Let's talk about things at work!
They need to hear their associates
I’ve worked at Walmart for over three years, and I’ve seen lots of changes. Some were good, some not so much but I’ve never seen any employee ideas actually get used. Every day, my coworkers come up with good ways to improve things like how we work, and help customers and even boost morale. We’re the ones on the floor, seeing what works and what doesn’t but when we share ideas, it feels like no one listens. For example a few months ago some of us suggested changing the electronics section to make it easier for customers to find stuff and avoid crowds. We even offered to help set it up after our shifts. Management just smiled, said okay, and then did nothing. So the problems are still there, with customers getting frustrated. I know not all ideas are great, but that’s no reason to ignore them all. If Walmart took even some of our suggestions seriously, I think it would be a much better place.
... read moreNo opportunity for advancing your career
When I first started, I was really excited and thought I’d found something great. I believed that if I worked hard and stayed committed, I could move up like my dad did. He worked at one job for 30 years without ever thinking about leaving. But after a year of trying, I don’t see any chances to grow or get ahead. I’ve talked to people who’ve been here longer, and they feel the same. It seems like unless you’re lucky or know the right people, moving up is really hard. Some might say I haven’t been here long enough, but it’s tough to stay motivated when you see many people stuck in the same spot for years.
... read moreHopefully I changed your perspective
I’ve realized lately that it’s not Sam’s fault your TL is bad, or that your day off got denied, or that your manager takes long breaks. Running a big chain like Walmart is tough, and they have to trust local managers to handle things. They expect these managers to stand up for you, but sometimes they pick the wrong people. So, blame your local management for your problems. Make them treat you better and follow the rules. If you want things to change, start with your own store. Hopefully, this makes you think.
... read moreWhy do customers always pick the worst carts?
You know those carts that sound like they’re dragging an anchor? Why is it always those that customers insist on using the entire time?
Atmosphere
How do we get the air conditioner turned on in our store? Also, how do we turn the music down and the instore pages turned up? Music is extremely loud and you cant even hear in store announcements for customer service.
... read moreAwful scheduling
The last couple of years at Walmart have always been hectic, but lately it’s gotten so bad I sometimes feel like crying out of frustration. For months now my shifts keep changing at the last minute. Like when I plan to hang out with friends, book a motel, get excited my schedule suddenly changes and I have to work. I’ve missed so many parties, family events, and birthdays. I’m not even a bad worker. I work hard, and hardly ever call in sick but it feels like they don’t care at all about my time outside of work.
... read moreThat one day when everyone called out
Had one of those “perfect storm” days where half the department called out and the rest of us just had to power through. You know those shifts where the freight’s stacked high, customers are lined up, OGP is backed up, and suddenly you realize there’s literally four people working the entire floor?
That was today. Team lead was running around covering five areas. One of us was zoning and jumping on register backup every ten minutes. Every time the walkie called for help, we just had to ignore it because we were all tied up.
It’s wild how the whole store can teeter on the edge of collapse and somehow… it still runs. Customers have no idea how close we are to the edge some days.
... read moreNew PTO Policy
Here it goes: Summary: New 1-Minute Increment for PPTO (Paid Sick Leave Locations Only)
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Effective Date: April 30
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Who is affected: Hourly associates in locations with a paid sick leave law
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What’s changing: - Associates can now request PPTO (Protected Paid Time Off) in 1-minute increments instead of 15-minute blocks - This change applies when submitting requests via Global Time & Attendance (GTA) desktop and Me@Sams
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Why it matters: - Provides greater flexibility and accuracy for covering time off - Ensures associates can use exactly the amount of PPTO needed
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GTA system update: - GTA will auto-authorize attendance occurrences if all missed time is fully covered with PPTO
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Note: Regular PTO (not PPTO) requests will still be submitted in 15-minute increments
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What Associates Need to Do - Calculate the exact PPTO needed, considering grace periods - Submit the request for the exact number of minutes
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What Managers Need to Do - Communicate this change to hourly associates - Help associates understand how much PPTO is needed to protect absences - Refer to the [Management Guidelines for Hourly Paid Time Off Programs] for handling attendance occurrences
Does PTO Have to Be Approved?
Can someone confirm does PTO have to be approved before you use it at Walmart? TL said no, but then denied my request in the system. What’s the truth?
The self-checkout shift from chaos
Worked self-checkout this morning and it was the wildest shift I’ve had in months. First, three machines froze back-to-back. I fixed one, turned around, another one flagged immediately. You’d think I was spinning plates at a circus.
Then, I had one customer who refused to scan anything and demanded I do it all for them, while two others were arguing over whether someone cut the line. I’m running between registers like I’m playing defense on a soccer field.
Meanwhile, the walkie’s blowing up asking for backup, the printer runs out of receipt paper, and the soda machine started leaking right in the middle of the rush.
By the time backup finally came, I felt like I’d lived an entire shift in two hours. If you’ve survived a true self-checkout morning, you know the kind of chaos I’m talking about.
... read moreCan they force you to use PTO?
Is it legal for an employer to force you to use PTO for holidays you didn’t request off? Got docked hours during Christmas when I wasn’t even scheduled 😑
PPTO
walmart management is considering phasing out PPTO by the end of the year since associates now receive yearly bonuses. Not sure if this is going to happen but i've heard it from two people. the mgmt is pretty good when it comes to taking away things.
... read moreCustomer passed out
There was this old lady who came in yesterday to ask for something for his headache. Right after she asked, she passed away. I got scared as he^l because I’m a newbie around here. It’s the first time I've seen something like this. Anyway, we helped the customer get up and when she was conscious again, she said that she almost had no sleep for the last 2 days. Apparently, the reason was her son was having problems in her marriage. Anyway, that happened, I got scared and I just wanted to share. Toodles.
... read moreShipping from Club to Customers
Will they be removing Ship from the club?
For the clubs that still have it, how many items are selected, and how many people handle picking and packing?
Is this causing issues from inside (assuming the volume is high and you are short on people)?
... read moreAccumulating pppo hours
How hours you have to work to get 1 hour of ppto as a full time sales associate been with the company 24 years,
Associate constantly asked to work past his shift
Today was the 5th time an associate from my store was asked to work past his shift. Last time he had to stay almost 3 hours longer. This so painful to watch and I wish I could help him but everyone is so scared to upfront the SM because he is a really arrogant guy and no one knows what consequences to expect from confronting him.
... read moreDoes Walmart accept Afterpay?
Had a customer ask if we accept Afterpay. Nope, not in stores. Walmart Online is where you can use it—but not for everything. Always good to double-check before you get to the register.
One thing about the Walmart customers
I genuinely think every customer who comes to Walmart becomes an ungrateful granny. No matter how old they are or which stage of their lives they're in, after seconds of coming to this place, they all become ungrateful grannies, and you know there is no way that you can make them feel satisfied. It's so frustrating as an associate who works his a^s off for these guys and no matter what you do, they always find the one thing that you didn't do and they make you feel like nothing that you did for them matters, just because you didn't do that one thing. Also, they think you're a magician. They expect you to create items that are not left in the stock. When you can't do it, you're just guilty and it's your fault that every other customer bought that item and there is nothing left of it. You should have kept one for one specific customer. You are so careless!! And the kindness have you been showing the whole time during the conversation? Well, means nothing. It doesn't matter if you answered kindly to their question and tried your best to help them even if you were in the middle of something else, you didn't get the job done, you didn't deliver the item that they were asking for, so you su^k. The stuff that I'm telling you right now might feel like a fairy tale or some guy complaining online about his job but this is literally what I experience every other week, at least once. Last week, for example, I was zoning the he^l out of someplace and this lady walked up to me asking for some brand of cereal that I didn't know existed before. Anyway, I wasn't sure if we even sell that brand of cereal but I didn't want to give her no as an answer immediately, so as you can guess I went back there and asked some associates whether we sell the cereal or not and it turns out we do, but we have none left. I came back to tell her that actually there was nothing left of the cereal that she was asking about. You should have seen the look on her face. She just looked at me like I was a waste of life. Believe it or not, I started laughing my a^s off. I never felt like these types of situations were funny, but I just realized how silly she looked. The look on her face was so funny that it almost changed my view on life. That's how insane it was. Like ma'am, I didn't hurt you or one of yours. We just don't have the cereal and it's not my or your fault that we don't have it. It's nobody's fault. We just don't have the damn cereal. It feels like being kind becomes harder and harder every day. I don't think I will give up on being kind anytime soon because that's who I am. I am fundamentally a kind person no matter the circumstance. As you can imagine, it doesn't feel good to not have some kindness back. I'm not even asking for the same level of kindness, like even a small amount would be fine. Anyway, I don't know if I'm being sensitive or not but this is just how I feel and I wanted to share. Thank you.
... read moreChecking My Walmart Schedule
Anyone else just constantly refreshing to check their Walmart schedule because you KNOW they’re gonna change your shift last-minute? I feel like I live in that app now 😩
OGP Walmart another day another mess
It’s funny how people think working as an OGP Walmart associate is easy. Just grab some groceries, load them into cars, and call it a day, right? If only it were that simple. Today started like any other shift, clock in, grab the handheld device, and start picking orders. The first couple of carts went smoothly, but then I got that order. You know, the one with 120 items, half in the frozen section and the rest scattered all over the store. And of course, it’s a timed order, so you’re racing against the clock. I finally finish picking the items and head to staging. But as I’m loading everything into the cooler, I get a notification. The customer has arrived. Great. I run outside with their order and find them sitting in their car scrolling on their phone. I knock on the window, and they just give me a thumbs up instead of opening the trunk. After a few awkward moments, they finally tell me they forgot to clear their trunk, so I’ll have to make it work. If you’ve worked OGP Walmart, you know this is the moment your patience gets tested. I spend ten minutes rearranging their junk just to fit the groceries. When I’m done, they casually say they need two gallons of milk and some eggs added to the order. I explain the order is finalized and can’t be changed, and they hit me with the classic well, other OGP Walmart associates do it for me. By the time they leave, I’m sweaty, annoyed, and behind on my next order. Just another day working OGP Walmart where multitasking and chaos go hand in hand.
... read moreIm not responsible for this mess
Why do these members always blame you for the prices? What am I supposed to do? Fix the economy? Tf did I do like why do you even get mad at me?
The never-ending register tape scavenger hunt
Is there a store where register tape is actually easy to find? Ours disappears like it’s being smuggled out.
Started a new job at a Vision Center
I started working at a Vision Center a few days ago. I'm worried about my performance as this is a new experience for me. Any Vision Center workers here have any advice for me?
New Pay Raises for Sams
The general pay increase is scheduled for November this year, and the next one won't happen until 2026. This means our usual raise is simply being moved up by three months.
For reference:
- Less than 1 year: 3% increase
- 1-3 years: 4% increase
- 4-9 years: 5% increase
- 10+ years: 6% increase
Headed back, no regrets
I worked at OGP for 2 years. And I thought about trying to start my ecommerce business. I did, and failed unfortunately. I’m proud to say that I have zero regrets. I wouldn’t change a thing even if I had a chance to. Even though I failed financially, I learned a lot spiritually. I’m lucky enough to have a great relationship with people from my previous store, so I hit 'em up about a new job opportunity. They didn’t even hesitate for a second and said yes immediately. So I’ll start again at my old Walmart, with my old position. I feel blessed. I just wanted to share my story for people that are afraid to fail. It’s not the end of the world. I’m sure not everyone is lucky enough to go back to their previous job, but you’ll find a way, best believe.
... read more