Low, low prices: Target beats Wal-Mart...

[Dave King 2]

I live near Appleton Wi. and the wal-mart stores around here are spotless, including their rest rooms. They have been that way for as long as I can remember. Its not only the wal-mart stores but all the big box stores, and we have just about all the chains there are. The Goodwill stores are spotless also. Around here if you had a filthy store you would not have any customers, no matter what your prices are. I might add the parking lots are full at wal-mart almost anytime of the day. The Target store across the street is also very busy as is the Goodwill store down the block, which is almost as large as Target.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

KL,



I agree with you. The #2 profile can take over if we let them and the #3 folks can go the way of the dinosaur.



We need to make sure neither happens.



TJR

 

[H D]

My time with Sam's Club (warehouse Wal-Mart essentially) was while in college. It paid all my needs, gave me a steady, reliable income and suited my schedule very well. I never once complained about pay or benefits. Actually, at $11.65/hr, I felt like I was being over-paid for the work I did. I actually got passed on a promotion for a full-time job (mainly because they knew I wasn't there career) by an illiterate, mentally-challenged guy. I mean no disrespect by that, but that is exactly who he was. His signature was a mark, X, and he could barely speak the English language (not entirely because of his disabilities, more of a racial dialect and Boston background). When I worked the shift after him, my day consisted of reordering things because doing it by color just wasn't correct. That's when you realize how replaceable you are. Should this kind of job really be under unionization?



I think $11.65/hr for a very minimally skilled job is generous. Mind you, this isn't the North East, either. That probably would have been a closer equivalent to $14-$15/hr in other places in the country. This was also when the minimum wage was $5.25/hr. To say that Wal-Mart doesn't pay fairly is ridiculous, IN MY EXPERIENCE.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Hugh,



I do not believe the pay is the same at Wal*Mart as it is at Sam's Club.





Tom

 

[H D]

It's pretty close in my area. The only people making minimum wage at the Wal-Marts are the cart collectors and cashiers with no experience. Most are in the $9-$15/hr range.

 

[Kevin Lang]

Most are in the $9-$15/hr range.

And I used to sort boxes @ UPS for 10 bucks an hour starting. What a chump I was.



I'd rather ring up items all day than move literal tons of packages....who wouldn't? Wait, there must be a catch, some reason Wal-Mart would pay so much for just a cashier.



Aha! The extra pay is to put up with the hassle of dealing with customers at Walmart. That extra 5 bucks is "hazard pay". Makes sense after the ridiculous antics I've seen there. Almost as bad as the local Best Buy.



Yeah, I'm glad I moved boxes. Lost out on money, but got to keep my sanity.

(And UPS had some minor benefits I don't know if Walmart has--free food on shift, $1500 a semester for school, annual raises, & a well-regarded health care program if you sold your soul to the union.)