Worker Wages: Wendy's vs. Wal-Mart vs. Costco

Locutus

Locutus

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Jun 18, 2007
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Can a company pay its workers well and also make money?

Many aren't quite hitting the right balance. Hundreds of dissatisfied workers at major American companies like Wal-Mart (WMT), McDonald's (MCD) and Wendy's (WEN) have joined protests nationwide in the past year demanding higher wages and better benefits.

One company that hasn't had to deal with such strikes is Costco (COST).

The no-frills warehouse chain pays its hourly workers an average of just over $20 an hour, compared to just under $13 at competitor Wal-Mart. Even President Obama praised Costco in a recent speech about helping the middle class.



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Worker Wages: Wendy's vs. Wal-Mart vs. Costco - Yahoo! Finance
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

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Jun 28, 2010
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Costco charges annual fees to consumers just to shop there (and for good reason).

The other places don't.
 
Timetrvlr

Timetrvlr

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Locutus said:
Can a company pay its workers well and also make money?
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The answer is obvious isn't it? I've noticed that Costco employees seem to be much happier, more interested in their jobs, and seem to be very loyal to their company. I suppose employers get what they pay for but then Henry Ford knew that didn't he? In the early part of the last century, he scandalized Detroit by raising wages to an unheard of $5 a day and adopting a forty hour week. He wanted his employees to be able to afford his automobiles.
 
B00Mer

B00Mer

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Hold On there Kemosabe!!

Costco wages start at $12.50/hr and after 800hr of work you get a raise.. to get that $22.50 you're going to have to work at Costco for 5 years..

Target, starting wages in their warehouse in Balzac, AB is $17.50 to start..

Yes, Costco offers great benefits.. I don't know what Target offers..

...and no I don't work for Costco or Target.. I earn far more than that Costco top wage per hr...
 
WLDB

WLDB

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B00Mer said:
Costco wages start at $12.50/hr and after 800hr of work you get a raise.. to get that $22.50 you're going to have to work at Costco for 5 years..

Target, starting wages in their warehouse in Balzac, AB is $17.50 to start..

Yes, Costco offers great benefits.. I don't know what Target offers..

...and no I don't work for Costco or Target.. I earn far more than that Costco top wage per hr...
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AB has a much higher cost of living which would explain why Target would pay more there. Here, or in most of Ontario that type of wage is unlikely. $12.50 is still well above minimum wage which you are unlikely to get at Wendy's or Wal Mart as a starting wage unless you got a job as a manager or higher up.
 
mentalfloss

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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$100 annual membership X 58 million members = $5.8 Billion free dollars per year

I'm pretty sure Costco can afford to pay their employees good benefits.
 
gerryh

gerryh

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mentalfloss said:
$100 annual membership X 58 million members = $5.8 Billion free dollars per year

I'm pretty sure Costco can afford to pay their employees good benefits.
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$100 anual membership? WOW, I must be getting one fu ck of a deal since I pay almost half that.
 
T

The Old Medic

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May 16, 2010
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Costco also has a MUCH lower staff to customer ratio than Wendy's or Wal-Mart do. I shopped at Costco for years, and had difficulty getting assistance with anything. At Wal-Mart, I can almost always find someone to help in a minute or two.

When you don't have many staff, it is easy to pay them a higher wage.
 
S

Sal

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Sep 29, 2007
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Good for Costco!! Nice to see a company in retail paying a fair wage.
 
Zipperfish

Zipperfish

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The harsh reality is that people say they will shop at places that treat their employees better, but they say that because they want to appear to be good people. In actual fact, most will go to the store that offers the best match of price and convenience--altruistic concerns rarely factor in.

This is especially true when you have sophisticated PR campaigns offering semi-plausible rationalizations that their employees are actually really happy to be paid crap.
 
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