The elitist attitude exhibited from many posters here is truly sad. So much misinformation is spread here about Wal-Mart it borders on the ridiculous. I realize the company I work for isn't perfect. There are many great things about Wal-Mart for which I am quite proud. My father works for Wal-Mart. He's been with the company 35 years. He has no college education and started out as a stocker. He has now been a store manager for more than twenty years and makes 200k plus a year. This is with no college education. There are thousands of examples of this within the company.
I have been an Assistant Manager for almost 5 years and will make 55k this year in Oklahoma where the cost of living is very low, in other areas they give adjustments in pay based on cost of living. Even if I were to stay in my current position I would continue to receive raises for many more years before I reached the top end of the pay scale. Good pay at Wal-Mart is attainable. Yes, many of our positions are unskilled labor and pay is on the lower end, this is true for most every unskilled position people get hired for. All you super cool people who love Target should know that our total pay and benefits package has been rated above theirs by companies that rate retailer pay and benefits.
However, you can work a regular stocking position and make a good living by staying with the company and getting raises. We have regular stockers at my store making 13-17 dollars an hour. Many of these people have been with the company 6-8 years. All Wal-Marts offer bonuses based on store performance. Last year at my store it was around $1700 for all associates that averaged 35 hours a week or more. Hell even part time associates working 20 hours a week received something around $1400.
My point is that you shouldn't just drink all the anti-Wal-Mart Kool Aid you read out there. I know I understand the shortcomings of my company. I work in a very nice area, and Wal-Marts in Oklahoma and surrounding states tend to be nice, clean stores. I know there are Wal-Marts in depressed areas or areas that are new to Wal-Mart that are likely to be pretty terrible and I wouldn't fault people for not shopping there. However, one cannot judge the entire company on one bad experience. There is much good that Wal-Mart brings. If they weren't so damn good at what they do then why are we so popular? Why do so many people choose to work there if all the company does is crap on their workers? There are hundreds of places to work and shop people.
Sorry to get a little off topic. As for the iPhone coming to Wal-Mart it is a fantastic decision by Apple. They will reach a market that is far, far greater than they can through AT&T, Best Buy and Apple stores combined. This will help them sell a lot more phones and make more money, which is kind of the point of having a business don't you think? Products like Macbooks and iMacs probably should not be sold in Wal-Mart stores. Our business model doesn't lend itself to a more involved and hands on customer experience. However, the iPhone is a phone at heart and Wal-Mart already has in store cell phone kiosks built into the electronics department of most stores. Also, through our associate discount we would also receive 10% off of the price of the phone itself. Personally I'm excited as when the next revision of the iPhone is released (iPhone 2G 16GB owner) I can buy it from Wal-Mart and save a little bit of cash.
