LISSA’S: Wal-Mart: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

Push has come to shove at the Sherman, TX Wal-Mart. If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know that Department Managers are being pulled from their departments to work in Toys and Grocery. Well, after all this time of not being in their department, now Management is getting upset because nothing is complete in the departments with no managers. Softline departments are weeks behind in getting items to the floor. And in the truest sense of the unofficial Wal-Mart logo "Doing More With Less", Department Managers are now being forced to work six to seven day weeks to get their departments back in shape..... But they still have to go over and work in Toys a few hours a day. Of course, Management is not helping in any department, they are just making the demands.

One Department Manager today went over the edge. Last night, something in the department did not get completed. Everything was left and not worked. So, instead of blaming the last person working the department, instead of blaming the second to last person working in the department, together with Assistant Manager Heather Fox, they decided to blame the third person to the last to leave the department. Why? It seems that he was the last one to actually work on the stuff that needed to be done, and when he asked for the last two to finish, it was the wrong thing to do. It was wrong for him to expect someone in the department to do their job..... No, that is not a misprint. He actually asked that question during the warning he was given. He is not supposed to expect anyone else in the department to do their job. And he is now responsible for this daily duty. Even though he is off two of the days he is responsible for, he is being held accountable for the way people who work on his days off do the job. This is NOT a member of management. This is a regular associate. Being held responsible for activities when he is not at work. Being held responsible for other people's actions when he is not there. Being held responsible for the daily deliveries. Where is the logic in that?

And now the "Do More With Less" motto now has the Christmas Spirit. Every year, Wal-Mart has given their employees a Christmas Party. Complete with renting out an outside place, getting food, giving presents. This year they decided on something different. The associates had to do a fund raiser this year to give themselves a Christmas Party. Seems Wal-Mart was too cheap to pay for their employees dinner. Or maybe the billions this company pulls in is just not enough to say thank you to the ones who bring the money in.

If you think it is over yet, well then hold on. Wal-Mart closes Christmas Eve at 6pm, is closed through Christmas Day, and opens at 6am the day after Christmas. During that time they hire guards to sit in the store and watch it. But it does get expensive to hire guards to work on the holidays. So this year, there is a new plan. They have broken the 36 hours the store is closed into 5 shifts and are asking their employees to come to work. Not to just watch the store, but to actually come in and work. The store will not be open, but there will be a staff inside actually working on Christmas. So much for the holidays.

What do you believe? How are your holidays spent? This is the company you are supporting. It is sad. Either way, because I know you will be back into this store.