Walmart vs Whole Foods taste challenge.... Ooops!

Results? Surprising.


http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201003/w ... al-produce

Very interesting read. Two sides to every story.

Agree. Very interesting read.

Mallwart and Whorefoods. both "stick it"to their employees.

Mallwart and Whorefoods. both "stick it"to their employees.

Really? How so? Walmart pays a decent rate and gives discounts. Wholefoods, I've read and heard, gives GREAT discounts (though they are needed) and pays well.

Mallwart and Whorefoods. both "stick it"to their employees.

Really? How so? Walmart pays a decent rate and gives discounts. Wholefoods, I've read and heard, gives GREAT discounts (though they are needed) and pays well.

Wal-mart is notorious for their less than stellar employee benefits. handing out lists of state agencies for people to apply to help for to cover what walmart doesnt.

I worked for Walmart for a few years (back in the 90's), and I NEVER had that happen. I would have to hear that from someone that it actually happened to, without the person requesting the help, for me to believe it. In this economy, many may be asking for additonal help.
Wal-mart, unlike Kroger where the dues are high, is not union. They offer insurance, if you want to pay for it, as well as stock options, again if you want to pay for it.
Even if you don't like Wal-mart because of the whole "we need to buy local" movement, it provides many jobs in areas that they are needed. They also provide products that are usually lower in price than their competion.

I'm not sure it is still the case - as I'm currently not closely tracking the conversation - but WalMart has historically been well known to schedule workers in ways as to prevent them from qualifying for employee benefits and to "force" workers to work off the clock so as not to move into overtime pay. There's also been issues with managers refusing workers government-regulated breaks.

I can find sources if people want, but these have been pretty common complaints over the years. I once researched how many Meijer employees qualify for company benefits as compared to WalMart employees. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the gap was staggering.

To be fair, Walmart runs a business model that guarantees low prices. They very much do respond to popular demands. So while they might raise produce prices in order to offer a better product, I doubt they would be willing to raise prices as a result of, say, offering more extensive employee benefits. Price point rules the day.

Ah, capitalism!

They also provide products that are usually lower in price than their competion.

It's not that they do this, it's a question of, "at what cost?" No pun intended.

There is plenty of ammo to direct at Walmart as Matthew points out. I try to avoid the place as much as possible, but do go there from time to time...we really don't have a lot of options out here, possibly due to Wally suppressing the local alternatives.<sigh>
That said, I do find it ironic that Walmart is criticized about employee benefits on a Restaurant Forum.
BP (ducking for cover)

I found the article VERY interesting...Whether or not you're a Wally-hater, there's no denying its comparisons. I could go to Wal-Mart and buy twice as mush as when going to Whole Pay Check. Hmm...Let me think about this one.

That said, I do find it ironic that Walmart is criticized about employee benefits on a Restaurant Forum.
BP (ducking for cover)

I was waiting for someone to make that point. If I stop going to places based on the employee happiness, benefits, and salaries I would have to stay at home.

I haven't talked with many people, who are working for someone else, that are 100% happy with their job satisfaction, pay, and benefits.

If Walmart employees aren't happy, they can go elsewhere. Meijer and Kroger are hiring.

Meijer and Kroger are hiring.

Sure, because people working at Kroger and Meijer are always happy.

That said, I do find it ironic that Walmart is criticized about employee benefits on a Restaurant Forum.
BP (ducking for cover)

I was waiting for someone to make that point. If I stop going to places based on the employee happiness, benefits, and salaries I would have to stay at home.

I haven't talked with many people, who are working for someone else, that are 100% happy with their job satisfaction, pay, and benefits.

If Walmart employees aren't happy, they can go elsewhere. Meijer and Kroger are hiring.

Justin,

While that's true in Louisville, in many more rural areas ( where jobs are scarce in the first place), the local Walmart Superstore is the big employer in town. This is definitely the case in Eastern Kentucky where my in-laws live. All the other small stores close because they can't compete. So when Walmart sets low benefits and/or wages, it really affects the community- and they can't just go somewhere else easily.

Deb

That said, I do find it ironic that Walmart is criticized about employee benefits on a Restaurant Forum.
BP (ducking for cover)

I was waiting for someone to make that point. If I stop going to places based on the employee happiness, benefits, and salaries I would have to stay at home.

I haven't talked with many people, who are working for someone else, that are 100% happy with their job satisfaction, pay, and benefits.

If Walmart employees aren't happy, they can go elsewhere. Meijer and Kroger are hiring.

Justin,

While that's true in Louisville, in many more rural areas ( where jobs are scarce in the first place), the local Walmart Superstore is the big employer in town. This is definitely the case in Eastern Kentucky where my in-laws live. All the other small stores close because they can't compete. So when Walmart sets low benefits and/or wages, it really affects the community- and they can't just go somewhere else easily.

Deb

My question would be:

What benefits were the small guys offering? I don't know of many, if any, Mom & Pops offering any benefits

These are the low benefits Walmart offers:

Comprehensive medical coverage, no lifetime maximum
80% coverage for eligible services
Life with Baby Maternity Program, a free voluntary wellness program to help from pre-conception through early child development with your own registered nurse
Optional life and dependent life
Critical illness and accident
Dental
Illness Protection (sick time)
Profit sharing and 401(k) plan
Paid holidays, vacation time and personal time
Stock purchase plan with a company match of 15% up to the first $1,800 purchased each plan year
10% discounts for Walmart employees, their spouses and dependents at Walmart stores




I was not saying they could only go to Meijer or Kroger, there has to be other places to get a job. If jobs were scarce in the first place, it would seem Walmart is helping the town by creating jobs, crappy or not.

I was just saying, everyone has the choice to quit their job, move out of their town, commute to work or whatever.