Something to Smile About?

Wal-Mart Stores announced a new plan for its flexible workforce last week that seems anything but revolutionary, yet much happily received. The new plan will force employees to follow work schedules conforming to daily shopping trends, which means more cashiers and store-floor attendees will be on hand during the busier shopping times--weeknights and weekends.

This announcement strikes me as positive. I live four miles from a Wal-Mart and while it is the best place to buy everything I need, I dread having to go.  The store is always congested and never has more than four cashiers working on its more than 10 registers. The result is long lines and lots of un-needed frustration. As a shopper, it's a relief to hear that the management acknowledged this and took action.  And I'm not the only customer rejoicing--Wal-Mart's stock rose three percent with the announcement.

Yet I can’t help but wonder what repercussions this shift switch will have on employer/employee relations.  Wal-Mart may stand to lose a good percentage of its workforce to the change if current employees have scheduling conflicts.  If that’s the case, how will it reflect on the company? For example, what if a single mother works at Wal-Mart during the day while her children are at school and is told she must now work nights or face losing her job?  I don’t think the public will be understanding of that scenario. Criticisms and negative PR could be in store for the company, which is already under attack by retail critics for its treatment of workers and ad campaigns.

I guess this is a risk Wal-Mart is willing to take to increase the bottom line. After all, better customer service equals happy customers, who will return more frequently.  When you offer the basic goods people need at cheaper, more reasonable bargain prices, they’ll keep coming back no matter what.  But how long can the bottom line increase without satisfied employees to enhance the customer experience?

What do you think impacts the bottom line more—satisfied customers or positive employer/employee relations?

Comments

[Ron Hayes]

The unfortunate reality of this situation is that Walmart's demographic is more concerned with lower price than great service. Their main alternative is Kmart which is renowned for poor customer service. Unless another big box comes along that can offer the same low prices consistently and better customer service, Walmart will remain in the dominating position it currently possesses. Only when Walmart has trouble staffing its stores nationwide will they finally realize that they need to change something. Until that time, we will continue to see Walmart squeeze its workforce for every extra penny of profit.