3 ms·

Maybe if Kmart paid their employees a little more they could afford to buy themselves something to drink at work.

supergeek133 7y ago
I think the total amount of people who steal would go down if paid more, but I think there is just a "base amount" of the population who will always do this regardless what job/how much they get paid.
- jshevek 7y ago
  If thieves figure out that stealing incentivizes the employer to pay more (in an effort to reduce stealing), they now have a new motive to steal. That is, to increase the pressure on the employer to raise wages further. This new motive can even 'feel righteous', as it benefits the other low paid workers as well.
Emanation 7y ago
Why pay them more when you can offer some of what they're stealing as a benefit for working there. It's probably a lot cheaper and creates goof faith.
lotsofpulp 7y ago
If Kmart paid their employees more, people would shop at Walmart. And they did. Sears paid their employees very well, and consumers rewarded sears by shopping at their new competitors that offered lower prices.
- jabedude 7y ago
  I don't think that logically follows. Costco is well-known for generous compensation and are doing well.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    Costco serves a limited range of items to middle and upper middle class areas only. As it already fulfills this segment of the population that can pay a little bit extra for quality, no competitor to Costco exists. The same dynamics exist with Nordstrom/Apple/Trader Joes. There’s a few brands that can afford to offer more quality and better paid workers, but they don’t exist in poorer parts of any city, and there’s only one of each type of store. Everyone else has to offer the lowest prices.
    - robotnikman 7y ago
      Not to be nitpicky, but wouldn't Sam's Club be considered a competitor to Costco?
      - lotsofpulp 7y ago
        It is, but last I heard Walmart was downsizing Sams Club operations. I also don’t think it’s known for quality and treating its employees well like Costco is. If you put a Sams Club next to a Costco, I would bet people choose to go to Costco.
- elliekelly 7y ago
  Ironically enough Sears paid their employees well until they were bought by Kmart. When Lampert (Kmart CEO) took over he cut wages and jobs at Sears and then proceeded to run the company into the ground. Customers didn’t stop shopping at Sears because employees were paid too much. Sears had more customers at the time they were paying higher wages. Customers stopped shopping at Sears because extreme cost cutting efforts by a former hedge fund manager with no retail experience eroded the company’s customer-oriented quality brand.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    I think it was inevitable that Sears would lose customers to cheaper merchants. Sears was offering employees expensive defined benefit pensions and healthcare. The 80s, 90s, and 00s saw the spending power of the bottom 4 quintiles drop. Even if people wanted to support a Sears type store, they can’t afford to. Lambert didn’t help, but I think we’re still seeing the hollowing out of the middle class causing a loss of customers for places like Sears that could have paid middle class wages and sold decent quality goods.
- jellicle 7y ago
  What actually happened to Sears: https://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroys_his_empire_partner/ https://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroy...
ApolloFortyNine 7y ago
We had water fountains in the back, you can always bring your own drinks, etc. It's hard to make an excuse for someone stealing a bottle of soda, a luxury. It's not like anyone was stealing TVs, and that's what blew my mind about the stealing. It tended to be drinks and candy bars, stuff that not only was low value, but just simply wasn't necessary. It was stealing for the sake of stealing, because they thought they could get away with it.
- ahaferburg 7y ago
  That's an employees way of saying just how much they care about the job. It's a two way street.
Vrondi 7y ago
They can't afford to bring an empty bottle from home and fill it with the free water from the water fountains? You surely jest. Soda is not a life necessity owed to employees. Particularly if part of your business is selling soda. Every K-Mart I every saw had an employee lounge with fridge where you could bring your own drinks or lunch and store them as well.

I think the total amount of people who steal would go down if paid more, but I think there is just a "base amount" of the population who will always do this regardless what job/how much they get paid.

jshevek 7y ago
If thieves figure out that stealing incentivizes the employer to pay more (in an effort to reduce stealing), they now have a new motive to steal. That is, to increase the pressure on the employer to raise wages further. This new motive can even 'feel righteous', as it benefits the other low paid workers as well.

Emanation 7y ago

Why pay them more when you can offer some of what they're stealing as a benefit for working there. It's probably a lot cheaper and creates goof faith.

lotsofpulp 7y ago

If Kmart paid their employees more, people would shop at Walmart. And they did. Sears paid their employees very well, and consumers rewarded sears by shopping at their new competitors that offered lower prices.

jabedude 7y ago
I don't think that logically follows. Costco is well-known for generous compensation and are doing well.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  Costco serves a limited range of items to middle and upper middle class areas only. As it already fulfills this segment of the population that can pay a little bit extra for quality, no competitor to Costco exists. The same dynamics exist with Nordstrom/Apple/Trader Joes. There’s a few brands that can afford to offer more quality and better paid workers, but they don’t exist in poorer parts of any city, and there’s only one of each type of store. Everyone else has to offer the lowest prices.
  - robotnikman 7y ago
    Not to be nitpicky, but wouldn't Sam's Club be considered a competitor to Costco?
    - lotsofpulp 7y ago
      It is, but last I heard Walmart was downsizing Sams Club operations. I also don’t think it’s known for quality and treating its employees well like Costco is. If you put a Sams Club next to a Costco, I would bet people choose to go to Costco.
elliekelly 7y ago
Ironically enough Sears paid their employees well until they were bought by Kmart. When Lampert (Kmart CEO) took over he cut wages and jobs at Sears and then proceeded to run the company into the ground. Customers didn’t stop shopping at Sears because employees were paid too much. Sears had more customers at the time they were paying higher wages. Customers stopped shopping at Sears because extreme cost cutting efforts by a former hedge fund manager with no retail experience eroded the company’s customer-oriented quality brand.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  I think it was inevitable that Sears would lose customers to cheaper merchants. Sears was offering employees expensive defined benefit pensions and healthcare. The 80s, 90s, and 00s saw the spending power of the bottom 4 quintiles drop. Even if people wanted to support a Sears type store, they can’t afford to. Lambert didn’t help, but I think we’re still seeing the hollowing out of the middle class causing a loss of customers for places like Sears that could have paid middle class wages and sold decent quality goods.
jellicle 7y ago
What actually happened to Sears: https://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroys_his_empire_partner/ https://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroy...

ApolloFortyNine 7y ago

We had water fountains in the back, you can always bring your own drinks, etc. It's hard to make an excuse for someone stealing a bottle of soda, a luxury. It's not like anyone was stealing TVs, and that's what blew my mind about the stealing. It tended to be drinks and candy bars, stuff that not only was low value, but just simply wasn't necessary. It was stealing for the sake of stealing, because they thought they could get away with it.

ahaferburg 7y ago
That's an employees way of saying just how much they care about the job. It's a two way street.

Vrondi 7y ago

They can't afford to bring an empty bottle from home and fill it with the free water from the water fountains? You surely jest. Soda is not a life necessity owed to employees. Particularly if part of your business is selling soda. Every K-Mart I every saw had an employee lounge with fridge where you could bring your own drinks or lunch and store them as well.