Bad workplace, profits higher than ever

WAL-MART: THE HIGH COST OF LOW PRICE (2005)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
(Originally reviewed in 2006)

I've been in a Wal-Mart a few times in the past. This was some time ago but my lasting impression of that store was how overstuffed it was. Products were all over the store and didn't all seem to fit into the shelves where they belonged, no employees were around to help with assistance, the aisles were too narrow for those damn carts to get around, and children wandered around aimlessly. In short, as a customer, I was dissatisfied with the store. And that is the perspective missing in this documentary, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," namely, the customer's point-of-view. It is not a major flaw but it would have added more interest to the film's hugely negative outlook on this billion-dollar retailer corporation.

We learn that Wal-Mart drives away almost all other businesses, including mom and pop stores, paint stores, cafeterias, etc. The local businesses in the small towns are driven away because Wal-Mart receives subsidies that the smaller businesses can't receive. Some of Wal-Mart's subsidies are excruciatingly high, which also diminishes economical support for education, firefighters, and all other services that taxpayers pay for.

If those factors aren't bad enough, consider how Wal-Mart treats its employees. The employees can't find affordable health care through the company so some opt for welfare or Medicaid. Employees must always be working, sometimes off the clock. Surveillance cameras keep an eye on the employees but not the customers or the vast parking lots where kidnappings and murders frequently occur. Female workers are seen as useless, and if you are a black woman seeking a promotion, heaven help you. And for those who rightly complain about racist comedians, you might be truly offended by how Wal-Mart treats a black employee - let's just say it is morally reprehensible. Some lawsuits filed by employees are won, others are never considered whether it is based on racism or any kind of discrimination. Meanwhile, despite dissatisfaction from employees and managers and district managers, they all keep playing the game and smiling. And the CEO of Wal-Mart, Lee Scott, keeps talking with a straight face about all the high profits (which keep increasing year after year).

It is doubtful that anyone watching this documentary will not feel a smidgeon of intense dislike for such a reputable store. Negative reports have consumed the media for years about Wal-Mart's practices (especially with illegal immigrants) and their factories in China, but never have we been privy to the overall effect Wal-Mart has had on America. You almost feel that, within a few years, Wal-Mart will be the only mega store you can shop in. Strangely enough, that is the key ingredient missing in the documentary. Why does Wal-Mart rake in the big bucks? Because of the customers. If nobody shopped at any of the Wal-Mart stores in the entire world, then they couldn't make money. Yet the figures are in: as of November 2006, the retailer giant's revenue was at least 26 billion more than the previous year!

Robert Greenwald ("Outfoxed," "Steal this Movie") directed this documentary and does an admirable job of assembling footage of pro-Wal-Mart commercials intercut with facts and figures and key interviews (his sound mixing could use some work since music and soundbites are often at the same audio level). In many ways, Greenwald wants you to act accordingly and abolish any new Wal-Marts (some towns have successfully managed to do that). But, once again, it all boils down to the customers. If they didn't shop at Wal-Mart, there would be no profit. Sort of brings a new meaning to the phrase, 'The customer is always right."