I work for Walmart. I hear all the time from the older staff that “Sam Walton would be rolling in his grave if he saw what was happening today.” I never understood that because the guy died before I was even born. So, I asked one of the staff, and they said it was because the point of Walmart was to help benefit the workers, but now it's all about profit. And yeah, they are totally right.
Walmart does not care about your hours or their employees.
Firing
Since we all have name tags and call each other by our first names, I've memorized most of the workers' names. But when I talk to other cashiers and mention someone's name, even the ones who have been there for a year don't know who I'm talking about. Apparently, Walmart fires so many cashiers at the drop of a hat and replaces them just as fast that the older staff don't bother to remember the names. You either work there for a few months or 33 years. No in-between.
The point system sucks. If you clock in 10 minutes late you get 1/2 a point. Another 1/2 point if you clock out 10 minutes late (even though you're not allowed to clock out without a manager's permission). Call in because you're sick and get 1 point, sometimes 2 points if it's a “double point day” aka the week before and after a holiday. 3 points if you no-call no-show. 5 points in total, and you get fired. I've been at Walmart for 2 months, and I already had 1 1/2 points (late one day and had to call in because my sister had to go to the ER). I have to wait until April until my 1/2 point goes away and May for the 1 point to go away because you have to wait 6 months per incident.
Hours
So this guy I've known since middle school and I work at the same Walmart. I'm a cashier, and he does grocery pick-up. Our schedules are close to the same because we almost always have breaks at the same time, so we get to hang out a lot.
Well, recently, I went to clock in and he was having his 15. He was sitting by himself. He was just staring forward making no movement or eye contact. When I approached him, he told me in broken sentences that he had worked for four days straight and that he was just told that he was supposed to work for four more days straight. Over a week with no break. I asked him if he was full-time, and he said no. He said he's going to have to change his availability hours because they keep wearing him too thin.
I'm supposed to be part-time too, so I can relate. On the phone, I was promised I would work a “maximum” of 32 hours. Nope. I usually have either 34.5 hours to 36.5. Except for the week of Thanksgiving/Black Friday when I had 39.5. I have a 40-hour week next week. I cannot express how much I hate working. I probably have some sort of ergophobia, to be honest. That's why I only wanted part-time. But they DO NOT have part-time hours.
They gave one of my brother's friends (who works at the same Walmart), a 100-hour workweek. 20 hours a day. The guy just didn't show up, and the only reason he wasn't fired was that he works in the back and those are hard to replace (plus his cousin is one of the managers).
I have had to talk to the hiring manager three times to change my scheduled hours. They keep trying to make me come in at 6 am which is outside my availability hours. They forced me to come in at 6 for Black Friday tho. I asked them to change it, but they said no because “Black Friday is different. No one is working their regular hours.”
Walmart doesn't care about the workers, and it just gets so frustrating sometimes