Charles Platt is a former Senior writer for Wired magazine, computer programmer and author of over 40 fiction and nonfiction books. He decided to leave writing for awhile and take on a bit of a social experiment. After reading the book “Nickel and Dimed,” which discusses the exploitation of the American work, Platt went and a got a job at Wal-Mart. Platt has now written about his experience at the New York Post.
Some people, usually community activists, loath Wal-Mart. Others, like the family of four struggling to make ends meet, are in love with the chain. I, meanwhile, am in awe of it.
With more than 7,000 facilities worldwide, coordinating more than 2 million employees in its fanatical mission to maintain an inventory from more than 60,000 American suppliers, it has become a system containing more components than the Space Shuttle – yet it runs as reliably as a Timex watch.
There’s definitely a twinge of elitism in anyone who says they’re concernered about the working conditions at Wal-Mart. Just because their customers are poor doesn’t mean the employees are treated bad.
I’ve always wondered why Home Depot and Lowes get a pass. The work is far more strenuous at those box chains than it is for most Wal-Mart employees. Also it’s not like Target is some kind of worker’s paradise. I don’t expect this will change the Wal-Mart haters. How do you stop something that’s completely irrational?
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