Mo Money, Mo Problems

The supporters of Wally’s sure are quiet on this one....
A well done article, thanks for the info.

Obviously Wal-Mart places a higher value on Mr. Scott’s services than Costco places on Mr. Sinegal’s services. Sinegal may not last very long as CEO at Costco because he has refused to deal with cost issues, most notably employee health insurance, which is getting out of control.

Apparently, Wal-Mart feels Mr. Scott is worth $17 million per year. Costoc feels Sinegal is worth $2.7 million per year. To each his own. Scott has done an excellent job at Wal-Mart. Their stock performance cannot be blamed on poor numbers or performance. Scott has done an outstanding job as CEO. The fact that he has had to defend Wal-Mart against ridiculous lawsuits and union generated attacks while at the same time efficiently managing the world’s largest corporation says that he is deserving of his pay. Mr. Sinegal, on the other hand, is worshipped by the liberal media and Costco can do no wrong. He is not having to fight off unions (yet) and he has not had to deal with cost issues (just yet). Ask Wal-Mart’s stockholders if they are happy with their dividends and their operations. Trust me, they are.

Mr. Scott earns more than Mr. Sinegal because he does a lot more work. Period.

Actually you’re wrong Nick. About a month and a half ago we had an article in the Sunday NYTimes on it. Mr. Sinegal is the founder and very much in charge. He’s set his business up very much opposed to the best advice of Wall St. experts and other retailers who think the bottom line on everything is everything. He was quite vocal in expressing disdain for those CEO’s and top executives who makes hundreds of times more money than the average people who work for them. COSTCO is doing okay. I’ll take your word for it that they’re more like a Sam’s Club. Even so according to that article Sam’s comes in 2nd for stores of this nature in retail to Mr. Sinegal’s Costco. Sorry. That’s what the article said.
He also is in the minority opinion as far as big retailer CEO’s that is in the belief that a well paid employee can be a happy productive employee (maybe even a happier and more productive employee than those at WM?). He likes his employees to have health insurance. And a small percentage
(I think it was around 12) is unionized. He wasn’t particularly bothered by that either. And your last two sentences about the amount of work either of them are doing is absurd. There’s no way of proving it.

Larry,

If I am wrong, correct me please, but I don’t think the CEO is the founder. I think the founder is still chairman but he doesn’t actually run the company. At least that’s what a magazine article and this site said. There was a thread on here some weeks back concerning Wal-Mart and Costco and the founder and the current CEO had different names.

Do you really believe Mr. Scott hasn’t worked much harder? Has Sinegal had to deal with all the things that Mr. Scott has had to deal with these past two years? Costco and Sinegal have gotten a free pass. They buy goods abroad. They only open up in well-to-do areas. They are in the process of deciding on benefit and wage cuts. Their profit margin is shrinking and they work in a warehouse business. They won’t let poor people who somehow manage to make it to their store actually shop there. They charge membership dues and they sell Cartier watches and Dom Peringion champagne. They don’t exactly cater to middle America. At least Wal-Mart has options for everyone.

And Costco has received a great deal of free publicity from the liberal media who hate Wal-Mart. It is not that they love Costco so much, it is just that Costco gives them an excuse to attack Wal-Mart, which they hate.

I think it is interesting that in the last election, Wal-Mart and Scott openly backed President Bush and the Republicans and Sinegal and Costco openly backed Kerry and the Democrats. See how that turned out?

I don’t have the article right now. I gave it to someone. I’ll try to get back. Hopefully it hasn’t been tossed. If I remember correctly though Sinegal’s father was a union member and the family struggled. He struck me as what you might call a pepperpot. Very upfront. He feels connected to his past--to his father. In the article he was very adamant about keeping his prices down. He’s cut loose suppliers that he’s found to have given a better deal to WM. He doesn’t let them back afterwards. He works on a small profit margin and I believe it’s 12% on everything--no matter what. A hardline policy. This is partly where again according to the article he runs counter to the advice of Wall St. experts who think he should worry more about his stockholders and less about his employees. He is the founder. Apparently another rags to riches story. As far as the stores I’ve never been in one---and there are none around here. I checked radius of Elmira, Syracuse and Rochester. As far as the membership dues go if it compares to Sam’s--Sam’s collects dues.  As far as kerry and Bush. Don’t like the first--have come to hate the second and voted for neither that is for Nader. And I’d do it all over again today.

Walmart is one of the of the worst things to happen to the United States in the last 50 years.  When the company was founded it was about American goods and up lifting American products now you would have to search thorogh thousands of items to find any American marchandise.  Slowly they are sending us back in to the depression many of the people that work there have to be on public assistance and barely get paid enough to cover the bare essenitals.  Lee Scott has had to put up with a lot this year and it will continue because they do discriminate and they do mistreat there Associates and thats just the truth.  Walmart cares about walmart and no one else.

I was gone for two days and things have really gone down hill, if that is possible.  Walmart watch has gone from bad issues to no issues.  Anyway I traveled a hundred miles each way to Little Rock to visit the Walmarts and Sams Clubs (note the plural).  Great stores. 

While I was in the area, I decided to visit Hot Springs Village, a retirement community.  I decided not to buy.  They don’t have a Walmart.

I googled Costco.  The closest store is over 200 miles away, none in Arkansas.  That really makes me want to jump into my car and shop.  Comparing Walmart to Costco is kind of like comparing goliath to a gnat.  Walmart/Sams Club has over 1500 stores in the US.  Costco has less than a hundred. 

I have decided to start up my own business in the Costco/walmartwatch model.  The name will be Zack Ridge Sailboat Works.  Catchy name, right, better than Costco.  Where did they get that? Out of a Wheaties box?  My success criteria will be straight Costco/walmartwatch.  I will pay my CEO little and I will pay my employees top wages. 

I will pay my CEO a $0.01/year.  I will pay my employee $100/hour.  Of course I will only be in business for a half a day, but that is not important, since that is not part of the Costco/walmartwatch model.  As far as sales go, I sold nothing last year.  This year if I sell anything, the ratio of this year’s sales to last year’s will be big.  Anything divided by zero is big.

By the way, I can help out Costco.  If one of their important criteria for success is how little they pay the CEO, I am available for only $100,000/year.  I will work out of my house.

A second by the way.  I like Costco.  I also like Target and Wamart, but only Walmart is available.

I think I made it clear that I’ve never been to a Costco. I mean this has come up before with a grocery chain I never heard of. If they’re not around you it’s hard to judge them for what they are. Maybe they’re more prevalent in the midwest southwest and western states. No doubt they have plans for more expansion and we may get to see them some day and who knows they could be a let down. Even so they are marching to a different drumbeat than some others. Again from the article as I remember it--he points to the wages and benefits as a way of keeping employee turnover down--keeping employee theft down---having a fairly happy work force. It did mention they focus more on upscale--in terms of who they buy from and what quality and who they sell too. I didn’t get the impression though that there was any kind of concerted effort or policy to exclude any particular segment of society. I’m afraid the article is gone and that there’s not much more I can say about it for now.
It’s possible it could be found in a NYTimes search on their archives. Title was something like Costco being the anti-Wal Mart and it was about 6 weeks ago on a Sunday in the business section. And maybe also someone or two or three who have been Costco members could chip in with something.

Larry

I am not sure who your tirade is directed against.  If it is me, I don’t know what you are talking about.  I was just making fun of walmart watch comparing Walmart to Costco.

David is correct in stating that you can’t really compare Wal-Mart and Costco - it’s not so much goliath vs. gnat as apples and oranges. They’re different business models entirely and are not really competing for the same consumer dollars. A Target vs. Wal-Mart comparison makes far more sense. If this weren’t the case, there would be no Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club is based directly on the Price Club/Costco business model and is their foray into that market. You don’t go there twice a week for stuff like you would Wal-Mart. Bulk buying is its forte. Wal-Mart “has options for everyone” as Nick mentioned, because that is their business plan - sell really cheap goods at really cheap prices. If you’re looking for quality, you don’t shop at Wal-Mart. Target is in this same business, but shoots for the middle class sector - better goods at better prices than Wal-Mart. That’s why they both survive.
Costco carries much higher quality goods, but is able to sell them at much better prices than a typical retailer can because of that membership fee that Nick disdains so much, though at about $2.50/month, it’s a bargain for what you’ll save there. Their foods are about the best you can find anywhere, and in most cases less expensive than grocery stores. Also, their bulk goods are a big supplier for small businesses. Not to mention they have the best return policy on the planet. They don’t sell a large variety of stuff, but you know that the things they do carry are going to be good.
I live in the dc metro area and there is not a single Wal-Mart inside the beltway. But there are 3 Costcos and 1 Target. But I do go to Wal-Mart a lot when I visit family in the midwest.
Also, since when is “Costco” less creative a name than “Wal-Mart”?!?! Neither is winning a pulitzer this year.

Sam Walton was the son of an investment banker. His first job, according to his biography, was assisting his father repossessing homes during the Depression. He married a very wealthy woman. He started with a simple idea:copy what others are doing and do it cheaper. During the late 1980’s while Walmart had banners hanging all over their stores about how many American jobs they created or “saved” by buying certain goods, Mr. Sam was busy escorting other American executives to third world countries and showing them how to “outsouce.” How do I know this? My girlfriend at that time was an administrative assistant and typed up Mr Sam’s reports on his ‘outsourcing’ escapades.

Wildwoody,

Mr. Sam had paper routes and worked as a lifeguard as a youth. He paid his way through college with a paper route. He served in the Army during WWII. He started off with a loan of $10,000 from his father in law. His father in law was not really rich, he just seemed that way to Mr. Sam. Mr. Sam’s parents were working class poor and he came from nothing. He was born in the Dust Bowl and lived through the Depression, going on to found one of the world’s greatest corporations, become the world’s richest man, and passing the company on to the most underrated CEO in history, David Glass, before his death. Yes, he didn’t start the retail concept but he was smarter and he worked harder to please the customer by keeping costs and prices down.

As for outsourcing, Wal-Mart today spends $150 billion on goods, less than $20 billion of which come from China (directly and indirectly). That is less than 14% of their purchases coming from China. They spend over $100 billion per year in the US. Now, what is it you were saying about outsourcing? I’d bet that $100 billion a year in domestic purchases creates and supports a lot of jobs.

David--it spun off your comments a bit but I’d hardly call it a tirade. It added a little bit to the comment on Costco I’d already made and Brandon came in and offered some more insight on that company.

I spent seven years working within Wal-Mart (distribution center and home office) and can testify that allegations made against them are the tip of the iceberg.  Nick in Wheeling asserts that Lee Scott works harder than the CEO of Costco.  How does he do that?  Does he put in 840 hour weeks?  Scott wouldn’t have to fight unions if Wal-Mart employees were paid fairly.  The Costco employees have little incentive to join a union because they make a living wage. 

Costco keeps its business costs down by eliminating high turnover.  At Wal-Mart, I saw experienced employees who were unable to perform at their capacity because they were always busy training new people due to the incredibly high turnover.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the lost productivity there.  But Costco’s CEO has been smart enough to realize the potential return of investing in decent pay and insurance benefits.  Wal-Mart prides itself on stealing good ideas from the competition, but cannot bring themselves to steal this good idea, even though it would pay for itself and also eliminate most of their critic’s most damaging arguments against them.  I guess they’re just masochists.

As for comparing Wal-Mart and Costco, it would be fair to compare the Sam’s Club division to Costco, and you’d better believe that Wal-Mart makes that comparison every hour of every day.  During my time with the company, I sat through many an employee quarterly meeting where sales were discussed for each division.  Every time it was the same--Sam’s Club came up short behind Costco.  Executives were given a short time to reverse the trend, and if they couldn’t, they got the axe, and so did their high-ranking junior executives.  That might seem like good business sense to get rid of underperformers, but is it really fair to tie their hands with low wages and then expect them to get performance on the same level as Costco gets from its tenured experienced crew?

It seems to me that Costco’s CEO actually has compassion for his employees (and knows that calling them “associates” doesn’t make their paycheck go a bit further).  I was in an employee quarterly meeting hosted by Lee Scott once when an employee got up and explained to Scott how hard it was to get by on the pay at Wal-Mart.  Scott told him that if he was working at Wal-Mart for the money, he needed to get another job.  The contrast in human compassion between the two companies is most telling.

Brandon

I do not have a Costco close, but do visit one during trips to Colorado.  The Costco and Sams Club are within a couple of miles of each other.  I could see no quality or price difference between the two. Of course this was not a scientific survey.  Target does sell some very high end goods.  I consider them when I want something a little special.  However, for day to day, Walmart has quality goods for a good price.

As far as making fun of Costco’s name, that was all in jest just like my Zack Ridge Sailboat Works company is.  I have considered such a thing, but I am smart enough to know that sailboats are not a big item in the Arkansas Mountains.

After scanning; that’s all that is required, is it not.

It is (is) not Costco vs. Walmart.

It’s not 9.68 Walmart’s average versus Costco’s 16-17 average pay/profitability/10 vs. 22 billion/or the stock price.

The question to H. Lee Scott on the interview, was why can’t Walmart pay $12 per hour on average - when Costco pays 16-17 dollars per average - Lee Scott responded with a question - why not $20 dollars per hour average.

The original question remains -

Why can’t Walmart pay their employees $12 per hour - on average.

Simple questions - require simple ANSWERS.

Here’s why Walmart management won’t answer from Arkansas, and will spend billions not to answer.  Walstreet expectations - and growth expectations - the only thing they understand.

They’re soo concerned - about drawing the line in the sand - and having to take one step back on that line in the sand - that they think the whole world will cave in on them.

Here’s what they don’t yet understand - and will have to go thru alot of pain to truly understand - take one baby-step back - pay your employees - just 1 billion of the 4 billion spent in the last 4 quarters -

Then everyone will understand - Walmart is worth keeping.

P.S. -

I had a paper route too -

I also spent 7 years of my youth on crutches.

I was also a lifeguard.

I am poor -

What’s “Mr. Sam’s” biological history have to do with 2005?

Walmart is the devil.  Boycott those scumbags.  Do not shop there.  Pass the word on.  Eventually they will go away.

I was, unfortunately, dragged over to a Walmart recently, in order to meet up with someone.  In there, they had a large propaganda lie on the wall.  Big US flags (of course) with an absurd claim that they try to buy American goods to resell whenever possible.  I started laughing quite loudly. 

Walmart = China central = slave wages

They are full of shit, and they treat their cogs, I mean employees like shit too.  They deserve a corporate demise.  Stop giving them your money and urge others to do likewise.

Why doesn’t Wal-mart pay us $12/ hour.  Its a market for all including employment.  I have compared with first hand knowledge the pay of Wal-mart vs. Disney in my area.  You work at Disney you make $6.70 the first year.  At Wal-mart you start at $6.30 and after 90 days get minimum raise of .40.  So union Disney pays same as Wal-mart after ninety days.  Going further you get a larger annual raise at Wal-mart then at Disney after one year.  Walmart after one year get minimum 5.97% vs. Disney standard 4%. If you work hard at Walmart you can get even higher raise and yes I have gotten it.  Disney work you butt off and guess what you get the same 4% no matter how hard or crappy your work is.  So that is why Wal-mart doesn’t pay $12 in my area.  Its a market if I don’t like working at Wal-mart then I have free right to leave and shop my services.  I am one of many who feel Wal-mart treats me fairly and has raised my pay considerably in the 1 1/2 years I have been there and don’t need a union to benefit.

Got to be honest with you John. Keep on applying at other places. Take courses if you can. You’re going to eventually need a better wage than you can earn on the floor there. If I were you I wouldn’t look at WM as a place to settle into.

GIRLS listen up, I don’t know about you but I feel like I need a shower after I leave a Wal-mart. YUK! AND walking miles and miles to save a couple of bucks.?? Forgedaboutit...Their bathrooms are discusting, not to mention dangerous. About a month ago a 13 year old boy was molested in our local store’s bathroom.

I say screw um if they can’t pay a living wage. By the way I checked out a Costco in Houston, WOW great clothing great quality, much better than Sam’s.

texashousewife in houston tx. 

According to the Costco website, they DO NOT HAVE a Costcos in Houston.  However, they do have 23 Walmarts and 11 Sams Clubs.  I just thought you would like to know.

I have college degree and hope within next few years to move into Wal-Mart management.  I already interviewed a few months back for position but more qualified applicants received the trainee jobs.  In training you start at minimum $15/hr plus other incentives and bonuses just to be in managemnt training program.  So I guess when I move into management if I stick around long enough then I can be the other side of the dreaded beast.  Larry a while back you told me how long and aprox. how much you make.  I projected my floor pay out to the same time you have been at your job and get paid the same as you in the postal job.
Costco and their high pay and benefits I say great for them if it can last.  I would even work there but the closest one to me is over hour and half away.  More shocking many can’t believe I enjoy going to work at Wal-mart most days.  Its not perfect and never claim it will be.  No job is perfect.  I wish people would understand one fact.  Taken from Dept of Labor.  The following is summary of cashiers in different jobs
Grocery stores $8.79
Other general merchandise stores $8.41
Health and personal care stores $7.94
Department stores $8.05
Also
Retail Salesperson $ 8.98
Its hard to find a true job match for Wal-mart stockers, misc jobs we do but I would say cashier and Retail sales is fair bases.  Even some retail sales jobs the $8.98 might be inflated since some receive sales commisions into that rate.
This is average wage not starting wages.

Quoting from article.  Wal-mart average is $9.68. 
Working at Wal-mart is unskilled job.  Based on Labor Stats Wal-mart is paying higher then the average.  Now if Wal-mart didn’t pay the average then everyone can stand up on the soap box and scream bloody murder.  But the facts just aren’t there.  You in an employment market get paid what you are worth not what you think you are worth.

If I wake up tommorow and by decree of Congress or such the Minimum wage is set at $20 I gain nothing.  The salaries and prices of goods of everything else will inflated just as fast.  But at least at Wal-mart the average worker is right now making more then there fellow comparable employees except at Costco which is the exception to the rule at the moment.  But Costcos are not on a grand scale and time will tell if the business model holds up to the test of time.

deperate texas housewife from houston tx

Gotcha

I not so much want to voice my opinion as share with you this delightful news article from the BBC. I do hope you will be able to publicize it in the US, I hever never in my life seen such barefaced audacity,unmitigated gall and sheer chutzpah.

Asda and Tesco have a frosty relationship at present
Asda’s US parent company Wal-Mart has called for the government to launch an investigation into Tesco’s domination of the UK supermarket sector.

I guess it is “barefaced audacity,unmitigated gall and sheer chutzpah”, if you are looking at it from an anti-Walmart standpoint.  What would you call it it if Tesco decided to enter the US market and wanted the US government to launch an investigation of Walmart?

Actually, according to Costcos warehouse locater (http://www.costco.com/Warehouse/Locator.aspx) they have 2 stores in Houston. One at 1150 Bunkerhill Rd and one at 12405 N. Gessner Rd.

No wonder, Costco is not doiing as well as Sams Club.  This is the list for Texas from www.costco.com.  You can’t just look at their web site to find a store. 

Texas
Arlington
Austin
East Plano
El Paso
Fort Worth
Katy Frwy at Bunker Hill
Lewisville
NW San Antonio
San Antonio Sonterra Park
Southlake
West Plano
Willowbrook

I don’t care how hard you work...but NO HUMAN BEING ON THIS EARTH deserves 17 million a yr salary...the whole point of the walmart business model fits right along w/ the bush family...the point is to form a hierarchical society, not the haves and have nots but the have-it-alls and the have-nothings. they care nothing whatsoever about the little man...their goal is to be Masters of the Universe and crush anyone that stands in the way of Illuminati plans for world domination...why do you think walmart wants a bank in utah...now they’re in bed w/ the mormons...so you’ve got walmart, the bush family, the saudi royalty, the mormons, the Freemasons, and the Jews all trying to take over the world cuz they all think they’re the chosen people to rule over us all.....f*ck em all cuz i’ll watch em burn in hell from up in the clouds wit my man JC :P

Bender

That is, without doubt, one of the stupidest rants I have read in a long time.  My only worthwhile comment is that I wish that it was me making 17 million a year salary rather than them.  But, I had my shot at the big time, but I didn’t make it.

Also, despite the fact that you are disguising your foul language, the fact that I can still understand the words, it is still foul language.

well hell, let me make it right for you then, corporate america is enough to make any of the little guys cuss because they don’t give a shit about there “ASSociates"meaning associated or “part of” do you believe for a second I feel like part of this repulsive company!

You know you got them on the run when they resort to foul language.  It is like the preacher’s notes “Yell like hell, argument weak here.”

Well Ronnie, if you don’t feel like part of the company, then leave.  If you’re so poor, why do you have a computer and internet access?

No statistics, no citations from news articles here, just personal observation and experience, for what it’s worth:

There’s a Costco about a mile and a half from here, and a Wal-Mart and a Sam’s Club around the corner. A trip to the Costco is enjoyable, even fun (unless it’s a crowded weekend). A trip to the Wal-Mart is a nightmare. My wife and I went into Sam’s Club once and got a bad feel just walking in the door, saw nothing that interested us and walked out. Never returned. We go to Costco regularly, once a week or so. We avoid Wal-Mart unless it’s an emergency and no one else who carries what we need is open.

What’s the difference? I would guess management. The Wal-Mart is always dirty and the employees just don’t look inviting, not even the aged “greeter” at the door. The Costco employees are familiar faces now and they are all helpful and seem happy to work there. The merchandise they carry is good quality (another difference) and the prices are outstanding.

Maybe my experience is unique and doesn’t relate to the rest of the nation and, yes, Wal-Mart and Costco operate under different business models. But there is a definite difference in the shopping experience here. And it ain’t in Wal-Mart’s favor.

Hey John, Are you & Nick brothers or co-workers?

costco is by far the best.Live here where it all started.Would love to get job their.Major copanies today do not care much for their employees like they have in the past.Have yet to see anyone at costco unhappy.Husband getting ready for strike at boeing.Thats another subject about how major companies are taking everything away.And this administration has yet to talk about people losing pensions and such.God help us all if we get the same typs of pres. 2008.

Sharon,

If your husband is earning more than $18 an hour plus benefits and he is going on strike, he needs to have his head examined. Why do you think companies are outsourcing? Do you think it’s just cheap labor? NO. It is ridiculous union demands (work rules, job protection, wage, benefit, pension increases for eternity), workers’ compensation rates, unemployment taxes, 40% corporate tax rates, the EPA, trial lawyers, an entitlement mentality, planning and zoning interference, community groups, OSHA, “prevailing” wage, minimum wage and government red tape that all combine to make our nation less efficient. Of course, American companies CAN produce excellent products cheaper than foreign firms but most Americans are not willing to do what it takes to compete in a global market.

An example of American possibilities is one of my favorite companies, Nucor. They are America’s largest steel producer. They are non-union. They use scrap metal and mini-mills. They push for the most cutting edge technology. This company, in 40 years, has never closed a plant do to losses, never laid off a single worker, ever, and never failed to have a profitable quarter. How do they do it? New technologies certainly play their part but mostly it has to do with their workforce. Their workers have a main job classification but none are prohibited from jumping in to do another job, if necessary. Foreman have great power, including the power to fix a broken piece of equipment on the spot without waiting for the repair crew. (This would never happen in a union shop). Workers have good benefits and are treated fairly. Their suggestions are used in making production more efficient and they benefit accordingly. Workers are divided into “work groups” of 18 to 30 people. They are paid a base salary and a weekly bonus based on production. The bonus can run to as high as 180% of base salary and is payable each week. If you are late, even an hour, you lose your production bonus for that day. If you miss a whole day, for any reason, you lose your production bonus for the week. This company pays lump sum pensions and it invests 10% of pre-tax profits in its pension fund. No worker with at least 20 years has ever received less than $200,000 from the pension fund when they retire.

Read about Nucor. It CAN be done.

Are Larry, Nick and Dave the only people who read this blog? How about the 2 million women in the anti-discrimination law suit.  Can someone email them this link>?

David in Zack AR,

WHY yes there IS a Costco in Houston, you might check
I-10 Katy freeway.  Just thought you should know.

By the way Ladies, many other children have been molested in Wal -mart bathrooms. Never never let your kids go in there alone. As I mentioned previously, a 13 year old boy was molested at our local store here in Houston.

Texashousewife

As a UK resident I am well aware of the ways in which TESCO treat their staff as Tesco see their staff as their most important asset and they need their staff in order to satisfy customers and generate loyalty. If WalMart treat their employees with the same amount of respect as Tesco treat theirs Scott would not have to call on the British government to investigate Tesco for becoming too large and competing with WalMart - on a worldwide scale - and instead would be able to remain in the position of world leaders.

Tesco and Sir Terr Leay CEO see that they can compete with WalMart because their staff are motivated and want to improve, if Scott had his staff half as happy as Sir Terry has his WalMart would be flying ahead of Tesco. Instead Sir Terry is making great strides globally and with a record profit this year of £3bn and is making Scott very touchy about Tesco taking over as world number 1.
A motivated worforce is about to put Tesco ahead of Walmart globally

You get what you pay for.  Ask a Costco employee for help and then ask a Wal-Mart employee for help - don’t compare their pay until your compare there experience and education.  If you don’t like working at Wal-Mart then quit.  They don’t owe anyone a job.  If you don’t like Wal-Mart, don’t shop there.  I would prefer them to have useful employees, but they don’t, so I shop elsewhere…

i work at costco started about a two years ago at $10 hr. now make $15. Im a regular hourly employee and will topout a $19 plus bonus and great benefits. Working at Costco is really hard work but when they pay good its all worth it. I shop at walmart with my son.  Most of the times i ask for help never get it and if i do most of the time they say overthere and point. Dont they know if i had found the item i was looking for i wouldn’t be asking for help. Most of the employees seem like they’re only there to get a paycheck. The saying “we get paid by the hour not by what we do” Also its not just at a particular Wal-Mart but at all the walmarts i shop at. I tell my son you can tell how walmart treats there employess. I shop at walmart only when i REALLY have to.

I don’t know about the pay, but it would seem that a store as large as Walmart and with the Sam’s Club to boot, well.... I actually had a problem with the Sams Club Travel.  With the way things worked out I can see that they’re probably under paid.  Heres my story: 

On February 17, 2006 my son called the Sam’s Club Travel Agency to pay a deposit on our trip to Disney World which I had previously bookekfor the price of $1506.57.  We were to put down $916.00 as a deposit and the balance was to be paid by the end of .  After we had confirmed the correct date, Jolene, the travel agent, told us that everything had gone through and that she would give us the confirmation number.  I asked her to confirm the amount of the debit from my son’s bank account for the deposit we were paying.  She stated she had debited $1826.00, which was the entire amount of the trip, and was $400 more than previously quoted!  She indicated that the price had risen probably because we failed to make the deposit immediately following our initial conversation, to hold the price she quoted at that time.  We were not told about this time constraint.  I asked what we could pay now as a deposit and she stated we could no longer pay just a deposit and that payment had to be made in full.  My son told Jolene that he could not pay the full amount that day from his bank account, as there wasn’t enough money to cover the debit. 
had only set aside the $916.00 which had been quoted to him initially.  Jolene told us the $1800.00 debit was “ok” because it had already gone through successfully.  I stated that it was NOT “ok”, because that would cause an overdraft on the account.  Jolene said the debit had already gone through and she had our confirmation number.  I told her she wasn’t listening to me and that we would have to change the amount of the debit to reflect only the $916.00.  I indicated that we were willing to change hotels and possibly cancel the rental car in order to bring the price down.  The bottom line is that Keith only had $1500.00 in his account and we could not pay more.  Jolene said she couldn’t change any of the information.  I said again that Keith does not have that much in his account and that she should have told us the amount to be debited before taking action to do so.  Keith said that if he had been told $1800.00 was to be taken, he would have canceled immediately, knowing there was not enough. 
I asked Jolene what would happen if I just canceled at this point.  She told me your policy states that if travel plans are canceled within 60 days of the departure date, the customer is required to pay a cancellation fee, the insurance, and the airline ticket price (the tickets are non-refundable).  I said incredulously, “So if I cancel now….just 30 minutes after confirming…..I have to pay all that?!?!?”.  She said, “Yes”.  “Well”, I said, “I can’t afford to pay
canceled within 60 days of the departure date, the customer is required to pay a cancellation fee, the insurance, and the airline ticket price (the tickets are non-refundable).  I said incredulously, “So if I cancel now….just 30 minutes after confirming…..I have to pay all that?!?!?”.  She said, “Yes”.  “Well”, I said, “I can’t afford to pay all those charges.  . 
Jolene indicated she was now on overtime and that the company didn’t like to pay overtime.  If I needed to discuss this issue further, I would have to call customer service with the confirmation number.

Why wasn’t Jolene able to stop the transaction not 5 minutes after confirming?  Was it the sale or the commission or both that was so important that we didn’t receive better service?  This isn’t a trip that we can just take on a whim.  We’ve had to save for this.  I don’t think it was fair or right to take advantage of us in this way.  Do you know that I was told by Jolene that I could just give Keith the money or take cash off of my credit card?  Jolene didn’t know me or my situation.  If we could afford to do any of that, we would not have been so determined to have something done to change it.  I have been looking forward to this trip for the last three years and in a matter of a couple of hours, I was wishing I’d never planned a vacation! 
Maybe because of the pay, cause you get what you pay for!!!