Pros
I left my orientation feeling as if I was starting a great career with alot of potential for growth as well as stability. Many of the Associates that I started out working with were 'OLD TIMERS" as we newbies called them. The base salary starting out was higher than most retail stores. After the first 3 months I received a 60 cent per hour increase in salary and again at 6 months and a 65 cent increase upon completing my first year. I also received increases in salary at the completion of each step of my training and was soon hired as a full time employee. I was able apply for and received retirement account and stock options. I was very happy initially as I was treated with kindness and respect by my department manager and the store manager that hired me. The store manager fostered a "family" atmosphere and encouraged his employees to be the best that they could possibly be. I was told that the room for growth was as "roomy" as I wanted it to be and I started out with a fair share of desirable hours with staff members who were very knowladgeable and helpful with my training as I had not worked in the retail sector before. Initially I was very happy and within 2 years my salary had increased by almost 4 dollars per hour.
Cons
The company has, since my initial hiring and subsequent quitting, gone through a great deal of change. No longer are full time Associates desirable to the company. They seem to have gone on a behind the scenes campaign to rid themselves of all full time and bennifited employees to a staff of inept and uncaring part timers whos only agenda seems to be to just make a buck and move on. The atmosphere is one of fear by the old timers and that it matters not that they signed on for a life time of faithfull service to Sam's Wal-mart as the new Walmart no longer finds them desirable and will use any excuse to be rid of them and end any bennefits they had thus far earned after 5 or sometime 30 years of employement. Now the hardest most valuable workers have to work nights, weekends and holiday's and watch newbies get the desired hours and days off. I have also witnessed and been the object of humiliation when a customer has demanded free merchandise or returned customer damaged goods and been givin a $50 dollar gift card after complaing about a service that they recieved and only complained because the word has gotten out that if you complain loud enough you will receive free things or if you take back customer damaged merchandise because it is now a widely reported word of mouth fact that Wal-mart will even take back Target merchandise to please it's customers who are taking advantage of it fully. Yet at the end of the year we employees lose a 1800 dollar bonus because of merchandise "shrinkage". And each year you are kept going with the idea that we will receive that bonus if we, the employee work our very hardest only to be told again we lost it again! Alot of things are promised that aren't delivered.