Large and Small Companies

[Snaggletooth]

I get on a rampage occasionally about large companies. Incidentally one of my favorite examples is the relatively small but talented and responsive group with the Tax Book, and other giant publishers with seemingly powerful and infinite resources. The rest of this post is off-topic, but the comparison has well-recognized counterparts in other businesses.

The best-rewarded companies on Wall Street used to be those who built plants, expanded facilities, hired people, provided benefits, etc. Now the Wall Street darlings are those who move plants overseas, lay off people, slash benefits because "this adds to the bottom line."

Earlier tonight, most stores in our little town were closed due to a rare five-inch snow, plus it was late Sunday. Of course, Wal Mart was open. Yes, the same whose four heirs of Walton are among the 10 richest people in America. The same WalMart who works 90% of their people less than 28 hrs/wk so they don't have to provide medical benefits to any except top management people.

At some point in the past, I could go into a store, ask for help, get what I needed, check out and be on my way. Tonight, all I needed was kitchen matches and cranberry juice. Found a few workers in the cavernous facility, none of whom knew where the matches were and didn't really care. Found the juice, and walked to the other end of the store to find another clerk who had been surrounded by a whole group of people who needed help. I looked around awhile to come back later. After coming back the clerk had been summoned to the far recesses of the store to wait on someone where there wasn't a clerk on duty.

Gave up on the matches, and headed to the check-out. Food-stamp people were in front of me arguing with one of only two cashiers for the whole store. Cashier said she couldn't approve a transactions, so had to call in a manager from the back. Manager came and they huddled about something. A few minutes later cashier had more problems and had to call the manager back up again.

Cashier was being paid little more than minimum wage - every tax preparer in town sees their W-2s and knows this. Another guy with two purchases said he was going to the other cashier after waiting behind this one customer 25 minutes. The manager was being called up for the third time, and I joined the guy at the other cashier station.

Guy in front of me wrote a check for less than $20, and cashier shoved some paperwork under him for him to sign. Said his check had instantly cleared the bank but had to have this agreement signed whereby Wal-Mart could automatically draft his bank account in the event of a payment disagreement. (Even after she told him his check had already cleared the bank) Guy refused, got pissed off, and walked out. Cashier didn't really care, and was relieved she didn't have to listen to him any more.

I paid my $8 for two large OceanSpray bottles and finally got out of Dodge.

I could give you more sensational business practices by WalMart, but that is really out-of-scope. The point I wish to make:

DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE that larger, well-heeled companies with resources are going to provide you with a superior product or services. Remember the days of walking into your friendly neighborhood store, getting what you need, and service with a smile, even at a slightly higher price.

I'm not promoting nostalgia, but excellence. When I was younger in church we used to sing "This Is My Father's World." If they still sing this today, they are definitely not talking about my father, Mr. Jordan, or his world either.

[erchess]

Nice to see we agree on something

The problem is that Americans at all levels reward companies that behave in socially destructive ways. I don't know this from my position as a tax professional but I have often heard and never had contradicted the assertion that the tax code actually favors American Companies that build plants overseas. I can see in everyday news how Wall Street rewards companies for increasing their profits even when they do so in ways that cannot be sustained in the long run and/or hurt society. But with all that, Wal Mart and the firms like it are able to thrive only because the public buys from them with full knowledge of how they operate.

I am no different. My family rarely goes in a Wal Mart store, although that may change when the Super Center that is under construction not too far from us opens up, and we already have many items that we routinely buy from Sam's Club. In contrast there is an American owned chain of grocery stores with its HQ in this county. We actually do buy a lot of our food from them and we usually shop in one of the several in the area that seem to have helpful considerate staff rather than at one of the two in the area where the staff are not willing to help you find something or look in the back to see if they have more of something than has been put out. However, one of the things we always buy at Sam's is a two pack of 48 ounce jars of Jif that could be had at the grocery store for only I think about one dollar more. We also have not tried the brand my Doctor would like me to try even though in the long past I ate it and liked it. It isn't available at Sam's and at the grocery store it costs two dollars more for two same size jars. I am sure it will not surprise you to learn that we are talking about two month's worth of peanutbutter for a family of three adults.

I'm not aware of any Mom and Pop grocers where I currently live and roam. There were actually one or two Mom and Pop grocery stores in the town where I lived before 1997 and with one of them being near my house I did trade with them because I found out they had the best meat in that was available and at very competitive prices. But despite their superior service and convenience I was not willing to pay two or three cents more per can for my canned vegetables.

One thing I did right then as now was to by locally grown stuff for my fresh produce whenever possible. A lot of people knock Wal Mart. If many of these people would think of other places to do most of their shopping, Wal Mart would either change its business practices or go out of business.

[geekgirldany]

I'll throw in my 2 cents. I will not go into a Wal-mart. I ordered a tv from them a few months ago and a bb gun a few years ago. Other than that I won't go near the place. The place is too large for me. I can't walk the whole store for a few items. I also can never get any help if I need it. People that shop there are wild. I mean it is like I have to step to the side to get out of their way. When the first walmart put in here it was alot smaller. I did actually like going in there. If not just to look around. Rarely went even then. But as soon as super duper walmart came that was it.

I remember when WalMart use to advertise "american made, made in the usa". Now everything they sell is from china. My father bought some wash clothes for my mother the other day from wally world. They smelled kinda bad. I looked a the label and they were from Pakistan. I told my mom she better bleach the heck out of them to get that smell off.

If I ever need anything I ususally go to semi-local own stores. Ingles, Dollar General (I actually do alot of grocery shopping there), and Ace. I buy things at RiteAid and CVS also. I would rather pay $1.00 more for cereal if it means me not having to walk the length of a track field. There are no locally owned groceries. There are several that are Hispanic owned meaning they selling mostly foods from Mexico.

I've also found myself doing alot of shopping online. I buy books, office supplies, electronics, etc online. Just so I don't have to battle people at the store. One thing I do notice when dealing with clerks is when you say thank you... they seem surprised. I guess alot of them are not treated well by customers. I always tell them thank you... even if they really didn't help much. I had a customer tell me once that he really did appreciate me telling him "thank you for your business". That he rarely hears it anymore. He said thank you to a waiter at a restaurant and he responded with "no problem". Not "your welcome"... "no problem".

Oh well I think alot of this shows how the world has changed so much. I could keep on writing but I think I've wrote enough to bore you

[erchess]

Ingles

Ingles is the American owned grocery store I mentioned. Even locally close to HQ they can't make every store run the way a Mom and Pop or just two partners would make their store run However as far as I know they are the only American Owned multi State grocery store chain we have. That makes them the next best thing to a Mom and Pop in my book especially here where there are some really nice ones. I have heard horror stories about the chain from friends in TN. On the other hand I do have to buy food from somewhere and I do know that Bob Ingle gives a lot of food to local charities that feed the poor.

[DTS]

Letters

Snags,

You and the rest should be sending these posts to every department of W/M, including the mgr. and asst. mgr., etc. of your stores. You may think nothing is heard, but when the top gets wind of how each of their stores is treating the customer (especially in this economy), my guess is that things will change for the better. I could be wrong, from personal experience I am sure I'm not, but it's sure worth a shot.

D

[veritas]

Walmart

Business is booming.

I noticed this weekend and commented to my wife that a new customer type I rarely saw before.

You know the ones driving Escalades, Denalis and Mercedes.

I have friends that refuse to shop there because it "smells funny". Or because they don't want to buy that cheap Chinese "crap".

I always ask them how they like buying the same "crap" at Fred Meyer's (owned buy Krogers) and paying substantially more even though the the rank and file make the same money as the Walmart employees.

[Snaggletooth]

It's the Formula

You and the rest should be sending these posts to every department of W/M, including the mgr. and asst. mgr., etc. of your stores. You may think nothing is heard, but when the top gets wind of how each of their stores is treating the customer (especially in this economy), my guess is that things will change for the better.

Hi Dennis - yes, I could write an ugly letter, and the management at WalMart might even have a meeting and circulate an encouragement or chastisement to store employees. The management does not want irate customers.

But it is all anticlimatic, and the end result would not change. This is what is going to happen when the company wants the lowest-paid people in town, and those willing to work limited hours without health benefits so they can price their merchandise dirt cheap and put every other store in town out-of-business.
My incident is not isolated. I have had several "bad trips" there, like people used to have "bad trips" on LSD. I average going to WalMart maybe three times per year.

It is the objective of WalMart to do all the above. They do not want irate customers, but they are gambling that the customers will put up with the abuse just to get to the lowest dollar, so their formula will not change. Buy from the cheapest overseas source, hire the cheapest help, work the least amount of people, and undercut prices of other stores. They also buy surrounding land and rent to other stores, all of whom are under agreement not to sell compatible merchandise less than WalMart.

I know some really nice people who work for WalMart -- it is not to disparage their employees. And not exclusively WalMart except as the flagship of giant companies and the service they provide, while claiming that their size and resources are better for consumers. Do you go to Home Depot and find things any different? Cavernous facilities and no help to be found anywhere. How do get your phone service repaired? Talk to some tech support in Paraguay? Even Microsoft just laid off 5,000 workers, NONE of them outside the USA. Meet the new darlings of Wall Street, and do your best to avoid being one of their customers.

And if you think being one of their customers is a bummer, you should try being one of their employees on the "new" corporate ladder. Those losing these jobs in this recession may end up being the "lucky" ones in the bigger picture.

On the positive side, this recession is a golden opportunity for service-minded companies to grow and bring value to the customer again. Hard times, yes, but time for wagons to find new stars to whom they may hitch!

[David1980]

This is what is going to happen when the company wants the lowest-paid people in town, and those willing to work limited hours without health benefits so they can price their merchandise dirt cheap and put every other store in town out-of-business.

Exactly. Even if Walmart was to pay their employees twice the wages and great benefits it wouldn't change anything. We'd just be complaining about Walmart 2 instead of Walmart, where Walmart 2 is some other company willing to pay minimum wage/no benefits and put Walmart out of business.

I like to think of Walmart as a tool. If the treatment of their employees should not be allowed, then why is it? Think of that Office Space clip where the girl is yelling at her boss about the 28 pieces of flair (or whatever the other guy wore) and that if he wants her to wear 28 pieces of flair just make the minimum 28 pieces of flair.

The same applies to Walmart. If you want people to make twice the wage with benefits, make the minimum twice the wage with benefits. Companies like Walmart are the only way you'll ever see things move that direction because without large companies showing the flaws in our system the flaws get ignored and workers are exploited less noticeably, but exploited none-the-less.

[erchess]

I have an even better idea

At the end of the year make a company list the employees and any individuals treated as contractors from the one paid the most (the CEO?) to the one paid the least. Order them by total amount paid during the year. Include temps but count only their actual pay not what you paid the agency or paid in payroll taxes on them. Strike out any who did not work a whole year unless the total of such people exceeds 20% of those paid anything. Compute the differential between the highest and the lowest and have a sliding scale so that the narrower the gap between lowest and highest the greater percentage the employees, starting at the bottom, whose pay may be deducted in computing corporate tax. And of course if an individual is a C Officer or a Member of any Corporate Board (not just the board of this company) or is in the top ten percent of our list of people by pay then under no circumstances is his or her pay a tax deduction for the company.

We could I think exempt S Corps and Partnerships and corps having say under one million in gross revenue from this regime particularly if we lowered the number of non related owners who do not work substantially in the business nor are retired from doing so to say 20.

[DaveO]

I guess WalMart pay must vary quite a bit around the country. I have several full time Wally World employees whose pay ranges from $35k to nearly $60k. The higher number representing a department manager but the lower numbers non-managerial workers. They all have health insurance, are enrolled in the pension plan and buy WalMart stock. Not since the demise of the big union grocers like Safeway have grocery store workers been well paid. The lack of checkout help is my main gripe about the stores.

As far as shopping there the wife and I have been going a bit more often trying to offset other rising costs. I buy most of the house paper goods there or at Sam's. Alcohol, soap and cheese are also good buys at Sam's. Most of out meat comes from the little neighborhood grocery where we know the meat cutter and deli staff by name. We don't stock up on food stuffs prefering to purchase what we need fresh at the market daily.

[Nashville]

Not your father's WalMart

WOW Dave-O! Recession-weary workers in middle TN would sell their soul for a salary like what your WalMart people bring home!!

A tax preparer here in the Sunny South can see dozens of W-2s from WalMart every year. Most of them somewhere between $10K and $13K for 25-28 hours per week.

You did mention unions. WalMart has been known to shut down stores on the spot when threatened by organizing by their employees. They received a free pass from the city of Chicago to have non-union stores simply by threatening to build in the suburbs.

And they DO offer health insurance, with the cost paid for by the employee. Only the top managers have it, because for most of their employees the cost is very close to $200 per week. Try paying that on $10K to $13K per year.