Life Within a Big Box: The Perspective of a 25-Year Retail Associate

By Megan O'Hara

For more than 25 years, author Megan O’Hara worked as an hourly associate at Walmart in fifteen stores across five states. In Life within a Big Box, she shares her story, revealing the challenges, laughter, tears, fun, and hard work that went into every year.

In chronoloigcal order, O’Hara describes her work experiences. This memoir follows her career from one store to another, through her progressive and sometimes regressive steps toward her final goal. Offering a behind-the-scenes look at how the stores work, she discusses:

well-managed and ill-managed stores;

how to do the job;

shift changes and schedules;

a CEO visit;

fraternizing with hourly associates;

unfair coaching with integrity at stake;

discrimination, unions, and Walmart;

corporate rules;

Black Friday, Christmas, and other holidays;

theft;

associate camaraderie and favoritism; and

hourly wage problems.

Life within a Big Box gives an insider’s perspective of Walmart and explores what it’s like to work for the largest retailer and private employer in the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Dec 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781480897748

Megan O'Hara

Megan O’Hara is an hourly associate with Walmart and has worked in fifteen stores in five states for more than twenty-five years. Her role as a sales associate, department manager, support manager, and customer service manager, gives her a broad base for behind-the-scenes knowledge, company insight, and personal experience with management, co-workers, and customers.

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Copyright © 2020 Megan O’Hara.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or

by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the

author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author

and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of

the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of

people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or

links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9773-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9772-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-9774-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020920112

Archway Publishing rev. date: 11/19/2020

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

STORE 1

1 You’re Hired!

2 Setting Up a New STORE

3 Our Three Busiest Days of the Year

4 Snowstorms and Failed Robberies

5 Transferring for My Family

STORE 2

1 Respect! What, Respect?

2 Overstock Solution for Father’s Day

3 Corporate’s Night Shift Fiasco

4 Contempt for Integrity by Theft

5 I’m Getting a Coaching for What?

6 First Opportunity

STORE 3

1 Learning Department Manager Duties

2 Missing Manager Alters My Evaluation

3 Fraternizing with the Hourly Associates

4 CEO Comes for a Visit

5 A New Year, My Son, and Me

6 An Exciting and Unconventional Year

7 Inventory, Unions, and Theft with a Twist

8 Lessons in a Remodel and Moving Up

9 Customers Galore

STORE 4

1 Carlie Gives Me Assistance

STORE 5

1 A New Beginning

2 Pets, Toys, and a Thief

3 Corporate Controls Remodel Plan

STORE 6

1 Ground Floor Execution of Change

2 A Regional Visit

3 My Challenge for a Future

4 Future Disrupted

A Two-Year Hiatus: 2006–2008

1 The Two-Year Hiatus from Walmart

STORE 7

1 Returning to Walmart

2 A Pact Is Made for a Promotion

STORE 8

1 Changing States

2 Remodel Affects My Mom

3 Donuts, Anyone?

4 Vendetta and a Bully

STORE 9

1 Urgent Return

2 Mom Keeps Busy

3 Learning the Back Room Process

STORE 10

1 Back Room Chaos

2 Reorganizing the Back Room

3 Show Me

4 Vacation or Not

Back to STORE 4

1 Same STORE, Different Year, Changes in Management

STORE 11

1 CAP 3 and Beyond

2 A New Way for Black Friday

3 Corporate Changes Again?

4 Surprise! The Market Manager is Early

STORE 12

1 A Fun Christmas

2 Payroll Impact and Intimidation

STORE 13

1 Given a Chance

2 A STORE Turns Around

3 Undermining the Manager

STORE 14

1 Closer to Home

2 The Micromanager

3 Corporate Changes Mismanaged

STORE 15

1 What a Difference a Day Makes

2 COVID-19 and Walmart

Corporate, Take Notes

Acknowledgment

About the Author

Disclaimer

All locations were left general and can be found anywhere in the US. To my knowledge, the names of associates and managers have been changed. I have done this to preserve the integrity and privacy of the associates, myself, and the stores I worked in. It is not my intent to accuse, offend, or disrespect any one person in the telling of my story.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the two million associates of Walmart, who make the store work: the people that lead; the people that take care of our needs; the truck drivers, loaders, unloaders, and stockers who help us stock the shelves; the department managers and sales associates that manage each department and help the customers find their hidden treasures and answer their questions; the front-end associates who speedily ring up customers purchases, cheerfully accept returns, and handle the money center; the ever-present CSMs, who help with the confusion; and the asset protection hosts, cart pushers, and maintenance associates, who help to keep the store clean and controlled inside and out.

I write this book to celebrate your work and to let others see behind the face of Walmart.

Foreword

In 1992, I took the plunge and joined the Walmart team. With fifteen stores in five states, four different vests, and twenty-five total years behind me, I have a lot of insight into working with them. I am indebted to this company for the knowledge, strength, support, and experience I have gained over the years.

In this book I have attempted to put together all the challenges, laughter, tears, fun, and hard work that went into every year. Along the way, I have made quite a few friends, managers and coworkers alike; and in every store I worked at, I left behind a small piece of myself.

The stories in this book are real, based on my recollection of events during my tenure. You will see that some of these events start out negative, but most end up positive because of actions taken by management. It has not been my intention to put Walmart in a negative light but to show more of the positive side of what we, on the inside, see every day. In saying that, it is always helpful to know when to fight it out or when to exit, stage left, for another store.

The impact that customers have on the hourly associates shows the laughter, frustration, joy, and empathy we have with them.

In all this, I cannot forget my family. Through thick and thin, they have been my constant and have kept me going. Two of my children worked for Walmart or a subsidiary. Even my mother did a stint or two.

With encouragement from them, I write this book.

Enjoy the read.

STORE 1

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1

YOU’RE HIRED!

I had just arrived at my parents’ house with my daughter and needed a job. A quarter-page ad for a retail store called Walmart piqued my interest.

Walmart! I had never heard of them, but since they were new to the area and I needed a fresh start, giving them a shot didn’t seem like a bad idea. Getting in on the ground floor of something big, and a challenge to boot, sounded great to me. They wanted good people, and I wanted to be one of them. This was the beginning of a very long journey.

The ad said the store was a basic type of department store offering full- and part-time employment with flexible hours for salesclerks, cashiers, stockers, customer service associates, and department managers.

There were all kinds of benefits, including medical insurance, dental insurance, paid holidays, and stock options. Starting pay was minimum wage and up, depending on experience.

At the time, I didn’t know they had been around since 1962 and were just starting to expand to the area I was in.

I went in and applied. They gave me an initial interview and a five-page opinion survey (which I found out later was really an assessment). It listed all kinds of scenarios, and I had to give opinions from one to five, with one being strongly disagree and five being strongly agree. Once an applicant passed this, there was an interview with an assistant manager. If an applicant got past that person, he or she went on to see the store manager. Then the applicant would be hired!

There was still a drug test and a background check, but after that, they gave me a report-to-work date as a cashier. But circumstances can change quickly.

As in most companies, there was an orientation about how the company works and what is expected from their new associates. The personnel manager took us through the process of starting up our personnel records, setting up our medical and dental insurance, explaining our stock options, issuing new badges, explaining the use of timecards and lockers, and issuing a handy-dandy box cutter. Then we had a talk on safety, which included using the box cutter, cleaning spills, types of spills, and using the various ladders (there were five sizes).

Personnel also talked to us about the dress code standards, including always having our badge and box cutter with us. Jeans could be any color except blue for the sales floor, and tennis shoes were okay. We were to have no piercings other than in our ears, tattoos had to be covered, and men could not leave their long hair down (ponytail, please).

The store manager, Jake, carefully went over Walmart’s history with us. We are family, he said. We care about one another and take pride in what we do for our community and our environment. All this is part of our culture. I really believed in this concept.

I noticed he seemed a little sad at one point when he told us about the founder. Jake went over how the company started in 1962 and how the founder, who had liked to be called by his first name, had passed away in April of 1992.

After taking a fifteen-minute break (which is required twice per day, plus a one-hour lunch in an eight-hour day), we finally got down to the real business: learning the Walmart cheer. Have you ever heard one? No? Let me tell you, it’s loud and proud. One person leads, and as a group you clap your hands and repeat the spelling of Walmart. At the end you shout out, The customer is number one, and we will be accident free.

If we went accident free through the whole setup, we would be rewarded with a barbecue cooked by the manager. What a great incentive for being safe and making a habit of it.

When I first heard this cheer, I thought it was kind of silly; it was like being back in high school at a football game. But after doing it for a while (at least three times a day during setup), I started to see the effect it had on everyone. It was a stimulant; it energized me and gave me a sense of pride. I really wanted to be part of this amazing team, and there was no turning back for me at this point. I had never been so excited about a job since I started work as a young teen, twenty years before.

After the cheer, we all got comfortable again. Each assistant manager talked about what he or she did, where he or she had started out in the company, and where he or she was now. One began her career as a part-time cashier, another in receiving, and our store manager started out in the Christmas tree lot. Talk about going up the ladder! Jake said it took him twelve years of hard work and determination. Here, I thought to myself, is where I can make it.

Walmart’s standards are high, Jake said, so when you reach your goal, take it one step further.

These words stuck with me throughout my first fourteen years.

The founder believed in the people who worked for his company and had something he called his four basic beliefs. These are followed even today.

1. Respect for the individual: We value every associate, own the work we do, and communicate by listening and sharing ideas.

2. Service to our customers: We’re here for the customers, to support one another, and to give to our communities.

3. Striving for excellence: We work as a team and model positive examples while we innovate and improve every day.

4. Acting with integrity: We act with the highest level of integrity by being honest, fair, and objective, while operating in compliance with all laws and our policies.

To me, respect for the individual was top priority, along with customer service. This is the golden rule. You will see how well this one rule works for me and how it can be utterly violated with little consequence to the violator.

So at least fifty new hires ended the first two days after about ten cheers and a lot of information to absorb; it was dizzying. Did you know that every store has an average of three hundred associates? Walmart employees are called associates because we own part of the company through stock-purchasing plans. Purchasing stock is incentivized because the company contributes 15 percent of the amount associates purchase, up to seventy-five dollars per paycheck. This was a great way to earn and save money. It has helped me many times when I needed a little extra cash. Where else can you get a 15 percent return?

Jake also explained the misconception that Walmart takes out small businesses around them. And here I would like to say that is not always true. Walmart tries hard to keep the mom-and-pop stores around them because they can carry merchandise Walmart will never have. The company has been known to have meetings with small business owners to show them how they can compete and improve their sales by just being near Walmart. We, as associates, sometimes direct customers to where they can find an item Walmart doesn’t carry—often a little store just down the street.

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To the merchant: You can thrive with a Walmart down the street. Carry products Walmart cannot. A perfect example is colors and sizes of clothing, plus high fashion. Create a visitor’s center for local memorabilia. Carry hard-to-find nuts and bolts in a hardware store. There are ways to compete; be unique.

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2

SETTING UP A NEW STORE

Now comes the education and hard work.

I was one of the lucky ones and was able to start my new job in a brand-new store because we were literally beginning from the ground up. We started with an empty shell of approximately one hundred twenty-eight thousand square feet of nothingness, and we turned it into the big, beautiful store you see when you, as a shopper, walk in.

Our store, at the time, was the general merchandise side of Walmart. The Supercenters barely existed back then. We had Apparel, Pharmacy, Health and Beauty, Hardware, Toys, Sporting Goods, Small Appliances, Bed and Bath, Seasonal (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and so forth), Garden, Automotive, and a small foods section. This took a lot of hard work to set up.

Our first full day setting up was spent learning the terminology of all the parts and sections that belong in the store. This was a lot to learn in one day, but by the end of the day, that terminology was all we heard. Hey! Where are the pegs for this endcap?

After learning how to put the gondolas together, we assembled ten rows. Gondolas are shelving units built in twelve- to-forty-foot rows and held together with posts and rails.

The next day was even crazier than the first. The assistant manager, Henry, challenged us on who could assemble their thirty-two-foot gondolas first. He had us in three groups of four for the sections we were putting up. It takes two people to hold the upright posts while another fits the crossbar, and the fourth person hammers the bar in place.

We were all busy when we heard a loud crash followed by three booms. One of the team’s gondolas had fallen over, causing a domino effect. They were laughing so hard they could barely tell us what happened.

Henry rushed over and said, What happened? Is everybody okay?

Well, Charlie was hammering away at the bar when he missed, and it bounced off the floor, said Brian, still laughing. Then it hit under the bar, which came loose, and everything we had put up fell apart!

By the end of the week, and after about one hundred cheers (at least it felt like that many), we had all the gondola units set in each section and all the proper shelves where they belonged with solid boards, pegboards, or grids in place. It was time to take off for the weekend. Whew!

Monday rolled around, and we were back to work with more for us to learn. We needed to set the modular—a schematic or blueprint of what merchandise goes where on the four-foot sections of shelves and pegs in the store. We learned how to print the labels and whether we needed sticky ones for the pegs or paper for the shelves. How do we put paper labels on the shelves? I asked.

Let me show you the way, said Henry. You take one of these. He showed us a long, flat cream-colored strip with a clear cover over it. It’s called fast track. You peel off the backing and stick it on the front of the shelf like this. He lined up the strip, and voila! Now there was an instant label holder, hence the term fast track. Henry finished by showing us how the labels fit into the slot behind the cover.

We followed the layouts that told us what went where. Should have been easy, right? Wrong! Oh my gosh! Some of the layouts were wrong, and some of the labels weren’t in order or overlapped onto the next four-foot section. I started to think about what a logistical nightmare this must be. There were a lot of explanations given, such as there being two of the same item across (called facings), or corporate wanting items sorted by color (we didn’t always get all the colors, so they skipped numbers). Wow! There was a lot of education going on here. Again, this took about a week to set up.

All the while, as we were doing the setup, those of us who were hired as cashiers or needed to know how to operate registers, were being called up in groups of five to learn the art of being a cashier. This was not as easy as you might imagine. There are steps to being a good cashier that start with greeting your customers as they come up to you.

You are to meet your customers with a smile, even though you might not want to, because a smile can be contagious. You just might make their day better, along with your own. You are to greet your customer by saying, Good morning or Good afternoon, and you are to ask your customers, Did you find everything you needed today? And you must never forget to say, Thank you for shopping with us.

Be sure to pack their merchandise properly. No foods are to be bagged with chemicals, and apparel should be separate from liquids. Wrap fragile merchandise. And do all this quickly. We must remember how much time the customer has already spent shopping; when they get to the cashier, they are ready to leave.

Thank them by name if they pay by check (their name will be on the check), or, if they pay in cash, say sir or ma’am. Back in 1992, cash was mostly the way we paid for our purchases, and we referred to people we didn’t know as sir or ma’am to show respect. One other note: payment by credit card was done on a manual machine that we had to handwrite all the info on after we imprinted a card number.

Finally our smocks came in, and we were all issued one. These were not like the vests Walmart associates wear today. These were short-sleeve snap-down medium blue cotton tops, each with a navy and red stripe on the sleeve. One of our phone operators, the most patient person you would ever meet, was in charge of calling us by name to Come up and get your shmock! After hearing this for the fifth or sixth time, we started to wonder whether she knew how she was saying smock. A few people started to laugh every time she said the word smock. A couple of us went to her in hope of correcting the pronunciation, and she promptly stated, Oh, I thought that is what they were called. The next time she announced a person’s name, she said, Chris, please come up and get your shmock! We all busted up laughing again. Oh well, what can you say to something like that?

The next thing on the list was learning how to use the handheld computer (called a 940). The ones we had were heavy, not like the ones today, but they were indispensable, along with the portable printer. These items sure made work easier. Computers were still a new thing that only big companies could afford. A few people were uncomfortable with them and couldn’t comprehend or accept this change in the natural flow of new technology. There was one person in our group that would change my whole future because she refused to learn how to use the handheld computer.

By this time, we were into the third week and merchandise was starting to flow into the receiving area (back room). Since my assistant manager, Henry, knew I had a background as a warehouse receiving clerk, he asked, Can you help us out in our receiving? We are backed up in Directs. Directs is an area in the back room that receives trucks from vendors or freight sent direct from manufacturers on other truck lines instead of the Walmart trucks. This all must be checked in and counted by hand.

Sure, I said.

When I went back to help in Directs, my new direction began. We started out having to check in everything by hand for at least a week before more of the 940s arrived. We checked the packing slips for the merchandise and then counted to be sure it was all there. You won’t believe how much merchandise Walmart receives in a single day just through direct freight,