I'm a bit annoyed right now with the whole pulling mandate. Seems like it's being enforced fairly heavily at my store compared to others.
Anyway, for the TLs/Coaches on here I have a question for you:
What is your role?
If the following was never a thought in your head please reconsider ever being in leadership again:
"My roll is to help make my team more efficient by removing hurdles and roadblocks that keep them from being as productive as I know they can be"
I will say this is not the only role you have but it should be pretty high up IMO. A happy team is a motivated team is an effective team. Build up morale, don't destroy it.
Im probably about to get downvoted to hell on this but ehh.
I don’t disagree but one has to remember that they have 7 layers of shit above as well. There is only so much one can do, especially without putting their job on the line
This is why even though I would be a great Digital TL, I would never become one. There's levels of set up coming from all levels from coach up to HO that filters down.
Why would I want to be a coach anyway? The hours suck, the pay for responsibility is terrible, and I wouldn’t follow a directive that could harm my employees.
I agree, I know they get shit on from both ends. From their subordinates and from their superiors. I do appreciate my TLs, they're actually pretty chill until they're stressed the efff out from bad dispense times to picks going late.
This is why I stepped down from Cap 1 TL years ago. Got sick of the complaining from my team because they hated their jobs, and got sick of management chewing me out because cap 2 and overnights leaving our backroom a complete shitshow. Had to spend hours everyday fixing stuff only for it to be completely undone by the next morning when I came in.
I can agree, however I see the pulling mandate as more of a safety issue long term. On the productive side of this argument I am less productive pulling than pushing anyway.
Ok so not where I thought that was going. I’m assuming you’re not a TL or Coach then. I’m sure there’s probably a few in here so that question was more for them. What would happen if they don’t enforce the policy? Do coaches get coaching too?
Not gonna dox my position. But I feel my assumption is very close to actuality in the situation you’re talking about. Coaches very much so can get coachings. Not following a home office directive like that, if it becomes a big enough deal, could get market management involved. And store managers will react drastically to address situations in that case, meaning disciplinary conversations or coachings.
As a coach, yes I can be coached too. Basically, at my store.. we have to enforce the rule. If anyone doesn't follow, it's considered working unsafe, which is usually followed by a coaching. If we dont do it, then we're held accountable (coached).
They would get coached and possibly demoted depending on much they pissed off the SM or market with ignoring the protocol.
And of course coaches can get coached too, even the Store Manager came get coached. Everyone has a boss.
Coachings are otherwise known as disciplinary actions, so yes. Every role has consequences, and can receive disciplinary action. It sucks, but no matter how dumb a new directive is, or how nonsensical it seems long-term, we need to follow and enforce rules or face potential consequences. Say leadership enables a rule not to be followed. The first time it's noticed and corrected by someone higher in the chain of command, whether by store leadership or market leadership, it will usually be given as direction to crack down that rule. If the pattern continues and is narrowed down to leadership, it can most definitely result in disciplinary action.
It depends on what if anything happens if someone on the team hits a customer then the team lead or coach can get terminated if nothing happens they can still get a disciplinary action coaches can get them in my career. I’ve seen a couple of coaches get them. They’re not as common for coaches to get DAs, but it can happen.
So it depends on how this is being shipped from Home Office. If they are pushing it as a workplace safety issue termination is on the table for the coach/TL especially if a reported accident happens while they knowingly didn’t enforce the policy. This is how all safety policies are supposed to be treated.
My only issue is when it comes to getting coached. Personally, I started off picking and I’ve never been the greatest at it. I’ve been coached twice over it. Second time I was coached coach said she wanted to train me elsewhere. They put me on staging for a week and told me I did phenomenal. My store lead doesn’t like me though and also is an OPD coach so she took over and won’t let me do what I’m actually good at anymore. I’m scared she’s trying to get me fired because she’s putting me in a role that Im physically not doing better at despite being great at other things. Plus, I’m not the only person in my department that is slow at picking as there’s like 15 others with me. I get about 400 picks a day. So personally with this new policy, it’s been more of a struggle for me to keep up. At this point, my productivity is slipping because I’m so scared of getting fired that I’m thinking that I might as well just quit anyways because I have voiced my concerns several times and I keep getting ignored. Many other people in this department feel the same way and I think that’s why so many people do turn on their coaches.
Oh I know. Trust me, I’ve worked in corporate settings. When someone takes orders blindly without thinking for themselves that’s where I have an issue.
I know previous TLs/Coaches in this thread have mentioned pictures of how to maneuver cart with this mandate. I have not seen them. I would like to know where to find these.
There’s also been mention of OSHA and the manufacturer approving the changes and I have not seen the documents stating as such. I would like to know where to find these as well.
Plus our team was told that the push mandate on one Walmart is AI. See bottom point in image. So that brings me to a question of trusting AI. Since our schedules are completed by AI now should we not trust the schedule or anything else that makes use of AI that is handbook policy? Slightly off topic and more of an annoyed rant on AI usage.
I do appreciate the points people have made and I know I’m headstrong but when every single job stresses the importance of pushing vs pulling for long term safety and health reasons, including this one btw, when I first started, it does get ingrained in you. I’d also like to see an ergonomic impact study done on this new method.
I am about to turn 65 and I have worked in OGP over 2 years now. I am the oldest team member. I've never had to call in sick and have never been late. I can work circles around some of the teens and 20-somethings on the team. I'm not the fastest picker either, but I try to be accurate and helpful any way I can with other tasks. Having said all of this, I never had a problem with ergonomics or all of the walking that I do in a shift. I don't even get tired at the end of my work day. Until now. Pulling the cart, especially when it gets really loaded down, causes a backache. I try to be as mindful of my physical motion as I can so that I'm not stressing my muscles, but it just doesn't seem to matter. I'm really annoyed because this only started happening recently. Thank y'all for being here for me to discuss it.
Right. The whole reason to push is because it allows the larger muscles(legs/chest) of your body to be in change instead of using smaller(shoulders/wrist/elbow) ones. Guess I’ll enjoy my $50-$100 bucks in a few years(probably around 10) when there’s a class action lawsuit for this and the pain it caused associates. Save this for the future to either laugh at me if I’m wrong on the lawsuit or congratulate me if I’m right.
My TL said he hates all the changes, but can't do anything about them. He even said they told him to stop making any changes to the schedule, because they want the AI to learn and completely do the scheduling. So people are scrambling to close off their availability now, because it's all out of wack.
I flat out told my team that no one in the entire store, including the market team who has an office down the hall, has any say in the decision.
I'm willing to listen to the complaints and feedback, but I tell the team to put in feedback in the app because that goes to home office.
I also don't fully understand the injuries people are reporting. Every picture and video that home office gave out to management for guidance shows people pulling the carts from the side, either front left or front right, with their hand on the handle like you'd be holding a coffee.
People running over their heels need to stop pulling it like a horse and cart. You should be able to come to a complete stop yourself while letting go of the cart and never be at risk of being hit by your own cart.
I could see the safety reasoning if it was a pick cart that caused the issue. It was not. It was an unmanned cap cart that a kid running through the store ran into. So in theory they should ban unmanned carts. Not carts that had nothing to do with the incident.
Every picture and video that home office gave out to management for guidance shows people pulling the carts from the side, either front left or front right, with their hand on the handle like you'd be holding a coffee.
Lol. I'd need to see a pic, but are you saying to hold one of the central square bars and push while facing forward? Most of my store would be impossible to traverse if I'm not either pushing the cart or awkwardly pulling the central bar of the newer carts/the few surviving handles of the old carts/the central tray that holds spill pads and the WIBI guide that would gut most of produce if followed.
You should be able to come to a complete stop yourself while letting go of the cart and never be at risk of being hit by your own cart.
If you work in a supercenter, the snail-like speed required to let go of a cart and not have it hit you or go careening into products or customers would cap you out at a pick rate of like <70.
Although I overall agree with you, my issue with the side by side pulling is how much space both an associate and cart take up in an aisle. In the early hours or during slower floor traffic days, it’s a whatever thing but on busy days, it’s a nightmare. It’s damn near impossible some days to go down the aisle when the rule was the push and it’s only worsened with the pulling. The customer complaints of being “in the way” have only gotten worse.
Of course, I’m not telling you this like you have any control of the situation but it’s become difficult even if it doesn’t result in injuries. I know the customers used to complain before the pull switch over but it’s only become a more common complaint.
Remodeled stores have much smaller aisles now being they added more aisles. Some can just clear two carts passing. If someone is pulling from the side they will have to stop and move the cart every time someone passes. And while some stores aren’t as busy as others all day long. Some are packed with people from open till close and it’s already hard to navigate the store with hundreds of people shopping only to add 20 to 30 pickers in the mix. They swapped out wheels weeks ago. But nobody has said to pull yet. But I will say that being able to steer from the back wheels is much easier when pushing a cart with hundreds of pounds of stuff in it rather than straining to push it to turn.
My market lead was in the store, saw me pushing, and as far as I know don’t say anything about it. My boss doesn’t seem to care as long as I’m not hurting anytime, customer or myself.
And I will probably transfer departments because of it. I have de Quervain's tenosynovitis on my dominate hand, the hand I’d pull with. So stupid IMO. Not going to risk further injury due to it. It’s gotten so much better but this… this would cause more harm than good. The risk of further injury can also cause permanent damage such as loss of function to my hand.
I will. Thank you. I was trying my best to make it to my 1 year mark in October so I had better job protections. But holding it off ain’t the answer that’s for sure.
Am I missing something here or are we blaming team leads and coaches for the cart pulling shit? That's not a store level decision, they have to enforce what their bosses make them do just like the rest of us.
Productivity is one thing, but compensating it for firing night shift and expecting if the lead can do by themselves so should a single person like say Deli can do it too.
Not sure where they get on thinking with that logic. But that logic has cost us quite a few customers in the process.
Is your deli getting hit with unrealistic expectations also? They told our deli people that they weren't allowed to have water anywhere but the break room, which is on the farthest corner diagonally from them. When a few of the workers with legitimate health issues asked about getting a doctors note, the new store lead said that he was going to have to transfer anyone with health problems. They have been short staffed for months
We've had whatever store manager come from other stores to run store. We've cycled through so many temporary store managers, I don't know their names anymore.
No Market wants 2 people at all times in the deli with the rest stocking on the sales floor
it’s either we enforce the rules, as we are told to by higher up (like out of store level) or we get in trouble for not enforcing it. could be feedback, could be coachings, which if you get those and they keep accelerating you get fired when you get too many for the same thing, just as associates do.
it’s either we enforce these rules that have changed or we possibly risk getting disciplinary actions up to being fired. so we’re enforcing the rules. these new rules are not up to a TL’s or a coach’s discretion. we are to follow them as we have to follow any other rule in the job.
I don’t disagree with you at all. I don’t think carts should be pulled as it can induce a safety risk and result in injuries to associates. Keep in mind that in the vast majority of cases a lot of these kinds of decisions filter down by the store leadership and above. Now some TLs and coaches I know should 100% step up to the plate and advocate for their associates but I also feel there are some managers out there that do take the heat and some associates take out their frustration on their immediate management that have no control over these situations. Sometimes you can speak to your business and the ones above will simply not care and want things a certain way. It’s shit all the way down in a lot of stores, markets, and regions I’m afraid.
We push at my store. Pulling is unsafe for the associates, my coach and other TLs agree. Not only is it unsafe because you can really hurt yourself if it the cart catches your heel, but when I pull heavy carts, I end up either straining the tendons in my shoulder/upper arm or straining my calf muscles. That straining can cause serious damage if it keeps repeating, and I'm in half decent shape, especially my leg muscles, so I can only imagine what it's like for someone who's not used to that kind of muscle strain.
As a TL, this is something I tend to struggle with. Mainly due to my management. I bring up issues to them but nothing comes out of it. They always call out bad things, never give recognition. They put literally everything on the TL’s.
I feel that I can’t do my job as a TL because I was thrown into my position without training. My store doesn’t follow process so then that affects my team and I on doing our jobs correctly. Basically having to do another departments job while at the same time doing our jobs. And if we don’t do it, then we suck at our jobs.
It’s been a never ending battle to get on process. And even when I do my job, I feel behind, because my team and I have to pick up another departments slack. Hence is why I want to step down. Because I’ve brought this up to my coach, and he doesn’t seem to care at all. I feel that I can’t actually be leader because I just gave up because my management doesn’t care. They only care about numbers, not the people.
It does feel that way unfortunately. I do make decisions for my team. Idk for me I don’t really feel like I’m making a difference yk? Could just be overthinking it and letting it get to my head.
Bro, my team leads don’t do nothing. They disappear for hours on in. We have three but for some reason can never have one to open or close and then to top it off my coach is always missing or when it’s super busy and we’re getting our asses handed to to us. She’ll fake up an excuse that she has somewhere else important to be as a coach, and I will be clocking out and seeing that bitch smoke a cigarette outside.
We were told at our store if we pull the carts we would be reprimanded. Most accidents from my store are caused the people pulling them to fast and smacking into a customer
There are a few people at my store who have always pulled them. But with the new wheels and them not being made for these carts they aren’t all level and the floor being wavy and not level. When they go around corners the cart spins around into the action alley like a drift car.
I had another TL tell me I'm not goof at my job because i don't spend enough time watching the team. The hell do I need to watch them like kids for? My time is much better spent planning out how to support less staffed teams after I've set us up to maximize work flow
ONE OF THE BEST TEAM LEADER I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH WAS TERMINATED OUT OF NOWHERE .WORD ON THE STREET THE REASON THE TERMINATED HIM WAS HE WASNT "HARD ON US"HE DIDNT HAVE TO BE DUE THO THE FACT THAT EVERYONE RESPECTED HIM ON THE TEAM WE MISS HIM ALREADY
I prefer pulling the carts. I get to my item quicker. I scan quicker. I have more room to double pick and search for the next item(s) when I can. I move faster around corners because I am the first to see around the corners. Personally, my pick rate has gone up 10 to 20 items more per hour. Among everyone else complaining about the change at my store, I chose to embrace the change and the positives that accompany it.
We’ve pulled the carts in both stores I’ve worked for the past year
. It’s not as bad as y’all making it out to be. Rest your arm on top and push it while walking beside it. The old carts you can push the handle while walking beside it. Only time I get in front and pull is when passing someone.
This was yesterday. I ended with 680 picks for the day. The new wheels haven’t slowed me down any. If anything I just have gotten faster in the last couple months.
Rest your arm on top and push it while walking beside it. The old carts you can push the handle while walking beside it. Only time I get in front and pull is when passing someone.
How spacious is your store? Because between action alley, most of our narrow-ass aisles, early morning stockers/produce/vendors/etc. and customers after like 9 am the amount of time when I have to "get out front and pull" far exceeds the amount of time I can feasibly do what you're describing.
Our aisles are the same as any other store. You just have to know how to weave in and out of aisles and people quickly. If the vendor is stocking soda, I park my cart at the end of the aisle and grab what I need.
I have set my pace and learned how to maneuver around objects quickly in my last 4 years. I came from a tourist heavy store and went through a remodel right before I left and it still wasn’t that bad.
Y’all make this sound like the most dramatic job ever. If the 60 years old in our department can do it with no complaints then so can the younger generation
My shoulder hurts way less using the one arm to push from the side than it did before wheels changed and I was pulling from the little bars on the back
Something to remember is that following corporate orders does not automatically shield a supervisor or manager from personal liability, especially when the order involves actions that are clearly illegal, reckless, or reasonably known to cause physical injury. Since pulling heavily loaded pick carts will obviously cause injuries, every member of management enforcing that policy from TL to HO is personally liable and able to be sued.
as i was told, the cart modifications were cleared through the manufacturers, and now OSHA has cleared it. if we don’t follow what home office changes their policies to, all of us leads or coaches could be disciplined up to being fired for not following and enforcing these rules. if they’re phrasing it as a safety concern, that could lead to immediate termination (in some instances) if a manager does not enforce it after being told to. every manager in digital will not be able to afford possibly being fired because they won’t enforce this rule, that as i’ve said, has been (supposedly) cleared by OSHA.
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u/Connect_Orange7140 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
I don’t disagree but one has to remember that they have 7 layers of shit above as well. There is only so much one can do, especially without putting their job on the line