| What is the biggest dick move a customer has ever done to you? | Probably the time we had a lady come in, purchase 10 iPad Air tablets (yup), then come in later, back to electronics (we don't have a carousel for our bags) and proceed to have me ring up $1,000 USD of groceries and children's clothing, and a couple prepaid phone cards. On top of it taking me a hour to ring up, her card was also declined, and she just left two shopping carts, with items already bagged, just sitting there. |
| At least selling two grand worth of iPads was fun. |
| That sounds really sketchy. | Eyes forward, don't ask questions. |
| Ok, I mean no disrespect to you, and I'm sure others will find your insights fascinating, but what is the deal with these AMA's for commonplace things? Being a wal-mart employee or a McDonalds worker is not a rare or amazing thing. I suppose my question to you then is what the most fascinating thing about walmart that shoppers aren't usually aware of? | Yeah, I'll be honest in that this AmA was sparked by that one. I'm also a former employee of McDonald's, and there are interesting things about the big brands. I guess one of the most interesting things in my opinion is how much the average employee actually cares about their job, and invests in it. When I was hired I didn't think I'd really care, but we really do feel inclined to help people who are willing to receive it. |
| It felt great to know I helped someone stay entertained while on the road. I just imagine some dirty trucker driving his rig while taking long gazes watching HD porn on a portable bluray. | He was Puerto Rican with gaged ears, just to give some imagery. |
| Do most of the people hired work out? Or is there a high turnover rate? Do you have any idea what percentage of the people who apply for a job at your Walmart get hired? | In my time, our store is really good about retaining our employees. It's a smaller supercenter, so we all go by our first names. Our Personnel department is awesome, and our managers are pretty cool. I have one who is a total nerd, one who brings candy everyday, and one who is a total asshole, which is actually a nice change sometimes. |
| Do you sell fish? | Yep! And they're located right next to electronics so I get to sell fish almost daily. I got two goldfish for these two little girls yesterday, I enjoyed it. |
| Your walmart takes good care of the fish? I'm glad :) | Depends. Our goldfish tank is overcrowded. Floating dead fish. I don't like seeing it, and it sure isn't fun to have kids see it. Even worse when parents tell the kids that the fish are "just sleeping". |
| Depends. Our goldfish tank is overcrowded. Floating dead fish. I don't like seeing it, and it sure isn't fun to have kids see it. Even worse when parents tell the kids that the fish are "just sleeping". Hmmm... I guess you're not some corporate hack doing a PR stunt. | Haha, I feel like one. But I'm just giving my honest opinion. |
| Awh :( that's terrible. | I would dispose of them myself, but throwing them in the trash doesn't feel dignified. The crowded fish tanks are one of the things I'd change about Walmart. |
| I'm another cog in a different part of that machine (yet the same department) and this doesn't have the feel of a corporate stunt. I've seen corporate stunts. | I actually told my coworker I was doing this, let him read it, and he's like "Jesus, they must think you're PR as much as you like this place." Apparently you're not alone. |
| Well, it's better than them floating around with the live ones. | True. I dunno, I prefer to treat animals in a humane way. |
| The best thing to do would be to put them in a small Viking ship, gently push it to the center of the aquarium and light it on fire. You should do that. | If the aquariums weren't stacked 4 high with the goldfish on the bottom, this would be an awesome idea. |
| I work as a vendor of sorts to many different Walmart locations in my state, and the vast majority of employees I've talked to have said that they are quite happy working there. Granted, I'm only there during the night shift, but their opinions seem to differ greatly from how the general public sees Walmart (i.e. negatively). What seems to be the general outlook of you and your co-workers about working there? | The younger guys (me and the three guys I worked with tonight) have future plans outside of Walmart. One came from the casino, one from a hospital background, and I from working at a car wash. I personally plan on going into engineering, not sure what exactly their plans are. |
| We enjoy our jobs, we have fun most of the time. Life's what you make it. |
| How are you? | I'm alright. And you? |
| Quite peachy. I'm finishing up this school year and cut off all my hair (20 inches). Any major thing happen to you, work related or otherwise, you want to share? | Tonight was fun. Just bullshit with my coworkers for two hours while doing freight, telling them how I want Jennifer Lawrence in every movie ever (Maltese Falcon). Oh, and I have new work pants which is nice. 20 inches? Dang, that's a change. What's the occasion? |
| Maltese Falcon, you say? Eh, I guess she'd be okay. They're not making a remake of it anytime soon are they? The 41 version is still pretty good. | No, not that I've heard. I enjoyed the version from the forties. |
| Are the work pants for Walmart from Walmart? | Yes, walmart pants from Walmart for Walmart. |
| Yeah, having a bob is weird, man, in a good way. I guess it's s first step to changing myself, becoming more confident, all that empowerment crap. I donated it to cancer. | Good on you, man. Save the worlddd. |
| They don't make them quite like they used to. Yeah, I could become a super hero...WigKing | If by superhero you mean price gouging businessman. |
| Why is your Coke Rep delivering Mountain Dew when it's a Pepsi product? | You caught me, but my point was to say that our major brands sell really fast, while our less popular stuff sits for a few days usually. |
| What exactly happens when someone is caught shoplifting in Walmart? I mean, I never actually met anyone that could clarify me this and I was at Walmart this day and a guy got caught and it made me curious about what exactly they do to him after that. There are any lists (based on known stealers or something) or kinds of people (like a hobo or a shoeless/shirtless person)that security tries to forbid inside Walmart? What kind of thing they search for in a person when they suspect shoplifting? What if they acuse an innocent customer, they get fired? And most importantly: what would you do if you found any young or old, guy or lady shoplifting? Which brings me to my ultimate question: what are your instructions for customer's behaviors? I mean, what should you do if a random guy curses you with bad words? What happens if you spot a person breaking something (on purpose or not)? What if you walk in some kinda department or the bathroom and find a couple having sex or something? Any kinda weird thing that may occur, I dunno. | Overall, the blanket policy for almost all those infractions would be "report it to management." They instruct us to report suspicious behavior, and AP takes it from there. I don't worry too much, because our guys are really good at their jobs. |
| Why do you have a bunch of registers but only like 3 cashiers working at a time? | Depends on the time of day. I don't usually go to the front unless I'm taking movies or escorting a TV or high value item to the front. Electronics cashiers can be called to help checkout, although I've only done it once. |
| When you go to other Wal Marts do you critique the store? | Sorta? I went to one recently though that had an immaculate electronics department, I bragged to our manager for weeks about it. |
| So I guess you're right |
| What is the most awkward piece of merchandise someone has tried to steal? | I've never seen anything crazy, but yesterday someone apparently drank a full bottle of vanilla extract, containing 46% alcohol. |
| Has anyone hid in walmart overnight? Possibly a homeless person sleeping under a bed or within a display tent? | It wouldn't surprise me, I've helped a few guys who come in that are super destitute, one guy even charges his wheelchair at walmart. |
| What sort of games do you play with your coworkers while working? | Different games, but my favorite is when I just start saying unintelligible stuff and making screeching noises. That's a common thing for me. Just anything to pass the time. |
| Do your managers slave drive your unloaders? | Haha, I know that I love being back there with them. They have the best sense of humor, and the music back there is way better than the floor music. There is a lot of work going on back there, so I'm sure some managers see micromanagement as necessary. Personally, almost all those guys are hard workers so it's not necessary. |
| How many people do they have for the unloaders on an average day? | I don't really know the numbers. Probably 5? I'm unsure. |
| Do you like strawberries? | Love them. Especially dipped in sugar AND chocolate. |
| Do you or other employees remove the higher value/sought after Hot Wheels cars from the boxes before they make it to the floor? I have heard that this is commonplace at many stores, and being a collector this interests me. | Haven't heard of this, although I doubt I'd ever have to do it if we did. I'll talk to toys tomorrow. I know we have a guy who will check on our shipments, knows the hot wheels UPC by heart, and has us check 2 to 3 times a week. I'm intrigued. |
| Does walmart have standards in who they hire? Honestly, would they hire almost anyone? | There are standards, albeit lower standards. Maintenance requires a good work ethic, that's about it. Electronics (in the afternoon), grocery, and maybe apparel, are all pretty high standard jobs. Grocery has they're work cut out for them everyday, electronics in the afternoon has to know pretty much the whole back half of the store, and apparel answers courtesy desk phones. Other jobs probably have distinct requirements, but those three are some of the highest entry-level jobs. |
| I now know how to do EVERYTHING on the back half of the store... Had to find and sell a tire last night. |
| Whats the most expensive thing you have seen someone attempt to steal? and for bonus points how did it all go down when caught? | Unfortunately, I am never there during the good attempts, but we did have a guy try to steal a cart full of clothes and miscellaneous stuff. He had already bagged it and everything, it was a good attempt. When AP (Asset Protection) caught him, he was escorted by 3 policeman and everything. It was funny. |
| My brother used to do this. He'd bring bags to Zellers (I don't think we had a Walmart back then) and stuff action figures in them, then walk out. He had all sorts of nifty ways to try and steal. He tried teaching me once, failed horribly, and my mom had to come to Safeway to berate us. | I was impressed by the strategy, but AP loves their jobs, and lives to catch people stealing. I've never seen or AP guys so happy unless they're catching someone. |
| So, I am told not to shop at Walmart because they treat their workers badly and their cheap prices come at a cost to others. Can you attest to this? Do you ever shop their your self (going out of your way rather than convenience)? Do you know people that don't shop at Walmart because of "ethical" reasons? What's your favorite fruit flavoured candy? | This is a fun question. Where I live, I we want anything other than groceries we have to go to another town to buy it. I tend to go to Walmart out of convenience. I usually purchase my lunches from there if I don't have money to get Chinese nearby. |
| I understand the reasoning behind people hating their walmart job. People have bad days, bad managers, bad customers, or are depressed to feel like a cog in a machine (like me). However, my coworkers are awesome, management isn't awful, and the customers tend to appreciate my effort. |
| My favorite would have to be those peach rings, I could stuff my face without caring. |
| Peach rings are lovely and dangerous! Thanks so much for your thoughtful response! | Of course! It's worth noting that yesterday one of my managers got me a big bag of sour gummy worms for helping her stock grocery aisle. That kind of stuff makes me love my job, even the thought and showing of appreciation. |
| Do you get any insurance or other benefits? If so are they any good? | We get a discount card! So there's that... 10% off everything but groceries. We usually get to do layaway before everyone else. |
| You do get 10% off groceries during the holiday season though. I think it starts in November and ends early January. Produce is also eligible for discount if I recall correctly. | Mhm! Just more of a technicality. I'll definitely use it. Also, if you buy food at checkout or near it, you can sometimes get a discount on it considering it's not registered on the grocery department. |
| I think you usually get the discount on soda and junk food like chips. | Never tried it, I usually just bring my own food and drink water by the gallon |
| Why? | Good question. I often lay awake at night wondering this. At the same time, I ponder the other 4 W's; What, Where, When, and Who. Don't get me started on How. |
| FTFY. | As have I for you. |
| How much do you get paid? | Just above minimum wage. Like 90 cents above. |
| I'm going for my job offer on Saturday any advice? Its for apparel although I would much much rather electronics. | Just be calm, let then know you're competent, and you'll be okay. I've heard that fitting rooms have to act as courtesy desk sometimes (i.e., they answer the phones), so that might suck, but mostly the older ladies work our fitting rooms and they're awesome. I'm guilty of flirting with older women because it makes their days better and is really fun. |
| Do they still have stockmen (ie lowest on the totem pole peon employees that do the shit jobs?) DOnt confuse this with actual shelf-stockers. I dont know why they called them stockmen because they practically did no stocking of shelves. Maybe calling them "shit job doers" was not PC. | Uhm, I'm not sure? We have overnight stockers... I think you may be referring to maintenance. They tend to do a lot of shitty jobs. |
| How often do you see the "People of Walmart"? | Yes and no. I see some real characters, but none with amazing fashion sense as seen on PoW. |
| Actually saw a few "People of Walmart" the last couple nights. More sad than funny in my opinion. |
| I've heard that "Code 50" on the loudspeaker commands employees to retrieve shopping carts from the parking lot. Can you confirm? Also if you know some other codes could you include them please? | Never heard of that. We usually communicate by walkie and just call maintenance up there to do it. I've also heard of everybody going to gather carts at midnight. |
| Other than our fire, bomb, storm, etc. codes, there are only cashier codes which are pretty much used to ask for change and a bathroom break. |
| Do you hate your job? | Not really. I've got a pretty upbeat outlook on life, but I definitely plan on switching to something more to my tastes soon. |
| I keep seeing a pretty big push on tv for steaks from walmart, are they really that good? | Never had them, I get mine from a grocery store called Marvins/CVS. |
| Ever just hide in one of the large boxes and take a nap and/or sit there giggling because noone can see you during work? | That sounds like fun haha. I'll have to try that some time |
| What is the largest amount of money you have seen somebody spend in one trip to walmart? | 5,000. More than my student debt and car loan combined |
| What the hell did they buy?? | 16 iPads. |
| I have heard that there is a Walmart song and if you ask an employee to sing it, they have to or they will be fired. True or false? | If by walmart song you mean whatever I have stuck in my head that day, of course I'll sing it to you, whether you ask me or not. |
| There's a Walmart song sung in the mornings, I've never done it, nor do I plan to. |
| Everyone I know personally that works at WalMart is a piece of shit. Is this common, or do they just give WalMart employees a bad name? | Eh. They're maybe 1 in 4 employees that are just lazy. I am good friends with one of them, and even he will still do what he has to. Some places just have more bad employees than others. |
| What are the lyrics of this "Walmart song"? I'm seriously curious. Also, do you think all countries have a version of this song translated to their native languages or they just make up another song, or even exclude this whole song thing at all? Also, why didn't you sing it before? | I can't remember, I've looked it up before, it's like a cheer. Give me a W, give me an A, etc. Pretty bland and uninteresting. |
| What is your favorite kind of sandwich? | Turkey and Swiss with olive oil mayo on wheat bread. |
| Do you feel as though Walmart is really a big, evil corporation? | Big, yes. Evil? Not by definition. Obviously large companies will have bad eggs, and those bag eggs can spoil the bunch. I do not plan on working long-term for Walmart, but if they catered to the industry I will pursue, I'd consider staying. They could definitely be better, but they aren't as awful as perceived, we just joke about it. |
| I was at an Apple store once and there were these two Asian men buying about 8-10 iPads, in cash, discussing how they were donating them to kids in Hawaii. WTF. | Much sketch |
| What is the most soda you have seen someone buy at one time, I ask this because every time I go to Walmart there is some fat ass in a scooter with a cart behind them tied to the scooter full of soda. | Yesterday a guy in a scooter had about 5 2-liters. I talked to the Coke rep and he said he has to fill up the major sellers (Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mtn. Dew) twice a day. |
| What do you think of Asda (WalMart UK) | I've not really looked at them to see how similar they are to ours, but I hope they changed the format over there to keep it having at least a partially local feel to it. |
| The bakery is probably the best thing about Walmart here. Fresh Chocolate dohnuts yay. | I like our bakery because I can chat up one of the workers and flirt for extra food. It's anyways fun! |
| Just a warning,there is probably enough info in your profile + IAmA proof for WM to identify you. | I'm not sure I'm giving away trade secrets, ways to trick the system, anything other than an ongoing court case, which they can't really discipline for. |
| The eyes of Bentonville are far seeing and do not forget transgressions against their name, however horrible it may be. | Joking aside, if they are watching this AmA, I'm sure I would've/will get a sitting down and talking to if I cross their line. Just sharing an honest opinion of my job isn't really anything more than Internet gossip. If you think everybody complaining about walmart on the Internet is bad, you should see WalmartOne. |
| Nah, those shitty boxcutters go to EVERYONE. | I have three. I treat them like cars. |
| I still have the orange industrial cutter they gave us before they switched to that yellow piece of crap. | I'm on the floor, so it doesn't bother me. |
| So am I. It just doesn't feel like a proper tool. I know, I get that corporate is all about safety, but I've had jobs with more dangerous boxcutters without having a problem using them. | Knock on wood, I've yet to be in any danger on the job. |
