cashier

pharmacy technician

retail sales associate

facilities maintenance technician

replenishment associate

Walmart

Sorry for how long this is in advance, but I would read all the way through if you are seriously considering a job with the Walmart Company.

I worked for the Walmart Company in the Online Pickup and Delivery department at a local Walmart store for just over a year, and am currently employed for the past few months at Sam’s Club, the sister store which is a membership-based bulk grocery chain (like Costco, but Walmart), in the Freezer/Cooler/Deli department as a stocking associate, and have worked with many people who agree with me on most of these points who have worked for the Walmart Company in both stores for a few months to a few decades. I will be focusing mainly on Walmart as a store during this, and my experience as well as other people’s experiences working for this company in general.

Typically the work day is very fast-paced and busy, with lots of pressure riding on each employee, given the department and store I was working in. I did make tons of lasting friends out of coworkers who I am still close with and spend time with even after I left. Management was so-so whether they had liked you or not, and had clear favoritism towards employees who seemed like hard workers in their eyes but in reality did the bare minimum, found ways to cheat the system, are rude to other associates, create unnecessary drama to make themselves look good, and kissed up to management to get ahead of other workers who deserved more credit than the ones who got the praise and recognition (not saying I’m one of the people who didn’t get praised, I was actually one of the favorites of one manager when I felt there were others who deserved more praise than I was receiving, and I was also clearly unliked by another lead who favorited workers who found ways to cheat their productivity levels and only tried whilst they were watching and noticed the difference in how I was treated by both managers and how they treated other workers in both scenarios). 

The hardest part of the job was honestly more about the workplace culture rather than the actual work. There was a lot of drama in my department specifically but the actual work was quite easy and repetitive in a good way. Usually you get there at the start of your shift, grab your devices, check where they have placed you throughout the day, check your break/lunch schedule, then go and either pick orders or help where they had placed you in the backroom, whether that would be taking orders out to cars, preparing orders, sorting orders, or finding missing items that weren’t on the shelves. Pretty simple. The only problem (in my store  specifically, not sure about others) was the employee to device ratio. On busy days it was often that there were employees who didn’t have the materials needed to work, and you need those materials in order to do anything, whether that would be scanning in items to orders, sorting the orders with the others, or even dispensing them out to the customers, so there were many days where there were employees standing around doing nothing waiting to get a device and help, and there was nothing management could do to help them either. 

Now there are lots of good benefits through the company for full time employees, such as; medical, dental, optical, retirement (401K), automatic savings (through the One@Work app), maternal & paternal leave (unpaid), mental healthcare/counseling , free Walmart+ membership, an employee discount on non-food items (even if it’s only 10%), life insurance, associate stock purchasing plans, paid education (only while working for the company/only through company approved schools), annual raise, workplace injury compensation, extra discounts on non-food merchandise for birthdays, added discount on food for thanksgiving, etc. 

The company itself is good to work for with benefits alone, but the in-store management and higher-up management are corrupt and hungry for power and money, driven by therefore clouding their ability to properly make decisions about the good of their lower-level employees. Days were long and exhausting, management was often overwhelming associates with multiple tasks above their paygrade and criticisms, as well as micromanaging everyone whilst simultaneously doing nothing to help out around them, claiming they had “administrative work” to do while they sat and watched the employees struggle to keep up with the work or hid in the office on their phone. Not all management was this way, but the amount of team leaders and department heads that were is still astounding and a problem that the higher up company heads and in-store management refuse to acknowledge and fix. There was good management as well, who would step in and take initiative with employees to ensure we weren’t overwhelmed and behind on the day, but it was rare and usually didn’t last very long due to the amount of pressure and stress given to management by department heads and company management to excel. 

Also the hiring process is complicated and very particular, where you take a test while applying where if you ace the whole test but answer even one question slightly different from what they’re looking for, you can ruin your chances of even being considered for employment in the department you are striving for, or employment at all.

Even once you are hired, staying that way is still an uphill battle. There is an attendance policy, which in theory, is very smart on the company’s behalf, but in practice, it’s unreasonable and unethical towards employees. The attendance policy is as follows: A point system where you accrue points for tardiness/absences. Tardiness/leaving early under 4 hours is 0.5 points and tardiness/leaving early above 4 hours/absences is 1 point, and if you reach 5 points at one given time you are let go. There are no exceptions to this unless it is a serious emergency talked through with your department head. Absence points only expire after 6 months of the time you acquire them (so if you get a point for calling out on 01/01/24 and a half point for being late on 02/01/24 the first point expires on 06/01/24 and the second on 07/01/24). There is a grace period with tardiness/leaving early where you have until 8 minutes after your shift starts/before your shift ends before you get absence points. In cases of smaller mistakes like your alarm didn’t go off in the morning where it’s making you late, or an illness requires you to leave early or call out before your shift starts, they have a failsafe called Protected Paid Time Off (PPTO) that you can use to protect yourself from absence points. PPTO is usually auto-approved by the system and it’s against company policy for management to go in and change that approval or tell you that you cannot use it to leave early for any reason. You accrue PPTO while working along with regular PTO, but it takes around 3 full months of working to even get enough PPTO to even have enough to cover a full shift. With that being said, getting even the slightest bit sick was an absolute nightmare. The company actively promotes staying home while even feeling a little under the weather in order to keep the employees healthy but there is no guarantee that you won’t be fired the second you come back due to absences. Especially with Covid-19 still being heavily monitored in some states. There have been so many times where people have come into work sick because they were already at 4 or 4.5 points and didn’t have enough PPTO to cover a full day without getting fired, getting others sick in the process who also can’t afford to lose their jobs over illness or injury. Another way to lose your job through this company is through something called a “Coaching” which are essentially write ups, but the name comes from the title “Coach” which is the official name of the department managers. It’s very rare to get coaching’s and most people don’t get any at all, even though some deserve to (such as one coworker who would harass other female coworkers calling them profanities and threatening to hurt them, and was reported multiple times but never once actually got consequences for their actions, even though in the company code of conduct they should’ve been let go on the second or third offense, but that’s besides the point). Again, coaching’s are rare and usually when the behavior gets severe, like a regular write up at any given job. Coaching’s usually depend on the severity of the situation on when they expire/how many it takes to be let go, but typically they last at least for 6 months from the date received and can go up to a year, and usually it takes 2-3 coaching’s to be officially let go.

All in all, proceed with caution when applying to the Walmart Company and maybe you even already work for the company and disagree with everything I said throughout this, but for the most part if you keep to yourself and do your work most of these problems can be avoided, maybe not completely, but definitely from the severity I had experienced, and don’t let this completely stop you from working for Walmart, because for as much bad as I have just listed, there is still plenty of good to balance it. Including what I have previously stated, I made lasting relationships and genuine friends. I also have the start of a 401K, I’ve learned how to deal with the stress of a genuinely fast-paced and busy workplace, and the benefits (especially the free college education and medical benefits) are worth it, especially if you have a family or are the main caretaker of someone in need. Anyways, thanks for reading my TED talk.

Wal-Mart is one of those companies that will get beat on day in and day out by previous employees who have worked there.

Lets see where I stand:

I have worked at Wal-Mart on two seperate occasions, totaling 5 years with the company. Once, as a regular night time associate, and the other as a department manager on day shift.

I must say that, this place is what it is. A corporate run company, offering entry level jobs for people of all backgrounds. Because Wal-Mart is so large, they are able to offer employment to a large amount of the communities they are built into, which is a plus. 

Now with all entry level jobs, you can only assume, and for good reason, that you will be working with others, and for others, that may not share the same high values and work ethics that you may share in regards to to working for any given company. This can effect your quality of living so to speak while at your job. Additionally, the consumers in your specific area will also play a huge rule in the type of environment you will be working in, as this is a retail/customer service based employment. You will deal with great customers, and you will deal with the unruly ones as well. A lot of people like to knock a company just because the people that shop there are not up to par, so to speak. But in all actuality, the worst customer of all could theoretically walk into any establishment on the planet, and contribute a "bad rep" to the companies face and name. For this, companies should not be held accountable for the actions of individuals shopping there.

The pay is not the best, but it is also not the worst. If you are trying to raise a family on an entry level salary at this company, good luck. You will have to live your life very frugally, and cut corners wherever you can to get by. If you are single, you should be fine, assuming you are smart with your money and know how to budget. The majority of people spend WAY too much money on things they want, rather than need. Learning to save money is one of the best things you can learn to do, especially if you work at a low paying job. Moving up will offer you more money however, but until you reach the position of co manager (the title has recently changed, to what I don't remember), the pay may not equate to the amount of work and stress you will be dealing with.

Co-workers tend to be good and bad as well. Most people in entry level jobs do not care much about their work ethic, they just want to do the minimum that is required to keep their job, and keep getting paid. You will find this in most companies, but I find it to hold true especially in this establishment. You will always find yourself picking up the slack after fellow co workers who were unable to finish their tasks throughout the day, due to laziness or some other form of non disciplined reason. 

Management can be hit or miss as well, but having a bad manager delegating above you can literally make or break your decisions for staying or leaving a company. I have worked under, and with, many managers working here that cared not only about the customers well being, but the employees as well. On the contrary, however, I have worked with many managers who, for whatever reason, could not see past their paychecks, and chose to do the bare minimum requirements for keeping employment, regardless of how it affected the staff, and even customers. I got verbally reprimanded once for giving too much customer service to a customer, who was considering buying one of the most expensive items in the department, even though customer service is the companies number one focus, so they like to tell you.

Communication at this company is very poor as well. Most management does not understand what each others real intentions are, and you will find yourself getting different instructions from different management on a day to day basis. Secondly, you may find yourself hearing a lot of complaining from managers about work, or situations involving an incompletion of work. But I think this comes with any company. As the famous saying goes. Nine times I did right, I heard never. One time I did wrong, I heard ever. That saying does not fall short here either.

Staffing and coverage, in my two cases at least, were for the most part, poor, to put it simply. Wal-Mart will do anything to save a dollar. From offering low wages, to cutting employee hours down to the absolute minimum. I very frequently found myself running two to three departments at any given time. It doesn't matter who you are, save Superman, you will not be able to handle all of the demand that two or three departments require of you within your time allotted. And forget overtime, it is almost never part of Wal-Marts vocabulary.
 
Overall, I think Wal-Mart is what you make of it. It's very easy to get stressed out in this job, especially if you are in entry level positions, and you might find yourself looking for more work sooner than you think. On the other hand, if you have a positive mindset, and are willing to be disciplined enough to deal with the gruff that comes from customer service based retail, low level employees, and minimally trained management, then I would say take a job here. Many people are in a position that they just need a job, just to get by for the time being, not caring what they have to deal with to get it, and if that is the case, then work here, get your act together (Go to school, find a better job) and get out. Their are far too many mediums within this facility that are simply out of your control, this goes for employees all the way up to, and including the Store Manager. Ofcourse, I cannot say the same for corporate positions, as I have never set foot in any of Wal-Marts corporate offices.

To make a long story short:

If you can afford to take more time to look for higher pay, more suitable work conditions catered to your preferences, don't work here.

If you need to pay bills ASAP, or are going to school and need something temporary to pay for classes, feel free to apply. But don't get stuck here.

Lastly, in addition to the review I'd like to add:

Everyone has the potential to change their fate. Everything is hard before it's easy, and if you want to change your life for the better, become the person who is willing to work a little harder than everyone else around you, in order to get ahead. Don't forget that everyone is human. From the guy flipping burgers at McDonald's all the way up to the Regional owners of billion dollar companies. Anyone can do almost anything, it's really just up to you on how far you want to climb the ladder of success.

It only takes 2-4 years to get a degree, even less for technical degrees and certificates. The average person will live to be around 70-80. So you can't say you don't have enough time to go to school, and eventually get into a better job.

And last but not least, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO FAIL! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, who is alive and dead, has failed at least once in their life trying to reach a goal, or just simply get ahead. I suppose I will leave you with a quote from the latest Rocky movie. Although the idea here might seem a little cheesy, the lesson to be learned is not, so please, listen well, and take these words to heart.

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean, and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are. It will beat you to your knees, and keep you there permanently if you let it. Me, you, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth, but you gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointin' fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that, and that ain't you! You're better than that!"

I wish you the best in all your decisions in life!

God bless,
Ken Stevens (Former Wal-Mart employee)

I worked at Walmart for 5 years starting as a backroom unloader and leaving as a sporting goods representative. It is quite easy to transfer departments within the company as they promote upward mobility with employees having first consideration. The work at Walmart isn't what you would call hard, but it can wear on you after a while.
From my experience, I would say this job is a good fit for those in their late teens to mid 20's. The job features lots of stocking work as well as general upkeep. Sometimes you will be pulled to assist another department which can cause issues in your own. Its important to be able to work quickly and efficiently, as you will be given daily an overwhelming workload that includes sorting and stocking product as well as continuous customer service. Aside from the workload, one of the things i liked about working at Walmart were the fellow associates.
Being a large corporation, Walmart attracts a diverse crowd of people who all embrace a similar mindset: "F*** this place!" Being stuck together in mediocre and repetitive work really produces a bonding effect for the people. I met several friends and acquaintances through Walmart that I still see to this day. You'll certainly have some fun memories of stupid things you've done with coworkers as the years go by. Being an hourly associate isn't too bad, managers get the short end of the stick however.  
Overly, Walmart managers were a balance between good and bad. It really depends who is immediately over your department. There is a hidden culture of favoritism between management as well as star employees, it is possible to meet those standards though. Managers for the most part are happy to assist in personal growth, all you have to do is ask and they will be honest with you about your strengths and where you need improvement. In my experience, some of the most influential managers on my growth i found through Walmart. 
Arguably the best benefit of Walmart is their sick day policy. They have a PTO system where you accrue PTO based on every shift you work. This time increases the more time you work at Walmart. Using the PTO is easy to use, as you make a request at least two weeks ahead of time and get paid for that day off based on the hours available (up to 8 hours in a day). On top of that, if you don't feel like going into work that day (FOR ANY REASON including wanting a day off) you can call out. You can have up to a certain amount of callouts in a given 6 month period before any type of correctional action is taken. Once you breach that amount, you are usually fired. If you pay attention to your absences however, its easy to maneuver. This policy is very helpful for those that feel the consistent grind of work life and is helpful to give yourself time to recharge. Lastly, if you can't afford to lose out on money, you can use your PTO to cover your call out. You still accrue the absence, but you get paid for the day.

For the most part my posting has been positive, yet I've rated Walmart overall at a 2 out of 5. Now we come to the reason of my rating as well as my reasons for leaving the company: Compensation. Being a large Multibillion Dollar Company, Walmart is overwhelmingly focused on cutting expenses. These methods become apparent after some time and critical thinking on your check stubs. While Walmart offers some interesting and helpful benefits (Stock Options, 401k matched to 7% [last I was there]) the benefits sound better than they really are. The healthcare they offer, for example, can cover 75% of your healthcare costs but the deductible is $5,000.00... On top of that, your income will be slightly over minimum wage at the beginning and years down the road new hires will be paid about the same as you. When I left after 5 years, I was making $0.13 more than new hires. Its very difficult to meet your deductible of $5000 when youre making less than $30,000 a year. Last point, you do get yearly raises immediately on your hire date anniversary, they used to be between $0.20 and $0.50 hourly based on performance. They switched instead to an annual 2% increase regardless of performance. This significantly reduces morale as you feel like your extra effort doesn't feel rewarded. A small silver lining however, should you wish to make more money, Walmart remodels their stores every 5 years and they recruit remodelers from other stores. Should you show interest, you can be sent to another location where you work overnights for seemingly limitless overtime options. They put you up in a hotel (all paid for) and you get reimbursed weekly for food as well as mileage should you be a driver. This experience is actually remarkably fun as you can work in a resort location, eat some good food, experience interesting sights, and get paid to do it.
Lastly, the smaller things that are worth noting, Walmart requires all associates to work every Holiday (except Christmas). Holidays used to be paid at time and a half, however they did away with that to save money. You sacrifice precious time for what seems pointless especially if you live close to family. Aside from holidays, Walmart employees get an hour for lunch (unpaid) on a six hour or more shift, it feels like a bit of a drain on your day. In addition, Walmart likes to have associates cut their accrued overtime on a weekly bases to save on labor. However, they wont have you cut it by coming in later or leaving earlier. They will have you cut it on your lunch break. Doesnt matter how much or how little, you can one day be asked to take an hour and 10 minute lunch or sometimes a 2 hour lunch to reduce your hours even if you intentionally were building overtime. You dont have a choice to keep it if your manager tells you to cut it. Lastly, Walmart features several teams in multiple departments. You will have your collection of both good and bad associates, however corrective action is a rare occurrence. When managers see they have a bad employee, they will routinely complain about them but refuse to take action unless absolutely necessary. They will counter the effects of bad workers by imposing higher expectations on the good workers. Translation: You exceed their expectations and they reward you with more work covering the mediocre employees labor (at no extra pay). It feels remarkably frustrating covering other workers labor while receiving no incentive, not even recognition. This ideology reinforces a minimalist mindset where more workers will do less resulting in less and less morale on a weekly basis. Unfortunately the method of correction doesn't fall on the employees either, the managers receive the bile from the higher ups (one reason why managers get screwed). As a manager, it feels impossible to rally your team as there isn't even a so called carrot on a stick to inspire associates. You are at the mercy of the expectations of the day and of your associates drive.
In conclusion, Walmart has some interesting features but overall they are like any large scale corporation. They are focused on maximizing profits at the expense of their workers and their turn over rate reflects that. I would recommend Walmart to teens just entering the workforce or below your mid 20's, other than that I would say look elsewhere. As reliable as your job would be, you'll get tired real quick of feeling like a subpar human being as well as feeling like you have to struggle to meet basic needs. You're better off working for a family owned business.  

I am 57 years old and, I can tell you, getting a part-time job at Walmart has been the most stressful and down right confusing experience of my life! I applied at the Raymore/Belton Walmart (amongst other places) in October, hoping for just a part-time job to go with my full time job, to make a little extra money. From the very first contact I received from them, it has been such a nightmare! Just trying to reach the person in charge of hiring (who left me the message) was almost impossible (which she informed me at my interview she does not have a special ext # or other contact # or, a way to leave her a message, nor did she ever display her schedule so one could at least know when she'd be at the store. Can someone explain to me how anyone could hold the position of hiring when they have no way to be reached, except to call the store & hope they happen to be there!) Then, once I finally did reach her and she set up the interview, telling me to go to Customer Service that day and have them page her, I was made to wait over 25 mins, all the while, being told by CS that they thought she had left for lunch and wouldn't be back for another hour. I was contemplating leaving when, at 26 mins after our scheduled time, she showed up, only to approach me and ask me my name. It didn't help, with her looking all the more confused as she asked me how she could help me. I told her I was there for the interview she set up, thinking that would finally do it but, she just continued looking confused, once again, asking me what my name was. What? What? 
Also, I'd like someone to answer why Walmart's application gives you special pages to choose which position you wish to work, along with,entering your hours/days of availability plus, asking you if you want full or part time, then, asking you how many days you want to work, how many hours you want, even, how many hours max you want to work on any given day, then, not even refer to it when giving you a position or, when they make up your schedule? I was officially hired November 7th and, from then til now, I am still fighting Walmart just to get my schedule straight! With their extreme new attendance point system, this fact alone has caused me a daily fight, trying desperately to get fixed those days I was scheduled that were in my "non-available" times. Just missing a day you were on the schedule, would cause points to be added to your account, that have the potential to call for your immediate dismissal. This attendance point system clumps "everything" (from being ill to needing a personal day to, needing to take a day off for bereavement) together so, if you miss a scheduled day, a point is added to your account, that is, "if you took the steps & called their automated attendance # to report it", but, if you didn't make the call, 2 points are added and, worse yet, if you miss 1 of their 'special days' (which they have pre-selected), it doesn't matter if you report it or not, you get "3" points added to your account. Even if you missed because you came down with the actual flu! And, that's only with "1" absence! You are only allowed 4.5 points in any 6 month period. If you hit 5, it is automatic dismissal, no ifs, ands or buts! Doesn't matter how many doctor's notes you bring them showing just how sick you were or, whether you have just lost the love of your life and need some time...doesn't matter. They do offer personal time off but, it takes some time to build up enough for just 1 day off, so, if you're a new hire, this option is out of the question!! 
Look, there are soooo many things that were so wrong about what I was put through (and still am) that I could write a book (which I'm sure no one wishes to read that much) like, how, once I was hired, I was supposed to be guided through Walmart's computer program in setting up our accounts and providing us with training videos but, instead, I was completely left alone, no one showing me just what they wanted me to do, including doing such things as filling out a W-4 so I could get paid! So, guess what? There was no check for me on that first payday (matter of fact, 2 days before our second payday, which was last Wed, the 26th, I still had not been shown where to do this so, when I arrived to work that day, I absolutely refused to work another minute until someone took me through this so I would not miss my second paycheck! I have "never" had such a problem when hired, just to do the most basic set up for being employed with a company! Ridiculous!) I was amazed at the absolute lack of support/help the couple times I managed to have a chance at addressing an Asst Manager (in the computer room/Personnel) and, I told them I'd been left by myself and didn't know what to do. They had no interest in either helping me or, getting me to the person who would! 
There are many more things I could say about my awful experince but, to keep this from being too long, let me just leave you with this: I was hired on the 7th of November and, in the 24 days I've been employed, I have only spent 4 hours (2 hours on 2 separate days) at my actual position. All the other days have been spent on their computers, asking anyone and everyone that came in that room, for help. Most of them had no idea what to tell me with, only a very few, providing me with just enough information to get me started somewhere but, not enough to enable me to complete anything. I can't even critique what I think about "my actual job position" since I have not been able to work it. 
And, I cannot say enough about their complete lack of structure and lack of management support! I am so tired of just when I finally get some sort of question answered by an Asst Manager, I'm told by another what they said was all wrong! No one seems to be on the same page there about anything! It seems to simply be a free for all; every man and woman for themselves. I still do not know just who the store manager is or, if he's ever even in the store. I thought Walmart promoted their idea of being a "family" but, there is absolutely no family cohesion that I could detect so far. When I read a positive remark about being employed at "this" Walmart, the only way I can make sense of that is that they must be young; not really having much experience and, not really caring about the ins and outs of what is going on behind the scenes. They are there, enjoying the company of their friends and just happy to be making their own money (while still living with Mom and Dad and not being faced yet with supporting themselves). 
I just wanted to make a few extra bucks in a relaxed environment. I have enough stress with my main, full time job (which I informed them about in great detail during my interview) and the stress I've endured this last month with Walmart, has taken such a toll that it's causing me problems with my main job and that would not benefit me at all! Sadly, I'm contemplating quitting after only having been there for a mere 24 days! 
I cannot speak for all Walmarts (if they make their own hiring/employee procedures) but, the Raymore Walmart is the worst employment experience of my life!!

Everyday was different, depending if the store was busy or not. The non-busy days were easy. Follow my own designated routine. tend to dirt, mulch, stone, brick and sand. tend to the plants if some else hasn't done so. Find empty pallets and stack them neatly. Bring pallets and plant racks to back of store when there is a time to do so. Help with customers when necessary. Go on water and ice runs when necessary(a lot of departments in the store had an ice chest full of ice and bottles of water for associates). Complete tasks given to me by managers when necessary. 

 Usually, its the busy days that distract me from my normal routine and requires me to push certain tasks down the list for others. These were stressful days, especially in the heat or muggy weather. Being a former cart pusher, I know this kind of stress all too well.

 I felt like I learned a few things, while working for the garden center, and the store in general, but I can't think of anything I could carry with me to other jobs, other than retail. I learned a few things about plants I thought I would of never thought I would ever know, but other than that I can't think of anything significant that I learned. It was a go to work and get things done kind of job.

 Management at this particular Wal-Mart store has been unorganized ever since I started as a cart pusher. There are a few respectable and hard working managers in the store (those who have heads on there shoulders) and then there is the rest of the management team. A certain unnamed manager doesn't seem to disserve his job, not that I would disserve it anymore than him. He is forgetful and I would often need to remind about anything regarding my schedule.

 Two big problems a lot of associates have at the store regarding management is organization, respect and money. The managers don't seem to on top of what other managers have planned. I often found my self being asked to do things for different managers that were contrary to each other.

 There is something at the store called Live at 5 that is a prime example of disorganization on the manager's part. Live at 5 actually starts at 2:30 PM and it involves general merchandise associates randomly picked out and assigned to specific, grocery isles a day to zone. This is unorganized because it leaves the general merchandise section of the store short-handed, while the grocery section is being zoned to look pretty for its 5:00 pm exception.

 This kind of thing happens more often in smaller scales, as well. An acccosiate would be pulled from his or her designated department to help out in another department, leaving the prior department short-handed. This is caused from the lack of employment in Wal-Mart. If more people were hired to fill positions, departments wouldn't be left short-handed and associates wouldn't be have to be pulled. Wal-Mart does hire a fair amount of people during critical times of the year, but promptly lays people off during parts of the year that is less busy.

 There is a good amount of disrespect that comes from the managers to the associates. Usually, this comes in the form of a situation, where the manager's managers give them dead-lined tasks or demands something to be fixed. This makes the manager's stress out and come down on the associates unfairly, especially regarding Live at 5. A manager's mood doesn't always come from a situation, but from how that manager is feeling in any given' day. If the managers were in better moods and respected their accossiates, than the associates would be in better moods.

 Finally, I've noticed that associates will complain about unfair compensation. Now I won't go too far into this because some people will complain about the lack of money anyways. It is money, after all. Usually, I would hear that raises and bonuses are too small. What's most alarming is the rumors of unbalanced and unfair money distribution that is supposedly happening among the store manager and zone managers. It could be true, but the rumors have no grounds, so I'll just leave it at that.

 There is not much to say about the co-workers I had at Wal-Mart. There were the hard-working ones and the slackers. Some of them I respected and others I did not. Though, it seems managers will demand more from the hard workers (not necessarily disrespectfully, but sometimes) and the lazy workers were left alone to their own devices. Also, I noticed a fair amount of 'talking the talk" from the kinds of workers who thought they were working productively, but were ignorant to how lax they were as workers.

 The hardest part of the job would have to be moving down my list of tasks on busy days, when there are a lot of customers and managers needing assistance. Time was also an issue. I often have to wait to take my lunch on busy days. Also, it felt like my life amounted to Wal-Mart. I rarely had anytime to do anything for myself outside of work, especially since I started writing, which I refuse to give up on.

  Also, the weather can get rough. I have adapted to the weather, but working outside, for the most part can be absolutely brutal. This was especially the case when I was a cart pusher, but it was a lot easier to deal with as a garden center associate. Lastly, when  being demanded to work, while actually working, all the while slackers become transparent to managers. Overall, working for Wal-Mart was stress inducing and I often found myself holding in my anger, letting out in secret and a few times letting it out in the open, that of which has cost me my job there.

 On slower, fairly-paced days, I actually enjoyed my job, for what it was worth. I had times when I am sweeping when I am alone to sort out my own thoughts, which is nice. Since I worked at Wal-Mart, I could buy my lunch there and save myself the time and effort of making a lunch at home. I'd also buy my groceries here, out of convenience. At there was a few likeable people who I could actually talk to. The benefits were nice too, but I'm not sure if I even had a chance to use any of them, save for the discount card. I enjoyed working for TLE, for the short time I was a part of that department. I learned a some basic things about cars, during that time. It was nice, though sometimes stressful.

(Your experience will pretty much mirror the quality of your management staff.  All I can do is describe my own experiences.)

Most important thing to remember is to always respect the customers, over everything and everybody except safety.  Wal-Mart as a company and the store I worked at are not lying when they say that the customer is the most important part of the job.

Second is that no matter what anyone else will tell you, this job is a very good one.  Good wages for the work and okay benefits.  If you think you are gonna get paid vacations and health insurance for a relatively low stress job that anyone could do anywhere else, i want whatever you are high on.

There were really only four ways to get fired at my store.  Insult a customer, steal, bad attendance, or cause an accident by acting like an idiot and getting someone seriously hurt.  You can cause shrink, fail to finish your job, even smart off to your supervisor.  Chances are, as long as you are worth keeping around, you'll keep your job.  There are limits, of course, but it takes a LOT to get canned.  But don't be surprised if people start to ostracize you socially if you are lazy or act like a fool though.  They'll just make you miserable until you quit.  Why pay unemployment when they don't have to?

Attendance deserves its own paragraph.  You will be fired if you accumulate five points.  Every time.  No exceptions.  And you will never be hired on again.

People quit this job.  A lot.  Almost no one lasts more than a month and a few cannot even last one day.  Make it to month six and you're made.  If not already assistant manager.  It's not the company's fault.  Most people don't wanna work and we didn't allow them to do nothing all night.  So they left.  And they were quickly forgotten.

You're gonna work.  This is not a company that hires at minimum wage anymore, so you are going to hurt everyday when you go home.  It really is a simple job, but if you are not willing to work hard most days, you had better not even bother.

My store had amazing managers.  Very good people and I like them all a lot.  But i still got unreasonable requests and workloads from time to time.  And even though i was mod team I still got booted to help stock about 40% of the time, especially after two truck days.  Even when were BEHIND on mods.  So you're probably gonna stock a lot, too.  No matter what you were hired as.

Working hard only gets you more work.  If you wanna go the gung-ho butt kisser route like me, they're gonna work you harder than everyone else for the same paycheck.  It's easier to get the suck up to happily work than pestering the lazies.  Lazy people weren't allowed to do nothing, of course, but they just got softball work and kept on until someone better replaced them.  Which never takes long.

That said, my managers took care of the good workers and if you were respectful, they'd go to bat for you for almost anything.  Just be a valuable part of the team and you will have a MUCH better and happier time there.

Believe it or not, getting hired on to my store was not a foregone conclusion.  A lot of applicants are turned down, Wal-Mart no longer has to take on any warm body unless they are severely short-handed which did not happen here much.  So you will be working with good people, a few bad apples like everywhere else, but pretty much everyone else come in everyday to work hard and with a good attitude.

Stand up for yourself.  Your manager cannot fire you unless they have a very good reason.  As long as you are respectful to yourself and everyone else, you'll get respect in turn.  Probably.

If you ask enough times and aren't a total waste of time or effort, you will get whatever transfer or promotion you want.  Within reason.  Just prove your aren't stupid or lazy and you'll be PUSHED into becoming a support or assistant manager.

Take your availability form seriously.  Too much and you're getting Mondays and Wednesdays off.  Not enough and you won't even be hired.

Do not give your supervisor your phone number.  If they call you and ask you to come in, say no.  Do not give them your number.  Don't do it.  I don't care if you want to work more, say yes once, and you're gonna be pestered into coming in at every call-in or no show.

Call in sick when you are sick and only when you are sick.  Take your vacations.  Speak up if they mess up your paperwork, PTO, pay, ect.  Because they will.

You will receive an offensive amount of paid training.  You're gonna be doing computer courses for weeks.  So much you're gonna want to push carts in 100 degree weather instead before you're finished.

You're gonna learn EVERYTHING about EVERY job and process in your store if you last six months.  Either from doing it all or working with people who do.  Don't be too shocked if you leave to go home one day with a new forklift certification even if you're a cashier.  I'm only slightly exaggerating.

My store wasn't exactly a family as so many corny training vids or company loyalists would say, but I made a lot of very good friends there.  And a lot of people date and marry their coworkers there as well.  It's still a very good idea to keep your personal life separate from the store, though.

Alright, as Overnight Maintenance you will be working closely with a small team to sweep, scrub, and wax ALL floors in the building, deep clean ALL bathrooms, and clean the ENTIRE parking lot.  At minimum.  You will also probably be punted away to push carts, stock, or run a register on occasion.  Whatever else you know how to do well.

As Mod Team you will do your share of the mods from a weekly list, which are easy 90% of the time and soul rippingly awful 10% of the time.  The soul-rippers are either massive aisle-long marathons of frantic chaos or complicated nightmares of setting up specialized display/shelves.  Or entire department remodels.  Or all three at once.  When your team is finished with all the week's mods, congrats, you're stocking which blows eggs.  But the easy mods were downright satisfying and even enjoyable for me.

Well, this is already the longest indeed review ever so i'm just gonna end it by saying that with out a doubt i would do it all over again.  As long as I can work with generally the same people, I would definitely go back in a heartbeat.  A lot of great memories.

As an employee of Wal-Mart I was very much dissatisfied with practically everything. Not to say I didn't learn anything but what I did learn wasn't because of my love of my employer, my job, or any type of training. Everything I learned at this job was to make my customers happy.

As the title states I would give Wal-Mart a negative review in everything. I'll start with job work and life balance. There really wasn't any balance. I was a soft-lines associate according to my job coding that meant I would work in clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Jewelry only as needed. However this is not what I did. I was constantly pulled from one area to another. I was at several points pulled up to cashier without any training, scheduled in jewelry, sent over to zone in other areas, and at other times pulled to other areas than I was scheduled within the clothes areas. What I'm saying I was constantly doing the job of at least three to four people on a daily basis. This doesn't make for much of a balance of anything.

Now on to compensation and benefits. From the day I started to the day I was let go I never made much more on my pay checks than I did from day one. Even though I had received raises my hours were constantly being cut the longer I worked there. As to benefits I wasn't eligible for benefits as part time until I had worked there for two years and the benefits that were offered were a joke. The health insurance barely covered anything and that's about all they offered that was of any interest. While you could invest as an employee it wasn't really something I saw as worth investing in considering the way I was treated as an employee which I will cover in my management section. The other benefits were a 401k which I had already started from another employer at a better rate and didn't see any interest in either.

Now to job advancement and security. This was a bigger joke than the benefits. I spent two years trying to get out of the area I was in but was refused for various reasons that never sounded true. Other associates I knew while working there had also been overlooked for positions for years when they hired someone from the outside. At one point instead of promoting within the corporation they hired an outsider for a management position that I knew some other employees had applied for. Their idea of job advancement in the area in which I worked was also very limited only allowing one way movement in departments and transferring to another area would take years if you ever got moved. While all of this was going on and you would try to move to a different department the longer you worked there. And the longer you worked there the more likely they were to fire you for something ridiculous. The rest is to be discussed in the next section as it has a lot to do with how the managers treated everyone. 

Finally here we are to are to the management section. While you might be thinking I have nothing good to say here that's not true. Most of the lower management was fine and they worked hard and treated everyone very nicely. However from there it gets much worse. All of the higher management were in a competition with each other and took their power play out on the associates. While Wal-Mart may have an open door policy they weren't very good at listening or getting things done because they were always at each other's throats and using what associates said in their games. The co-managers especially. While I was there at least two co-managers were often seen competing to see who would be able to get their own store. This left them either trampling on associates by asking them to do tasks while the other had asked one to do a task. And the structure was always changing so while you knew who was over the whole store you didn't always know who was over your department. While this might have kept down favoritism in theory it didn't help such issues as who was to listened to above who.

Another issue was that management would each want a different thing and depending on who would be in charge things would change. While this is normal the extent of this was abnormal as certain areas of the store (my own included) would be left ignored one night and of utmost import they next night. There was no consistency and very little communication. 

The biggest issue to be covered in this section is the fact that management never rewarded for a job well done. They were constantly harping on a bad job while no praise was ever given if you did a good job. Or if praise was given it was given in front of someone else who they weren't praising. And sometimes the praise would be given to the person who did the least amount of work on a project. (This one happened to me personally several times.) And while no praise was given for a good job there was almost praise for a mediocre job. The more you did the least to get your job done the longer you were kept as an employee never being chastised for it. Even while I watched my other co-workers shirk their jobs they were never getting into trouble even though I'd often be called in to help them. And while I would finish my job and on time it was to no comment as if my job were less than their job. It was very unrewarding and ate at my spirit. 

I have nothing to say on the job culture as it's like all jobs. You either get along or you don't.

My favorite thing about this job is that I learned many things. Mostly because I taught myself so that I could help my customers, as they are my number one priority. I learned to talk on the phone for work, run a register, how to measure and cut fabric, how to appease angry customers, how to deal with not so nice coworkers, measure ring sizes, and about other jewelry information such as metals. 

My least favorite things about this job are listed above. 

Overall this was a job that taught me much but left a very sour after taste for the fact that it could have been much better but was instead managed like a circus that lost it's ring leader. Turning into a place where no one would want to work for very long if they wanted to feel like their work meant something.

As an employee of Wal-Mart I was very much dissatisfied with practically everything. Not to say I didn't learn anything but what I did learn wasn't because of my love of my employer, my job, or any type of training. Everything I learned at this job was to make my customers happy.

As the title states I would give Wal-Mart a negative review in everything. I'll start with job work and life balance. There really wasn't any balance. I was a soft-lines associate according to my job coding that meant I would work in clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Jewelry only as needed. However this is not what I did. I was constantly pulled from one area to another. I was at several points pulled up to cashier without any training, scheduled in jewelry, sent over to zone in other areas, and at other times pulled to other areas than I was scheduled within the clothes areas. What I'm saying I was constantly doing the job of at least three to four people on a daily basis. This doesn't make for much of a balance of anything.

Now on to compensation and benefits. From the day I started to the day I was let go I never made much more on my pay checks than I did from day one. Even though I had received raises my hours were constantly being cut the longer I worked there. As to benefits I wasn't eligible for benefits as part time until I had worked there for two years and the benefits that were offered were a joke. The health insurance barely covered anything and that's about all they offered that was of any interest. While you could invest as an employee it wasn't really something I saw as worth investing in considering the way I was treated as an employee which I will cover in my management section. The other benefits were a 401k which I had already started from another employer at a better rate and didn't see any interest in either.

Now to job advancement and security. This was a bigger joke than the benefits. I spent two years trying to get out of the area I was in but was refused for various reasons that never sounded true. Other associates I knew while working there had also been overlooked for positions for years when they hired someone from the outside. At one point instead of promoting within the corporation they hired an outsider for a management position that I knew some other employees had applied for. Their idea of job advancement in the area in which I worked was also very limited only allowing one way movement in departments and transferring to another area would take years if you ever got moved. While all of this was going on and you would try to move to a different department the longer you worked there. And the longer you worked there the more likely they were to fire you for something ridiculous. The rest is to be discussed in the next section as it has a lot to do with how the managers treated everyone.

Finally here we are to are to the management section. While you might be thinking I have nothing good to say here that's not true. Most of the lower management was fine and they worked hard and treated everyone very nicely. However from there it gets much worse. All of the higher management were in a competition with each other and took their power play out on the associates. While Wal-Mart may have an open door policy they weren't very good at listening or getting things done because they were always at each other's throats and using what associates said in their games. The co-managers especially. While I was there at least two co-managers were often seen competing to see who would be able to get their own store. This left them either trampling on associates by asking them to do tasks while the other had asked one to do a task. And the structure was always changing so while you knew who was over the whole store you didn't always know who was over your department. While this might have kept down favoritism in theory it didn't help such issues as who was to listened to above who.

Another issue was that management would each want a different thing and depending on who would be in charge things would change. While this is normal the extent of this was abnormal as certain areas of the store (my own included) would be left ignored one night and of utmost import they next night. There was no consistency and very little communication.

The biggest issue to be covered in this section is the fact that management never rewarded for a job well done. They were constantly harping on a bad job while no praise was ever given if you did a good job. Or if praise was given it was given in front of someone else who they weren't praising. And sometimes the praise would be given to the person who did the least amount of work on a project. (This one happened to me personally several times.) And while no praise was given for a good job there was almost praise for a mediocre job. The more you did the least to get your job done the longer you were kept as an employee never being chastised for it. Even while I watched my other co-workers shirk their jobs they were never getting into trouble even though I'd often be called in to help them. And while I would finish my job and on time it was to no comment as if my job were less than their job. It was very unrewarding and ate at my spirit.

I have nothing to say on the job culture as it's like all jobs. You either get along or you don't.

My favorite thing about this job is that I learned many things. Mostly because I taught myself so that I could help my customers, as they are my number one priority. I learned to talk on the phone for work, run a register, how to measure and cut fabric, how to appease angry customers, how to deal with not so nice coworkers, measure ring sizes, and about other jewelry information such as metals.

My least favorite things about this job are listed above.

Overall this was a job that taught me much but left a very sour after taste for the fact that it could have been much better but was instead managed like a circus that lost it's ring leader. Turning into a place where no one would want to work for very long if they wanted to feel like their work meant something.

TL;DR: If you don't mind being treated like a second-class citizen and working for a company who cares very little about you, all on minimum wage, then this is the job for you! 

This job is emotionally and physically draining, let me explain. 

First off, management is one of the poorest I have ever had to tolerate with. I started out as a cashier and later on I still had to do cashier and customer service duties which is easily the worst task. Often the amount of cashiers they have scheduled for the day isn't enough to combat the growing demand at checkers (as angry, impatient customers so generously remind you), and sometimes there are more cashiers than necessary leaving many cashiers to try and look busy to avoid harassment by their managers and customers who are all too happy to proclaim someone as lazy and undeserving of a minimum wage job. Yes, management will try to correct any problems and they are very forgiving, but many of times more problems arise when they are solved because all they do is shift resources to solve problems on hand; much like moving bricks from one side of the house to fill a hole.They will accommodate you if you are not feeling well like when I had to surgery on my foot they gave me a stool to sit on. When I first started working there many of the managers followed procedure to the best of their abilities; now, I would be lucky to get customer service help or sent home on time. The managers that were willing to cooperate with me and my needs have left the company because they too felt as if they were being mistreated and went having their needs met so now we have managers with little experience running the front end. 

Secondly, they also seem to like punishing their underlings with public embarrassment. Often when I did something they didn't like, they didn't take me to the side and explain my actions they would approach me in front of customers and make fun of me on my expense. For example, one time I didn't follow the ten-foot-rule (which states you have to greet everyone in a ten-foot radius, and to be honest some customers found it to be annoying then beneficial); I didn't follow this rule because I was off the clock. One of the floor managers took a measuring tape from hardware, went looking for me in the store and while I was still off the clock had me hold one end of the measuring tape and went back 10-feet and told me "So this is what ten-feet looks like, try to remember that next time. Since you clearly didn't know how long ten feet was before", customers passing by started laughing and heckling at me. So, not only was I publicly embarrassed the manager most likely wasted company time and used a company product to go look for me to perform this public shaming.Keep in mind this is just one of many examples.  

Thirdly, the customers themselves are a problem, and they make me not ever want to work at customer service in Walla Walla or College Place ever again. Not every customer was bad, but a lot of them treated me as if I was a second-class citizen. I know not every customer is going to be a saint, but here you get often more customers than not who need a self-reflection on their image and the way they treat others. Some would even go so far to intrude my personal life outside of work such a heckling me in public or sending me threats such as leaving notes on my truck or leaving a mention on social media. I can't even log onto Facebook without my notifications being filled with insults. A man at least twenty years my senior once told me that he could shoot me and get away with it before making a pretend-gun with his hand and imitating a point-blank shot to my head. What did I do to make him say that? I packed his ice cream with the yogurt, apparently he didn't want it that way and failed to tell me so. Looking back at it, I had many people threaten me with my life or my job saying that I am expendable all because I work for mininum wage, something I had to do to get by until I graduated college.

Once, I had a scale over-weigh grapes and as I corrected the problem, the customer accused me of theft and dragged a store manager to me even after doing what I could to correct the problem.  Another customer had a real problem keeping his spit in  while he was talking so I asked him politely to step back (not mentioning his spit-problem) and he went into a rant about political identities and safe spaces saying "liberals shouldn't have jobs" and "you're in the wrong career". I'm not a liberal or conservative so I couldn't understand where all this anger was coming from or how that played into asking a full-grown man to take a couple steps back. Speaking of personal space and mind, I hear complaints of my female co-workers of how men would touch them, slap/pinch them on the rear, offering tips for a date (which we aren't even allowed to accept),or start stroking them on their curves. One of my female friends who I attend college course with was once even followed home by one of a man who was thirty-two years who senior. She reported this to the store manager who reluctantly agreed to look into the matter, but didn't do anything as far as I know leaving my friend to get the police involved. So, if you're a woman, good chance that you will be sexually harassed as management stands idle. 

So, what made these customers so angry towards me? I can't really say, I make simple mistakes from time to time that is nothing of consequence, but I guess that justifies the anger and public humiliation I get both on and off the clock. Eventually, I learned to not even try to justify myself over such mundane things or the rumors they spread about me and just simply ignore them and keep walking. I could write a novel-size book on all the things customers have done and said to me during the two years I worked here. I hated this job, I wish I could go back in time and tell myself working here was a mistake.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working in the pharmacy started out as something I was proud of. I put in a lot of time, effort, and dedication because I truly cared about doing my job well and helping people. But over time, it became clear that no matter how hard you work, it often goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

The environment can feel extremely toxic. Instead of teamwork and support, there’s a lot of talking behind people’s backs and negativity. One of the hardest parts is when you have to take time for your children or handle family responsibilities. Rather than understanding that family comes first, it can feel like you’re judged or criticized for it. No parent should feel guilty for taking care of their kids.

Employees put in long hours, deal with stressful workloads, and try their best to keep things running smoothly, yet appreciation is rarely shown. It can start to feel like you’re just another body filling a spot instead of a valued team member.

A workplace should make people feel respected and supported, especially when they are giving their time and energy every day. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been my experience. Everyone deserves to work somewhere that values their hard work, respects their family responsibilities, and treats them with basic professionalism!!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working in the pharmacy isn’t just the workload — it’s the constant pressure while being completely undervalued. The expectations are extremely high, but the support and appreciation for employees are almost nonexistent.

You’re expected to work fast, avoid mistakes, deal with long lines, upset customers, constant phone calls, insurance issues, and still maintain perfect accuracy because people’s health depends on it. That level of responsibility is already stressful enough, but what makes it worse is the environment behind the counter.

Instead of teamwork and leadership that supports employees, it often feels like management is more focused on criticism and blame than actually helping staff succeed. When employees are already stretched thin, that kind of culture only adds more pressure.

Another major stressor is the lack of understanding when it comes to real life responsibilities. Employees are human beings with families and children, yet taking time for those responsibilities can make you feel judged or talked about rather than supported.

At the end of the day, the job itself isn’t the problem. Helping patients and doing meaningful work can be rewarding. The real stress comes from working in an environment where employees feel replaceable, unsupported, and rarely appreciated despite the amount of responsibility and effort the job requires every single day

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment and culture in the pharmacy is extremely stressful and, at times, very messy. Instead of a supportive team atmosphere, there tends to be a lot of drama, gossip, and two-faced behavior among staff. It often feels like people smile in your face but talk about you the moment you walk away, which creates a very uncomfortable and toxic workplace.

Leadership also plays a big role in shaping that culture, and unfortunately the management in Blytheville has only made things worse. Rather than building a professional, respectful environment where employees feel valued, it often feels like favoritism, poor communication, and lack of accountability are allowed to continue. That kind of leadership sets the tone for the entire workplace.

When employees are already dealing with the stress of handling prescriptions, insurance issues, long lines, and patient care, the last thing they should have to deal with is unnecessary drama and negativity behind the counter. A pharmacy should be a place built on teamwork, trust, and professionalism because patient safety depends on it.

Instead, the culture often feels divided and toxic, making it very difficult for employees to feel supported or respected. A healthier environment with stronger leadership and accountability would make a huge difference for both employees and patients.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day at the company often feels like walking into chaos. The workload is constant and overwhelming, with long lines, nonstop phone calls, insurance problems, and the pressure of making sure every prescription is filled correctly because patients’ health depends on it. It’s already a high-stress job, but the lack of real support makes it even worse.

Instead of feeling like you’re part of a team that has each other’s backs, it often feels like you’re on your own. Employees are expected to handle everything quickly and perfectly, yet when problems come up there’s very little support from leadership. Mistakes are criticized, but the conditions that lead to them are rarely addressed.

Another frustrating part is that speaking up about issues or unfair treatment doesn’t feel safe. Many employees feel like if they raise concerns or try to stand up for themselves, it could cost them their job. That creates a culture where people stay quiet even when things clearly need to change.

What should be a professional healthcare environment often ends up feeling more like a constant struggle just to get through the day. With better support, communication, and leadership, the workplace could be much more productive and positive for everyone involved.

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