WAL-MART’S RESPONSE TO ACTION 4…
I’m thinking that someone at Action 4 needs to do a little research on the full scope of Wal-Mart’s problems dealing with product recalls. As Jonathan wrote earlier today, KGBT nailed Wal-Mart for having dangerous food products on its shelves after a recall was announced.
Here is Wal-Mart’s response to the investigation:
Dear Victor,
Thank you for your inquiry. Food safety is top priority at Wal-Mart. Following Castleberry’s Food Company’s recall of select chili products on July 18, Wal-Mart immediately blocked the sale of the following items at our registers and immediately directed stores to pull the product off shelves:
* Bunker Hill Chili No Beans (10 oz),
* Castleberry’s Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz),
* Austex hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz),
* Castleberry’s Chili with Beans (15 oz) and
* Castleberry’s Barbeque Pork (10 oz).As an additional precautionary measure, on Friday, July 20, Wal-Mart proactively instructed all of our stores to have all offerings from Castelberry’s Augusta, GA plant – even those that are not impacted by this recall – immediately removed from our shelves and blocked from sale at our registers. We will only resume sales when we are convinced that all quality issues have been resolved. Our customers expect nothing less.
It appears as if the cash register block was operational. We have also contacted the store’s Market Manager and asked him to reiterate with store associates the importance of not overriding those blocks.
Thank you again for your interest, Karen
Karen A. Burk
Wal-Mart Corporate Communications
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, AR 72716-0350
First, note that the letter is addressed to Victor. Someone needs to tell Ms. Burk that that is not acceptable business practice.
Second, note that the second thing she says is a flat-out lie (the first may be a lie too, but I can validate that). Food safety is clearly not top priority at Wal-Mart. How do I know? Go back and read the stories we’ve posted in the past two years.
If Lee Scott were to ask me — and I’m sure the Beatles will do a reunion tour before that happens — how to deal with this I would tell him to take three steps.
Call a safety stand-down. Get every employee in 30 minutes early for their next shift (and pay them for the time) so that you can tell them that, in fact, yes, food safety is top priority at Wahl-Mart and that effective immediately the following policies are in force.
First, that the store manager is fully responsible for implementing the policies and failure to implement them perfectly will be grounds for dismissal.
Second, task the store manager to name two manager in each shift who’s No. 1 priority will be to quarantine and remove all products recalled for safety issues on the shift they are given the assignment. Failure to quarantine and remove the products by the end of their shift will be grounds for dismissal.
Third, inform all cashiers that over-riding an SKU block will be grounds for dismissal. Post this warning where both the cashier and the customers can clearly see it.
Finally, inform all management that you personally will be informed of all violations, and that you personally will dismiss all employees, regardless of length or quality of service because you feel it is critical that the message get out that there is nothing that Wal-Mart believes in more than the food safety.
Will any of that happen?
I’m not holding my breath.
Jeff:
That’s a form letter! The problem here is that they won’t let the Wal-Flack’s think for themselves. I bet you she didn’t even see the report.
“Third, inform all cashiers that over-riding an SKU block will be grounds for dismissal. Post this warning where both the cashier and the customers can clearly see it.’
I 110% agree with this statement.
Shalom Jonathan,
I can’t believe you used the words Flack and Think in the same sentence.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Just a nitpick, but Wal-Mart does not use SKUs, but UPCs. They are different, and perhaps if they did use SKUs it would be easier to control their inventory with regard to recalls, but the primary problem is with high turn-over rates and their impersonal training system.
Here we go again (although I don’t think Walmart is involved):
FDA recalls Lakeside beans, cites botulism fears
Once again the consolidation of production and the creation of too large batches makes the problem bigger than it need be. It also highlights how much brand identification is meaningless:
Shalom Antichue,
First, thank you for stopping in, for reading and, most importantly, for taking the time to write a comment. It’s all about the conversation.
Second, that’s true. You’re absolutely right.
I allowed my age to show. My days as a retail sales clerk for Hart’s and K-mart predate UPCs. Thank you for the clarification.
B’shalom,
Jeff
Shalom Robert,
I have become increasingly concerned over the last 20 years about the rise of monoculture in our food supplies.
You point to another aspect of this that I had not previously considered.
When we rein in diversity in any form we place the organism/system at risk to catastrophic attack.
B’shalom,
Jeff
[...] So is food safety. Tovar called Wal-Mart a leading employer of Hispanics in the United States and noted that its 14-member board of directors includes three women, two blacks and two Hispanics. [...]
[...] WAL-MART’S RESPONSE TO ACTION 4… I’m thinking that someone at Action 4 needs to do a little research on the full scope of Wal-Mart’s problems dealing with product recalls. As Jonathan wrote earlier today, KGBT nailed Wal-Mart for having dangerous food products on its shelves after a recall was announced. Keep reading… [...]