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Wal-Mart
Fails To Change Your Oil And Lies About It
By Stonecipher,
The Consumerist
June 30th, 2008 [back to top]
Tipster Toland pointed us toward the
Stonecipher Report which contains an entry about a weary traveler who,
against his better judgment, decided to get his oil changed at Wal-Mart.
After his car was returned, he noticed that his oil monitoring system
was still indicating 10% oil life. He asked the Wal-Mart employee if the
oil had actually been changed to which she replied, "Yep, I know it was,
cause I did it myself." He then went to go check the dipstick and
discovered the oil hadn't been changed after all. His post, inside...
Hey everyone, been on the road for two
days now and I'm about to pull out of Idaho Falls, ID and head north and
then east into Montana.
The drive has been beautiful so far.
Eastern Oregon is incredible. I had driven through there in the past,
but it was night time and I didn't know what I was missing, but wow, one
of the most colorful places I've ever been.
My travel was delayed a bit, however,
when I stopped to get my oil changed, and I thought the story was worth
passing along.
Now, I ordinarily avoid Wal-Mart like
the plague, but I needed a change and I was about to hit a piece of road
with no services for over 100 miles, so I figured I better get it done
while I had the chance.
Sadly, the ONLY place in town to
change my oil was at the local Wal-Mart. So as sick as it made my
stomach, I pulled up and did it.
The girl (yes, not a woman) who took
my information seemed friendly at first. She politely inquired about the
full car load of stuff and said "you must be going somewhere cool."
"Chicago" I said with a smile.
I handed her the keys to the car and
stepped out. She told me it would be a 20-minute wait, so I grabbed the
iPod and the paper I had and went into the waiting room.
By the way, the one thing I was happy
about was that at least this oil change was going to be cheap. Under
$25.
About 25 minutes later the girl came
into the waiting room and told me the car was ready. I paid, took back
my keys and jumped in, ready to hit the open road again.
But when I turned on my car the oil
monitoring system said I was still at 10% of my oil's life.
That was weird.
I got out of the car and asked the
girl if she was sure that the oil change had in fact been done. She said
"Yep, I know it was, cause I did it myself."
"Can you explain why my car is telling
me it hasn't been?"
"Well we don't reset the meter in any
of those Japanese cars" was her response.
I thought maybe she was right. In all
honesty, I wasn't sure if this was something that had to be reset myself
or if the car automatically did it upon an oil change.
The only way to find out was to check
for myself. So I headed back to the car, popped the hood, and stuck in
the dipstick.
Sure enough, it was almost empty.
Unreal. They had just charged me $24
and told me they had changed the oil, but it was never done! They knew
they were the only place for miles and miles, this could cause serious
problems for people without the monitoring system to alert them it
wasn't done.
If it wasn't for that I never would
have thought to double check. In the future I will.
Anyhow, at this point I wasn't Wal-mart's
happiest customer ever. So I went back in and told the girl what I
found.
She called in the mechanic and IN
FRONT OF ME said to him "why didn't you change the oil?" Clearly she
either forgot, or just didn't care that she had already told me that SHE
had done it.
His response was "You told me to just
pull it into the lot, you didn't say anything about an oil change."
I was on the mechanic's side for a
minute until he looked at me and said "When we get these foreign cars in
here, sometimes it gets confusing."
Now I was just livid.
First of all, my car being foreign was
100%, fully and completely irrelevant to the fact that they had just
charged me $24 to allow my car to sit in their garage for 24 minutes
before pulling it into their parking lot. A dollar a minute. Wow.
On top of that, the disdain for my
foreign car was becoming very apparent now. Which was also irritating.
My bet is that neither of these people knew that while their own
American cars were built by foreign workers for next-to-nothing wages,
all of my Honda Civic (with the exception of the engine) was assembled
in Ohio by well paid, and highly skilled Americans.
The parts were also produced in
Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, once again, by American workers.
Long story short, I thought about
getting a manager and demanding my money back. And in retrospect, I
should have. But I wanted to get back to the road and try to keep my
blood pressure low. So I waited a few more minutes while the mechanic
replaced the oil in my ever-so-complex Civic and instead of getting my
money back I'll just blog about what a rotten, evil and horrible place
Wal-Mart is.
I hate Wal-Mart. Ok, so now it's time
for me to hit the road, so much for this being a quick note.
The lesson: When your gut says don't
go to Wal-Mart, listen to your gut. Also, it is a good idea to check
your engine's dipstick no matter where you get your oil changed.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart evacuated after shoppers, employees complain of respiratory
problems
By Ryan Mills,
Naples News
June 30th, 2008 [back to top]
An East Naples Wal-Mart was evacuated
for more than three hours Monday afternoon after more than a dozen
employees and customers began coughing and complaining of respiratory
problems.
But after hours of investigation,
neither a Collier County hazardous materials team nor the Florida
Department of Health could find the cause.
The Wal-Mart at 6650 Collier Blvd.,
just northeast of Marco Island, was evacuated shortly before 3 p.m.
after it was determined that something in the air in the front of the
store was causing people to cough, East Naples fire spokesman Greg
Speers said.
Collier County Emergency Medical
Services treated 13 people at the scene — 10 customers and three
Wal-Mart employees — but no one was transported to the hospital.
Collier County sheriff’s deputies and
East Naples firefighters also arrived to assist. Deputies along Collier
Boulevard blocked access to the parking lot, and by 3:30 p.m. yellow
tape blocked the entrances to the store.
About 75 Wal-Mart employees in blue
shirts stood to the side of the store drinking bottled water and doing
the Wal-Mart cheer.
“What store is number one?” the
cheerleader asked the crowd.
Linda Reitzes, who is visiting from
Naples, was stranded outside the store all afternoon because the bicycle
she came on was roped off. When asked if the evacuation was much of an
inconvenience, Reitzes said “not really.”
“I’d be packing,” she said. “I’m going
back to New York tomorrow night.”
Reitzes, who said she was shopping for
“odds and ends,” didn’t have any symptoms, and didn’t need to be
treated.
“They just made an announcement on the
loud speaker for Wal-Mart shoppers to please exit the building,” she
said. “It was a very calm announcement. Nobody was panicking.”
The Collier County hazardous materials
team made three sweeps through the store. They were followed by four
representatives from the health department, Speers said.
“They never figured out what it was,”
Speers said. “They couldn’t detect any type of leaks or a substance in
there that could have been the cause.”
There were no injuries related to the
store closing, Wal-Mart spokesman Phillip Keene wrote in an e-mail.
“The safety and security of our
customers and associates is a top priority at Wal-Mart,” Keene wrote.
“We are working with authorities as they investigate.”
Wal-Mart employees were allowed to
re-enter the store about 6 p.m., Speers said. Store managers said they
will keep a close eye on customers and employees to make sure no one
else has similar respiratory symptoms, he said.
“If anybody complains of any symptoms,
we’ll be back there,” Speers said
[back to top]
RWDSU President
Slams Wal-Mart Hypocrisy
Earth Times
June 27th, 2008
[back to top]
The president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union today
blasted the announcement by Wal-Mart that it would notify its employees
about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and challenged the giant
retailer to take similar steps to notify workers of their legal right to
organize for union representation.
RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum,
whose union has led efforts to prevent Wal-Mart from opening in New York
City, said that "rather than encourage employees to sign up for a tax
credit for low income workers, Wal-Mart ought to respect the right of
workers to a union contract and middle-class wages."
"If hypocrisy was an Olympic sport
Wal-Mart would hold the record for gold medals," Appelbaum said, adding
that the company, whose revenues now top $300 billion, has "ruthlessly
fought every effort by workers to organize."
Pointing out that Wal-Mart officials
said they would inform workers about the EITC through its internal Web
site, messages on pay stubs, and notices in store break rooms, Appelbaum
said the retail giant should use the same means to inform its employees
of their legal right to organize for union representation.
"Since none of Wal-Mart's executives
seem to understand that workers actually have the legal right to
organize I'm more than happy to send them a copy of the law," Appelbaum
said.
With more than 100,000 members working
in the retail sector and other industries, the RWDSU is an affiliate of
the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
[back to top]
Police say Wal-Mart snubbed efforts to cut shoplifting
By Senta Scarborough ,
Arizona Republic
June 27th, 2008
[back to top]
Mesa police are using the equivalent
of two full-time officers to answer shoplifting calls at Mesa Wal-Marts,
but efforts to help the big-box retailer curtail theft have largely been
pushed aside.
Thefts at Wal-Mart's seven
Supercenters rose 89 percent from 2006 to 2007, police records show.
Police estimate thefts will rise 117 percent this year if the
January-through-May numbers continue at their current pace.
Police were called to Mesa Wal-Marts
on 376 shoplifting thefts in 2007, with thieves generally targeting
electronics, clothing, beauty products and alcohol.
Mesa police brought their concerns to
local and corporate Wal-Mart representatives last fall and have since
provided detailed crime statistics to help focus the store's
loss-prevention efforts and offered expertise to bring down crime.
In March, the department's four-member
crime prevention unit conducted a free CPTED (Crime Prevention Through
Environmental Design) assessments at the seven Wal-Mart Superstores. Out
of that came an 18-page report to help protect the stores from thieves.
"We are targeting where the problem
is," Mesa Police Chief George Gascón said. "We want the thefts to stop
and believe we can reduce them considerably."
But Wal-Mart's response has been
disappointing, he said.
"They are not seeming to want to work
with us. They say the right things and never follow through," Gascón
said.
Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Dan
Fogleman said the chain appreciates the department's efforts "to
identify these people breaking the law and prosecuting them to make our
community safer."
"We are always open to discussion, and
we evaluate suggestions against the needs of our customers and business
as a whole," he said.
But Wal-Mart has apparently yet to
adopt any of the suggested changes.
"It has cost the city twice with lost
opportunity for sales tax and police resources, processing and court
costs," Gascón said. "We are not asking them to spend money. It's really
altering business practices."
But Fogleman said the company's top
priority is the security of its customers and employees.
"Nothing is more important than
providing a safe and pleasurable (shopping experience) and working
environment for customers and associates," Fogleman said.
"Unfortunately, crime occurs in any community."
Prevention strategies
In the past nine months, police have
provided data that show not only what merchandise is being stolen most
often but also the peak times and days for theft.
Among the changes Gascón would like to
see:
• Have greeters check receipts when a
customer enters for returns and leaves the stores with purchases, much
like Costco. Last year, Wal-Mart agreed to implement a similar program
called Asset Protection Exit Greeter Program, a pilot approach used in
its Las Vegas stores, to at least one Mesa store. The program was
supposed to start this year but has not. Fogleman said the program
hasn't come along as quickly as the company had hoped, but added it's no
guarantee that police calls would drop. He said calls actually could
increase because they might catch more people.
• Put a uniformed security guard at
the main entrance as a visible crime deterrent. The store's
asset-prevention staff is plainclothes security.
• Enclose the electronics "bullpen"
areas so people would have to pay before they leave the area.
These and other issues prompted Gascón
to ask for a meeting in Mesa with a corporate representative, but the
request was passed back to a local Wal-Mart representative.
Communication has been slow.
"We are not anti-business or
anti-Wal-Mart," Gascón said. "They do bring in money to the city, but it
isn't a license to waste police resources."
Target has been working with Mesa
police and has seen an 18 percent decline in shoplifting cases from 2006
to 2007, said Mesa police community partnership coordinator Denise
Traves, who oversees a program working with business to reduce crime.
"The solutions are simple, not
expensive, easy to implement. It's not rocket science," Traves said.
Wal-Mart has participated regularly
with the Mesa Retail Asset Protection Program, created last fall by Mesa
police. The group meets monthly with local retailers to share
information on shoplifters and organized retail-crime suspects.
Fogleman said Wal-Mart's
asset-protection staff takes measures to prevent crime and aggressively
works to catch lawbreakers.
Some of the recommendations made by
Mesa crime prevention specialists already were in place, including pan,
tilt and zoom surveillance systems and crime prevention signs warning of
prosecution and video surveillance.
Fogleman said Wal-Mart promotes
"aggressive hospitality" where employees acknowledge any customers
within 10 feet as a way to help welcome people and prevent crime.
But police said there is no
consistency in crime-prevention measures at the stores.
"What we are seeing is they have a
desire to meet the needs, but, unfortunately, I don't know if it meets
their marketing strategies," Traves said. "I don't know how much they
have tried. We have attempted to educate them and they are not getting
it. We are just not seeing the effort."
Top Mesa shoplifting locations
January through May 2008
• Superstition Springs Center: 184*
• Fiesta Mall: 112*
• Wal-Mart, 1955 S. Stapley Drive: 91
• Wal-Mart, 4505 E. McKellips Road: 83
• Wal-Mart, 857 N. Dobson Road: 77
• Wal-Mart, 240 W. Baseline Road: 55
• Target, 1230 S. Longmore: 55
*Total includes several stores in the
mall.
Source: Mesa Police Department
[back to top]
Study: Bennington Wal-Mart would hurt other businesses
By AP,
Rutland Herald
June 26th, 2008
[back to top]
Doubling the size of Bennington’s
Wal-Mart store would provide short-term growth of about 75 new retail
jobs, but would trigger-long term job losses at it hurt local
businesses, a new economic study has found.
Economic consultants Kavet, Rockler &
Associates said construction costs on the expansion project would be
about $16 million, and that sales would be expected to more than double,
to about $48 million in the first year of the bigger Wal-Mart’s
operations.
But it said, “Most of the expanded
store’s growth will come at the expense of existing stores in the served
market area, with some impact on downtown but even more on commercial
areas north of the town center.
On the jobs front, the report said,
“In 2009, operation of the expanded store will generate a total of about
78 jobs, mostly in the retail trade sector. Total county employment
impacts over the longer term, however, shrink to zero by 2013 and
ultimately decline by about 35 jobs,” the report states.
The report estimates that 10 to 15
percent of the existing downtown businesses are likely to be hurt by the
Wal-Mart expansion, including those selling clothing, beauty and hair
products, sporting goods, electronics, eye wear and home and hardware
goods. It added that empty storefronts may remain so for longer periods.
The Wal-Mart expansion, proposed by
store owner BLS Bennington, LLC, would roughly double the current
store’s size to 112,000 feet. It has been hotly debated in town for
years.
The town passed a cap on the size of
retail stores at 75,000 feet, only to have residents overturn it in a
special election in April of 2005.
The town granted permits for the
project in January of 2006; it’s now before the District 8 Environmental
Commission.
[back to top]
Wal-Mart sued by customer in premises liability complaint
By Steve Gonzalez,
The Madison St. Clair Record
June 25th, 2008
[back to top]
A woman who was injured at the
Highland Wal-Mart filed a personal injury suit against the retailer in
Madison County Circuit Court June 23, alleging the property was not kept
in a reasonably safe condition. Maureen Neal claims she was at the
Wal-Mart on Nov. 5, 2007, for the purpose of assisting one of her
students in unloading merchandise from a Wal-Mart trailer when one of
the trailer doors swung closed on her leg and foot without warning. Neal
claims Wal-Mart owed her a duty to exercise ordinary care to see that
its property was reasonably safe for the use of those lawfully on the
property. Despite that duty, Neal alleges Wal-Mart was negligent by
failing to properly secure the trailer doors and failed to warn or
otherwise notify her that the trailer doors were not secured. She claims
the incident has caused and will continue to cause her to incur medical
expenses, lose income, sustain pain and suffering and suffer from a
disability. Represented by Joseph Hillebrand of Kassly, Bone English &
Hillebrand in Belleville, Neal is seeking a judgment in excess of
$100,000, plus costs. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Daniel
Stack.
[back to top]
Anadarko family sues Wal-Mart for developing child porn
KSWO
June 25th, 2008
[back to top]
Anadarko_The man accused of a horrible
case of child abuse, child pornography, and incest, will likely spend
the rest of his life in prison for the crimes, and the victims' family
wants one of the world's largest corporations to pay for not reporting
his disgusting actions. The victims' family says the Wal-Mart store in
Anadarko developed hundreds, possibly thousands, of child pornography
photos of the victims before ever calling police. The two victims from
Anadarko are sisters - 13 and 17 years old - and earlier this year their
great uncle pled guilty to abusing and taking pornographic photos of
them. Police learned about Robert Strange's horrible crimes after
receiving a phone call in February from the Wal-Mart photo lab in
Anadarko. The lab reported pornographic photos of the two victims, and
it was later reported that they were not the first photos of that nature
Strange had taken. "We found out that Wal-Mart, for a period of several
years, had been developing the child pornography," says the victims'
attorney, David Butler. Butler says Wal-Mart broke Oklahoma laws
regarding child pornography. "If they see anything they even question to
be child abuse or pornography, they're required to report that
immediately to law enforcement," he says. "Obviously, that didn't happen
in this case because it had been going on for two or three years."
Butler says that Robert Strange may be one of his best witnesses, since
he admits he took the photos and had Wal-Mart print them. "If it had
been reported the first time it was brought in there, he could have been
arrested the first time, and these girls would not have had to undergone
the abuse they suffered for several more years," says Butler. Butler
admits that taking on one of the world's largest corporate giants will
be an uphill battle, but he says the two victims deserve it. "They have
unlimited resources, and you know you're in for a fight, but we believe
it's a valid fight, and we're willing to go the distance for our
clients." The lawsuit is filed in Caddo County, and although Butler
would not say just how much money the family is seeking, he says it's
more than $10,000. 7News contacted Wal-Mart's legal department, and a
spokeswoman there said that they have not received a copy of the lawsuit
yet. However, they are beginning to research the matter after learning
of the story.
[back to top]
August
hearing set for former Wal-Mart executive
Associated Press
06.24.08
[back to top]
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - A hearing is set
for Aug. 22 over whether convicted former Wal-Mart executive Tom
Coughlin is entitled to his retirement package valued at up to $15
million.
Coughlin, who was convicted of
embezzling from the world's largest retailer, filed a counterclaim
against Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ), accusing the company of
conducting a "witch hunt" against him. Coughlin, the former vice
chairman of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., was sentenced to 27 months of home
detention, plus 1,500 hours of community service. He also had to pay
$400,000 in restitution.
In a response to Coughlin's
counterclaim, Wal-Mart says the former executive is not entitled to his
retirement package because he defrauded the company. Coughlin pleaded
guilty in 2006 to five counts of wire fraud and one count of tax
evasion.
The Bentonville-based retailer also
denied Coughlin's claims that Wal-Mart committed a tort of outrage,
causing him mental anguish.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All
rights reserved
[back to top]
Wal-Mart spin is thick with
lies
By David Fick,
Hi Desert Star
June 24th, 2008 [back to top]
“Wal-Mart benefits people,
environment” was the title of Mr. John Mendez’s Guest Soapbox Saturday.
Mr. Mendez, a senior manager of public
affairs for Wal-Mart, starts his spin early with a fantasy engagement
with me. I’ve heard enough “that’s a good question” to know what follows
is usually not a good answer.
“As Mr. Fick stated,” he begins, and
then proceeds to say things I never stated, showing his well-worn craft
that makes him the big bucks.
Mr. Mendez states a new store is
needed “because Yucca Valley’s population has increased almost
two-thirds since the early 1990s.” Yet Wal-Mart’s own environmental
impact report analysis says the 1990 YV population was 16,403 and 2005
YV population 19,726. That’s a 19 percent increase, hardly two-thirds!
Don’t people ever read these EIRs?
Also from the Wal-Mart EIR: “Utilizing
employment factors … the proposed project is anticipated to generate
approximately 589 jobs.” But Mr. Mendez in his Soapbox is, once again,
saying something different, that Wal-Mart Supercenter plans to employ
about 410 people (260 current, 150 new). That’s 410, not 589, underpaid,
off-the-clock and videotaped people working for that big global company
in Arkansas. What’s the truth here?
There’s a lot of tall-talking about
Wal-Mart Supercenter and that’s all it is. Some dismiss it as spin,
exaggerations or even falsehoods, but they do their job. Wal-Mart spends
millions per day on public relations to impress people and send the
profits along to Arkansas.
MBCA benefits people and the
environment of the Morongo Basin without the lies and money. Instead, we
fight with heart and truthful information.
Hope to see you tonight at Yucca
Valley Community Center, before 6 pm.
David Fick
Morongo Basin Conservation Association
[back to top]
Naked Truth Investing: Wal-Mart customers 'save money' and 'live better'
while Wal-Mart employees pay more for their 401(k) plan and retire broke
By Daniel Solin ,
Blogging Stocks
June 24th, 2008 [back to top]
This is the part of a new series of
columns called "The Naked Truth," by retirement expert Dan Solin. Please
bring him your questions, in the comments box, and he will answer as
many as he can. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is the world's largest company with
over $380 billion in revenues. It's success is based on it ability to
squeeze vendors to the breaking point. The largest manufacturers are no
match for this retail giant. Wal-Mart's 401(k) plan has over $9.5
billion in assets. Its modestly paid employees count on this plan to
fund their retirement. A recent class action lawsuit makes allegations
which, if true, will cause many of these employees to be great
disappointed. The suit alleges that Wal-Mart's 401(k) plan pays "retail"
for its mutual funds, instead of the institutional rate for the same
funds. Institutional funds require a minimum investment ranging from
$100,000 up to $1 million. Clearly, not a big hurdle for Wal-Mart's mega
401(k) plan. The difference in cost between retail and institutional
funds is significant. The average annual expense ratio for retail equity
mutual funds is around 1.50%. The same expense ratio for an
institutional fund is around 0.50%. A 1% difference in costs doesn't
seem like much but it can add up. On an initial investment of $50,000,
it could cost investors as much as $19,000 over 20 years, assuming an 8%
rate of return. The failure to insist on lower cost institutional funds
is not the only problem with Wal-Mart's 401(k) plan. It is populated
with high expense ratio, actively managed funds, despite the fact that
lower cost, actively manged funds, with similar benchmarks and better
performance, are available from fund families like Vanguard. Yet even
these obvious deficiencies still don't address the primary problem with
the plan. Why are actively managed funds included at all? The plan
should consist solely of low-cost, broadly diversified, domestic and
international stock and bond index funds, and target retirement funds,
made up of low-cost index funds. The complaint alleges that, if Wal-Mart
had followed this practice, the plan would have increased in value by an
additional $140 million for the six-year period ending January 31, 2007.
Has Wal-Mart lost its negotiating mojo? Or has it succumbed to a flawed
401(k) system that places the interests of employers, brokers,
consultants and the mutual fund industry above those of its employees?
Dan Solin is the author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read
(Perigee Books 2006) and The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read
(Perigee Books, June 24, 2008). Visit his website at
Smartestinvestmentbook.com
[back to top]
Size of
Northcross Wal-Mart Drastically Reduced
Austin Business Journal
June 24th, 2008
[back to top]
Wal-Mart plans to cut the size of its
controversial store at Northcross Mall almost in half.
The retail giant already had city
approval to build a 192,000-square-foot store on the site at Burnet Road
and Anderson Lane. But now Wal-Mart says it will reduce the store's
footprint to 99,000 square feet as part of a nationwide reevaluation of
its new stores.
The planned store will now be just one
story instead of two and will have surface parking in lieu of a garage.
Groceries will remain part of the merchandise mix but a garden center
and auto shop will be eliminated in the new plan, a spokesperson says.
The design aesthetic of the building will remain largely intact.
Construction has not yet begun on the store since developer Lincoln
Property Co. has been concentrating its attention on another portion of
the site.
Since the plan was unveiled in late
2006, Lincoln Property Co., the group redeveloping the aging mall, and
Wal-Mart have drawn fire from area residents who said the store would
create tremendous traffic problems in the area among other issues.
Several lawsuits were filed but none was successful in stopping the
development.
Lisa Elledge, senior manager of public
affairs and government relations for Wal-Mart says the company is
currently working to complete the modifications to the store. She says
once Wal-Mart and the developer "have finalized the site plan...the
parties intend to provide more details to the city of Austin and the
surrounding neighborhoods."
Responsible Growth for Northcross, a
group of area residents and business owners that formed to oppose the
Wal-Mart plan, said the scaled back store is a better fit for the
neighborhood. RG4N had been planning to appeal its lost lawsuit
decision, but the group now says that won't be necessary.
"We still think a mixed-use
development is the ideal (use) for that location, but at least their new
plan is something that can work without hurting the surrounding
neighborhoods and small businesses," says Hope Morrison, RG4N's
president.
[back to top]
Whole
Foods and Wal-Mart Execs Agree: We’re Not Green
By Lisa Everitt ,
B Net
June 23rd, 2008
[back to top]
Put a Wal-Mart guy and a Whole Foods
guy on the same stage to talk sustainability at a conference in Boulder,
and what happens? Interesting things.
Fresh from their morning yoga and
organic luncheon, a not particularly friendly audience of execs and
marketers heard Wal-Mart senior director of corporate responsibility
Rand Waddoups say: “Wal-Mart is not a green company.” Countered Michael
Besancon, southwest regional president for Whole Foods Market: “If
Wal-Mart is not a green company, then Whole Foods is not a green
company. We do a lot of green things, and we have green intentions, but
we don’t believe that we are, and we try not to say that we are.” Later
in the discussion, asked by eco-journalist Simran Sethi whether Wal-Mart
sells products containing genetically modified organisms, Waddoups
answered, “Everybody is.”
Sethi started to pursue the point but
Besancon interrupted. “We are too,” he said. “We sell GM foods. We can’t
source corn and soy in every product… we can’t control everything
manufacturers do.” Because of this, consumers as well as retailers must
push for transparency of the supply chain, Waddoups said. Added Besancon:
“The more questions you ask, the more answers you get that you don’t
want to hear.”
Sustainability, Besancon added,
creates a great deal of tension between the three legs of the “triple
bottom line”: People, planet, and profits. Replacing plastic bags, which
cost a penny each, with paper bags, which cost as much as 17 cents each,
is not a zero-sum move.
Waddoups was the salty snack buyer at
Wal-Mart, sharing a cubicle with the water buyer, when the company
responded to Hurricane Katrina more quickly and effectively than the
government did — starting with 18-wheelers full of bottled water. That
showed him — and the rest of management — that the world’s largest
company could be a potent power for good. “We’re trying to be as good as
we were during Hurricane Katrina all the time,” he said. “What’s
happening now with the climate is like Hurricane Katrina in slow
motion.” Besancon, who went to work at a southern California health food
store 38 years ago, noted that Waddoups started corporate and adopted a
sustainable viewpoint, whereas “I started out as a hippie and became a
hard-assed businessman.” From my notebook:
•Food price inflation is the most
challenging aspect of the current economic environment for Whole Foods.
Having been able to take advantage of “incredible price elasticity” on
high-end foods, the company now has to add value to support its higher
prices, such as the “Whole Trade” certification. Asked to go beyond
what’s already required by Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance, vendors
have complained but more than 70 are participating in the new program,
Besancon said.
•While Wal-Mart asks its 60,000
vendors to support sustainability measures, the company has found that
operational changes are much easier to manage. “We (once) thought of
energy expense as a noncontrollable expense,” Waddoups said, citing a
supercenter in Las Vegas that cut energy expenses 45 percent in two
years.
•Sometimes a sustainability change is
a win-win-win. Wal-Mart now sells Radio Flyer tricycles out of the box,
“because who needs a box?” Waddoups said. Because selling it without a
box meant it had to be easier to assemble, it’s also easier to display,
so “sales are great on it.” Reducing waste has always been a cultural
value at Wal-Mart. “Sam Walton was the master of getting rid of waste,”
Waddoups said.
•If last year was the year of the
compact fluorescent, and this year is the year to bring your own bag and
stop drinking bottled water, what happens next? “Spoilage,” said
Besancon. “We discovered we were throwing a lot of stuff out.” In his
four-state, 38-store region, Whole Foods composted 15 million pounds of
trash last year that would have gone into landfills — “and that’s after
food banks” take anything that’s still edible.
•While Waddoups is one of a
three-person corporate responsibility team, Wal-Mart established
sustainability captains at 40,000 stores. Each employee has a “Personal
Sustainability Project” that ranges from quitting smoking (20,000
people) to making all Wal-Mart seafood compliant with Marine Stewardship
Council guidelines (fish buyer Peter Redmond). “Sustainability is about
individual choices in the aggregate,” Waddoups noted — and Wal-Mart CEO
Lee Scott has told associates that sustainability will be key to getting
promoted.
•Michael Pollan’s accusation of
“industrial organics” in “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” was a wake-up call for
Whole Foods, Besancon said. While he supports buying local and is
conscious of food security, his overriding goal for nearly 40 years has
been to remove synthetic chemicals from agriculture “and the reason we
support industrial organic is because that’s how it gets done. It wasn’t
going to get done one little farm at a time.” When he heard that
Wal-Mart was the No. 1 seller of organic produce and organic cotton
clothing, “I said, damn, my life has been successful. I won.”
•Whole Foods and three personal care
manufacturers (Avalon Natural Products, Nutri Biotics? and Beaumont
Products) were sued June 12 by California Attorney General Jerry Brown
for selling products that contain a potential carcinogen, 1,4-dioxane.
“What the hell’s up with Jerry?” Besancon asked. “Why in the hell
doesn’t he sue Revlon? I don’t get it.”
[back to top]
Local News for Northwest
Arkansas
By Kimberly Morrison,
The Morning News
June 23rd, 2008 [back to top]
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2007 continued
to slip down a list of corporate reputation rankings, according to a
survey.
The Bentonville-based retailer ranked
No. 44 on the Harris Interactive report, which ranks the reputations of
the country's 60 "most visible" companies based on consumer perception
surveys.
It was the third consecutive year
Wal-Mart's score on the list declined.
Wal-Mart's slipped score was the also
the third largest rating change, trailing behind Bank of America and
Halliburton Co., which saw more significant declines in reputation
scores.
Wal-Mart has similarly dropped down
Fortune Magazine's list of America's most admired companies.
Wal-Mart in 2003 and 2004 was
America's No. 1 most admired company on Fortune Magazine's list, but
fell to No. 12 in 2005. The retailer in 2007 dropped to No. 19.
Wal-Mart isn't too concerned with
reports on its reputation.
"At a time when the public and
Wal-Mart customers specifically are being pressed financially to make
ends meet, we think the ultimate measure of reputation is sales," said
Greg Rossiter, a Wal-Mart spokesman. "Our sales over the last several
months demonstrate pretty clearly that the public trusts Wal-Mart to
help them save money to live better."
The retailer has in recent years set
out to be a better corporate citizen by incorporating health care and
environmental sustainability initiatives into its business. But it may
take time for the public to shift their perceptions of the retailer,
said Sam Waltz, the director of Sam Waltz & Associates and a specialist
in corporate reputational management.
"When there's acute reputational
damage that becomes chronic reputational damage, it becomes a very
difficult thing to regain positive attributes," Waltz said.
"In other words, it can take some time
to get public credit for the good work Wal-Mart is doing now. It could
take months and years because there's people who look at them with a
political paradigm and just do not want to give them credit."
Nearly half of the American public
surveyed said that companies need to address global social issues such
as poverty, hunger and disease. Yet treatment of employees, including
labor practices and human rights, continued to be a the most important
measurement in evaluating a company, according to the report.
Harris Interactive, a Rochester, New
York-based market research company, surveyed more than 20,000 people and
asked them to rate on a point scale a company's reputation on 20
attributes like vision and leadership, emotional appeal, financial
performance and social responsibility.
Each survey participant is asked to
rate one randomly selected company from the 60 included and each is
given the option to rate a second company.
About 535 people rate each company.
[back to top]
Mother's
Lawsuit Blames Wal-Mart for Premature Birth
FoxNews.com
June 21st, 2008 [back to top]
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A Hagerstown woman
who filed suit against Wal-Mart is asking for damages for herself and
her son, who, she says, was born prematurely after she fell in a store.
Radhia Haj-Mabrouk contends in the
suit filed Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court that she slipped
on water on the floor in the Wal-Mart on Garden Groh Boulevard in August
2005, fell and was hurt.
Haj-Mabrouk was pregnant then and her
son was delivered by emergency C-section later that day, the suit
says.Haj-Mabrouk is seeking $1 million on her behalf and $2 million on
behalf of her son, Lofti Haj-Mabrouk, according to the lawsuit.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said Friday
that Wal-Mart had not yet been served with the lawsuit.
[back to top]
Like Clock Work: Wal-Mart Faces 80 Class Actions, Most from
Off-The-Clock Allegations
By Kimberly Morrison,
The Morning News
June 21st, 2008
[back to top]
Wal-Mart has worked overtime to show
its kinder, gentler side, but accusations of workplace misdeeds are
surfacing in a slew of class-action lawsuits that continue to challenge
the retailers new image.
There are at least 80 class-action
lawsuits in 41 states pending against the Bentonville-based retailer, 76
of which stem from wage and off-the-clock issues, according to
Wal-Mart's 10K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
There are more cases against the
Bentonville-based retailer than those disclosed in Wal-Mart's federal
filings. Companies are not required to disclose all legal proceedings,
just those that may result in "material" financial losses, or more than
10 percent of the current assets of the company.
Among the lawsuits facing Wal-Mart,
The Morning News examined five cases. The cases represent potentially
the largest judgments or potential financial impact, or the highest
number of plaintiffs. | 
