I went through the 12 step program, and have been Wal-Mart free for darn near 10 years now....

I don't shop at WalMart. But I do go there with friends that do. Sometimes they need help carrying things out to their car.

Just thought I should clear up any confusion.

Any bomb dropped in my vicinity that would lead to my demise. Would have swung the IQ pendulum to disastrous lows.

The business of locking employees in and forcing them to work overtime without pay is not common.  I don't doubt it happened in some stores with greedy managers but I can guarantee you it didn't happen in Bakersfield.  We were told that if we worked off the clock we would be fired.  And he meant it.  Most likely he was more cautious of labor laws and suits then some, but he wasn't about to risk it.  If it had happened in any of the other two stores, we would have heard.."associates" love to gossip.

The doors are locked after closing for protection of merchandise and employees.  They are only unlocked by an asst manager for breaks and lunches but if anyone tries to tell you they can't get out then they aren't aware of all the security fire doors all over the place.  You can ALWAYS get out that way in case of an emergency.

Those of us who were closers needed to be out of the store at our designated time and if you were late getting to the door, you had to hunt down the night assistant to get out.  For those who think that's cruel, you've never worked where you were about the only one on the floor with the front doors unlocked.  (they started the locked policy about 3 years after I started there)  It gets pretty creepy knowing anyone could walk in those doors with  most of the staff on break in the back.

I don't defend a lot of WM's practices but I really wish people who have never worked there would realize if you haven't done it yourself, you're just repeating things you heard.  I had a lot to complain about in my 4 years there, but it was first hand experience and I tempered it with the benefits I received.

"But there are shoppers in Wal-mart whom I believe I've previously seen on the Jerry Springer Show."
Aawww, Steve, I gave you better credit for intelligence. You don't really watch Jerry Springer, do you? ;P

I myself am allergic to WalMart...it makes me break out. Ditto for Jerry Springer.

Fun post, Steve. I enjoyed the humor.

Grp..I acknowledged that there were stores where there were major problems but I made it clear that the problems are not universal.  Store managers are under the gun to produce major profits at the least cost to the company and some went beyond the line to comply. 

When I worked there, one couple worked the night shift and the guy got caught stealing.  He was fired and the couple called corporate to complain.  Before the dust settled, he was put back to work.  I never understood that.  In my 4 years there, there were people who were given chance after chance ...people that if I had the authority I would have fired on the spot as they made MY work ten times harder.  I've always made it clear that I can't speak for the rest of the country..only for the stores here in Bakersfield.  I also know that there are a lot of people who cry discrimination and unfairness if they are expected to actually work, or to follow rules and dress codes.   Another thing I know is that a lot of people are probably afraid of losing their job but there is no way you can be locked in a store if you want out.  And I, personally , would never work off the clock if I was told I had to do it.  I've done it lots of times on my own in all the jobs I've had because my work ethic wouldn't let me leave until I was finished.  My bosses were not aware of it by the way.

I've read a ton of the suits along the way so I didn't go to your links.  I'm guessing yours don't say anything new.  Again, I'm not saying some of them aren't justified but I stand by what I said about a lot of people just read something like that and all of a sudden it's gospel and every Walmart is in the same evil conspiracy.  I've heard it said that Mr Walton would probably roll over in his grave if he saw what corporate has done to his company...and I would agree on that.

Hey, Swenson and Burger, take it outside (or at least keep it in the newsroom)--we're trying to run a respectable website here.  ;)  And anon/10:40, that wasn't very nice, esp. after all the nice things you said on another post last night under your own name...

Anyway, re: Walmart, apparently someone out on the interweb thinks one of ours is a worthwhile tourist attraction...

I don't mind low IQs as much as bad manners.

Get your freakin' cart outta the middle of the aisle while your kid is flinging products to and fro while having a tantrum, don't blame the cashier because your card is maxed out, and NO you can't have that much money in cash back from your welfare card so you can buy Bud Light!

Of course Home Depot and Lowes didn't drive out or close down any local hardware stores or lumber yards.  LumberJack  isn't araound anymore.  I wonder why that is.  Odd that I never hear of them when they abandon big box stores or undercut your local people.  I wonder how Tehachapi Lumber is doing now that Home Depot came to town.

Bash WM all you want..most of what you say is true...but I'd like to see people spread it around to some of the other massive retailers.  You've about beat that old horse to death.

I posted before I read yours Matt..and yeah..I guess some of them would still be in the store when the bomb hit and I'll agree (anonymously of course) that some of the people WM hires aren't the sharpest tools in the shed but that's another story.  I'm not sure if it was meant that the IQ would be raised by getting rid of the associates or the customers.  Was that specified?    :-0

(shock..oh my)

adampayne, I'm not saying that unions don't have their place.  They've made huge strides in eliminating unfair, unhealthy and unsafe work practices, as well as ensuring people a living wage.

But they don't always play by the rules, and I don't always feel that the union agenda is about the worker, but rather about the union itself.

Posted by Drummel:

People are money-smart to shop at Walmart. The thing I absolutely hate about Walmart is when the stock people start moving massive amounts of stock into the isles beginning at 7 or 8 pm. That's prime shopping time for me. That and they always seem to be cleaning the men's room when I have to go (from the beer I drink before I shop) which means I have to walk all the way to the other bathroom on the farthest side of the square-mile store. Other than that, I go to WinCo.

For every instance of abuse by big bad WM, I could recite you one that would counter it, and 'prove' to you that they can be a better employer than your average retailer. I have worked in some type of retail all of my life and at one time have had 7 family members work for WM in different capacities. Nancy II has come the closest to actually knowing what she is talking about.

I am afraid this is another subject that will never be agreed upon.

The worst part of this is that this fella was fired because of a personal comment on a personal site. If this was not done on company time why should his opinion be censored? It didn't read like a threat to me, more like a comment on what he felt he was dealing with. This is like a company firing you because you were spotted in a bar and that might somehow impact the cost of their health care benefits.