Walmart LP

[Hockey9019]

Whats everyones opinion on them? Salary? Restrictions? Training? Typical day?


Got a call about an application I put in several months ago to just see if they'd even call. I said sure and he said he will call me after doing all the reference checks :confused: (Usually they do it after they "interview" you)


For those who know me, I'm not the biggest Walmart fan out there, but do go there sometimes too often. Just curious on everyones thoughts there

[MP_Steve]

I couldn't imagine the salary is all that great, regardless of the position. I'm sure the store manager makes out alright, but other than that....

Stick with your bail bonds company.

[Hockey9019]

I couldn't imagine the salary is all that great, regardless of the position. I'm sure the store manager makes out alright, but other than that....

Stick with your bail bonds company.

I left there. Its not for me. I don't believe when you try to reach for a gun back inside a car, and you don't get shot, but do get tased, that you shouldn't be allowed back out into public or life. And no its not racist. And yes, its because I'm an inconsiderate a-hole.

It just wasn't for me to be truthful. I felt...dirty from day one being there.

I put 13 bucks a hour and he said they get paid a bit less. I think at 10 or 11. Which is still OK. I read what Joey wrote about Wally World, so not sure how much of that has changed. Either way its something for the time being.

[hitnrun]

Out here in CA, at the Walmarts that I'm familiar with, they have a really strange policy regarding LP. They will not prosecute for thefts under certain amounts or for most of the store's items.

An off duty city PD guy was at Walmart last week when a guy ran out of the store pushing a cart past the greeters with a 32" LCD tv. LP was chasing him and yelling to call the cops, it was a robbery, blah blah blah. Well the off duty city PD guy starts chasing after the suspect but LP gets to him first as he was much closer. LP pushes the guy down and takes the shopping cart and tv back to the store at a fast jog. The suspect gets up and runs away. The PD guy asked the LP guy if he was going to bother catching the suspect. LP guy said that they just wanted the TV back and that they wouldn't prosecute, so there was no point in chasing or restraining him beyond that point.

The off duty PD guy scratches his head and tells PD units arriving on scene for a robbery in progress call about what had just occurred. Everybody shakes there in bewilderment and frustration and leaves.


That was one day in the life of a Walmart LP guy as it was related to me. BTW, this off duty PD guy worked LP for several large stores prior to law enforcement.

[Joeyd6]

Pros:
-You make your onw schedule for the next month on the first. Each month you must open one day a week, close one nite, and only get one whole weekend off a month. You must work Staurday or Sunday each week except for one weekend.
-You work for the District LP Manager
-Pay when I was there was $10-$11 an hour with 40 hours a week.
-You get a discount
-Everything is prosecuted over $50, unless pregnant or juvenile.



Cons:
-There is a hard quoata. Meet it or you end up with bad reviews which equals low pay.
-Training consists of "shadwoing" another LP guy in a nearby store.
-You work alone. Only 1 FT LP guy per store. Some may have a PT guy but you can't work together.
-All CCTV is FIXED and not monitored.
-While you work for the District LP Manager, he rarely visits. Thus, you have to deal with the store manager and assistants who try to order you around. YOu want to make everyone happy but you will learn quickly finding that happy medium is VERY, VERY, VERY difficult!
-They do not like when you work internal stuff!
-Once yoru schedule is changed you cannot change it for any reason or you get in trouble. So when you write that whole 30 days out, plan ahead!


SAY NO THANKS!!!

[Kimble]

SAY NO THANKS!!!

Joey may remember this from Use of Force training in CITP (our instructor used it as an example for a teaching lecture), but do a google search of former Walmart security guard Brett Schott and the deadly force situation he was involved in with Ukiah, CA police Sgt Marcus Young. After reading that, know that Schott was not even given disability pay, or any financial support, by Walmart after being unable to work in his current position after that incident.

No way in h3ll would I or could I ever recommend anyone working for Walmart security/LP or any other position for that company after learning about that incident.

[Darin]

Walmart LP can be rough. I witnessed one getting assaulted by a shoplifter.

[gringoscott]

Stay away from WalMart LP unless it is farmed out to a contractor. At least then you'll be treated as an employee instead of just a warm body. You might actually be able to get insurance through a contractor as well...

[Sabian84]

I used to work LP at Safeway's and some other places. The money is not very good and the risk is not worth it. In my time I caught a bunch of people with warrents, and had people attack me. You don't get any DT training, and most likely you wont even get hand cuffs. Also, if you make a bad stop and the person decides to sue you will get fired immediately the company won't stand behind you.

While this did not happen to me, people who worked for the same company have had guns and knifes pulled on them. One woman tried to stop a guy on the WA state 10 most wanted list. When the police arrived they said that had she tried to stop this man he very well may have killed her.

It's not worth it for $10.00 worth of crap.:mad:

[clintstylez]

Pros:
-You make your onw schedule for the next month on the first. Each month you must open one day a week, close one nite, and only get one whole weekend off a month. You must work Staurday or Sunday each week except for one weekend.
-You work for the District LP Manager
-Pay when I was there was $10-$11 an hour with 40 hours a week.
-You get a discount
-Everything is prosecuted over $50, unless pregnant or juvenile.



Cons:
-There is a hard quoata. Meet it or you end up with bad reviews which equals low pay.
-Training consists of "shadwoing" another LP guy in a nearby store.
-You work alone. Only 1 FT LP guy per store. Some may have a PT guy but you can't work together.
-All CCTV is FIXED and not monitored.
-While you work for the District LP Manager, he rarely visits. Thus, you have to deal with the store manager and assistants who try to order you around. YOu want to make everyone happy but you will learn quickly finding that happy medium is VERY, VERY, VERY difficult!
-They do not like when you work internal stuff!
-Once yoru schedule is changed you cannot change it for any reason or you get in trouble. So when you write that whole 30 days out, plan ahead!


SAY NO THANKS!!!

Actually, your pros and cons arent accurate.

-You do make your own schedule, but it varies by market when it is due. the Market Asset Protection Manager is what used to be called a District Loss Prevention Supervisor. Hourly LPs (now AP) report to salaried Asset Protection Coordinators (APCs). How do i know? I am an APC. My in-store and I do his schedule, and if it needs changed, all i need is a day or two notice, no big deal.
- I cant comment on pay, but you are pretty close to the company average.
- Discount still applies
- We prosecute anything over $25, unless the shoplifter is violent or attempts to flee.

- There is no "hard quota", at least not anymore. The company found deterring smaller items was better than apprehending them because they were paying the in-stores to go to court, etc and it wasnt worth the additional cost.
- There is more to training than "shadowing". There is a lot of bookwork, meetings, conference calls, etc. And of course the hands on training too. Once you complete training, and are signed off, you attend investigations training, handcuff training, and other stuff as necessary. Again, this will vary by market.
- Working internals is not only encouraged, it is required. At least 40% of an hourly in-store's job consists of digging into internal cases.
- Some stores have fixed CCTV, others have PTZ. Some have DVR, others are still in the stone age with casette recorders. It varies by market, store size, volume, and other factors.
- The comment about the management staff isnt entirely accurate, every store has a different team. Every management staff is different. You cant base your opinion of the job as a whole by your personal experiences, just as I cant either.
- Stores are allowed to have more than one lp. I know of some stores that have 4-5. When i was an hourly, we had 3. Each store with an lp has at least 2, because the salaried mgr over AP is also authorized to conduct apprehensions.

However, in my personal experience, the job has its ups and downs. Obviously its not a career, you will get burned out quickly. I did the floor walking stuff for about 3 years, and towards the end, i wasnt having a good time. If you are looking for an hourly position with walmart though, it is hands down the best in the store. You have freedom that other associates simply do not have. No specific dress code, etc. However, it is demanding, and there arent too many PT opportunities unless the store is already staffed with FT people.

it can be rewarding at times, i made some pretty big stops in my time, and made some rather large cases. The biggest case i closed was around 250k. The subject had previously escaped from a state prison in TN.

[Joeyd6]

Actually, your pros and cons arent accurate.

Actually they are, specifically in the New York and NJ market are. And you realize that right here by repeatedly saying the following about my posts:

varies by market

It has been 10 years since I worked there. And I still talk to my fiends who work there and a co-workers son who works there. The bottom line is this, is the list of AP's and LP's for major chain retail's, Wal*Mart is dead last. It has the least equipment, least amount of computer resources, no manpower, and no real career potential. Other major chain stores have a career path to management, have dedicated security teams, full CCTV systems, a training program and your not working at the beck and call of store management compared to your boss who is always out in the field "visiting" other stores. Additionally, other store do have to clarify the AP/LP issues with "varies by region."

I did my time doing LP and AP before becoming a State Trooper, then NYPD, then Air Marshal and then 1811. As a LP guy at a major mall, we constantly dealt with and assisted other store LP/AP's (JC Penny, Macy, Bon-Ton, Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, etc...) I have seen it all. And my opinion is based on what I saw, what I did, my interactions with LP/AP while I was street cop, and what other cops who worked LP/AP have shared. Wal*Mart ranks last in that area.

[clintstylez]

i do somewhat agree with you on the equipment thing, we arent exactly leading the pack on technology, however it has improved. Metro stores are now using PTZ systems, which greatly improve identifying shoplifters in the store, and a skilled operator will have every second of the theft recorded on video, so there will be no question as to what happened, and if it goes to court, it is likely to stand. However, a lot of the times when retailers get systems like these, their operators tend to abuse them. I have been to two other retailers in my town to check out their systems, both use PTZ, and one of the 1st thing the operator showed me was he could zoom down the shirt of a female in the store. So obviously there are some training/people issues present with some of these people (but not all of them).

I cant tell you how it was 10 years ago, ive been here for 5. But WM has tried to follow other retailers in the career advancement category. The hourly asset protection associates, can advance into the salaried mgr asset protection coordinator. Its what I did 2 years ago when my position was created, but people dont realize what they are getting into. In my position, its no more coming into work with shorts and flip-flops and catching shoplifters. They created the APC position to be more "investigative", so basically I spend all day sifting through reports, and for anyone who has ever worked for WM, there is a report for just about anything that happens in your store. Another big change to the AP side was the increased focus on safety, and receiving/invoices. So as far as advancement opportunities, there are some, but it is nothing like what you are doing as a floor walker.

We can both agree that every market is different. How the stores are ran in NY are different than IN. When I commented on the inaccuracy of your pros and cons, you generalized the company as a whole. I wouldnt make that comment if you had said, "in NY and NJ there are....", because obviously you are qualified to comment on the operations in those two sates, and I am not. If I asked you what is it like to be a state trooper, I would get a different response than if I asked a trooper in Idaho. But you couldnt sum up the state police nationally, because both answers would be different.

And about the boss who is "visiting" other stores. You say it like its a bad thing? Its nice to be in a job where you dont have someone micromanaging every move you make. Some people absolutely have to receive direction every day in order to get their job done, others dont. And no, im not saying you fall into that category.

And the JC Penny in my area must be completely different from yours. JCP in the mall in my city, have one camera, that is located on the entrance. They have two way mirrors all around, and their security will walk around with ladders to look through them. I would have thought they could afford more..

Basically my original point was, the job isnt for everyone. To the original poster, talk to someone in your area who does it, and find out. The good thing is, you arent bound by a contract or anything, so if you get in, and dont like it, leave. No one will hold a gun to your head and force you to stay. When someone asks my honest opinion though, i usually tell them to go to college, and do something else. You can have decent earning potential, but it will take a while to get there, but what good job doesnt. For someone who is 27, single, and no kids, i live very comfortably. I pull in around what LEOs in my city make, which is pretty sad actually.

Most people who apply, and I interview have had degrees in criminology, and found it was too competitive to get onto a PD. So they believe getting this job will somehow allow them to network with police officers, and increase their chances of being hired. While it has happened, it is rare.

The job isnt glamorous by any means, and you burn out pretty quick. I have been trying to step down, and leave LP to enter the military for quite some time, but for some reason i change my mind at the last minute.

[Joeyd6]

Fair enough. We can agree that when I was there and things were like "A" you were not there. And you are there now and things are "B" and I am not there.

Glad to see they are moving in the right direction. I tried to do many internals and was shot down. I was told "Meet the quota." All they cared about was I get 5 a month. Nothing else. Plus, my district manager was never around. I had issues with the store manager hoarding certain baseball collectibles right off the truck and then having his wife come in and buy them. My district AP manager and his boss told me to give up on the issue as the the company would not pursue it. It was a complete mess.

[clintstylez]

Ouch, thats pretty bad. The term for what the store manager was doing is understocking, usually, people get terminated for doing it. Does it happen and people get away with it? yup. I hate to say it, but sometimes high level managers are held to a different standard than everyone else. Certain policies they can break and get away with a slap on the wrist, or maybe just a closed door *** chewing. But that usually happens if that particular manager is a top performer. High sales + high profit + low accident costs + low payroll = God status.

I think WM will always be behind other retailers tho, i mean lets face it, we just hopped on the Chuck Norris T-shirt bandwagon about 4 months ago. I always said when its considered "cool" or a trend, WM will get it on the tailend and kill it. Im honestly suprised we arent still selling members only jackets.

the internal issues still amaze me. now, they spend so much time preaching on what we should be digging into to develop internal cases your head will almost explode. But in my short time with the company, i have noticed we are a reactive company, not a proactive one. If they didnt care about internals 10 years ago, employees probably handed them their butt so, they probably spent more money, developed an executive committe of people making 7 figures to sit around for about 6 months, and then they all agreed that internal theft was a problem.

WM is penny smart, and dollar dumb.

They can construct a 500k office for a regional vice president in a mall, but they complain about an unloader getting an hour of overtime.

[JakeLock]

The Wal-Mart LP folks here actually help us alot, they helped me solve a vandalism case just this afternoon in fact.

I know nothing about the job, but I definately like them being there.