Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;656517]I think you're missing my point. They can still be the #1 leader in retail and can afford to pay their employees more than minimum wage. They dont have to be shady with their employee health care, or lack therof.

[B]Target is just as busy and they at least give people 8.25 an hour. I think Target could overtake WM if they had the # of locations.[/B]

I've read Sam Walton's book before. He pulls no punches. He was all about coming in, driving the "mom and pop" places out of business, and beginning his monopoly. With that said, he also beleived in treating his workers better..[/quote]

Woah no. Definitely not true. I worked at Target for 10 months up until last June, started on sales floor and finished on the planogram team, and they most definitely do not start people at 8.25 an hour. Sales floor started at 7.50 an hour (They do not give two shits what salary you ask, everybody starts at 7.50 unless you're hired as a team leader), presentation team started at 8/hr, and cashiers started at 7/hr.

As for why you only see 5 people operating lanes at any given time (usually not true on weekends, which is when more people hit the stores), well I found at Target it's because total hours given to workers are generated by sales determined at the same month of the last year (ex: hours right now are determined by sales in Jan. 09) as well as a mixture of other factors(All this determines cashier hours fyi), including how many credit applications you got people to apply for (if you didn't get people to apply for a Target based credit card your hours would be cut), what your cashier speed was, etc. All of the above determined how many hours a cashier would get a week, but the total pool of hours was determined by sales. And you could bet that on Black Friday every register would be open, mainly because more sales means you have more customers in the store and thus a need for more registers open.

Also at Target we practice backup, in which all sales floor personnel are cashier trained so that if lines get too long we will go up to help ease the congestion until it dies down. But if we didn't have a lot of people on the sales floor and the cashiers called for backup you'd see more managerial types get on register because we gotta have some people on the sales floor to assist customers and get work done.

The reason most big box retail stores have 14 or so registers is for situations like the holiday season and Black Friday, which is also when retailers make the most money. Thus you're more likely to see more lanes open between September and the end of December and if you go to a Target on a Tuesday in Mid January around 2 pm you'll probably only see 2 lanes open.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

Well it must just depend on the location/geographical area. I would imagine every single store is not the same depending on what they start workers out at.

For example, my brother while he was in college, had a job at Cosco (similar to Sam's Club), and he made 8.00 an hour just to push/retrieve carts from the parking lot.

The Target in Winchester, which is the closest one to us, starts people at $8.00 an hour, and that is info i just looked up at their website/employment link. However it does not say which positions that is for; it just said now hiring.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[url=http://workingatwal-mart.blogspot.com/]Working At WAL-MART[/url]

I meant to post this link yesterday. This was kind of a "social experiment", by a 23 year old college student named Joshua Adam, a.k.a. "Josh Smith".

After graduating with a degree in political science, he volunteered a year at Holy Cross working with the poor, and afterwards, he wanted to see what it was like working at walmart, so he got hired in the Augusta, ME store. His blog is supposed to help people realize that things are never so bad that they have to work at walmart.

It's a long read, but i find it answers all our questions we may have. [B]he is specifically asked about the register situation, and he says that it is done intentionally. It is done to make the store look busier; which is a part of the psychology and marketing involved. They supposedly believe that if the average customer sees people jammed in lanes, with lots of items, that it encourages them to buy more. They've spent a million dollars in research about this stuff...[/B]

Please find the time to read this from the beginning. Josh tells it like it is and explains his days working there, and you get to hear how f'd up everything is. He comments on the obvious gender discrimination, the practice of "punishing" the elderly (ie making them be greeters during the winter time, and not allowing them jackets because they can't cover up the vest/nametag)..it sounds unbelievable but he worked there for 4 months, or as he put it, long enough to prove his experiment of how things worked.

Their "brainwashing", or anti union messages are very telling. Also the pre-hire questionnaire has flagged questions so that the manager may realize if someone is sympathetic to workers rights, and/or unions....please read.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=Mattyk;656975]lol it's all good, just bustin' your chops

I think everyone has a "I hate Wal-Mart" story[/quote]
Yeah.. and really most retail is very similar. I don't know why Wal-Mart is typically the only one singled out by it. I guess just due to sheer volume of locations, workers, etc.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;657156][URL="http://workingatwal-mart.blogspot.com/"]Working At WAL-MART[/URL]

I meant to post this link yesterday. This was kind of a "social experiment", by a 23 year old college student named Joshua Adam, a.k.a. "Josh Smith".

After graduating with a degree in political science, he volunteered a year at Holy Cross working with the poor, and afterwards, he wanted to see what it was like working at walmart, so he got hired in the Augusta, ME store. His blog is supposed to help people realize that things are never so bad that they have to work at walmart.

It's a long read, but i find it answers all our questions we may have. [B]he is specifically asked about the register situation, and he says that it is done intentionally. It is done to make the store look busier; which is a part of the psychology and marketing involved. They supposedly believe that if the average customer sees people jammed in lanes, with lots of items, that it encourages them to buy more. They've spent a million dollars in research about this stuff...[/B]

Please find the time to read this from the beginning. Josh tells it like it is and explains his days working there, and you get to hear how f'd up everything is. He comments on the obvious gender discrimination, the practice of "punishing" the elderly (ie making them be greeters during the winter time, and not allowing them jackets because they can't cover up the vest/nametag)..it sounds unbelievable but he worked there for 4 months, or as he put it, long enough to prove his experiment of how things worked.

[B]Their "brainwashing", or anti union messages are very telling. Also the pre-hire questionnaire has flagged questions so that the manager may realize if someone is sympathetic to workers rights, and/or unions....please read[/B].[/quote]

Oh Target was the same way, one of the first things they do when your hired is try to brainwash you into thinking unions are a really bad thing lol and that you shouldn't want any part of them.

And I'm sure regionally it's all different, especially depending on location and other factors. The one I worked at, and some of the other stores in my region generally had the same pay scale though.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

The biggest thing Wal Mart has done to hurt us was making working for them a part time job. If you think back to the 70's working at places like Sears and JC Penny's was a full time job with good bennifitts. People would actually work there for 30 yrs. and retired with a decent retirement package. Then came Wall Mart and Kmart. They hired part time people with little to no beniffits. Sears and JC Pennys took a hugh hit from them in the early 80's because of their overhead and could not compete. Both of them in the 80's almost went under but to survive they made the nessary cuts and started hiring part time employees. It took most of the 80's for Sears and Penny's to catch back up and thats what has lead to where we are today in retail. The only reason Wall Mart gets dragged into the mud is because they are the top dog.

If any large retail store was forced to turn union while the others did not they would be gone in just a few years. The only way any of the large retail stores could turn union is if all truned union becuase if only one turned union their empolyee cost would drive their prises higher then the non union stores.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

Well i've always believed that Walmart is anti-union only because they know that the Union would force them to make changes they dont want, mainly higher pay, safer conditions, etc...

I'm Pro Union. I won't lie. I feel like the average companies do not care about workers rights, i feel like we need someone to represent us. That being said, i agree that the stores would be gone in a few years if everyone unionized.

I'll be honest with you, I don't feel that a union is always a bad thing. It can be in certain situations, but for retail workers, it would be good.

Ask yourself; does anyone really deserve to be paid that low of a wage?? I understand that its a dead end job, that needs no skills, etc...but don't they realize that they could change their image as a whole, and attract better workers if they made the wages better??

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

Min. wage as it is right now is certainly not a livable wage.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=Mattyk;657481]Min. wage as it is right now is certainly not a livable wage.[/quote]

It's not intended to be. The far majority of people making minimum wage are not working as a head of household or to support a family, they're usually kids. Increasing it so these kids make more money is only going to result in the company hiring fewer of them, or paying the rest of their employees less since the Government is costing them more for lower-priority, nonessential workers.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;657477]Well i've always believed that Walmart is anti-union only because they know that the Union would force them to make changes they dont want, mainly higher pay, safer conditions, etc...

I'm Pro Union. I won't lie. I feel like the average companies do not care about workers rights, i feel like we need someone to represent us. That being said, i agree that the stores would be gone in a few years if everyone unionized.

I'll be honest with you, I don't feel that a union is always a bad thing. It can be in certain situations, but for retail workers, it would be good.

Ask yourself; does anyone really deserve to be paid that low of a wage?? I understand that its a dead end job, that needs no skills, etc...but don't they realize that they could change their image as a whole, and attract better workers if they made the wages better??[/quote]


they don't care about better employees they want cheaper employees. Little cost in training and uniforms for your average Wal Mart employee.

They don't need to change their image they are rolling in the dough!

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=Buster;657483]It's not intended to be. [B]The far majority of people making minimum wage are not working as a head of household or to support a family, they're usually kids[/B]. Increasing it so these kids make more money is only going to result in the company hiring fewer of them, or paying the rest of their employees less since the Government is costing them more for lower-priority, nonessential workers.[/quote]

The latest data I can find from 2007 shows it's more like 50/50

[url=http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2007.htm]Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2007[/url]

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

factor in too a lot of people that are working as supplimental income to support a husband/wife or whatever.

I just hate it that the response is to treat retail workers and people who work with the public as less than human. Ie) retail workers, resteraunt workers. I wish there was a way for us all to have wages where we can actually afford to live...

And a company that makes a 200Billion profit each year can afford to pay their workers more than 7.00 an hour...thats some bullshit right there!

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=Buster;657483]It's not intended to be. The far majority of people making minimum wage are not working as a head of household or to support a family, they're usually kids. Increasing it so these kids make more money is only going to result in the company hiring fewer of them, or paying the rest of their employees less since the Government is costing them more for lower-priority, nonessential workers.[/quote]
Walk into a lot of min wage places.. gas stations, retail, food service

a lot of adults

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=Buster;657483]It's not intended to be. The far majority of people making minimum wage are not working as a head of household or to support a family, they're usually kids. Increasing it so these kids make more money is only going to result in the company hiring fewer of them, or paying the rest of their employees less since the Government is costing them more for lower-priority, nonessential workers.[/quote]

I used to work a minimum wage job a few years back and trust me. They had people from 18 - at least 50 or 60 working there. I'm making a little more than minimum wage now and still the same thing. A couple years ago at my current job, this guy was 70 at working till he got a new job. If I had to guess, (just like the link Matty provided) I would think it's at least a 50/50 split.

Even at burger joints I haven't been seeing as many kids/college students working. I'm more likely to see them waiting tables than anywhere else..

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;657492]factor in too a lot of people that are working as supplimental income to support a husband/wife or whatever.

I just hate it that the response is to treat retail workers and people who work with the public as less than human. Ie) retail workers, resteraunt workers.[B] I wish there was a way for us all to have wages where we can actually afford to live...[/B]

And a company that makes a 200Billion profit each year can afford to pay their workers more than 7.00 an hour...thats some bullshit right there![/quote]

Did some work with the homeless and we had to sit through a lecture as part of it. And at least in the D.C. area the minimum wage would have to start at at least $11 per hour for people to be able to live hand to mouth. Kinda sad.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;657492]factor in too a lot of people that are working as supplimental income to support a husband/wife or whatever.

I just hate it that the response is to treat retail workers and people who work with the public as less than human. Ie) retail workers, resteraunt workers.[SIZE=3] I wish there was a way for us all to have wages where we can actually afford to live...[/SIZE]

And a company that makes a 200Billion profit each year can afford to pay their workers more than 7.00 an hour...thats some bullshit right there![/quote]
Its called get an education and work hard. If someone has been in the work force for any amount of time and is making min wage then they are probably lazy. This does not apply to some areas where jobs are hard to come by or in the current state. I dated a girl who work in a resturaunt waiting tables and on a bad night made around $100 and on a good night could make $250 and that was back in the early 90's.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=firstdown;657719]Its called get an education and work hard. If someone has been in the work force for any amount of time and is making min wage then they are probably lazy. This does not apply to some areas where jobs are hard to come by or in the current state. I dated a girl who work in a resturaunt waiting tables and on a bad night made around $100 and on a good night could make $250 and that was back in the early 90's.[/quote]

Male and female strippers make good money too so I hear. There's always the pole...

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=DynamiteRave;657711]Did some work with the homeless and we had to sit through a lecture as part of it. And at least in the D.C. area the minimum wage would have to start at at least $11 per hour for people to be able to live hand to mouth. Kinda sad.[/quote]

at 21 I was making 13/hr in Manassas, VA (well living in Nokesville) and was only able to survive because I was only paying 400/mo in rent because it was a very tiny family house and the rent was just to cover the property taxes

that same sub-900sq ft house is now renting for 1300/mo.. no clue how, but it is... there's a lot of land but I don't think that the people are using it

I probably could've budgeted a bit better but oh well... it's definitely tough

I've been looking at prices of moving closer to DC (somewhere somewhat near metro access) and the prices are crazy.. I'd have to get a pretty decent job again and rent a room out in a house..

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

I was born in Va and now reside in Tx,if i lived in Va making what i make in tx I would probably be living in a slum area.The house I live in in Tx probably sell for 95,000.In va probably would sell for 300,000 or more.My mom is about to retire in 2 weeks,Feb 5th will make 30 yrs working as a cashier at walmart,do they care,fck no,they cant wait to kick her ass to the curb.Shes got to be one of the highest paid cashiers in the country working for walmart.How many other cashiers would have worked at walmart for 30 yrs? They cant wait to replace her with someone making minimum wage.I frickin hate walmart,I wish kmart was still around but walmart ran them pretty much out of Tx,theres none in houston

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

first, you're a trip. you say the only people that can secede are either the educated, or the hard worker. while i do not have a degree, i challenge anyone with my work effort. i know a lot of good, hard working people that are working crap jobs, of a full and a part time job. the volume of employment is just not there. i worked 2 jobs for 2 years. you want to talk about sucking? most of the adults working minimum/ low paying jobs are stuck. any suggestions on a job? they are simply not out there

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

htownskinsfan, tell your mom congrats, and enjoy her retirement. to work for that many years at any job is commendable. let alone a Wal-Mart

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

Firstdown's post about getting an education is accurate to those people who are high school dropouts, but anymore today, education, military experience, and anything else doesnt mean jack shit to help you in the job hunt.

That is experience talking. I have a college degree and a military background, and nobody cared jack shit about that. That's probably a reflection of the times as a whole, but i can tell you for the longest time, i had jobs that only payed 9 and 10 dollars an hour. I got lucky because a staffing company had a job opening that paid 14.00 an hour, and i got the job. Long story short, the company ended up hiring me full time. But if not for that, i would still be out there with meaningless jobs, despite a government paid education.

Thats what makes it a joke. This "obama money for school" wont do shit for you. You get out of college and can only be glad for the experience. But until things turn around, college does not guarantee you a good job. It's like one of my good friends told me, who was a major in education:

He told me that companies anymore can barely afford to get by, and as such, are going to pay accordingly. The company doesnt want to give you a high wage, they want to keep you middle of the road (12-15.00 per hour). And i agree with him. Keep in mind i live in Frederick County, VA though, and one of my best friends got a teaching job last year, and he only made $28,000 a year. And thats at a high school level.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;657819]Firstdown's post about getting an education is accurate to those people who are high school dropouts, but anymore today, education, military experience, and anything else doesnt mean jack shit to help you in the job hunt.

That is experience talking. I have a college degree and a military background, and nobody cared jack shit about that. That's probably a reflection of the times as a whole, but i can tell you for the longest time, i had jobs that only payed 9 and 10 dollars an hour. I got lucky because a staffing company had a job opening that paid 14.00 an hour, and i got the job. Long story short, the company ended up hiring me full time. But if not for that, i would still be out there with meaningless jobs, despite a government paid education.

Thats what makes it a joke. This "obama money for school" wont do shit for you. You get out of college and can only be glad for the experience. But until things turn around, college does not guarantee you a good job. It's like one of my good friends told me, who was a major in education:

He told me that companies anymore can barely afford to get by, and as such, are going to pay accordingly. The company doesnt want to give you a high wage, they want to keep you middle of the road (12-15.00 per hour). And i agree with him. Keep in mind i live in Frederick County, VA though, and one of my best friends got a teaching job last year, and he only made $28,000 a year. And thats at a high school level.[/quote]

Teachers are known for not getting paid squat, especially if you're fresh out of college, expect to be eating Ramen Noodles in your studio apartment for awhile.

But being that I graduate in May holding nothing but a B.A. in psychology, I see now that I'm pretty much fucked. I'm pretty much looking to intern at a few places for free for some months/years, cross my fingers and pray for an offer for a full-time position.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

What's your degree in SS84? Just curious.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

ive got a degree in spanish/international studies and the only offers i got were from financial companies where i would be doing commision based work in a field that didnt interest me. i could barely even find work as a server or any other college student type job, now 8 months after graduation im going to odu for an education masters (teaching english as a second language).

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=cpayne5;657851]What's your degree in SS84? Just curious.[/quote]

I have a bachelor's degree in Business Management. Graduated in 2005.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;657492]factor in too a lot of people that are working as supplimental income to support a husband/wife or whatever.

I just hate it that the response is to treat retail workers and people who work with the public as less than human. Ie) retail workers, resteraunt workers. I wish there was a way for us all to have wages where we can actually afford to live...

And a company that makes a 200Billion profit each year can afford to pay their workers more than 7.00 an hour...thats some bullshit right there![/quote]

I was just about to bring up this point. Even with a good accounting job, I used to work a second job at a pizza shop a few evenings a week when my wife became a stay-at-home mother, cutting her income down dramatically (but worth it to raise our son). Of course, I was hired as a manager, but I would have taken a "regular" pie tosser job too.

As I stated before, minimum wage was never intended to be a living wage and even if someone doesn't have the education, capability or opportunity to get anything other than a minimum wage job for a period of time, there is nothing stopping them from working more than one job to make ends meet. It's called being an adult. So the stats will always be swayed by that fact, that the McDonalds job being counted is more likely not their sole source of income.

Even working in that pizza shop, I never saw any of the kids being hired at minimum wage. McDonalds and the convenience stores are always advertising their hourly wages and they're always higher than minimum. I'm not sure many employers even pay minimum wage anyways, they still have to compete for workers within their market.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=Buster;658065]I was just about to bring up this point. Even with a good accounting job, I used to work a second job at a pizza shop a few evenings a week when my wife became a stay-at-home mother, cutting her income down dramatically (but worth it to raise our son). Of course, I was hired as a manager, but I would have taken a "regular" pie tosser job too.

As I stated before, minimum wage was never intended to be a living wage and even if someone doesn't have the education, capability or opportunity to get anything other than a minimum wage job for a period of time, there is nothing stopping them from working more than one job to make ends meet. It's called being an adult. So the stats will always be swayed by that fact, that the McDonalds job being counted is more likely not their sole source of income.

Even working in that pizza shop, I never saw any of the kids being hired at minimum wage. McDonalds and the convenience stores are always advertising their hourly wages and they're always higher than minimum. I'm not sure many employers even pay minimum wage anyways, they still have to compete for workers within their market.[/quote]

I make fun of McDonald's too, but the truth is their positions pay significantly higher than most retail stores. Keep in mind i used to be in Leesburg, VA, and the shift managers at McDonald's made 10.15 an hour....thats not too bad if it is a supplimentary income job. (helping out a spouse, 2nd job, etc.)

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;658073]I make fun of McDonald's too, but the truth is their positions pay significantly higher than most retail stores. Keep in mind i used to be in Leesburg, VA, and the shift managers at McDonald's made 10.15 an hour....thats not too bad if it is a supplimentary income job. (helping out a spouse, 2nd job, etc.)[/quote]

Wasn't making fun of them, but they're always the first business that comes to mind when discussing "entry-level" jobs. Your point further instills that people actually minimum wage is an uncommon thing anymore. If you are stuck making it, work more hours to make what you need to. I've always worked WAY more than 40 hours a week no matter what field/career I'm in. I currently have 2 accounting jobs and am "on call" for contract work with a large architectural firm. I do taxes and build/repair computers on the side occasionally too. If you need more, do more. This applies to any education level. Heck, I've even sold, well attempted to sell vacuum cleaners before!

Yeah, store managers DO make good money.

I don't eat there, but if someone is working there hard to support their family, I have all of the respect in the world for them. They're a highly successful business, even though I think their product is crap. :D

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

I think anybody who is earning a living, or trying to, should get my respect. My dad once told me there was nothing wrong with having ANY job...but maybe the pay should be higher...idk

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=dmek25;657783]first, you're a trip. you say the only people that can secede are either the educated, or the hard worker. while i do not have a degree, i challenge anyone with my work effort. i know a lot of good, hard working people that are working crap jobs, of a full and a part time job. the volume of employment is just not there. i worked 2 jobs for 2 years. you want to talk about sucking? most of the adults working minimum/ low paying jobs are stuck. any suggestions on a job? they are simply not out there[/quote]

I'm talking in general and yes the current market sucks but it will get better. When it gets better the hard working and better educated will find the better jobs. Once again if your lazy and do not try to better yourself you will never make much money and thats a fact. I was told I could never get a job with my current company because I only had a 12th grade education. I got lic. to sell insurance and worked for min. wage plus a monthly bonus for five years. The co. then offered me a job to open a office in my area. The same people who told me I could never do that are still working for someone else making $10.00 an hour.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

How can you say all of this then say you still shop there. LOL

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

:doh:

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

I've admitted in the other thread that i could be a hypocrite. I still hate Walmart specifically though, and if it wasnt for my wife, i would never go there for anything....

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=SolidSnake84;705553]I've admitted in the other thread that i [B]could be[/B] a hypocrite. I still hate Walmart specifically though, and if it wasnt for my wife, i would never go there for anything....[/quote]

Could be? I still say you need to tell your wife how you feel and I bet she would also agree not to shop there ever again. You do know I'm just giving you a hard time?

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=firstdown;705562]Could be? I still say you need to tell your wife how you feel and I bet she would also agree not to shop there ever again. You do know I'm just giving you a hard time?[/quote]

Yeah buddy it's all good :). If I remember right, you were one of the first people i started to get on good with when i joined WP last year.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

Speaking of hypocrites, I find it hilarious firstdown is pointing out other folks errors on this board, when we could start a whole new board with the amount he has made on here.

Re: Serious Question to anyone who works in retail
 

[quote=mredskins;705589]Speaking of hypocrites, I find it hilarious firstdown is pointing out other folks errors on this board, when we could start a whole new board with the amount he has made on here.[/quote]

I think we have had that thread a few time. I guess you also shop at Wall Mart.