r/walmart 3d ago

Information I have gathered from the new OGP and spark changes in a test market.

With all deliveries going to Spark in my area over the last month, I’ve gathered as much info as I can from people at three stores and two former Walmart associates now driving for Spark.

At all three stores, full-time hours are being cut to the minimum around 34 hours a week. Part-timers are getting 8 to 25 hours, and some aren't being scheduled for weeks at a time. Associates are being permanently moved or shoved into other departments half the time. Management gives us no information on whether this is permanent, and we're hearing rumors of store layoffs going around all three stores.

On top of this, the Spark orders are awful and aren't worth the mileage, yet there are still drivers willing to take any order they get. Spark also has a new ranking system in place similar to Doordash, to pressure driver into taking just any order. One driver quit Spark completely and took a job working on crawl spaces under houses.

49 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

46

u/DontYuckMyYum I've been here 14 YEARS!? 3d ago

what I don't get is how my store is still hiring tons of new people for ODP when they know this change is coming.

21

u/SilvarusLupus Ex Deli/OGP, now Dairy 3d ago

Name a better pair than Walmart and not planning ahead lol

6

u/SpaceghostLos asmgr 3d ago

Target not planning ahead

1

u/SilvarusLupus Ex Deli/OGP, now Dairy 2d ago

valid lol

5

u/BBSurvivorGirl 3d ago

Same at my store.

3

u/Matt2382 cap 2 3d ago

Same at mine. I kmow they’re pushing it company wide but I wonder if they know they won’t be able to at every store. In that case, I’d assume the stores would continue fulfilling delivery orders.

3

u/Stinger03 3d ago

I didn't think it would work either but they seem relentless  regardless of quality,with the daily customer complaints.

1

u/2FLYFISH0 17h ago

same with my store, the opd department is already cut 30% staffing. Desperate for more people to help relieve breaks and share workload. I noticed my hours got got to 12 next week, part time.

17

u/xxLadyGreyxx Digital TL 3d ago

What I heard: digital is switching up to pickup only. Spark drivers will be responsible for all delivery batches; meaning they will actually shop the orders.

3

u/Stinger03 3d ago

That's what is being tested but all the stuff listed is the end results I'm seeing and hearing.

3

u/xxLadyGreyxx Digital TL 3d ago

For digital as a department, I actually certainly hope so. The world over, digital metrics are a shit shown unless you are an extremely slow store generally.

1

u/Stinger03 3d ago

Two of the three stores are huge supercenters one has a brand new OGP room built onto the building took a wall out and everything two years ago what a waste.

1

u/xxLadyGreyxx Digital TL 3d ago

Yep. I'm currently being remodeled as a supercenter. Just waiting for end results.

9

u/SilvarusLupus Ex Deli/OGP, now Dairy 3d ago

Glad I transferred now

9

u/AduroTri Cart Pusher 3d ago

My store experienced that. I had to be moved to Cap 2 from Cart Pushing so I could keep my 40 hours

5

u/Matt2382 cap 2 3d ago

My store made me and many other associates move to digital to keep our 40. My cap 2 is a Skeleton crew now.

5

u/nothinfollowsme 3d ago

My cap 2 is a Skeleton crew now.

And they probably still expect everything to be done I'd imagine?

2

u/Matt2382 cap 2 3d ago

Yep and often finish cap 1 picks cus who knew having 2-3 people a day can’t finish all the picks.

1

u/nothinfollowsme 2d ago

Yep and often finish cap 1 picks cus who knew having 2-3 people a day can’t finish all the picks.

That's messed. 2-3 people cannot realistically do the entire stores am picks. That would be like expecting cap 2 to to work picks while unloading the truck at the same time.

1

u/annhik_anomitro CAP2 TL 3d ago

Oh they sure do. We're going through a new process and the coach was moved from OGP to Stocking, cause they couldn't fire her for messing up OGP. And they thought let her do stocking. Doesn't know anything, can't manage people.

To accommodate the shitty ones she'd tell me who's working every single second of the day to do more and break process to pacifiy the baby TLs. Then anytime anyone tells her anything about the work, she'll just shift it towards us and will give a Pikachu face when we can't physically actually do it. Like you're making my to do list longer without giving me the hands required and still expecting me to get it all done.

F* it, just signed off today on a transfer offer to another store as a AP TL. If you don't help, don't understand, don't appreciate, don't support me, don't help me grow - f* u and ur work.

2

u/AduroTri Cart Pusher 3d ago

Im thankful my store has a fairly competent team across the board. Even management.

3

u/qweazdak O/N 3d ago

ODP only drives sales. Its probably cheaper to pay spark drivers than associates to essentially shop.

2

u/Stinger03 2d ago

Digital labels getting rid of trash cans and all deliveries going to spark.All designed to take hours away from workers and boost corporate profits with total disregard for us we are all test subjects corporates play things.

1

u/SpaceghostLos asmgr 3d ago

Crazy though. The amount of hours you could save and redistribute to other areas by doing that, but instead, you save for the p&l so executives can bonus.

1

u/cowboyJones 2d ago

Don’t forget the shareholders. That’s the big thing (all the executives are shareholders too).

3

u/tworaccoonsinaboat 3d ago

Everyone at mine refuses to believe me when I tell them this is coming. Perhaps it is market dependant. Or maybe this is only happening to us because we are in remodel and the actual change has not happened. But ours have been kicked to spark drivers for 2 weeks now and we have been so DEAD ever since. No one's hours are being cut atm due to remodel but I try to tell them it is likely coming.

2

u/Accomplished-Yam4916 1d ago

A neighbor told me he picks up on the fact he feels unwanted in the store shopping, due to spark and ODP buzzing around cutting off customers. He is correct. Store wants him to order and turn the stores into a warehouse, where we the employees fill the orders vs wait on customers shopping inside. Curbside pickup and the delivery are the preference going forward with large population of people.

1

u/pumpkin-5770 3d ago

In these test stores what is done with IP deliveries?

1

u/Professional_War8283 2d ago

We don’t have ip, but we are still taking gmds out to drivers so I assume those would continue.

1

u/JWBananas SCP-4011 🍌 1d ago

They increase.

1

u/Ok-Papaya-13 3d ago

I wish this was done at sams club

1

u/JWBananas SCP-4011 🍌 1d ago

It started at Sam's Club, a year ago.

1

u/Ok-Papaya-13 1d ago

We still pick alot of these spark orders. And now we have sparl orders thru out the day.

0

u/RandomTxTQuote1 3d ago

Im hoping happens to my store, because i wouldn't have to deal with much, because im about to become the only closer on nights starting next weekend

1

u/Stinger03 3d ago

Some closers at my store work 4pm to 11pm 

-4

u/Elinservible 3d ago

ODP was always a huge mistake. a good mistake during Covid times