Retail Watchers

Target is raising its starting wage to $15. They are also giving a $200 bonus.

The company increased pay temporarily due to the COVID-19 situation. Now they are just making it permanent. Perhaps they have so much business that they can afford it. It will probably attract a slightly better workforce.

They might also be anticipating increases in the minimum wage. Many states are already above $10 an hour. Washington is at $13.50 an hour. I worked at Target in high school 20+ years ago, at the time the minimum wage was $4.25 an hour, my pay was $6.00 an hour. Doesn't seem like much now, but as I recall they paid everybody above minimum wage even back then.

A higher minimum wage is one of several reasons why you see Target and other large chains rely so much on self checkout though.

Super S wrote: ↑June 18th, 2020, 1:39 pm A higher minimum wage is one of several reasons why you see Target and other large chains rely so much on self checkout though.

Walmart has a test store with only self-checkout:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 111980780/

Target is doing the right thing and the result should be a higher quality of employee/higher level of performance in their stores, as a result of paying this higher wage. I hope it pans out for them this way. Target's quality of service/employee has deteriorated in Reno; sloppy uniforms, inconsistent service, and overall not very good service in their stores. Target is huge on metrics and tracking employee efficiency for various tasks so I am expecting as the wage goes up so will the metric expectations for these employees and those who do not perform will be gone. This may be part of the explanation for the poor service when the sales floor employees have a quota of how many items they need to pick for orders or how many items they need to stock using Target's very convoluted inventory system (well, convoluted for consumable grocery and high turn items; completely logical for low turn items like home goods) their metrics don't stop so they can help a customer.

But yes, Target, Wal Mart, Kmart have always paid $1-$2+ to start above minimum wage. Despite complete lies from the media. Never union level wages, but above minimum wage. As Wal Mart and Target have been increasing wages in recent years their starting wages are actually above union supermarket starting wages in many markets now.

Ummmm..........my mom worked for Walmart and she and many received minimum wage.

I have known people in the recent past that also received minimum wage.

Fast forward..............I am sure this has changed.

veteran+ wrote: ↑June 19th, 2020, 6:57 am Ummmm..........my mom worked for Walmart and she and many received minimum wage.

I have known people in the recent past that also received minimum wage.

Fast forward..............I am sure this has changed.

I think it changed a bit on their wages when they got into the Supercenter business. I can tell you back here in Reno in 2000 for a basic starting job (floor stock, cashier, etc.) the wage was $8/hr at Wal Mart (Super), $7/hr at Kmart (Super), and $6.50/hr at Target (non-Super). Wal Mart and Kmart did pay utility (cart retrieval) a bit less but nobody was on the payroll at minimum wage even back then at least here in NV. But these were all part time positions. Also a couple years after that Sam's Club was starting cashiers at $12/hr with zero experience as I had a classmate who worked there and bragged. Supposedly filled out the application online for Wal Mart and got called by Sams and paid way more than he was expecting.

I recall reading in Sam's book he acknowledged being criticized for paying cashiers minimum wage then touted the benefit of their stock options in the "old days."

storewanderer wrote: ↑June 19th, 2020, 11:01 pm I think it changed a bit on their wages when they got into the Supercenter business. I can tell you back here in Reno in 2000 for a basic starting job (floor stock, cashier, etc.) the wage was $8/hr at Wal Mart (Super), $7/hr at Kmart (Super), and $6.50/hr at Target (non-Super). Wal Mart and Kmart did pay utility (cart retrieval) a bit less but nobody was on the payroll at minimum wage even back then at least here in NV. But these were all part time positions. Also a couple years after that Sam's Club was starting cashiers at $12/hr with zero experience as I had a classmate who worked there and bragged. Supposedly filled out the application online for Wal Mart and got called by Sams and paid way more than he was expecting.

I recall reading in Sam's book he acknowledged being criticized for paying cashiers minimum wage then touted the benefit of their stock options in the "old days."

I grew up in Southeastern Michigan. When I was a HS sophomore, every single entry-level job -- regardless of whether you were in HS or not -- paid minimum wage ($5.15). By the time I graduated high school in 2000, there was a tremendous labor shortage and $10/hour was the starting rate at places larger companies like Target, Kmart, Kroger, etc. When 9-11 hit, wages trembled. My sister-in-law started working for Target in 1999, earning $8.50/hour. In 2011, during the Great Recession, she lost her professional job and went back to the exact same Target for $7.40/hour -- state minimum wage at the time.

FWIW, I traveled to Reno over the Holidays in 1998 (my parents won a free trip and thought it'd be a great place to take their teenage kids to for the Holidays). I vividly remember seeing multiple billboards advertising ~$16/hour for Walmart distribution center and thinking it was a lot of money.

Bagels wrote: ↑June 21st, 2020, 1:03 am FWIW, I traveled to Reno over the Holidays in 1998 (my parents won a free trip and thought it'd be a great place to take their teenage kids to for the Holidays). I vividly remember seeing multiple billboards advertising ~$16/hour for Walmart distribution center and thinking it was a lot of money.

Fast forward to 2020 which is 22 years after the fact and the local Wal-Mart DC has a starting wage of around $17-$18/hour and that's touted as "big money" for this area.

Raising the wage is just another PR stunt. Most of Target's workforce is part time, and very few get the maximum amount of hours. $15 an hour isn't any good when you might only be scheduled 15 hours a week (unless you are just doing it as an 'extra' job)>

mbz321 wrote: ↑June 23rd, 2020, 8:39 am Raising the wage is just another PR stunt. Most of Target's workforce is part time, and very few get the maximum amount of hours. $15 an hour isn't any good when you might only be scheduled 15 hours a week (unless you are just doing it as an 'extra' job)>

Yes, I have heard Target scheduling people as few as 4 hours in a week in hopes they quit (vs. get laid off and go collect unemployment). Many retailers do that. I haven't heard of Wal Mart doing that. When I shop at Target, I never see the same employees twice. So either there is massive turnover or they just have a lot of employees being scheduled few hours every week. Ever. Can't say that for Wal Mart where I recognize a number of employees every time I go in who have been there at least a few years.