Thursday, December 22, 2022

We're Back!

We're Back!

21 December 2022

“It’s Not Sam’s Walmart….anymore” is getting back running.

Thanks to the change in ownership as well as leadership at Twitter, we once again have access to that social media account. Twitter has undergone significant change in a very short time, thanks to Elon Musk’s takeover and clean out of the company. Instead of no assistance, we got fantastic assistance when we opened a ticket regarding our lack of having access to our account.

We no longer have access to our legacy “community” Facebook page. No communication was sent to us when Meta, made changes and wiped out the page.

Like “old” Twitter, Meta was more than likely pushed by the liberal elements infesting Walmart, to put us out of business.

We are assessing building a new Facebook page.

“It’s Not Sam’s Walmart…..anymore”, it not our only endeavor out there.

We have our hands in other projects too, plus we do this all for free, we work real jobs for a living. Our pages are not monetized, as we know how much distaste there is with ads popping up all over something you are trying to read, watch, learn, enjoy.

We greatly appreciate your continued support by visiting our Blog as well as Twitter.

Thank You!

From The “It’s Not Sam’s Walmart….anymore” Team


(Footnote as required under securities laws: The writer of this article, besides having intimate knowledge of Walmart Inc., from being employed by such, also holds a position in Walmart Inc., Position in Walmart Inc., shares has been held for well over 30 years, and has no plans to buy or sell any shares.)

Friday, February 18, 2022

My Dollar General Experience

My Dollar General Experience

19 February 2022

Many of you think Dollar General is a great store to shop, and it was before corporate greed at many levels took over and jacked prices up through the ceiling, hurting their customers.

But is it a good place to work?

This is my experience, better worded “nightmare”.

Back in September, my full time job then (which I will eventually write about), was not good for multiple reasons, including incredibly low pay.  I am always on the hunt for a new challenge, one I could use over 40+ years of hands on business education in. 

My last challenge lasted over 20 years, sadly the jobs were outsourced overseas after the company was sold to an arm of the Shanghai Government.

I saw opportunities for Assistant Managers with Dollar General, thinking that the company was halfway better than where I was, I applied.

Within days of applying, I was called up an asked to come in for an interview, 50 miles away in La Vista, Nebraska, no worries, I needed to go into Omaha anyway.  District Manager, Scott did the interview.  At this point in my life, I should know beyond a doubt who is lying through their teeth and who was not.  Scott was spinning a good one about how great things are, and that there are some stores that are bad and others great.

Job offer was made and accepted, but not at the rate of pay noted for Assistant Manager Trainees, of $18.00 an hour, I was told it should be $16.00 an hour.  Additionally, I was placed in a “Management Training Store” in Fremont, Nebraska.

Let the Nightmare on West 23rd Street Begin….

Went to do the new hire paperwork a few days later at this store, and first impression was, “what a dump it is”.  Dirty, Dusty, ceiling tiles removed as the roof leaked water, stocking carts in the aisles everywhere, and the Store Manager’s attitude is “she was there” and that’s about it.

Serious changes needed to happen, but there were more issues.

Counting myself, the store has a total of six employees.  Two of them really great, two should be let go, and if you count the not so great Store Manager, that total would be three.

More on that in a bit.

Training was a huge issue.  Like many companies, you’ll learn the basics through Computer Based Learning (CBL’s), which are a good start, but a good amount of things you will forget before you have to do them.

Real  training was, the not so good “you’ll teach yourself how to do it” method.

So if I am to be an Assistant Manager, should I not have training on how to do such things as schedules, time sheets, and everything else? 

Apparently not.

I was never even given credentials to log into any of the Management tools, instead, I was stuck using the Store Manager’s credentials, and any good corporate auditor would have a fit over that.

Dollar General like every business out there that relies on deliveries had their issues.  Trucks would show up whenever they show up, and usually they did at the worst time.  Many times the store was single staffed, just me, when that occurred.

Another issue, any store should not be single staffed, period.  You are just temping fate, If something happens, robbery, medical issue, accident,  and there is no other store staff on duty. 

To add to this, my previous employer had a strict rule, “if two employees were not on duty in the store, the store had to close”.  This occurred more than a few times, thankfully not on my shift.  I was blessed to have many of great people working under me at that store, and most of them preferred to work when I was in charge.  Our Customer Service ratings were great on my shifts, not so much so on the other shifts.

Now back to my store’s staff….

Our two excellent hourly employees at this Dollar General store were great.  One moved on to another part-time thing as Dollar General does not pay their part-timers enough, nor do they give them enough hours.

Our other two employees were the Store Manager’s “pets” not to mention “Key Holders”, meaning they were “persons in charge” when neither Manager was in the store..

One was totally rude to customers and other staff members, and frankly I got asked plenty of times when I was going to let him go.  Well, not my call at that point.  Other was basically lazy and complained about everything, and was caught asleep so many times, I stopped counting, as well as my two great part-time employees.

You would think an Assistant Manager that is told they are full time should be easily getting a full 40 hours a week.  If you think that, you are wrong.  Most times I did not get even 30 hours, and the persons in charge were getting more than that.

As I said, they’re her “pets”.   

To get those hours, it took, more often than not, six days working, with a day off, if I was lucky. 

Traveling To Other Stores

With the staff shortages Dollar General has, we tend to be asked if we are willing to travel and work in “nearby” stores. 

I did this twice, once in Columbus, Nebraska, at an even worse store than mine, traveling almost 100 miles round trip, and no reimbursement for my travel time and vehicle expenses.

Second trip was shorter, to Valley, Nebraska, about a 30 mile round trip, but still no reimbursement for travel time and vehicle expenses.

By the point the Columbus trip had come and passed, and not getting even 30 hours a week most of the time, or two days off, I was already well into looking to replace this job with something else. 

IT Issues, Major Ones

Store had serious IT issues as well with the cash registers.  From pretty much day one, registers crashed frequently every day, credit card readers froze.  Despite multiple calls to their IT Help Desk, nothing was ever done.  Store was losing revenue each and every day, not to mention customers who decided to go elsewhere.

Christmas Eve alone, with one of two registers totally down, the store took at least a $3,500 to $5,000 loss in revenue from customers fed up with waiting, or unwilling to use the self checkout.

Sales plummeted further in the aftermath of the Christmas Eve disaster.

Insurance Mess Up

Company’s annual enrollment process was a pain in the keyboard, and ultimately, even after having confirmation of my enrollment being completed successfully, an issue with the health assessment, in order to get a lower premium rate, was messed up.  It was reported, and when the issue was resolved, it wiped out my benefits enrollment, not to my knowledge until I checked in early January.

Of course with the insane premium cost, and less than 30 hours per week, I could not afford it anyway.  My former employer had a total of 145 stores, and some other entities it ran, and insurance rates, through the same company, were substantially lower than Dollar General’s is.

End of the Line

All of these concerns were brought up in a letter left on the Store Manager’s desk, as well as letting her know, I would be out for many days due to an health issue that was aggravated by the working conditions. 

Called in every scheduled day and left messages stating such too.

I was told they had no record of the letter, or my calls.  On both, the “pets” probably figured out what the letter was about, and destroyed it, not to mention it is easy to erase voice mails on the store’s phone system without anyone knowing.

Dollar General’s HR Dispute Process is a Joke. 

Armed with all of my documentation,  it was sent in electronically, and  not taken into consideration, what so ever.  A totally rude person by the name of Dustin in their Corporate Office raised his voice constantly during the call.

Hey, Dustin, I have that on digital recording, and I knew when I answered by your tone of voice that your mind was made up. 

Not a good thing, I was in your shoes and chair a few times in HR functions at two companies, I came into every issue with a clear mind as a neutral party, and more often than not, sided with the employee, not the company’s “line”.   

I did the same when it was a customer / guest, listen and come up with a resolution that benefits all parties involved.

Bottom Line....Dollar General Is Not A Good Company, Period

Maybe it was a good company, a long, long time ago.

Today, it is not the great company started in 1939, back then there were values, and people that knew how to build great businesses, even in the depression era, that succeeded.

This company’s aggressive expansion has come with a price, the company does not care about their customers, or their employees, or how their stores are ran.

Remember the old saying in business, It’s About QUALITY, Not Quantity!

Quantity companies that have hundreds or thousands of stores, simply cannot last, look at how many big and medium store chain failures there have been in the last 50 years.  Ever think K-Mart would fail? 

Or Sears?

Or Woolworth’s?

Or (fill in the blank)……the list goes on and on and on.

Quality companies last the test of time.

Who Will Fail First...Dollar General or Walmart?

I was asked not long ago which would company would fail first, Dollar General or Walmart?

Most might say Walmart, but take this into consideration.

Dollar General is for the most part controlled by private equity investors, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts, and Citigroup.

Private Equity Investors, especially liberally controlled ones, only care about one thing, getting the money out of everything they have their leaches in.

Walmart is still controlled by the Walton Family, through shares hold in the family trust, plus their leaders, past and present, and associates, past and present hold shares, those groups, when combined, have controlling powers, not some private equity firm or corporate raider.

My vote for the one to fail first, based on my experience and knowledge of both companies is easy.

Dollar General will fail.

 

(Footnote  as required under securities laws:  The writer of this article, besides having intimate knowledge of both companies from being employed by such, holds a position in Walmart Inc., shares, but does not hold a position in Dollar General Stores shares.  Walmart Inc., position has been held for well over 30 years, and has no plans to buy or sell any shares.)

Monday, September 27, 2021

 "Social Media Blockade"

27 September 2021 - Mark W.
Copyright © 2021 – It’s Not Sam’s Walmart…..Anymore! 

Currently, we are being blocked from accessing our Facebook and Twitter accounts.  This began somewhere around Mid-July 2020 and has continued since.

Attempts to contact either social media companies has come back with the "we are unable to verify the account holder" or some other brick wall message.


"It’s Not Sam’s Walmart…..Anymore!" was founded almost a decade ago, we own it!

Reason we are being stopped from accessing our Social Media accounts is simple, we tell the truth, we expose what liberalism has done in an attempt to destroy the one world's foremost retailers, and destroy the founder, Mr. Sam.

You can help us by accessing our social media sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Its-Not-Sams-Walmart-515038301884497

Twitter: @NotSamsWalmart

Comment or Tweet on those pages if you are able to.  If not, please let us know via e-mail to itsnotsamswalmart@gmail.com

Many Thanks!

Mark W

Owner / Writer / Publisher

 

Monday, May 20, 2019

"Respect For The Individual" - My Walmart Story


In the Summer of 1981, I had the opportunity of a lifetime, I met Mr. Sam during my time in Western Arkansas in one of his stores, he put the four words to how I was raised and lived my life  "Respect For The Individual".  I am launching "Respect For The Individual" in honor of that moment in my life, I learned so much in minutes from Mr. Sam.  Thank You!

As you read "My Walmart Story", think about these four words, words to live all aspects of your life by.

Editor's Note – we have updated the original story to add information from a November/December 2019 interaction with Walmart, the company finally opened an Open Door issue on this case some seven years after the fact.


"Respect For The Individual" - My Walmart Story

20 May 2019 - Mark W.
Copyright © 2015 & 2019 – It’s Not Sam’s Walmart…..Anymore! 

This is my Walmart story, one that shows beyond any doubt Mr. Sam’s Basic Beliefs and the Open Door Policies went out the door a long time ago.

One of Mr. Sam’s Basic Beliefs is “Respect For The Individual”. 

Think about this as we relate the story of a now former overnight Customer Service Manager at the 180th & West Center Road store in Omaha, Nebraska with over 10 years of service.

Overnight shift on the night of May 12, 2012 into May 13th was proceeding like any late Saturday night duty, not enough associates on shift, and too much freight, that was the norm for this store after its award winning Store Manager transferred in 2009.

As this CSM went to purchase some stuff for his late night meal break, the cashier said the following to him

“since your gay, have you become a Democrat since the President said he was for same sex marriage”?

Say what?


This CSM is divorced, has two children.  This cashier was well aware of those facts.

On top of this associate asking that question to this CSM, her direct Supervisor, she also asked a number of other associates on staff that night that she thought were gay the same thing.

Incident was reported to the Shift Manager, the Store Manager, the District Market Director, Walmart’s Home Office, even the Walmart Board of Directors, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Office in St. Louis.

Do you think any of the above took action?

Absolutely not.

In the aftermath of the report, the overnight management team of this store took retaliatory actions against this CSM.

Forcing him to change his schedule, assigning more work to him than his duty hours would allow, not approving vacation days, as well as denying him promotion to accounting, not once, but twice, despite the leads in accounting recommending him for the promotion.

Further to this, even though this CSM notified Management that due to the incident he could not, by the company’s ethics policies, have any involvement in future coaching or conducting the annual review of this associate, he was forced to.

This CSM reported the conduct, as required, while still under employment to the Ethics Hotline, which failed to respond.

Due to Store Management, District Management, and Walmart Home Office’s HR Management’s lack of response, and lack of taking any action, this CSM was left with no choice but to tender his resignation.

But this wasn’t the only episode of harassment that occurred over the 10 plus years, when the store opened in 2001 it was already a toxic environment, but back then reports of the harassment were dealt with, costing not one, but two store managers their positions.

From 2003 to 2009, the store’s third Manager, who firmly followed Mr. Sam’s “Respect for the Individual” belief.  Store went from one of the worst to best, winning multiple awards, and having the lowest associate turnover rate of any Walmart store.

But in 2009, our award winning Manager transferred to a store closer to his family and home in the Kansas City Metro area (note, it was in sad shape too when I visited, but months later this manager’s award winning leadership style righted that store too), and the toxic environment began to return.

It was to the point in 2012, not many would take their breaks in the lounge.  What few associates in there were talking about their escapees with their “partners”, and who was gay, lesbian, whatever. 
Ask yourself, would you want to work in this type on an environment? 


This is a classic case of Walmart dropping the ball and hoping the problem it refuses to address will go away.

It will not.

Now Walmart Shareholders have an opportunity to step up and strengthen broken policies, the first step is to vote for Proposal #4 and hold Walmart’s liberal leadership accountable for indicident of sexual harassment such as mine.


January 2020 Story Update

In November 2019, I was contacted by a Robert Stoud, an Associate Relations Case Manager with the Open Door Helpline.  A case had been finally opened for me relating to the issues noted in the article.

Mr. Stoud was more concerned with getting the case closed quickly, than doing what should have been done in such a serious issue, that being researching and resolving it at his level.

Instead the case was kicked to the Market District People Lead who has yet to contact me, and I was told to reactivate my application in Walmart’s on line system.  This lead to a poor job offer in a store over 35 miles away, at a rate of pay over $4.00 and hour less than what I was at prior to leaving the company in 2012.

(As a side note here, we will be doing a story on that store, and the slave wages it pays soon!)

This job offer was rammed down my throat, without any consideration for when I would be able to start, which was not the date they chose.  After finding out it was the day after Christmas, and I was committed to being out of town, I declined the offer.

Like What Happened Here?

If you don’t, call Robert Stoud at 479-258-0376 or e-mail at Robert.Stoud@walmart.com and Kristi at 402-970-5321 and demand they make things right with Mark Stevens immediately.