A Tale of Two Jobs: How Low Wages Are Bad for Business

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http://www.alternet.org/books/tale-two-jobs-how-low-wages-are-bad-business



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The Bad Job: Janet’s Big Box Store

Janet had her own small video rental business, but it wasn’t making enough money. In 2005, she had to close it down. Luckily — or so it seemed — she became a sales associate in the electronics section of a large retail chain. Even better, it was a full-time job. Her job included making sure everything in her section was properly shelved and priced correctly. Her starting wage was only $8.20 per hour. While Janet’s managers recognized her hard work and promoted her several times, her raises were miniscule.

By 2012, Janet was a customer service manager in charge of dozens of employees at the front end of the store, including cart pushers, cashiers, greeters, and employees working in the money centers, in which customers could cash checks, make wire transfers, and buy pre-paid debit cards. She was also responsible for solving customer service problems at the checkout, such as pricing errors or credit cards that didn’t go through. On top of all that, she frequently had to solve equipment problems — or at least try to. “Like the other day,” she said, “the money order machine went down at the money center. I had to crawl around on the floor and get on tech support from National Cash Register and sit there and tinker with the money order machine. Unplugging the cable and plugging it back in as he was directing me from the phone until I got the money order machine back up and working.”

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The Good Job: Patty and QuikTrip

Patty began working at QuikTrip, a large retail chain, when she was nineteen years old, right out of high school. Her starting wage was low, like Janet’s. She had planned to work there while attending a technical college, but after two years, she realized that QuikTrip was “more than just a job.” It was a great career. So she stayed. And like Janet, Patty got several promotions. But unlike Janet, Patty has a good job.

Remember that, after seven years and several promotions, Janet was still making only about $22,000 a year. After seven years with QuikTrip, Patty was making almost triple that. And when I interviewed her in October 2010, she was making more than $70,000 a year. Patty also has affordable healthcare, enjoys a stable schedule, and finds dignity and satisfaction in her work. “I’ve always loved people,” she said, “and that’s what this company is in business for. Helping people and giving them great service.”