Here’s one cost saving trick that hasn’t been talked about much. Bonus’s for both hourly and salary have been cut way back. It used to be an hourly associate could end the year with some type of a bonus as long as you store produced. This was part of Sam’s teachings to pass on a share of the profits to his associates. In the last few years that has changed. They keep changing and raising the bar to the point that the bonus has been very little if any for the hourly associate. Management has taken a beating as well. Its true as a store manager the bonus in the past was very lucrative. This is no longer the case. They have raised the budget to the point that managers are taking a huge loss. In my area the turnover rate for managers is the worst I have ever seen. The company has lost some very strong talent in their stores and it shows. At a time when our company is struggling, we lack the experience that we once had to make our company strong. As a long-term associate, it saddens me to see things go this bad, this long.

Lets vote Dan in as CEO and Brian as the efficiency expert for WMT. I am convinced they can do as good a job or better than Lee (weenie fuzz) Scott and gang. They both make a lot to sense to me.

When you reduced bonuses, install pay caps, are inflexible with work hours, and have a low starting wage, without the ability to reward strong workers with merit raises, you end up with a very weak employee work pool which to draw the next set of managers. Add to this the reduction of managers in each store, you end up with the trainers not having the experience or time to train the next generation of managers. this causes a spirial downward which will continue on a downward coarse forever. You would think the board of directors and share holders would change this to install leadership on the very top that cares more about the future of Wal-Mart rather then leadership that is just trying to just make their bonus for the present year and putting off the future until next year.

As a walmart associate I feel relieved to know i am not the only one with these feelings. I agree 100% with both dan and brian but have something else to add. Part of walmarts' problem is that the management that is running the stores and markets, choose to make or interpret walmart policies as they go along. This has resulted in law suits against the company and bad feelings in some communities. Also, regarding saturation, let's not just worry about customer base, where are you going to staff these stores? Most stores i know are already low on staff, and at what point does the pool of employees turn around to where we are pulling from the same applicants. I am truly saddened as a long time walmart associate to see the implosion of walmart. It is slow but it surely happening. It is now a company of the three evil monkeys, They don't want to see, they don't want to hear, and they DON'T want to speak about it.

p.s. What has happened to Lee Scott? If you do a search in walmart phonebook he is no longer listed. For the longest time Lee and Eduardo were both listed as president and ceo of walmart stores, now it is only eduardo. What's up?

What's NOT WRONG with Wal-Mart?! You have employee's working very long hours with no benefits, no pay raises and many of them on foodstamps and medicaid because they still fall under the poverty line.
The next thing that's wrong, nothing Wal-Mart produces is made in the USA anymore. With all the recalls this year, you think they would re-open factories they closed and go back to making good, quality products like they use to. I don't know how people could continue to shop at these huge mega Wal-Marts knowing what they do to the employee's.

The Walmart Way Not Sam's Way

Read it.

I will be updating my site and starting on a new book.
The answers are clear from inside the stores and always have been.
No one wants to listen.

I have worked for Wal-Mart for 10 plus years and when I came to work and put on the Wal-Mart vest I felt like I was a part of the company and the company was a part of me. Wal-Mart has discontinued the wearing of the vests and has formed a dress code of dark blue shirts and brown slacks or skirts to be worn with name tags. In addition to being a very poor color combination, it is difficult for a shopper to spot a Wal-Mart associate when shopping. In my opinion this was not in the best interest of Wal-Mart and has adversely affected associate moral and will in the long run will cost the Company considerable sales.

I always chuckle at some of the things people think are wrong with a retailer in their comments. Going from vests to polo shirts is a bad idea? What!!? That's the market norm and Wal-Mart was way behind on this trend. Wearing polo shirts looks far more professional. I do think the people criticizing wages and bonuses have a point. But that's not just Wal-Mart, any company that tries to live off a majority of employees who barely make above minimum wage has problems. You get what you pay for. If your employees are working their tails off and not making enough to live on, they will not offer the same courtesy and customer service that people who don't have to worry about how they will pay their bills next week will offer. Customer service is pretty awful around the USA, not just in Wal-Mart. Costco has really nailed this. Cashiers can make over $40,000 a year after several years of service. That's crazy pay for a retailer, and it's one reason why the shopping experience is so different and Costco is growing. This also has a domino effect on Wal-Mart upper management. The company likes to promote from within and trying to find hidden gems, no matter how many employees, will be difficult when top quality talent usually doesn't work in the store to begin with. Having said all this, I think the biggest problem with Wal-Mart has nothing to do with any of this. Has it simply gotten too big and too large volume? Target picked up on the 'visually appealing' store concept before Wal-Mart, but you'll notice that any Target you walk into has probably 1/4th the amount of registers open than the local Wal-Mart. During high sales periods such as back to school and Christmas, you literally have to force you way through Wal-Mart aisles. Supercenters are so huge, some people are willing to pay higher prices for a smaller store with a more enjoyable shopping experience. The question is has Wal-Mart grown so much, gotten so big with its Supercenter concept, and increased sales so much that it just isn't a good shopping experience no matter how much you decrease register waiting times, or how much you change employee or store design, or what new products you decide to offer? And at what point will people forego what will probably be the lowest price for a better shopping experience? My guess is that with the way our economy and country continue to decrease the lower and middle class wages, it won't make much of a difference. And of coures, the blogger's original comment about market saturation is spot on, but Wal-Mart can't do anything about that. If you want to make big money in the stock market, you have to pick the winner before they are the winner. Expecting a company that has aged and grown as long as Wal-Mart has to give you the same returns as it did 15 years ago when it was still a baby is not going to happen. Wal-Mart is now with Coca-Cola and other long-time big companies that you invest in for security, not because you think you have the next internet bubble company potential.