4 ms·

The staff are miserable because the pay is shit, and they’re likely collecting or eligible for welfare. The customers treat them like shit. The shit that happen

The staff are miserable because the pay is shit, and they’re likely collecting or eligible for welfare. The customers treat them like shit. The shit that happens in and around Walmart’s is soul destroying. If Walmart started treating their staff like Costco we’d see a lot happier staff, and pay less taxes on entitlements.

handrous 5y ago
Yeah, I didn't intend that as a slight against the employees. It's just another thing that makes shopping there unpleasant. I don't expect that employees at a store like that put on a bunch of fake-happiness for my sake, but Wal-Mart's give off strong "I hate this shit" vibes that I don't get other places. I don't blame them (the employees) for it, though.
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 5y ago
  I agree, but would Walmart paying their staff like Costco to help them have some happiness in their life be enough to get customers like us in their stores? There’s still the whole, all very poor people shop there dynamic that isn’t going away unless someone can undercut Walmart significantly.
- nitrogen 5y ago
  strong "I hate this shit" vibes that I don't get other places I got that at Safeway on Market/Church in SF. But in other places I've seen Walmart and other stores' staff have been much happier and nicer. Even though these chains try to have consistent experiences across locations, there is a pretty large variability from city to city.
partiallypro 5y ago
The Walmarts around me pay ~$15/hr which isn't much less than Costco.
- yumraj 5y ago
  One thing I've noted in general is Costco employees are much younger on average than Walmart employees. I almost never find an old employee at Costco, while at Walmart most of them are old or middle aged.
  - partiallypro 5y ago
    Walmart often has stores in poorer areas than Costco, which is likely why you see the age discrepancy.
    - yumraj 5y ago
      Not really, my experience is based on both in the Bay Area, and includes WalMart neighborhood stores. I think it has to do with lot of older people shopping at Walmart so they feel comfortable around others. Don't know.
      - sithlord 5y ago
        your experience is literally in the most HCOL city in the United States.
    - jackson1442 5y ago
      Costco also has a pretty robust internal promotion system from what I've heard, so older employees might also be occupying management spots. Though it might also be that nearly every piece of stock at a Costco will be significantly heavier than that at Walmart, making it difficult for older people who might have more in the way of back problems etc to work there.
  - jxramos 5y ago
    This is my observation too, I often wondered if Walmart wasn't around what would be these folks alternatives?
kortilla 5y ago
> If Walmart started treating their staff like Costco If Walmart paid their staff like Costco their prices would be high like Costco’s and there would be little reason for them to exist anymore. For people on a budget, Costco’s prices are terrible on many basic items. The “bulk prices” in many categories (e.g. dairy) are at best the same price per unit as Walmart with the huge purchase requirement. Costco is for middle to upper middle class incomes and Walmart is for middle to lower class incomes. If you don’t recognize the price difference between the stores, you are privileged enough to be in the former category.
- cwilkes 5y ago
  “If Walmart paid their staff ... little reason for them to exist” I would believe that if the Waltons weren’t one of (the?) richest families in the world. They can afford to pay more but don’t as the US taxpayer is making up the difference in welfare. Privatize the profit, socialize the cost.
  - kortilla 5y ago
    “There exists people who got rich” does not make a model suddenly sustainable. Estimated Walton family wealth is $250 bill. Walmart employs 2.2 million people. Pay them all $10k more per year and the Walton wealth would be gone after a decade (ignoring the fact that losing money for years in a row would eliminate the Walton wealth much faster due to stock declines). Walmart’s model is just not sustainable at Costco level pay. > They can afford to pay more but don’t as the US taxpayer is making up the difference in welfare. If you don’t like that people can get welfare on minimum wage, either eliminate welfare at that wage level or raise the minimum wage until people who make minimum wage don’t qualify. > Privatize the profit, socialize the cost. It is the government who decides to pay welfare at these levels. If you want to ban people from making money at those hourly rates, go ahead. But this is not a case of “socialize the cost” because being a Walmart employee making $25k + welfare is still better than being unemployed and just getting welfare.

handrous 5y ago

Yeah, I didn't intend that as a slight against the employees. It's just another thing that makes shopping there unpleasant. I don't expect that employees at a store like that put on a bunch of fake-happiness for my sake, but Wal-Mart's give off strong "I hate this shit" vibes that I don't get other places. I don't blame them (the employees) for it, though.

Red_Leaves_Flyy 5y ago
I agree, but would Walmart paying their staff like Costco to help them have some happiness in their life be enough to get customers like us in their stores? There’s still the whole, all very poor people shop there dynamic that isn’t going away unless someone can undercut Walmart significantly.
nitrogen 5y ago
strong "I hate this shit" vibes that I don't get other places I got that at Safeway on Market/Church in SF. But in other places I've seen Walmart and other stores' staff have been much happier and nicer. Even though these chains try to have consistent experiences across locations, there is a pretty large variability from city to city.

partiallypro 5y ago

The Walmarts around me pay ~$15/hr which isn't much less than Costco.

yumraj 5y ago
One thing I've noted in general is Costco employees are much younger on average than Walmart employees. I almost never find an old employee at Costco, while at Walmart most of them are old or middle aged.
- partiallypro 5y ago
  Walmart often has stores in poorer areas than Costco, which is likely why you see the age discrepancy.
  - yumraj 5y ago
    Not really, my experience is based on both in the Bay Area, and includes WalMart neighborhood stores. I think it has to do with lot of older people shopping at Walmart so they feel comfortable around others. Don't know.
    - sithlord 5y ago
      your experience is literally in the most HCOL city in the United States.
  - jackson1442 5y ago
    Costco also has a pretty robust internal promotion system from what I've heard, so older employees might also be occupying management spots. Though it might also be that nearly every piece of stock at a Costco will be significantly heavier than that at Walmart, making it difficult for older people who might have more in the way of back problems etc to work there.
- jxramos 5y ago
  This is my observation too, I often wondered if Walmart wasn't around what would be these folks alternatives?

kortilla 5y ago

> If Walmart started treating their staff like Costco If Walmart paid their staff like Costco their prices would be high like Costco’s and there would be little reason for them to exist anymore. For people on a budget, Costco’s prices are terrible on many basic items. The “bulk prices” in many categories (e.g. dairy) are at best the same price per unit as Walmart with the huge purchase requirement. Costco is for middle to upper middle class incomes and Walmart is for middle to lower class incomes. If you don’t recognize the price difference between the stores, you are privileged enough to be in the former category.

cwilkes 5y ago
“If Walmart paid their staff ... little reason for them to exist” I would believe that if the Waltons weren’t one of (the?) richest families in the world. They can afford to pay more but don’t as the US taxpayer is making up the difference in welfare. Privatize the profit, socialize the cost.
- kortilla 5y ago
  “There exists people who got rich” does not make a model suddenly sustainable. Estimated Walton family wealth is $250 bill. Walmart employs 2.2 million people. Pay them all $10k more per year and the Walton wealth would be gone after a decade (ignoring the fact that losing money for years in a row would eliminate the Walton wealth much faster due to stock declines). Walmart’s model is just not sustainable at Costco level pay. > They can afford to pay more but don’t as the US taxpayer is making up the difference in welfare. If you don’t like that people can get welfare on minimum wage, either eliminate welfare at that wage level or raise the minimum wage until people who make minimum wage don’t qualify. > Privatize the profit, socialize the cost. It is the government who decides to pay welfare at these levels. If you want to ban people from making money at those hourly rates, go ahead. But this is not a case of “socialize the cost” because being a Walmart employee making $25k + welfare is still better than being unemployed and just getting welfare.