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I worked at WalMart for 3 years. I worked overnight doing inventory management and I saw exactly what the CEO described. One thing I noticed that he didn't me

I worked at WalMart for 3 years. I worked overnight doing inventory management and I saw exactly what the CEO described. One thing I noticed that he didn't mention is that a large number of the people I worked with were part of that group of people waiting at midnight to buy their baby formula. I always felt like the wages at our store were subsidized by the government. All of the people I talking about worked full time. They all had ungodly sums come out of their paycheque every two weeks to pay for health insurance (from what I understand it was not a great plan either). I don't really know what kind of point I'm trying to make here. On one hand it's nice that there are a lot of cheap options at WalMart for people on small budgets. On the other hand, it's sad that so many WalMart employees (in my own experience) are the ones who so badly needing to take advantage of those prices.

dantheman 14y ago
I don't think it's just walmart employees that need those prices, it's anyone working that type of job. Most employees at small businesses doing the same work earn the same or less than a walmart employee.
- dopamean 14y ago
  I didn't mean to imply that I think it's only WalMart employees that need cheap goods. I was simply trying to comment on the irony of that.
gruseom 14y ago
That is why I like Costco better: the people who work there don't seem as downtrodden. Either I've been fooled by corporate propaganda or they really have figured out a way to make money, lower prices, and treat people relatively well. Walmarts feel like places of despair to me and Costcos like places of hope. I know how ludicrous that sounds, but the feeling is real. I often chat with workers at checkout counters to gut-test my theory, and it seems to hold up, though it could all just be confirmation bias. Edit: there's one big difference, though. To shop at Costco you have to buy twice as much (plus typically pay membership fees). That step could be too steep for the people most living hand-to-mouth, even though it would save them money within weeks. So there could be sample bias here too.
- protomyth 14y ago
  The membership is the too steep part for Costco.
  - malandrew 14y ago
    It would be nice if CostCo allowed people of low income to apply for a financial aid in the form of free membership if their income was low enough. It's unfortunate that only the people with greater purchasing power get access to the lowest cost per item unit.
    - nijk 14y ago
      Or even a monthly installment.
    - rogerbinns 14y ago
      > ... free membership The membership is the per member profit. Costco doesn't mark up items more than 14%. In some states they aren't allowed to require membership to access the pharmacy. If what you proposed was workable, I'd expect groups of people in an area to band together or have a middleman in order to only have one membership and break up bulk items. (And technically there is such a middleman doing their best to lower prices - they are called Walmart.) > ... greater purchasing power get access to the lowest cost ... Same thing happens with the US health system - the uninsured pay the most for exactly the same procedures at the same place. At least in the case of Costco it is economically sensible because buyers purchase a bigger volume and the store has greater throughput. (Costco typically has 4,000 SKUs per store while a normal supermarket will be around 16,000.)
    - protomyth 14y ago
      CostCo's profit is the memberships. It is a smart business model that is very successful. It just isn't designed for people who are living hand-to-mouth. Nothing wrong with that, its just how it is.
  - LogicX 14y ago
    One can shop at Costco for a 5% premium on purchases

dantheman 14y ago

I don't think it's just walmart employees that need those prices, it's anyone working that type of job. Most employees at small businesses doing the same work earn the same or less than a walmart employee.

dopamean 14y ago
I didn't mean to imply that I think it's only WalMart employees that need cheap goods. I was simply trying to comment on the irony of that.

gruseom 14y ago

That is why I like Costco better: the people who work there don't seem as downtrodden. Either I've been fooled by corporate propaganda or they really have figured out a way to make money, lower prices, and treat people relatively well. Walmarts feel like places of despair to me and Costcos like places of hope. I know how ludicrous that sounds, but the feeling is real. I often chat with workers at checkout counters to gut-test my theory, and it seems to hold up, though it could all just be confirmation bias. Edit: there's one big difference, though. To shop at Costco you have to buy twice as much (plus typically pay membership fees). That step could be too steep for the people most living hand-to-mouth, even though it would save them money within weeks. So there could be sample bias here too.

protomyth 14y ago
The membership is the too steep part for Costco.
- malandrew 14y ago
  It would be nice if CostCo allowed people of low income to apply for a financial aid in the form of free membership if their income was low enough. It's unfortunate that only the people with greater purchasing power get access to the lowest cost per item unit.
  - nijk 14y ago
    Or even a monthly installment.
  - rogerbinns 14y ago
    > ... free membership The membership is the per member profit. Costco doesn't mark up items more than 14%. In some states they aren't allowed to require membership to access the pharmacy. If what you proposed was workable, I'd expect groups of people in an area to band together or have a middleman in order to only have one membership and break up bulk items. (And technically there is such a middleman doing their best to lower prices - they are called Walmart.) > ... greater purchasing power get access to the lowest cost ... Same thing happens with the US health system - the uninsured pay the most for exactly the same procedures at the same place. At least in the case of Costco it is economically sensible because buyers purchase a bigger volume and the store has greater throughput. (Costco typically has 4,000 SKUs per store while a normal supermarket will be around 16,000.)
  - protomyth 14y ago
    CostCo's profit is the memberships. It is a smart business model that is very successful. It just isn't designed for people who are living hand-to-mouth. Nothing wrong with that, its just how it is.
- LogicX 14y ago
  One can shop at Costco for a 5% premium on purchases