Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Customer Contact Reduction at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart to Online Customers: Don't Call Us
Buy something online at Walmart.com? Need some customer service? Soon you won't have access to a telephone number for customer service thanks to Wal-Mart's new Customer Contact Reduction plan that aims to limit customer access to support. They are removing their toll free number and expect customers to utilize their online (read that, cheap to run) help section.
There's cost cutting and then there's flipping a big ol' bird at customers and potential customers. Shop at Walmart.com and you are on your own for service. Nice!
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, customer service, customer contact reduction, cheap bastards
Wal-Mart Lawsuit Exposes Widespread Worker Abuse
Buy something online at Walmart.com? Need some customer service? Soon you won't have access to a telephone number for customer service thanks to Wal-Mart's new Customer Contact Reduction plan that aims to limit customer access to support. They are removing their toll free number and expect customers to utilize their online (read that, cheap to run) help section.
There's cost cutting and then there's flipping a big ol' bird at customers and potential customers. Shop at Walmart.com and you are on your own for service. Nice!
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, customer service, customer contact reduction, cheap bastards
Labels: customer contact reduction, customer service
Del.icio.us It
Digg It!Wal-Mart Lawsuit Exposes Widespread Worker Abuse
Ex-Workers Bring Class Action Lawsuit Against Wal-mart
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, lawsuit, worker abuse, one minute punch
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wal-Mart Knows What You Had For Breakfast
After months of being denied breaks, Debbie Simonson had had enough. She quit her job at the Brooklyn Park Wal-Mart store because "I was tired of all the stress . . . of being told I couldn't go to the bathroom."The article ends with the cheery thought that, despite the mounting coverage of Wal-Mart's exploits, the abuse of the workers continues unabated and unabashedly.
Even though she didn't get to take the breaks, Wal-Mart never paid her for the time she worked, she said.
Then, on one of her last days of work, Simonson forgot to punch the time clock at the end of her shift. So a supervisor marked the log for 6:59 a.m. – one minute after she started. Instead of getting paid for eight hours of work, she was paid for one minute.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, lawsuit, worker abuse, one minute punch
Labels: exploitation, lawsuit, worker abuse
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wal-Mart Knows What You Had For Breakfast
What Wal-Mart Knows About You
By mining their vast stores of consumer generated data, Wal-Mart can tell you what you had for breakfast, what movies you like to watch, what your junkfood favorites are and how big your ass has gotten since high school.
Well, not you specifically but they can tell what the averages are across the country. According to the article 208 million Americans shopped at Wal-Mart last year and some 138 million shop there each week.
Don't believe me?
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, demographics, data mining, information
Wal-Mart's New Slogan: We're Cool, No Really, We ARE COOL, Dammit!
By mining their vast stores of consumer generated data, Wal-Mart can tell you what you had for breakfast, what movies you like to watch, what your junkfood favorites are and how big your ass has gotten since high school.
Well, not you specifically but they can tell what the averages are across the country. According to the article 208 million Americans shopped at Wal-Mart last year and some 138 million shop there each week.
Don't believe me?
The average female shopper at Wal-Mart is a size 14 who wears a size 8½ shoe. The average man's shoe size is a 10½.And yes, I am well aware that all retailers store and analyze demographic information. There's something a little more sinister when Wal-Mart does it though.
Sadly, though, we may be more health conscious. We're also a nation that's getting fatter, faster.
Thirty percent of boys and girls age 9 to 12 are shopping in the men's and women's departments, according to Wal-Mart.
And back-to-school time means that the sale of acne products skyrocket.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, demographics, data mining, information
Labels: data mining
Wal-Mart's New Slogan: We're Cool, No Really, We ARE COOL, Dammit!
Yawn, Wal-Mart trotted out a new tagline, the first in forever and a week. The tag line illustrates just how limp the company is, Save Money. Live Better. To which I would amend, Save Money. Live Better. Sellout America.
I'm sure the ad agency earned their multi-million dollar monthly on that one.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, tagline, slogan
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Wal-Mart Opponents Win First Round
I'm sure the ad agency earned their multi-million dollar monthly on that one.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, tagline, slogan
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Wal-Mart Opponents Win First Round
N.C. Court of Appeals says board violated rules in granting permit
And what does it say about a company that is forcing itself on people that very clearly do NOT want them there? It says that company cares nothing for the places it infests, it says the company cares nothing for the damage it wreaks on townships, it says the company is not ethically driven, they are driven by money, money, money and they will do almost anything, legal or illegal to get more money.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, permits, fight the power
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Wal-Mart Slides While Target Climbs
The appeals court upheld a Superior Court ruling that said the Union County Board of Adjustment didn't follow proper procedure when it gave Wal-Mart permission to build a 206,000-square-foot Supercenter at Rea and Tom Short roads.Because Wal-Mart is a persistent and exploitive opponent who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Good on the residents in and around Marvin, North Carolina. I wish them well in their battle against the retail juggernaut.
The appeals court ruling was filed Tuesday. It says the residents were denied due process in the Union County zoning proceedings and that they had the right to appeal the decision, something Wal-Mart had disputed.
The unanimous decision by the three-judge panel marks a significant victory in what has become a nearly six-year battle against the Arkansas-based company, residents and their lawyers said.
But they're also braced for Wal-Mart's next move.
And what does it say about a company that is forcing itself on people that very clearly do NOT want them there? It says that company cares nothing for the places it infests, it says the company cares nothing for the damage it wreaks on townships, it says the company is not ethically driven, they are driven by money, money, money and they will do almost anything, legal or illegal to get more money.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, permits, fight the power
Labels: exploitation, violation
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Wal-Mart Slides While Target Climbs
Wal-Mart Slides On Downgrade, with shares losing 8% over the last three months while Target Corp.'s shares rose almost 5% in that same period.
Why? Because Wal-Mart strangles its supply chain and exploits its workers. And people are starting to get tired of it. That and the toy recalls aren't helping either.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, downgrade, Target
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Wal-Mart Gets Faced by Facebook
Why? Because Wal-Mart strangles its supply chain and exploits its workers. And people are starting to get tired of it. That and the toy recalls aren't helping either.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, downgrade, Target
Labels: downgrade
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Wal-Mart Gets Faced by Facebook
Facebook Users Hijack Wal-Mart's Roommate Style Page
Woops, guess they didn't really think that one all the way through either. Just like hiring a PR firm to make a "grassroots" blog about how great a company they are.
Until Wal-Mart stops treating the web like a bunch of fools, they'll continue to get pwned. Which is, of course, fine by me. I like seeing them look like the terribly uncool trying to come off as cool.
Nice to know that Facebook's got a vocal group happy to expose corporate megaliths for the discriminatory and exploitive juggernauts they are. There's no reason to shit all over the world, you can make a decent buck and be a conscientious corporation too. Yes, your margins may shrink in the short term but you'll make far, far more longterm.
And they'd shut me up, which would, also of course, be fine. I have no axe to grind with Wal-Mart, all they have to do is change how they operate their business from supply and manufacturing to employees and customers. Revamp it from the bottom up or top down and I'll be the first in line to applaud.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, Facebook, faced, Wired
Woops, guess they didn't really think that one all the way through either. Just like hiring a PR firm to make a "grassroots" blog about how great a company they are.
Until Wal-Mart stops treating the web like a bunch of fools, they'll continue to get pwned. Which is, of course, fine by me. I like seeing them look like the terribly uncool trying to come off as cool.
Nice to know that Facebook's got a vocal group happy to expose corporate megaliths for the discriminatory and exploitive juggernauts they are. There's no reason to shit all over the world, you can make a decent buck and be a conscientious corporation too. Yes, your margins may shrink in the short term but you'll make far, far more longterm.
And they'd shut me up, which would, also of course, be fine. I have no axe to grind with Wal-Mart, all they have to do is change how they operate their business from supply and manufacturing to employees and customers. Revamp it from the bottom up or top down and I'll be the first in line to applaud.
Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, Facebook, faced, Wired
Labels: Facebook