back to article Walmart workers filmed playing iPad frisbee

Four Walmart employees were said to have been sacked this week after filming themselves deliberately throwing what they claim are boxed iPads around one of the supermarket chain's stockrooms. The workers, from Walmart's Pikeville, Kentucky store, can be seen lobbing boxes carelessly around the room. “This is why you don’t buy …

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  1. FartingHippo
    Coat

    Idiots

    The corners aren't thatround!

    1. Bob Vistakin
      WTF?

      Re: Idiots

      There was a similar thing about the Dominos staff picking their noses on pizzas, yet they somehow did a masterful job of erasing that and you can hardly find a mention of it now. I did, though:

      http://www.blippitt.com/video-disgusting-dominos-pizza-employee-picks-nose-abuses-food/

  2. Arachnoid
    Thumb Down

    Hmm not something you would want appearing on your CV or to just appear on your Facebook page as your prospective new employer was looking it over.

  3. Scott Pedigo
    Facepalm

    Broke?

    The iPads aren't the only things which are presumably now broke.

  4. An ominous cow herd

    As they say...

    "An idiot and his job are soon parted"

    1. Andrew_b65

      Re: As they say...

      That's not even security camera footage. I reckon those idiots filmed it themselves in iPortrait video format on their very own iDumb.

    2. Turtle

      Re: As they say...

      ""An idiot and his job are soon parted""

      Sadly this is not always true and maybe not even often true. And the world might well be a better place if it was.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: As they say...

        ""An idiot and his job are soon parted""

        Not in the public sector. At least, only parted for a 'manager' post where they can do less harm.

    3. John H Woods Silver badge

      Re: As they say...

      "An idiot and his job are soon parted"

      I think you'll find that only applies below 50k p.a.

    4. Dropper
      Facepalm

      Re: As they say...

      George Bush kept his job for 8 years.. just sayin'

  5. eSeM

    I thought iPads would fly better than that.

  6. chris lively

    Walmart is famous for the number of security cameras they have trained on their own employees.

    My question is: why were these idiots still employed by the time the video hit the net?

  7. SuccessCase

    When the first iPad came out, I pre-ordered it. On the day it was delivered by UPS and for some reason there were two men in the delivery van. I saw one of the guys throw my iPad box to the other one, who caught it fine. However on being given the box it had a sizable dent in the corner and on opening it the corner of the iPad was bent out of shape - so it must have been quite some impact that did it at an earlier time. I didn't see the delivery guys drop it so couldn't be sure it was them that did it, but having witnessed their careless attitude, there was a chance it was done when loading up the van. I was seething, especially as it was out of stock and the replacement took 3 weeks to arrive.

    1. Kevin 6

      only a dent?

      I remember one guy years ago that I used to hang out with ordered a motherboard and had it delivered via UPS. The box had 2 tire marks on it and was completely crushed.

      1. JeffyPooh
        Pint

        Round here they just drive up in a tiny little car, get out and hand you a card that reads "You weren't home. Please drop by to pick up your package. Bring $87 for the 'Brokerage Fee'."

        1. wowfood

          Glad that doesn't just happen to me. Can't count the number of times I've been sat downstairs waiting for a doorbell to ring so I can sign for my package, only to give up waiting, get ready to go to the corner store and find a "You weren't in to collect your delivery" slip sat in the letterbox.

          Or the equally annoying. "Ding Dong" followed by watching the postman walk back to the van before the bell has even finished ringing.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            The number of times I've had those "You weren't in.." cards slipped through my letterbox even though I was in, deliberately listening for the sodding door bell is enough to make a grown man cry. I'm self employed, working from home so I always keep an ear out if I know a package is coming and I'll have to sign. Going down to the sorting office is just a waste of my time. One time I heard the clank as the card came through the door (there was no knock or ring of the bell), I quickly got my shoes on and ran after him down the street with said card, only to be told he hadn't even bothered to bring the package with him on his walk...

          2. Psyx
            Pint

            "Can't count the number of times I've been sat downstairs waiting for a doorbell to ring so I can sign for my package, only to give up waiting, get ready to go to the corner store and find a "You weren't in to collect your delivery" slip sat in the letterbox."

            If you need it right now;

            But they've lost it somehow:

            That's logistics.

            When you go for a sh1t;

            Is when they'll try to deliver it:

            That's logistics.

      2. LateNightLarry
        FAIL

        Delivery drivers...

        Last Christmas there was a video which went viral of a FedEX driver heaving a 24" monitor over the fence of an estate type home somewhere in the US... The owner of the house has a video security system which showed the driver pull up, get out of the truck, and heave the box over the fence... Owner of the house complained to a regional manager at FedEx, and the manager himself delivered a new monitor to the owner of the house... and walked it to the front door. FedEx wouldn't name the employee, and wouldn't say what, if any, punishment he received. Since FedEx drivers are non-union, I would imagine that someone got their walking papers, and the cost of the broken monitor was taken from his final paycheck.

        MAJOR fail for the driver...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Pretty dumb and won't probably cost Apple - more likely UPS or their insurance.

  8. Albert Hall

    See, it just works!

    Please see title.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No problems...

    ... they can always get a job working for the Royal Mail...

    1. Nanners
      Thumb Up

      Re: No problems...

      Yep, I am in the states, but that royal mail of yours has crushed, bent, stomped, and thrown my dreams and money on more than one occasion. What's up with that? Try to collect the insurance, it won't happen. They just ignore you till you go away!

  10. pɹɐʍoɔ snoɯʎuouɐ
    Trollface

    according to apple....

    according to apple they are flying off the shelves anyway !!!

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Supply chain...

    It must make the logistics people weep: all those components, all that careful manufacture, shipping thousands of miles across the world... just so that a Walmart walrus can fuck it up.

  12. ItsNotMe
    FAIL

    And their generation are the future leaders of the country?

    God help us all.

  13. Jones

    Walmart

    Watch for falling iPads

  14. FanMan
    Pirate

    Stuff Wars I: The resistance begins

    Maybe the beginning of revolt against the alienation inherent in consumer culture. Respect due.

    1. Armando 123

      Re: Stuff Wars I: The resistance begins

      We're talking Walmart people. The only culture they have gets analyzed in petri dishes.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nothing to see here...

    Having spent a short stint working at UPS I can say this sort of thing is pretty much par for the course in logistics. Our sort and load staff threw, kicked, and deliberately dropped things all the time. Similarly, I've seen many warehouse employees and shipping/receiving drones engaged in such activities. These people are almost universally underpaid and made to work in conditions that are at the very least unpleasant (IE: conditions that create resentment). These folks also generally have very little opportunity for advancement in their company. Background checks are minimal at best, as companies have a hard time filling such positions. I don't think that justifies these sorts of actions by any stretch, but there is nothing surprising here. Well I guess I am surprised these guys were dumb enough to film themselves doing it, but that's about it.

    Tips to avoid this:

    -Don't put "Fragile" or any other such thing on a box EVER!!!

    -Ship expensive things in a plain looking box (not one that says iPad, Dell, Cisco, etc.)

    -Put at least 2 large and clear shipping labels on the box (no flipping to find it)

    -Completely cover any old shipping lables

    -Don't put arrows pointing to the correct orientation of the box

    -Ship small heavy things in larger boxes

    -Just assume they will be doing this and pack your shipment accordingly

    -If bubble-wrap/packing peanuts are cheaper than replacing your shipment, use more. No, waaaaay more!

    AC for obvious reasons.

    1. Gene Cash Silver badge
      WTF?

      Re: Nothing to see here...

      Don't see why this is downvoted... it's the truth.

      1. wowfood

        Re: Nothing to see here...

        Don't see why this is downvoted... it's the truth.

        probably downvoted by somebody who works in logistics.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Nothing to see here...

          "probably downvoted by somebody who works in logistics."

          Doubt it. Most people who work in logistics will freely admit they're underpaid, poorly managed and no longer give a shit.

    2. Bad Beaver
      Thumb Up

      Upvoted

      Having once witnessed a young DHL-lad unload his truck in a "timely fashion" I wholeheartedly second ever word the AC uttered here. Corporate (and general) greed turned these people into modern slaves that "live" on wages you would not raise an eyelid for. It would be delusional idealism to expect any sort of decent work ethic. Pack stuff well and use insured shipping.

      1. Gaius
        FAIL

        Re: Upvoted

        Corporate greed? Or greed of consumers shopping around for the lowest price and free shipping?

        We have seen the enemy, and he is us.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nothing to see here...

      "Don't put "Fragile" or any other such thing on a box EVER!!!"

      As a student in the 1960s I did Chritsmas Post casual work for the Royal Mail. In the sorting office some of the permanent staff would rugby kick any package marked "Fragile" high into the air towards a basket.

      1. Wensleydale Cheese

        Re: Nothing to see here...

        "Don't put "Fragile" or any other such thing on a box EVER!!!"

        One of my student holiday jobs involved collecting goods from an early morning train.

        Anything marked Fragile was thrown rather than carried off the train.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Nothing to see here...

        Let's just hope it's your sh*t they smash up next time.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Nothing to see here...

        When I worked for the post office in the 1960s, any package with a label on it stating 'Photographs - do not bend' was promptly folded and a message in marker pen was added 'Oh yes they do!' lol

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nothing to see here...

      Ship small heavy things in larger boxes.

      That jut makes me want to get a fairly large box, a load of lead weights, and to strategically place bits they can get a grip with on the box so I can weaken one edge. End result being a lead weight falling onto somebodies foot.

      >.>

    5. Barry Rueger

      Re: Nothing to see here...

      Good rule of thumb: pack everything so that it can drop off the back of a truck (4 feet) without damage.

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nothing to see here...

      I have put fragile on packages many times; almost always when fragile items are not in it. It is usually because I have another package that does have fragile items in it. This way, they see the fragile package and take their angst out on it while keeping the other package safe.

    7. Lance 3

      Fragile...is that Italian?

      Fragile you say? is that Italian?

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Coat

        Re: Fragile...is that Italian?

        Old-as-the-hills industry gag: "Ah, it says 'Fragile'[1]. That's where all the rattly parcels come from..."

        [1] To rhyme with "Chile".....

    8. LateNightLarry
      Pint

      Re: Nothing to see here...

      Very appropriate except for one thing... when shipping with USPS, only place the address on one side... The reason is that if the clerk sorting the parcel doesn't see the postage next to the address label, they may treat it as unpaid, and charge the recipient...

      WINE glass please...

  16. s. pam Silver badge
    FAIL

    Cruddy place to work, what else are the inbreeds to do?

    Just go onto Gawker and search for "Life-at-Walmart" to see what a soul-sucking company they really are.

    The PR folks would have sued to get the stories down if they were untrue, so grab a bottle of absinthe and have a read!

  17. Christian Berger
    FAIL

    Yes, but those are portable devices

    They must tolerate being dropped from a typical holding position without any packaging. That's the typical use case. In their original packaging, they must withstand a lot more.

    I mean there are standards for this. And many companies check for such things.

  18. Mark Allen
    Facepalm

    Drop Kick Test

    Anything I ship via any postal system or courier I make sure the product is wrapped enough to pass the "Drop Kick Test". If I am happy to boot my own box across the driveway, then I know it is wrapped well. Bubble wrap is cheap. Use it by the ton.

    My neighbour once witnessed a courier attempt to deliver a box to my door. I was not home, so courier threw the box back into his van. It bounced off of at least three walls before landing on the floor. In the small box? A hard disk!!

  19. Earl Jones Of Potatoes
    Joke

    android users

    Perhaps they are android enthusiast..... The ones i know have similar jobs but when they talk, oh boy, they know it all. I mean, THEY KNOW IT ALL!

    1. wowfood
      Joke

      Re: android users

      Classic misdirection. They're actually Apple™ fans, but they're acting that way to make people THINK they're android enthusiasts. The box is probably empty, or they swapped the iPad out for a galaxy tab since they're identical.

  20. TheOtherHobbes

    You're holding it wrong

    n/t

  21. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Finally, a healthy use for a ...

    iCrap product.

    Now, how about a Mac for weight lifting or football.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wal-Mart Employee satisfaction?

    I guess if they didn't pay them in Food Stamps their employees would have more pride in the work ..

    80 percent Wal-Mart employees on food stamps

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wal-Mart Employee satisfaction?

      I guess if 80% of the people refused to work at Wal-Mart because the salary wouldn't sustain them, then Wal-Mart would pay more. Unfortunately, more than 80% of them may live paycheck-to-paycheck and therefore may not have the luxury of holding out for more.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wal-Mart Employee satisfaction?

      I deeply regret that I can only upvote this once.

      I'd also like to widen the debate a little and plant another thought...

      The people looking after you aging and/or infirm relatives in care homes? For the most part they're on minimum wage and have crappy dehumanising terms of employment (zero hours contracts, rock bottom minimum holiday and sick leave entitlements shift pattern which vary at little or no notice and make no allowances for the needs of the employee and/or their own families, minimal job security, that sort of thing...).

      The people looking after your kids in privately run nurseries and pre-schools? Pretty much the same for the most part...

      The people on the ground in the private companies who are tendering to take over public services currently provided by government and local authorities? Guess...

      Pay minimum wage, offer lousy standards of job security, and give demumanising working conditions: Get minimal effort, low levels of commitment, and a bad attitude.

      Now imagine that rather than working in Walmart's stock room moving consumer goodies from one place to another these guys are in a care home feeding, cleaning, and providing for the basic day to day needs of your parents and grandparents, or doing the same for your pre-school children in a creche, or maybe they're collecting your rubbish, or perhaps dealing with disposal of hazardous waste. That's your future that is. Or maybe it's your present...

      1. Barry Rueger
        Paris Hilton

        Re: Wal-Mart Employee satisfaction?

        And yet when discussing CEO pay and bonuses - or pay for elected officials - the argument is always that you have to pay high salaries to get the best people.

    3. Lance 3

      Re: Wal-Mart Employee satisfaction?

      How many Walmart shoppers are on food stamps? The answer is quite a few.

      "At the stroke of midnight, a growing number of Americans are lining up at Walmart not to cash in on a holiday sale, but because they’re hungry.

      The increasing number of Americans relying on food stamps to survive the sluggish economic recovery has changed the way the largest retailer in the United States does business.

      Carol Johnston, Walmart’s senior vice president of store development, said that store managers have seen an “enormous spike” in the number of consumers shopping at midnight on the first of the month. That’s typically when those receiving federal food assistance have their accounts refilled each month.

      “We’ll bring in more staff to stock. We’ll also make sure all of our registers…are open…Some people may think at 12:01, Walmart’s very quiet, but in a lot of our areas of the country, 12:01 is a big day or a big night for us, actually,” Johnston said.

      Becca Reeder and her husband, T.J. Fowler, are one of the families shopping before the sun rises.

      When NBC News visited their home six days before the first of the month, they had no milk in their refrigerator. Among the few things left were water, bacon grease for the dog’s food, a little bit of apple juice, cheese and tortillas."

      The clientèle that Walmart attracts are the same demographic as the people who work there.

  23. Nordrick Framelhammer
    FAIL

    Walmart.

    Nothing more needs to be said.

  24. mhoneywell

    Oh dear

    Calamitous decision. But looks fun.

  25. JeffyPooh
    Pint

    Wal*Mart = Mall*Wart

    Low low prices.

    In the case of Apple products, often $0.12 cheaper (e.g. $599.83 instead of $599.99).

    Yeah, thanks.

  26. Andrew Moore
    Thumb Up

    I loved...

    ...that theres is a place called Pikeyville in redneck country.

    1. Barry Rueger

      Re: I loved...

      It's "Pikeville", and their summer celebration is called Hillbilly Days.

  27. Steven Roper
    Holmes

    At least now we understand

    why HP famously use half a rainforest's worth of cardboard and packing materials to ship a RAM stick. Looks like they had this sort of thing figured out years ago!

  28. Liam Proven Silver badge
    Happy

    Time to round up the Animals...

    And do some turkey bowling.

  29. Alan Firminger

    Doubt

    The storeroom appears to be muddle. Likewise the load on the trolley. Is it really like that in the backroom of the greatest shop on the planet ?

    The camera was expertly placed to see the thrower and the throw.

  30. Atonnis
    Devil

    Maybe it's a good thing...

    .....that these idiots are all out of a job now. If they can't afford the hideous amounts of food they must have eaten to get into that state maybe they'll lose some weight.

  31. Sam 15

    Just a rehearsal

    Perhaps they can now get jobs handling guitars for a major US airline?

  32. TechGeezer
    Thumb Up

    Ahahahahaaaaa!!!!

    Hahahahaaaa!!!... iPad frisbee!! I like it....!!!!

  33. The Envoy
    Stop

    iPhone owners weird width/height ratio ... on their videos

    Is it just laziness filming stuff in a "standing letterbox" ratio, or do the manual feature an order that the new owner should use the iPhone that way when filming. It's a grandiose waste of space and unnatural in every sense of the word. Stop it!

  34. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And they wonder

    And Americans wonder why most of the world think they're utterly stupid morons with no sense of what they are doing.

  35. Mike Flugennock
    Thumb Up

    I'm totally digging the irony here

    Wal-Mart employees earning around $8 per hour, willfully abusing and damaging merchandise made by Chinese sweatshop workers earning around $14 a day, sold to idiot hipsters for upwards of $1400 apiece.

    Boo yah!

  36. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Haven't you hear of "Drop Box"

    This is were it started.

  37. Mectron

    punishment?

    Wall-Mart sure have a way to know every single that was in that room at that money. and those idiots should be forced to pay for every single thing broken + a nice 15 to 20 years in jail is in order.......

    1. Steven Roper
      WTF?

      Re: punishment?

      Wow. I'm glad I don't live in your world.

      Make them pay for their stupidity, absolutely. Sack them even. But 15 - 20 years in prison for a bit of foolishness? You don't think that's even a teensy bit extreme? What do you advocate for people who write on toilet walls then? Death?

  38. TeeCee Gold badge
    Happy

    "Some viewers have questioned whether it's all a fake."

    I doubt it and there is nothing new under the sun.

    I once worked in the warehouse for a certain high-street electrical retailer before graduating to the dizzy heights of having my own truck[1] and delivering their shit. When I first started and before they came over all security conscious, all the electronic gear lay around the warehouse in small heaps.

    Picking a component Hi-Fi system consisted of one bloke with a sack barrow standing in the aisle while another wandered off into the stacks and slung boxes. Bloke #1 would catch (mostly) and stack the boxes on the barrow.

    You'd be amazed just how much punishment this stuff would take and still be OK when unpacked on delivery. That was back in the days when styrofoam packing was de rigeur, I'm not sure this eco-fiddling cardboard crap offers the same shock-absorbing capabilities.

    When we weren't throwing things around the warehouse we'd make a tape ball and, er, throw it around the warehouse.

    [1] London traffic is so much more enjoyable when you have the intimidation factor of a battle-scarred, unmarked, white 3-ton truck and the self-righteous invincibility of youth going for you. Especially in the days before traffic cameras were invented......

  39. vesta44
    FAIL

    Punishment will be meted out

    to every other stock person in every other Walmart store for the crap those 4 pulled. My husband works maintenance for WM, and he has to ask management to unlock the doors to the trash dumpster every time he wants to empty his trash cart because once, several years ago, ONE maintenance worker was throwing good merchandise in the dumpsters for his buddies to come pick up so they could pawn it. Now ALL maintenance personnel have to have management unlock the doors to the dumpsters and then lock them up to make sure this doesn't happen again.

    Not all WM employees are morons, some of them are working there because they can't get hired anywhere else because of age or disability (my husband is a 56 year old retired, disabled Navy veteran, and no one will hire him at his age, even though he's a coded welder and has a boiler's license).

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