This hits the nail on the head!.

Some of us have been here long enough to remember things that used to make you feel like you were part of a family and not just a company.

Christmas bonus

A free pie on Thanksgiving

A free ham on Christmas

A $1 an hour extra on Sundays for taking time away from your family

Hazard pay for meat cutters and fork lift certified drivers

Merit increases at CM discretion

A raise tied to your performance

Company picnics

Associate appreciation events

Charity sporting events

Company softball/bowling/etc. teams

All of those have gone away in the last 10 to 15 years as the company has moved away from "in business for small business" to "compete with BJ's, NO!, compete with CostCo, NO!, compete with Amazon!". Executives that held business morales and ethics have gone away for executives who only care about shaving costs and increasing profits to appease shareholders. Member service used to matter - now we have to take pictures on Saturdays of associates cleaning sent to corporate to prove that we're actually cleaning. Or take pictures to prove we stocked the club, or stocked the cooler and freezers, or to prove the cart rail is complete.

The company is now in "ah-HA! gotcha!" mode on walks rather than brainstorm ideas to increase sales, or fresh penetration, or ANYTHING.

We come here to vent anonymously. Because venting at your club results in retaliation. Because no club is running smoothly, no club has zero problems, and every manager and club manager is out to find the next scapegoat for a problem to preserve their own employment just a little longer until they can find something else.

There's solace in shared misery. And with the cost of living where it is currently, not many people can afford to "walk away, go get a new education, find a new job and start over".

Comment! It's anonymous!

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Agree 100%. WM is exactly the same. Sad

@wji that's nonsense. If you really worked in a club you would know. Go back to trolling somewhere else.

It's very simple. The difference between a good club and a bad club is the associates. Bad associates can make good managers look bad. They can also make bad manages look good. Over the years in many clubs we have lost a lot of good associates and have never rebounded. The definition of a good associate is someone who simply cares about what they do. No degree needed.

Many things change. Unfortunately. At this point it is what it is!

I'm so old, I remember the days of time and 1/2 on Sunday........Until the leadership is actually people that have worked in the club / stores for more than their little 12 weeks of manager training - Actually worked with real cash paying customers (day, night and weekend shifts - worked for more than a year - experienced inventory and Holiday Seasons) - things will not get better.

MBA's and College degrees are not necessary to run a club/store nor are they necessary to buy and sell merchandise from the home office....how many of the original leaders had MBA's.....They are the ones that got us to where we are.

Common Sense is what is needed and that my friend is what I am afraid is severely lacking in this company.

I agree,I am a long time associate and have been saying for years that Sam Walton is rolling over in his grave at the way this company is now being run. The associates are not important anymore and no one wants to listen, Higher Ups who don't work in the clubs are making decisions that are bad. They should talk to the associates to see what works and what doesn't, after all we are the ones doing the jobs and talking to the members,

Absolutely true. The company is all about making the greedy share holders more money. Let them take a pay cut for once

So true!!

So Agree! 25 years here. Now what?

Still hanging in there though. Love working at Sam's. Wished they would see that lots of sales = lots of profit $$, happy associates, happy members, and this provides for your family. Why do you want to change things that work? Making you many millions in profit every year at just my Sam's Club. ?

Sam's Club is my family. Just makes me sad!

Awesome post and so true good luck everyone!

Wow I couldn't have said it better my friend. I'm a thirty year associate. The good old days are gone.I remember how I loved coming to work now not so much.It's very sad.I also will never forget when Mr Sam Walton came to visit. What a great day. EVERYONE was on cloud nine.We were a family long time ago.

The good olde days are gone my friend they dont give a damn anymore, why we have piss poor managere not all but most are young and dumb

Well said. As a longtime associate myself I agree with everything you said. It’s so sad to see how much has changed and not in a good way.

You hit the nail on the head. Extremely well put and all of us can relate. This company treats their employees like garbage.

Thread regarding Sam's Club layoffs

This hits the nail on the head!.

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