Borrowed from a previous post with some comments from me -
Robotics - Staff Cuts - Pay not enough - Online - Brick and Mortar - Walmart used to be a happy place to work - For some it was a career but for others it was a part time job or provided a supplement to the general household income. Regardless of what your reason was for working at Walmart - the bottom line was that everyone had a purpose - We were the biggest retailer in the world (i know that we still are) and we didn't let anyone get in the way - We were the lead dogs - unfortunately (while still the largest) we are not the lead dogs anymore....as yourself why?
In the past the associates were treated like one big happy family - ideas bubbled up from down below - not from some overpriced consultant or freshly minted MBA that has never had a customer facing (Store Related) position. Does it really take a training manual to teach someone how to put items on a shelf? Gather Carts? Help a customer? Smile and say Hello? Order product? Build a display?
Walmart Associates were #1 - Nothing could stop us - Selling stuff to customers (Pile it High & Watch it Fly - WOW Displays, etc.). Now the associates are simply a number - a line item on the balance sheet. Yes I get it that Business is Business and that "Its Business not personal" ...yet I'm here to tell you that once your job is eliminated IT IS personal - Those around you see you losing your job and then get scared for theirs....its an endless cycle. Those at the top take their money (I have yet to see a cash register at the home office other than the cafeteria or those selling that spark junk) and laugh all the way to the bank - Did they really ever care or were they just here for the money?
Proper Staffing promotes sales, eliminates theft, increases morale - all this generates profits which allows the company to grow in a multitude of ways. I'm all for removing the dead weight and streamlining job functions - but won't natural attrition take care of some of that?
If associates are eliminated in order to put dollars on the bottom line - ultimately the customers loose out. Where is the 10ft rule? Where is Leading by Example? Who is left to show the customer where the item is located.....Is there a robot that will lead them there? Who is there to stock the shelves or are empty shelves okay now?
Borrowed part:
Maybe you need to staff the stores correctly, provide enough cashiers instead of self checkouts. Maybe you need to focus on having correct instock vs. cutting orders because you don't have the sales you want.
Maybe you should lead by example and show your associates how to take care of their customers instead of cutting their hours and telling them they are not doing a good job.
You need to take a look at your business and remember what brought you to the table (EDLP, engaged associates and accountability to be the best).
You are driving the customers to AMAZON - All this focus on the internet is driving customers to shop there vs. shopping in a Brick and Mortar store.
Walmart invented Comparison shopping....maybe they are comparing to Amazon and liking it better? Something to think about.....
5 months ago by Anonymous | Post ID: @UbKiSiZ-bdf