Why does Walmart put the milk and eggs in the back of the store?

Have you ever wondered why Walmart puts the milk and eggs in the back of every Supercenter?  Milk and eggs are staple items that many people always have on their grocery list.  One would think that those items would be in the front so it is more convenient for the customer.  Most Supercenters are open 24 hours.  It would be easier for those late night customers who are just searching for milk and eggs to run into the store get what they need, pay for it and leave.  They can't do that at Walmart.  They have to walk all the way through the store just for those two items.  Why does Walmart do that?

Here's your answer.  It is all about how they merchandise to make another buck.  Walmart thinks that if the customer has to pass by other merchandise just to get to what he or she really needs that customer is going to put more items in their cart on the way there and on the return trip to the cashier.  Next time you are at your local Walmart Supercenter to get milk and eggs be careful about what else you put in your cart.  You really don't need those extras, do you?   Sam Walton would be rolling in his grave if he knew how his company was being run.  (More about this in another posting)

Walmart Uniforms part II

The associates at the store I used to work at are now wearing the new Walmart Uniforms.  Walmart has provided one shirt and $15 toward a pair of pants for each of their associates.  I have heard mixed feelings from that store. 

One associate says that it is good that Walmart was that generous.  He said, "At least they have given us something for our new uniforms."  Other associates have complained about the change.

An associate told me that she didn't want to wear khakis because they would make her butt look big.  Another one said that she has been trying to save up her money to buy pants and shirts and so far can only afford a couple of navy blue sweat shirts from the local Good Will Store.  She doesn't know what she is going to do when the weather gets warmer.  Still others at that store have said that Walmart is a multi million dollar company and they can afford to provide more than just one shirt and one pair of pants to their full time employees.  Someone at that store even suggested that Walmart could cut back on their Good Works program (if you are not familiar with this; Walmart donates millions of dollars every year to various non profit and local community organizations).  Then they would be able to provide more than one shirt and pair of pants to their full time employees.

When I worked there I remember being on my knees allot stocking shelves and pulling merchandise from the back room.  Because of this I wreaked a lot of pants.  Walmart employees make far below the poverty line.  I don't know how some of them will be able to afford to keep replacing their uniforms.  By June 1, 2007 everyone at the store that I worked at will be required to wear navy blue shirts and khaki pants.

I am sorry it has been a while since I have posted to the blog.  I will try harder to update it more often.

I was talking to an associate at the store that I used to work at a few weeks ago.  When I asked her how things were going, of course she did not have any good news about work.  She said that the latest complaint is the uniforms. 

In March, 2007 the associates at that store were supposed to be wearing the new Wal Mart uniforms.  These uniforms were going to be khaki pants, and navy blue shirts.  Wal Mart has decided to postpone the uniforms because associates can not afford to purchase them themselves and Wal Mart is too cheap to provide them for their associates. 

When I was in high school I worked for a local fast food restaurant.  The company I worked for is not a multi billion dollar company like Wal Mart, but they did provide their employees uniforms.  We did not have to pay for them at all.  I have also heard of companies taking a little bit at a time out of their employees’ paychecks to pay for the uniforms.  I don't understand why Wal Mart can't do either of these things.

Wal Mart originally wanted their associates to wear uniforms so they could compare to other retailers such as Target and Best Buy.  If Wal Mart is going to be too cheap to purchase the uniforms, then I guess they are going to look cheap too.

Cashiers are treated the worst at Walmart.   If you want to be a full time cashier you have to have open availiblity, which means you have to be able to work anytime, days, nights weekends, whenever they want you to work.  A full time cashier's schedule usually looks like this:

Monday: 6am-3pm Tuesday: off Wednesday: 2pm-11pm Thursday: off Friday: 2-11pm Saturday: 7a-4p Sunday: 2pm-11pm Monday: 6am-3pm

They are frequently scheduled a late shift followed by an early one the next day. A lot of the cashiers have a half an hour commute, but the company does not take that into consideration when doing the schedule.  Walmart says that employees have to have 8 hours inbetween shifts. Okay, lets say cashier Margaret drives 45 minutes to work.  She is scheduled Tuesday night until 10pm and has to be back at work at 6 the next morning.  She leaves work at 10:15 and gets home at 11:00.  It takes Margaret a couple of hours to wind down before she can go to bed so she does not get to bed until 1am.  She has to wake up at 4:30 in the morning so she can be ready to leave the house by 5:15 to make it to work at 6.  That gives her 3 1/2 hours of sleep.  Meanwhile, she falls asleap on her way to work and ends up in a ditch. She can call in and say that she is going to be late for work,  but based on the new attendance policy that would be an unexcused absence.  Now whose fault is that? Even if Margaret does make it into work safely on just a few hours of sleep she is not going to be as productive the next morning as she would have been if she had a full nights rest.  But Walmart does not care.

  Cashiers never get a weekend off unless they request it off.  Even if they request a weekend off they are not gauranteed that weekend off.  I know that several other retail establishments provide rotating weekends for their employees.  But is all Walmart cares about is making another buck.  This company is no longer the family friendly company that it was when Mr. Sam was around. 

I wasn't the only pregnant associate that was discriminated against at my Walmart store.  When my friend was in her third trimester she was having a difficult time standing for an extended period. (she was a cashier)  She asked management if she could have a stool to sit on but they would not let her.  When she visited another Walmart store she saw a pregnant cashier sitting on a stool.  Why can't every store be accomidating for expectant mothers?

My store also has a history of discriminating against the disabled.  Management likes to pick favorites and give them whatever they like, ignoring the needs of other associates.  For example, there was a well liked long time associate who was injured in a car accident.  When he returned from his leave of absence management let him have a job where he could sit all the time.  That was very kind but compare this to how they treated a different disabled associate.

There is a cashier who has hip problems at that Walmart store.  She uses a cane to get around and has to push a shopping cart from the entrance to the time clock, to the registers.  In the shopping cart she keeps her cane.  The customer service managers used to let her keep the shopping cart in the register next to where she was placed.  That register would remain closed.  But now the company changed the way the registers are opened and the CSMs don't place the cashiers on the registers, the computer does.  Now this cashier does not have any place to put her cane.  She also is not allowed to sit, even if her hips are hurting.  She still has to stand the whole time. Walmart is not fair to the disabled.