After a long day at work, I have this to say: Walmart's scheduling SUCKS. (a RANT)

[Terra Alta]

I'm a cashier at my local Walmart, have been for about 10 years now, and despite Walmart's bad reputation, I mostly enjoy my job. Management has been usually pleasant to work for, and most of my direct supervisors have been pretty cool, too. Corporate is another story, however.

Walmart Home Office in Bentonville, AR, controls(among other things) the number of hours each store is allowed to give their employees(oh, I'm sorry -- associates. ) If personnel or management schedules more hours than allowed, then they catch hell from corporate. Today was particularly a bad day. A total of FOUR cashiers scheduled by 2 pm. Two came in at 2, then one left at 3, leaving us with FIVE cashiers by 6(when I left). So the supervisors kept having to call floor associates up front to run registers and give breaks and lunches, which basically meant there was no one out on the floor to help customers.

I thought I was going to have a panic attack out there today(I have had a couple before, and they are no fun). Really, what kind of a company does this? I wish I could find a better job, but I live in a small town and there really are no better jobs out there.

[lpbk2713]

1. Bean counters run most businesses.

Logic and practicality don't ever seem to fit into the equation.

Sorry you have to deal with the frustration.

[Terra Alta]

3. Thank you for your support.

I think tomorrow will be better. Today was one of the worst days in a long time.

[TexasProgresive]

2. I feel for you

The PTB (powers that be) as in corporate wheels don't seem to really care about customer service or employees. They just see dollar signs and adequate employees are just $s going out. It's too bad they don't realize that having enough workers makes it more pleasant for the customers who will spend more time and money. I figure that they aren't concerned that the customers have to wait in long lines to check out since they figure that they will wait to pay. Maybe if customers abandoned their shopping carts en mass it would get attention, but probably not to the level needed unless it were done over large areas of the country.

[Terra Alta]

4. All corporate cares about is making money.

They don't care about their associates or customers. They just care about how much money they can make. To Home Office, an associate is just a number to them, nothing more. I'll bet not one of these corporate head honchos have spent one day stocking shelves or behind a register ringing people up. But they sit in their nice, cozy offices punching numbers in a computer and make the big bucks.

Thanks for your support, BTW.

[femmocrat]

5. I have noticed far fewer associates in Walmart in the past few years.

There used to be people on the floor to help customers find things, and they were always so helpful, walking you right to the correct aisle. Not anymore--- you cannot find anyone on the floor to help find things. Or if you do, they say things like, "Try housewares." Plus, it seems like the lines are longer at the checkouts because they do not have enough registers open.

It must be difficult for you to work in such a stressful job. Not to mention cranky customers.

[Terra Alta]

6. I've noticed they haven't been hiring much lately.

Most of the time when they hire people, they hire them as temporary, keep them for three or six months then let them go. They don't make a lot of employees permanent anymore. And the ones who are made permanent are worked to the point of exhaustion.

Thank you for your support. It is difficult at times, and I'm not sure how I've even made it ten years there now.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. k&r

[brewens]

8. I haven't been in a Wally World since June. Before that, maybe twice the previous year.

Where my girlfriend lives, they have Walmart, Safeway and one grocery outlet. in the two towns closest to her really little town in eastern Washington state. The two towns each have their own Super Walmart but one is a converted old Walmart I think, not near as big as the new one. Safeway is pretty expensive so she only shops at Walmart.

We just got a new Winco in my much bigger town. It's knocking the crap out of several supermarkets, Walmart and Costco. I can't wait for my girlfriend to visit and take her to Winco to check their shit out. She will freak. I hope they open one of those in her area. It's ripe for the pickin'. A Winco would own the road there!

Winco sucked up a lot of Walmart employees. Service seems good. They are quick and efficient at checking you out. One thing is that you bag your own stuff but past the checker, the checkstand is split. You go through and your stuff comes down the conveyor and they flip the door so the next guys stuff slides down the other side. Ingenious!

I hope that kind of employee owned outfit spreads all over.

[Terra Alta]

9. haven't heard of Winco

sounds like it would be a great place to work, and shop.

I've heard lots of nice things about Costco, that they treat their employees real well and pay them great, but unfortunately we don't have one near me.

[brewens]

10. Where my girlfriend lives there are three towns actually, maybe 25 miles between two

and another 30 miles to the south and it also has it's own Super Walmart. We never go to the last town. The other two are fairly equadistant.

Evidently a Super Walmart doesn't require as much population base as a Costco to make it pay. We have one in my town of 50,000 and there are anther 50,000 or so in two towns about 30 miles away. They don't have a Costco up there but they have a Winco. Walmart is of course in all three towns.

I had heard of plans for Walmart to start opening smaller grocery operations in smaller towns. I sure hope not. They will screw those little towns that still have one old school medium sized grocery store running. I love going in those places! Ones that you know have been there for 60 years or more. Kids stocking in the isles just like back in the 70's.

[Terra Alta]

11. Yeah, Walmart calls their grocery stores "Neighborhood Markets"

and they plan on opening up hundreds of them this year. It's really sad, because it will put the family-owned grocery stores out of business. They won't be able to compete with Walmart.