, even though their prices have gone up, so has everyone elses. And Wal-Mart still offers it for the least expensive. If they don't, give them a day or two. They will "roll it back".

Answer 4

I have to be careful here, I live just twenty miles from the WalMart HQ. but I'll tell you this, then I've got to go. . . everytime somebody complains about WM then they go out and find another product that looks perfectly fine but it isn't, it will be carefully designed to fail in normal service or not work at all by the time you get home and unwrap the product and try to use it. This requires you to return to the store, and take a chance on buying something else that later won't work either and so you will need to make a third trip to exchange or refund your purchase, but each time you may be making additional purchases. And so more and more trips to Walmart. Most or all of these additional purchases will need to be brought back to the store, even if you can keep up with all of your receipts you will have bought so much other crap. This is not just a conspiracy theory. The WalMart we speak is not just cutting out the little guy, it is cutting the heart out of the little guy and I expect that they will be opening their own chain of hospitals to make sure that the surgeons do the job right with a happy smile. But what do I know, I'm just a catfish?
Walmart is another name for a conduit that takes our precious natural resources out of our land, ships them overseas, messes with them, then they come back as some kind of useful looking piece of crap and so we pay for the crap and in a few short moments this crap is sent back to the land (fills) in a form that we have no use for and will probably never figure out how to make that material useful again.
One last thing, WalMart is "not" the cheapest on many items! And even if they want to guarantee that they are, I wouldn't tell them to give them the pleasure to undercut our local companies. But cheapest means nothing, "QUALITY" is where it's at and that will never change. Selling the cheapest has done immense, mindboggling damage to the retail landscape but QUALITY in the end will be the undoing of little Sam's dream. A billion dollar fart is still a fart in this world.

Answer 5

I used to work at Wal Mart myself, they will make you say what they want to hear to get the job. They were based on a greeting system where if any employee was within 10 foot of you they had to say hello. Now they glare at you if you happen to go down an aisle they are working in. Wal Mart has definitely lost its value system to me and I agree with you. If everyone was to boycott wal mart for 1 week they would see what they are doing wrong in America and in Mexico NOW. They only harm is that the employees would also lose their income.

Answer 6

Wal-Mart is just trying to keep itself profitable. Costs go up everywhere, it's called inflation. The use of imported products is a measure to keep costs down. Minimizing staffing, store and other costs helps keep their retail prices down.

If it wasn't for these measures, Wal-Mart would be more expensive than other stores. If all did this, everyone would be paying higher prices for everything. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Either everyone pays more or costs get kept in check. For some, Wal-Mart is the best they can do...what happens when Wal-Mart has to raise its prices?

Answer 7

Well, your right. Stuff there is cheaper and the small shop owners can't compete with Wal-Marts prices. I worked a Wal-Mart for awhile. In a way it reminded me of "1984". Smile, Wal-Mart is the greatest store in the whole world, and always remember that Big Brother is watching you.

Answer 8

Ya know I'd love to boycott wal mart. Their deals are just too good to pass up man. How about I shop there but I just look really angry when I buy stuff.

Answer 9

Walmart caters to a less fortunate sector of our society, it pays little in order to charge little. It is one of the necessary evils in consumer needs. If they increase employee earnings then the product prices go up, sales reduce and people get laid off.

Answer 10

You can boycott Walmart, but for most American families it is necessary to buy things there because it is cheaper. I agree Walmart has killed all the small business, but as a consumer, I need to watch ever penny I spend. Off to Walmart I go.