As you’ve probably seen, Walmart offers its customers pretty much anything they could ask for. We say “pretty much” everything, because they wouldn’t leave stuff like company secrets lying around now, would they?
It takes a reputable site like ours to peek into the warehouse or even the offices to track down the lesser known (possibly seedy) stuff they don’t offer on the shelves.
If we had a brick and mortar store, you could find these 15 secrets of Walmart dangling in aisle three. Free of charge.
1
Pollution
In 2013, Walmart pleaded guilty to dumping a pollutant into drains across 16 counties in California. In 2012, it paid $1.25 million to Missouri after dumping hazardous waste into landfill.
2
Mislabelling Food Weight
Walmart mislabeled weights of meats and veggies by weighing them in the package, thus overcharging for weighted grocery items. This led to a $45 million class action settlement.
3
Hit Or Miss On Price Matching
It depends on your store manager’s decisions, but Walmart may do a price match if you find a lower price elsewhere. Fingers crossed!
4
Shady Labor Practices
They often arrange that workers do not get 40-hour work weeks so that they don’t qualify for benefits, Those who want to work full-time are given schedules that also make them ineligible for benefits.
5
Employee Privacy Violations
There have been several reports of managers searching employees' personal belongings at the end of shifts. This violated privacy and workers complained that the waits in long lines for checks was unpaid.
6
Walmart is the world's largest employer.
At roughly 2.2 million workers, it far outnumbers second-place Amazon at 1.6 million.
7
Fined Heavily for their role in the opioid crisis.
In 2022, Walmart agreed to pay $3.1 billion for its role in the opioid crisis, covering thousands of individual lawsuits. Pharmacists complained that they didn't want to dispense prescriptions from suspicious doctors, but Walmart told them to focus more on "driving sales."
8
Walmart was sued over mislabelled eggs.
In 2018, a customer filed a lawsuit that claimed eggs labeled “organic” had actually come from hens that were restricted to a life indoors in what the ASPCA called "faux-ganic."
9
Walmart used bribes to build on Mayan Pyramids
In 2004, they paid a $52,000 bribe to change a zoning map that would allow Walmart to open a store so close to ancient Mayan pyramids in Teotihuacán that an underground portion of the temple is actually under the Walmart.
10
Ask for Rain Checks
If a sale item is out of stock, many Walmarts issue rain checks, allowing you to purchase the item at the sale price when it’s back in stock.
11
Walmart invented a fake craft brewery.
To capitalize on the craft beer trend, they offered their own beer from "Trouble Brewing." The address of the “brewery” in their documents traced the beer to the mass-produced Genesee Brewing facility.
12
Limited Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
Walmart recently rolled back diversity and inclusion policies like treatment for women and minority-owned suppliers, ending a racial equity center commitment, and pulling out of a gay rights index.
13
Check for Hidden Clearance Items
Hidden clearance items are one of Walmart’s best-kept secrets. Use the barcode scanner on the Walmart app to check the price, and many items ring up cheaper than their displayed prices.
14
They Bug Their Stores To Collect Audio
In 2018, Walmart patented an audio surveillance technology titled "Listening to the Frontend." They add sensors to the cashier area to collect audio data and hear everything that goes down at the checkout.
15
They collected life insurance policies on deceased employees
Known as "dead peasants insurance," Walmart kept payouts from bereaved family members, who then sued them for the $9.6 million they were owed.
