Yesterday, as I was walking to work, a truck driver waved at me. I froze at first but then smiled and waved back; it was Sean, who had been a cashier at my old Walmart until he was fired about five years ago. It happened around Halloween and the exact cause seemed bogus. But it seems that since he was fired, he’s finally been able to get a job; getting his CDL has certainly helped in that respect. He can handle just about any load, any truck and he’s making good money doing it.
He also told me why Gary is no longer at our old Walmart and why Frank, the manager who worked Asset Protection, is gone. It seems that both of them were doing things that weren’t exactly ethical.
They were both firing employees without vetting it through corporate. Apparently, they had both let go of a shitload of people and corporate was beyond pissed about it. So they showed up at my old store and took these two guys out. In the case of Gary, he was forced into an early retirement and moved to a different store. In Frank’s case, he was terminated.
I really can’t feel sorry for either one of these guys. Truly.
We chatted for a little longer but we both agreed; Sean and I are doing better now that we’re out of Walmart. We can’t really say that we miss the place but we do miss some of the people; however, it seems a lot of them have moved on. We both admitted that we don’t recognize a lot of the cashiers or the CSMs; most of the faces there are brand new and change every few months. People who had been at my old store for years have transferred or quit; they couldn’t handle the BS.
I can’t say that I blame them. I’m kicking myself for staying as long as I did. Why the hell I didn’t run from that toxic sewage I will never know. The only thing I can think of was needing the money and not wanting to screw up my credit rating but those were really pathetic excuses. I could have gotten out sooner, maybe saved a little of my sanity but now, we’ll never really know.
I am glad that Sean is doing well. He’d had a helluva time trying to get himself a job right after he was fired. He had wondered if Walmart hadn’t blacklisted him or if the management, upon getting calls from potential employers, were sabotaging his efforts. But now, he’s in a better place than he was several years ago, as am I. I almost want to thank the Waltons for doing us that little favor. But that might be just a little bit spiteful.
Iacon East 