Strive For Excellence?

Any poor sap who has spent more than five minutes working for Walmart can probably tell you the cornerstones of Mr. Sam's Beliefs. Say them with me : Respect for the Individual, Customer First, and Strive for Excellence. Don't you just feel warm all over, now? I have not one doubt in my mind that when Sam Walton first spouted those words, he meant every bit of it. How do you think he would feel now? I'm going to guess- not so good. Every time that I walk into a Walmart or Sam's Club, I have to believe that this is not what Sam had in mind. I've been in the back rooms, I've seen the posters with some of Mister Sam's more memorable quotes. Don't forget, I've sipped the kool-aid. But about the time that the drink wore off, I started to notice something. It was a real do as I say, not as I do sort of thing. If a customer came in with a product that they had obviously stolen and wanted a return, I would ask management to please come to the courtesy desk for customer assistance. Management, not wanting to interrupt her 14th cigarette break, would simply bellow to take care of the customer. Many times I have watched foolish sums of money go out the door because a manager couldn't or wouldn't come to the front of the store. Mr. Sam would be so proud, no? And even better than the no shows on the front end, were the conversations between a manager and an associate. A favorite memory is being overrun on the front end,two CSMs and lights flashing every where for my help. Two members of management were leaning on one of the empty registers and calling me on the radio from five feet away to tell me about a flashing light that was right beside them. I hope he didn't strain anything while he was leaning. The stories of useless management are only matched by the stories of useless associates who were working harder at not working than any project they were given. It's not their fault, I suppose. No one explained that there was going to be work involved in the hiring process, perhaps. Or, maybe they have been there so long that they feel they are not required to work as much as the other associates. Annie sent me an e-mail to tell me about her experience when she went in to see personnel while on a leave of absence. She had brought her new baby in to show off and in the process, all register trained floor help was requested on the front end. To the uninitiated, that means we are swamped up here and need your help. One of the two women who was fawning over the new baby quickly called the front end. "Have you called floor help?" she asked. "How about fabrics and crafts?" Have you tried sporting goods?" "How about the back room?" The one thing Annie remembers most is that the office associate spent more time trying to get out of work than she did doing anything. What would it have hurt to quit talking, get out of the chair, and go pitch in? Maybe some customers would have gotten taken care of a little faster. Maybe the lines at the registers would have moved a little faster. Maybe, just maybe, she would have had to do her job. I believe that in a retail establishment, the customer is king(or queen as the case may be.) I am pretty sure that it is all those people who come in to buy things that make it possible for Walmart to in turn pay salaries. So maybe, just maybe, the world's happiest retail giant should look into hiring people that actually want to do the job instead of keeping their thumbs in a warm place. Just a thought. And maybe, again, just maybe, they should consider having some of those back office hard workers come in on the weekend so that they can pitch in when the store is actually busy. I doubt anyone in Bentonville is paying attention to this. I'm still waiting on a response about an earlier problem. But it would be swell if they bothered to send me an email. I could explain many of the problems that they are having and the simple solutions that seem to be alluding them. I'll even bet that they would thank me later.