You won't believe what I saw in a Wal Mart yesterday!

[flamingpie2500]

Traveling through Chilton, WI yesterday and ran into Wal Mart, it was around 8:30 in the morning.
All of the sudden we rounded the corner near the front of the store and here were about 8 employes chanting, cheering, whatever you want to call it--Give me a W, Give me an A, Give me an L, etc, you get my drift. What does that spell? Who do we serve? "The Customer".
I am not exaggerating this, it was so disgusting we just left. Felt like I wanted to puke. It was obvious they were getting ready to go to work, but this cheering was accompanied with clapping, and was loud enough to be heard through the entire store!!
And it wasn't in some backroom lunch spot either, it was right inside the doors in the front!
What in Gods name has this country come to?
Do all the stores do this?
It really has to be SOOOOOO degrading for those employees to have to do that. I know I wouldn't.
I had better do some research and send that particular store a letter.

[MSgt213]

1. They do it at Best Buy too

[elare]

2. I think they do that at all WalMart stores

I've seen it at my local store

[flamingpie2500]

7. Well it had better be VOLUNTARY!

[stanwyck]

11. well, sure, it's voluntary

as long as the employee understands that he/she might risk losing their job or their next raise (ha!) if they don't show the right enthusiasm.
Reminds me of Jennifer Anniston's character in "Office Space". Don't show the appropriate team spirit, or "flair", and you're in for a lecture.

[snippy]

9. Not only do they do this at every Wal-Mart store, they also do it at the

weekly management meetings and at the annual shareholders meetings.

[flamingpie2500]

12. they can sit around naked at shareholder meetings for all I care

but to have these employees do this in front of customers is embarrassing for everyone. IMHO

[snippy]

40. I agree. n/t

[KlatooBNikto]

3. We have clearly caught the Japanese disease of subservience,

obedience and total conformity. Much as I admire Japan's economic achievements, the totalitarian uniformity it demands is something we Americans should not fall prey to.

[G_j]

5. give me a U!

give me an N!
give me an I!
give me an O!
give me an N!

[flamingpie2500]

8. LOL! You know what--next time I hear one of those that is the chant I

will start in reply!

[PA Democrat]

62. I would expect the Wal-Mart management to escort you out of the store

God, forbid, their drones hear such subversive talk!

[KlatooBNikto]

13. Speaking of Japan, there is an interesting story I can relate from

personal experience from a visit to a town called Hamamatsu in Japan.
I was in the company of a Swiss gentleman with whom I had entered into a partnership and we were trying to sell the products to a big Japanese auto manufacturer located in that town. On the second day after our arrival, we were invited to a dinner, Japanese style, by the big wigs of the auto company.

The seating arrangement was the first indicator that there was a pecking order.The CEO was seated in the center of the table( this was actually a hole dug in the floor).Others took their positions according to rank.When food or drinks were served, the big man took the first sip or the bite and all others followed; when we told a joke, it was translated by the lady translator, and the big man had to laugh before any one else could.

At the end of a long night after many sips of Sake, Heinz ( my partner from Switzerland) was so disgusted with Japan, he vowed never to return there again.

[flamingpie2500]

17. We aren't very far from that scenario in this country.

Praise be to corporate America!

[Jokinomx]

23. and you know what that would do.......

as I just heard on NPR last week.... Wal Mart is closing a Unionized store....that is how you break Unions. I didn't hear where it was, did anybody else hear about it?

[mcscajun]

It was in Canada and much discussed here…

Here's the most recent thread (as far as I know):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1230365

[flamingpie2500]

25. I believe it was in Canada.

[Mugweed]

26. That store was in Canada, I believe n/t

[Jokinomx]

28. Welcome to the D.U....

I hope you enjoy your time here!!

:toast:

[notadmblnd]

51. It's a store in Canada

nt

[Jamastiene]

4. There was an article

in the local newspaper in my hometown that was praising the local Wal-Mart manager for making all employees participate in group prayer before each shift started. I'm glad I only worked there for a couple of months and it was before that time. I would have felt REALLY out of place. I did anyhow. There oughta be a law...

[Rush1184]

6. If my boss ever made me pray, I would tell him to stick it...

I would see him in an employment tribunal.

[Jamastiene]

10. What is

an employment tribunal? Just curious.

[Jokinomx]

31. I wouldn't have participated. That would have been blasphemy to me...

I would have complained to his boss and all the way to the top if neccessary.... ultimately I would have been forced to quit or be fired for having a "negative" attitude or not be a "team" player.

[flamingpie2500]

33. Maybe it's time the Customers start complaining! Hit them where it hurts.

[Jamastiene]

37. In this area

the customers would never do that. There are very few people around here who think outside the right wing box. Unfortunately...

[SammyWinstonJack]

57. I love it!

'think outside the right wing box.' :evilgrin:

[lonestarnot]

14. Yuck...even going there is disgusting! Sorry no offense intended. n/t

[flamingpie2500]

18. none taken-the nearest wal-mart to me is 28 miles. so I do most of my

shopping locally.
We were on the road looking for de-icer for the lock on the side door of our van-froze shut, and of course nothing else is open that time of day but good ole wally world.

[CanOfWhoopAss]

15. Home Depot does it too!!!

[Bronco69]

16. I'm pretty sure all Wal Marts and Sam's Clubs do the cheering.

I've seen them do it at Sam's Club when I went there with a friend. I won't buy anything there or even get a membership, but I like to go with him and just look around. Anyhow, they even make the 60 year old men and women do that. It's totally disgusting and degrading.

[PDittie]

19. They've been doing it for years; decades in fact

I remember attending a grand opening for a Sam's Club in Beaumont, TX in 1986. They did their cheers and proudly. Starting the day with a group cheer has been part of the Wal-Mart culture for a long time.

[Jokinomx]

20. A new Wal Mart is opening this spring here in Greenville...

For those of you in the mid west ... Greenville Michigan is where Fred Miejer got his start. There are over 150 Miejer stores throughout the mid west and of course Wal Mart is the major competitor. For years we had heard that there had been an agreement between the two not to invade either ones territories...how true that was I don't know but Wal Mart is here now..... I am not happy about it.... after watching the PBS documentary on them, I will do my best not to support them. Yet, as so many Americans struggle to get by... I am sure I will end up taking advantage of some items. Though I will feel guilty doing so.

[charlie]

21. Been going on for decades

Just part of the morning meetings. They also wanted us to do the cheerleader letter-shapes during the chant too.

BTW, those weren't employees you saw. Walmart doesn't have employees. They have "associates." And you'd better not forget that if you work for them.

[dandrhesse]

22. have you heard the "music" on the "radio" when you are in there?

They have their own "radio" station that plays all day, for customers and employees alike. That is also disgusting. You can also get wal-mart internet access. You can be surrounded by wal-mart 24/7! yikes!!!!!!!

[flamingpie2500]

34. luckily no--I don't get into one of them that often.

I actually thought about purchasing a computer from there. I wonder what sort of software it comes with? LOL Everything Wal-Mart!

[dandrhesse]

41. wouldn't surprise me a bit. buy a mac instead!

[blondeatlast]

50. Please don't; I've heard a computer company advertise on AAR.

If you can buy from there, more's the better.

Wal-Mart is just cultural evil.

[ConcernedNonpartisan]

24. I'm surprised that you are surprised.

These "motivational" meetings have been part of business for many, many years. When I was a teen (in the 50's) I sold Kirby Vac's. door to door. Before going "on the road", we always had a meeting where we sang songs, cheered and otherwise "motivated" each other to hit new heights in selling for that day.

I thought it was ridiculous then and still do now but, it must have some merit otherwise it would not going on now.

[Jokinomx]

27. As a former door to door salesman....

I understand what your saying.... however... the "warm-ups" in the morning before you go out is done in a private setting. At least it was with us. To be forced to do it in a public setting would have been a different matter. Not that I really thought that the warm ups we did were degrading either.... it woke us up and got us thinking about the day in a "positive way".

[ashling]

29. I agree

[flamingpie2500]

30. Motivation meetings are fine among yourselves. Did you stand on the

street corner to do them? Were you in fear of losing your job if you didn't participate? To have these "associates" do this in front of the customers in the store is degrading, embarrassing and should be left to the weekly, monthly meetings in the boardroom.
Wal Mart is spinning damage control over its controversial labor policies.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[rzemanfl]

35. Has sturgeon spearing season started yet? When did Chilton

get a Wal-Mart?

[saigon68]

45. Season is almost over --- very slow this year

Its been on for a week. Last couple of years it was over in 12 hours or so.

The clarity on the "BIG LAKE" is very bad.

Scum walmart has lots of new stores up here

They are putting hundreds of small businesses out of existence.

They are strip mining the wallets of the whole state.

They are building dozens of dollar stores too. The shit they have in those is of such poor quality, it would be sold in walmart.

From what I've heard Walmart employees love walmarts dollar stores because they can't AFFORD to shop at WALMART

LOL

[rzemanfl]

63. Thanks for the info. I live in Florida now but used to live in

Manitowoc. The WalMart there caused a lot of local businesses to fold. Then Mirro cast its lot with K-Mart and Martha Stewart, who made the mistake of giving big money to the wrong party. Mirro is gone too. Can't believe there is enough money in the Chilton area to support a Wal-Mart but I suppose they get the folks from Hayton too (that it'd be five or six I'd bet). Didn't Tecumseh close? Anyway, I avoid Wal-Mart even though it costs me money on a few things I buy elsewhere. They are just a branch of China. At least here I have other options, in Manitowoc they were few.

I fished Lake Winnebago for an afternoon last July, the first time I had wet a line in fresh water in 8 years. Caught some Sheepshead. Water was rough, just like I remembered it, except the new ramps at Stockbridge are really nice (the old one was terrible) and they remodeled the bar there (except for the men's room, which was the same).

[flamingpie2500]

36. A lot of gory Wal-Mart details HERE

http://www.nathannewman.org/laborblog/archive/002197.shtml

[kiki]

38. Thank Jeebus I'm a freelance.

If I manage to die without ever having done a single corporate "team-building event", I'll die happy.

[Mr_Spock]

39. Now will you join me and thousands of others in the BOYCOTT!!

Please don't shop there.

[BiggJawn]

42. And this is worse than Japanese factories HOW?

Honda has a company SONG that's sung at the start of each shift, for cryin' out loud.
How many of you Walmart haters drive Hondas?
Their employees are treated like members of an ant-hill, too.

Paid better, but still "The Borg".

[Clark2008]

43. OK - so why were you going into a Wal-mart to begin with?

No offense, but we've been lecturing everyone on DU for months about the dangers of supporting Wal-mart!
:hi:
BUY BLUE (and Wal-mart's one of the reddest of the red stores - not to mention that they're horrible to their employees, drive Mom & Pop's out of business with "low" prices, only to raise those prices once the competitors are gone and they contribute to the trade deficit with the cheap foreign products).

[shadowknows69]

53. newsflash

us caught up in the economical disaster that is shrubville can't afford to shop anywhere else. I know that's by design and that we should resist and I would like to take this opportunity to say that my family would be happy to accept any donations to allow us to shop at a more democracy friendly store.

[shadowknows69]

44. sure they're cheering.

they already have jobs at the only place there will be jobs in this country eventually. with the seniority they already have their salaries will be up to $7+ an hour by the time we all break down and have to work there.

[WLKjr]

46. It happens three times a day

830 am, 6pm, and 10pm 7 days a week.


done it for three years now.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

47. Did you miss the mandatory prayer?

[JanMichael]

48. You have to be kidding, right?

I've seen the walmartzilla chant but never a group think prayer.

Nah, it can't be...

[pretzel4gore]

49. getting in the mood to goose step

c'mon guys, if it works, why criticise? goose stepping is ridiculous and while germans or japanese from old days, or indeed any child of a blood soaked tyranny might feel good to be selected for the colour guard, americans still have the old jesse james, lone ranger anti establishment idealism....and walmart etc are fixing it! a good bushevik sees a need and fills it! i see nothing wrong with singing praises to the furor! anyone who does see problems with that should report him/her selves (you are possesed, after all) to local goose steppers (ie gop, kkk or news reporters)
:freak:

[Padraig18]

52. I make the bookstore cat sing the company song every day.

;)

[Oddly Stevenson]

54. Several years ago......

I was shopping in a Wal Mart near an elederly lady when some employees on the other side of a nearby wall burst into the "WalMart Cheer." The poor woman was visibly startled, and looked like she was trying to decide whether she should flee some impending catastrophe. I wonder if it ever occurred to the Waltons that they might be frightening their own customers.

By the way, this was years ago. Haven't set foot in Wally World in about 2 years, and never will again.

[tx_dem41]

55. Its a common employer/employee technique. No big deal, IMO.

It wouldn't work for me, but much like some athletes need it, so do some people, I guess.

Better question: What the heck were you doing in a Wal-Mart in the first place??

[shance]

58. Yes, it is a big deal. Perhaps not to you.

It's trying to promote that corporate team 'spirit' as Walmart and others continue to pull back on benefits, cut wages, and Im trying to remember if they are still allowed to take out life insurance policies on their employees.

It's degrading, condescending and unbelievably lacking in team spirit. Walmart doesnt give a damn about those employees like a smaller business would care. It's a corporation trying to squeeze everything it can out of its employees at the lowest price.

Go team go.

[tx_dem41]

59. It's also their (the employee's) issue. They chose to work there.

They can deal with it as they deem necessary.

The better question is why a DUer was in WalMart in the first place. Talk about a lack of team spirit!

[shance]

64. TxDem, always love a fellow Texan, but I'd say your being

simplistic here.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think people grow up aspiring to work at Walmart. They work at Walmart because they need money and a job. Walmart knows that, and seems to me they exploit their power and exploit Americans who need jobs in the process.

I also probably don't need to tell you how many small businesses Walmart has destroyed and continues to destroy when their blimp of a business rides into town.

Walmart because it has become so big, has detached from Americans at large. It's disconnect from the human aspect and is all about the money machine. So when they try to pull the Rah-rah give me a W bullshit, its about as fake as things can get.

I bet they're cheering. All the way to the bank.

One day you may realize that it's really not all fair. And bad things do actually happen to good and innocent people. And many if not most corporations exploit human labor and stand threaten Democracy, small towns, apple pie and America as we know it.

[charlie]

65. No, some people don't "need it"

It's company mandated, participation is more often than not desultory. What they need is their paychecks, which they'll quit receiving if they don't muster enough enthusiasm to prove their company spirit.

[Tsiyu]

56. They do it at Lowe's too

When they overwork you and underpay you, they have to have a brainwashing program going. Early morning cheering sessions are supposed to make you forget your pain so that you will be nice and they can get more of the customers' money.

[Coventina]

60. Oh goody! It's time for the company loyalty song!!!

Knife goes in
Guts come out
That's what Osaka Seafood Concern
Is all about!

[tx_dem41]

61. Heck, I might sing that one..

If I worked at Osaka Seafood! :-)

[0rganism]

66. Dang it, I thought you were going to say "union organizers"

Hmm. Now I'm actually kind of sad that I clicked on this one. :(

Yet more faux corporate pep. Oh well. Low wage, piss-poor benefits, at least they can have their "flair".