Pros
Opportunities to advance are there for the taking if you do a good job and care. You are not stuck behind a desk. There is a 15% stock purchase match, profit sharing @ EOY, quarterly bonuses for hourlies whose stores qualify. Store level management are friendly and approachable. You can work your way up the ladder if you show enough initiative. Wal-mart is pretty much recession proof. All associates get a 10% discount on non-food purchases. 100% vested in 401(k) at 5 years. 3 weeks of vacation at 7 years. Open door policy to use if you have a problem which you can take to higher levels of management.
Kontras
Salaried management works varied schedules and hours. Some of the customers are nasty. Some of the stores are in really bad neighborhoods with high crime which means high shrink which in turn makes it reaaly hard to get a bonus. Advice- Research the area of a store before you agree to transfer. If public housing and ghettos are nearby you definitely do not want to work at that store. I have been there and will never again work at a " Metro" store. Recently, home office is micro-managing a lot of our merchandising . We used to order our own features a lot of times to fit the store's needs, now H.O. sends so many features that you really do not want any more. I miss being more of an active merchant.
