Welcome to Wally World

Book excerpt: Welcome to Wally World is a journal of one man's two years in retail management at Wal-mart Stores Inc. The journal "chronicles" his personal experiences working with the mega-retailer and exposes the good, bad, and sometimes the ugly side of the retail business giant, in a humorous and whimsical way. There is no book like this that gives you a detailed look into to the day-to-day operations at such a grassroots level. If you loved the outrageous and situational comedy of Laura Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada with the heart felt realism of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, you'll love Welcome to Wally World. Written in a journal format, each day tells a different story with familiar themes. While each day ends, another adventure always seems to be just around the corner. Each story stands on its own as a mixture of humor, anecdotes, and some seriousness. Readers will laugh at the hilarious and sometimes insane behind the scenes antics. If shoppers only knew the story behind the scenes . and now they do. Welcome to Wally World represents a real "grassroots" effort to capture experiences, emotions, and goings on inside the world's largest retailer. A number of books may have been written from the corporate perspective, but this work focuses on the people behind the power-those hardworking clerks and managers who actually move the products and stock the shelves to achieve those sales and gross profits. Having spent nearly two years involved with the detailed experiences depicted in the book, I feel uniquely qualified to bring these stories and anecdotes to the public eye. Mixed with humor, seriousness and irony, Welcome to Wally World is a personal journey of my professional life with the company. The "take away" from my experiences with Wal-mart led me to the writing style you'll find in the book. No personal names are used. What is important is that these events portrayed would happen regardless of the individuals involved. The implication is that people are simply "cogs" in the corporate machine. Each day, via diary format, illustrates my belief that the journey was like a series of crazy, wild, and unpredictable "movies" or sub-journeys all rolled into one brief career. Each day at work, stood on its own.