Walmart Myths #1

(This is the first of a series of articles in which I will discuss certain aspects of working at Walmart, which is the subject of so much hatred on the internet. I should point out that these are not attempts to debunk or disprove any claims made against the retail chain. I will simply relay my experience working with the company. Some of the things I state reflect the period of time from 2001 - 2006 and working in two locations in California. Some of what I say may no longer be true, may be different in other locations, or policies may have changed.)

Walmart only pays its employees minimum wage.

This is a claim that a lot of memes make that people don't put a lot of thought into. I have been amazed by the number of people I have talked to who are surprised at the amount of money I was making as a floor associate at the time that I left Walmart (which was around $10 an hour in 2006). "What? I thought Walmart only paid minimum wage!" To be fair, there are some positions that do start at minimum wage (like Door Greeter). But if you start as a cashier, you get paid 25 cents an hour more. If you work in Electronics or Sporting Goods, you also get an extra 25 cents. If you work overnight stocking, you get about $1 more. If you work at a SuperCenter, you get $1 an hour more than working at a regular Walmart (and overnights there would get $2 an hour more).

Also, there are merit increases every year. Everybody gets a review and can get a recommendation for an hourly increase. When I first started working there, the increase was 2% for "Meets Expectations" and 3% for "Exceeds Expectations." By the time I left, they made it a solid 40 cents for Meets and 55 cents for Exceeds. So if everyone does the job they're supposed to do, there's no way they're going to stay at minimum wage after working for Walmart for years.

However, there was an issue with Exceeding Expectations. If you're a cashier, your performance can be tracked by the number of Items Per Hour scanned, number of errors reported and accuracy in your till at the end of the day. You can measurably demonstrate that you are exceeding expectations. But for any other position, it's completely subjective by the department manager. I knew one overnight stocker who was furious that he was busting his butt every night making sure he cleared his pallets in terms of getting product on the shelves. He got a "Meets Expectations." He was aware that other stockers weren't accomplishing their tasks, but they also got "Meets." He said it almost made him not want to work so hard if he wasn't going to be properly recognized. It looked like the managers thought they were going to get yelled at if they handed out too many Exceeds.

And I had that happen to me, too. When I worked as a Front End cashier, I was always exceeding expectations and got the big raise my first two years. But when I worked as a cashier in Electronics, the manager couldn't track my performance, and even though he thought I exceeded expectations in the area of Customer Service, he still gave me a "Meets." When I was a Customer Service Manager, even though the powers that be wanted to make me the Head CSM (which never happened), I still got a "Meets" from my Assistant Manager.

The only time I didn't have a problem with getting a "Meets Expectations" was when I worked in Sporting Goods following my time as a CSM. I had a written warning on my record, so that meant I didn't qualify for "Exceeds." But this was at the tail end of my employment with Walmart, so it really didn't matter whether I got a raise or not. I knew I wasn't going to be around much longer.

When I was a CSM, I actually got the opportunity to do an employee review for a Door Greeter. I gave that guy an "Exceeds." He was so happy. And I never suffered any repercussions for doing that. Either the Assistant Manager agreed with my assessment, or she didn't notice that an "Exceeds" slipped by. Unfortunately, that was the only review I ever got to do. If I'd handed out more "Exceeds," I probably would have gotten into real trouble.

So, a new employee may start at or above minimum wage when they begin working, but if they stay with Walmart and do their job to the best of their abilities, they don't stay at that level forever.

I should point out that I knew someone who started working at Walmart about the same time that her friends started working at Target about ten years prior. She was still getting annual raises, but her friends had reached the wage gap years before and were not getting raises unless there was a cost of living adjustment. And those were few and far between.