Blacknbengal
Well-Known Member
Wal-Mart cuts back on greeters
When you go to Wally World late at night, don't expect to hear "Welcome to Wal-Mart" when you walk through the door.
The nation's largest private employer has been eliminating greeters on the 10 p.m.-to-7 a.m. shift at its 3,000-plus supercenters over the last six months, "chipping away at a 30-year tradition of making sure all shoppers are welcomed to the store," Bloomberg reports. Most supercenters are open 24 hours a day.
Cost cutting has much to do with this. "Same-store sales at Wal-Mart's namesake U.S. locations declined for nine straight quarters before snapping the streak with a 1.3% gain for the quarter ended in October," Bloomberg says.
Oh, and then there's the customers. Plenty of news reports indicate the challenges they can pose to these low-paid workers -- $9.08 an hour, according to Glassdoor (and a hat tip to The Consumerist for keeping excellent track of these incidents):
A 69-year-old greeter reportedly was fired after a customer who set off the alarm tried to punch him and he swung back.
A 71-year-old greeter was allegedly choked after asking to see a customer's receipt. The injuries weren't serious.
A 100-year-old greeter -- yes, 100 -- said she was knocked down after asking to see a receipt. (The incident was later ruled an accident.) The greeter, who worked five days a week, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "that her employers treat her well but that she works because she needs the money."
A 72-year-old greeter had to be hospitalized after he was punched in the face outside the store.
A 70-year-old Wal-Mart employee was allegedly slugged by a customer on Christmas Eve after she asked to see a receipt (which the customer had). It's unclear from news reports whether the employee was a greeter or a cashier.
http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=f9fa2c85-5d69-41e0-9ea9-870054e6a2f5
When you go to Wally World late at night, don't expect to hear "Welcome to Wal-Mart" when you walk through the door.
The nation's largest private employer has been eliminating greeters on the 10 p.m.-to-7 a.m. shift at its 3,000-plus supercenters over the last six months, "chipping away at a 30-year tradition of making sure all shoppers are welcomed to the store," Bloomberg reports. Most supercenters are open 24 hours a day.
Cost cutting has much to do with this. "Same-store sales at Wal-Mart's namesake U.S. locations declined for nine straight quarters before snapping the streak with a 1.3% gain for the quarter ended in October," Bloomberg says.
Oh, and then there's the customers. Plenty of news reports indicate the challenges they can pose to these low-paid workers -- $9.08 an hour, according to Glassdoor (and a hat tip to The Consumerist for keeping excellent track of these incidents):
A 69-year-old greeter reportedly was fired after a customer who set off the alarm tried to punch him and he swung back.
A 71-year-old greeter was allegedly choked after asking to see a customer's receipt. The injuries weren't serious.
A 100-year-old greeter -- yes, 100 -- said she was knocked down after asking to see a receipt. (The incident was later ruled an accident.) The greeter, who worked five days a week, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "that her employers treat her well but that she works because she needs the money."
A 72-year-old greeter had to be hospitalized after he was punched in the face outside the store.
A 70-year-old Wal-Mart employee was allegedly slugged by a customer on Christmas Eve after she asked to see a receipt (which the customer had). It's unclear from news reports whether the employee was a greeter or a cashier.
http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=f9fa2c85-5d69-41e0-9ea9-870054e6a2f5
