Life within a Big Box
The Perspective of a 25-Year Retail Associate
by
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Two hours into my shift, I had just finished working out most of the basic merchandise and was ready to work on the nine shopping carts filled with men’s jeans. We had been waiting three weeks for these jeans we had sold out of during the holiday season. This is my assigned job.
Assistant manager Larry came over and said he had another, job for me in garden that had three pallets of freight needing to be worked. I told him, the jeans should be finished in an hour or so and then I would start on garden. My assumption, as he walks away, was this is ok.
That was a mistake, as 15 minutes later I hear over the
loudspeaker “Megan, please come to garden center!” What the heck? I stopped work on the jean wall and headed out to the garden. There are not three pallets, but four, and there is Larry, standing there waiting for me, arms folded across his chest.
“Did I not tell you to come out to garden and work on these pallets?” he asked angerly.
I replied back with as much respect as could be marshaled.
“Um, yeah, but I thought you said it would be ok to do this after the jeans were done.”
“Well, the jeans must wait until later. Garden needs to be done first.”
“This is going to take me the rest of the night. I don’t know very much about it and can see, most of it is new modular items.” Was my reply.
Larry and I didn’t see eye to eye, ever since the incident with the backroom freight. Like many managers, he was not shy about telling anyone who would listen, that he believed having someone in apparel was not essential and a waste of time. Larry was a consumable guy because they sell more in volume, but he always forgot that apparel has the best margins than any other area in the store. That’s why it’s important to have someone stocking it.
A pallet with small bags of potting soil had an aisle already set up. Putting up the bags that had a home, I noticed there are no labels or paperwork for anything else. Where does the rest go? The merchandise is similar, so I lined up the bags next to each other. One pallet down, on to the next.
This pallet has pots and garden tools. There is nothing to tell me where to place all this merchandise. Looking around, I see some pots in another aisle, and hoping this is right, stocked it. The next pallet has all big bags of fertilizer, soil, and manure (yuck) on it and needs to go to the outside patio but must wait until the roll doors can be unlocked.
It’s nearing 5:30 am, I’m on the last pallet and worried about the jeans, hoping there will not be any repercussions for an incomplete task. No one came out to help. Oh well, here I go, what’s next. Ok, this has hoses, parts for sprinkler systems, hummingbird feeders, just a conglomeration of merchandise. I have no idea what to do with this one, so went in search for Larry to tell him about the pallet that needs to go outside and couldn’t finish the last pallet because there are no modular layouts or labels.
He tells me that it all must be done and to figure out
where to set it. I told him there is no way without the labels for placement and the jeans needed to be finished. He let me go.
His regular stocker for garden was here, and told me at break time, he had plenty of time to work out the merchandise and knew where it was all going. As I’m trying to complete the jeans, I’m thinking, “why did he have me go out to garden when his regular person was here? This is strange.”
The department manager for men’s came over to me and I explain to her about being re-assigned and apologized for not getting the jeans done. She’s ok with this and I’m relieved. Getting ready to clock out, I again heard my name over the loudspeaker “Megan, to the office please!”
Great! What did I do now? I entered the office to see Larry with my store manager, Sandy, who asks me to sit down. This can’t be good.
Sandy is coaching me for insubordination in my job duties. I’m not understanding this and ask for clarification when Larry
chimes in explaining that I practically refused to go into garden to work on the freight when asked and not completing the all my tasks.
“That’s not true, Larry. I thought you wanted me out in garden after the jeans were done and told you it couldn’t be finished because the paperwork and labels weren’t up.”
Sandy sat up with a puzzled look in Larry’s direction and said, “I understand, but you still need to do as directed. We are coaching you on insubordination and not completing your work. This is a written coaching as you have another from your previous incident in men’s.”
I am dumbfounded. Why is this happening? This is not right and refused to sign the coaching, because to me, there was nothing to warrant it. Being unaware you need to sign the word ‘under protest’, so it’s flagged for someone higher up, causes the coaching to stand.
About a week later my friend, Jenny, told me she thought I might have been set up. She explained that she overheard them laughing about how they deceived me by pulling down the modular paperwork and not setting the labels, so I would not be able to complete the stocking.
I thought seriously about going to Sandy but figured it would just pour more fuel on the fire and all I had was hearsay. This turned out to be the best move, as Sandy called me into her office the next morning. She is giving me an opportunity that would change the direction of my career with Walmart, once
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About the Book
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.
About the Author
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.