WalMart is Pure Evil

It's not hard to make a case that Costco pays employees more. The most relevant comparison is between Costco and Sam's Club, Wal-Mart's membership warehouse, since both business models rely on membership fees for a large percentage of revenues. A Sam's Club employee starts at $10 and makes $12.50 after four and a half years. A new Costco employee, at $11 an hour, doesn't start out much better, but after four and a half years she makes $19.50 an hour. In addition to this, she receives something called an "extra check"—a bonus of more than $2,000 every six months. A cashier at Costco, after five years, makes about $40,000 a year. Health benefits are among the best in the industry, with workers paying only about 12 percent of their premiums out-of-pocket while Wal-Mart workers pay more than 40 percent.

:: posted by Erik at 8:08 AM | | Like this post? Del.icio.us It or Digg It!

Police say Wal-Mart snubbed efforts to cut shoplifting

Mesa police are using the equivalent of two full-time officers to answer shoplifting calls at Mesa Wal-Marts, but efforts to help the big-box retailer curtail theft have largely been pushed aside.

Thefts at Wal-Mart's seven Supercenters rose 89 percent from 2006 to 2007, police records show. Police estimate thefts will rise 117 percent this year if the January-through-May numbers continue at their current pace.

Police were called to Mesa Wal-Marts on 376 shoplifting thefts in 2007, with thieves generally targeting electronics, clothing, beauty products and alcohol.

The article goes on to describe some prescriptive measures Wal-Mart can take to help curtail the shoplifters but Wal-Mart has implemented exactly none of those suggestions. They appear to be happy to use two up two police officer positions to try and fight their internal crime.

Another example of Wal-Mart foisting costs on the locality where they are rather than doing it for themselves.

Tags: Wal-Mart, WalMart, theft, shoplifting, tag

:: posted by Erik at 8:03 AM | | Like this post? Del.icio.us It or Digg It!