http://www.tulsaworld.com/businessh...cle_39ecacf6-ad98-5094-9bf5-62e053855492.html
[h=2] Wal-Mart closes five stores nationwide on Monday, citing plumbing issues - Tulsa World: Businesshomepage1 [/h]
[h=1]Wal-Mart closes five stores nationwide on Monday, citing plumbing issues[/h] By ROBERT EVATT World Business Writer | Posted: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 9:27 am
[h=4]WalMart[/h]The Walmart store at Admiral Boulevard and Memorial Drive in Tulsa, Okla., on Monday, April 13, 2015. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
“Plumbing issues” abound at Wal-Mart supercenters, as the Admiral Place and Memorial Drive location was only one of five across the nation suddenly shut down Monday.
In addition to the <!--p:BodyJustified-->Tulsa location<!--p:BodyJustified-->, supercenters in <!--p:BodyJustified-->Brandon, Florida<!--p:BodyJustified-->; <!--p:BodyJustified-->Pico Rivera, California<!--p:BodyJustified-->; <!--p:BodyJustified-->Midland, Texas;<!--p:BodyJustified--> and <!--p:BodyJustified-->Livingston, Texas,<!--p:BodyJustified--> were all closed Monday, with just hours notice given to employees.<!--p:BodyJustified-->
In every case, various Wal-Mart spokespeople said the locations had plumbing problems. News outlets in Midland and Pico Rivera were told the stores had “two years” worth of plumbing problems, the same as the Tulsa World was told Monday.<!--p:BodyJustified-->
All outlets also received the same statement on the closure, attributed to various Wal-Mart spokespeople, which read: “As part of an effort to ensure all of our stores are fully serving the needs of our customers, we regularly assess the conditions of our stores. Due to ongoing plumbing issues that will require extensive repairs we are temporarily closing the (store).”
The various outlets were also all told by the company that the stores would be reopened as soon as possible, but the estimated closure time would be six months.
Local employees were told they could apply to transfer to other locations, though if they weren’t eligible, they would receive regular pay for 60 days and might receive severance benefits based on how long they’ve worked for the store, company officials said.
The Tulsa store previously employed 400 full-time and part-time associates. When the store reopens, individuals will have to reapply for the jobs.
Erica Jones, the spokeswoman for Wal-Mart who spoke to the Tulsa World, said all five stores had the highest number of plumbing issues in the chain.
“It’s all the same thing,” she said. “We have attempted to address these plumbing issues without disrupting operations, but determined that due to the number of incidents, the costs associated with the plumbing, and the ongoing impact to the shopping experience, it was in the best interest in the stores to take the time and invest the resources needed to resolve these issues.”
However, Elizabeth Nutt, division chief for environmental public health with the Tulsa Health Department, said the last issue reported at that Wal-Mart was a rodent sighting in 2013 the department couldn’t confirm.
Inspections are done at the facility quarterly by the Tulsa Health Department, with the last held in February.
“We didn’t notice any problems then, though that’s not to say they didn’t have any kind of plumbing issues,” Nutt said.
The inspections cover all manner of facility plumbing, including the toilets, drains, ice machines and dish washers, she said. When a business is closed for any kind of problem — either failing three rounds of tests in a row or a sudden infrastructure emergency — it’s rare to be closed for 30 days or more.
“The only thing that would close a facility for us would be if sewage was backing up into the facility, or if they didn’t have hot water, or any water at all,” Nutt said.
Wal-Mart officials contacted the department Monday and requested the store be completely closed out of the Tulsa Health Department’s system, she said.
“If they were to reopen, they would have to reapply for their licenses,” Nutt said. “But their renewals were coming up soon, so they might not have wanted to deal with that while they were closed.”
Gary Davis, a project manager for York Plumbing, said it would be unusual for a plumbing problem to take six months to fix, even at a supercenter.
“I can’t even imagine what it could be, unless it’s under the floor,” he said. “That means they’d have to cut the floor and remove the existing piping. That would take awhile, but that wouldn’t take six months.”
Davis said he believes even extensive plumbing problems under the slab could be tackled section by section, without having to close the entire store.
At this point, the five targeted Wal-Mart locations have little in common. The Admiral and Memorial location had been a headache for the Tulsa Police Department, as <!--p:BodyJustified-->crime statistics indicate there were 1,500 larcenies committed there<!--p:BodyJustified--> between 2012 and 2014, far above the number reported at other Wal-Mart locations.
However, Matt Parrish, public information officer for the Livingston Police Department, and Sean Geske, a sergeant with the Pico Rivera Sheriff Department, both said they hadn’t had problems with their Wal-Mart locations.
“We’ve had a good working relationship with them, and there hasn’t been any spikes in shoplifting that we know of,” Geske said.
In November, 23 protesters were arrested in front of the Pico Rivera Wal-Mart. The protest was organized by OUR Wal-Mart, a group of employees calling for higher wages and better treatment of employees.
[h=2] Wal-Mart closes five stores nationwide on Monday, citing plumbing issues - Tulsa World: Businesshomepage1 [/h]
[h=1]Wal-Mart closes five stores nationwide on Monday, citing plumbing issues[/h] By ROBERT EVATT World Business Writer | Posted: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 9:27 am
[h=4]WalMart[/h]The Walmart store at Admiral Boulevard and Memorial Drive in Tulsa, Okla., on Monday, April 13, 2015. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
“Plumbing issues” abound at Wal-Mart supercenters, as the Admiral Place and Memorial Drive location was only one of five across the nation suddenly shut down Monday.
In addition to the <!--p:BodyJustified-->Tulsa location<!--p:BodyJustified-->, supercenters in <!--p:BodyJustified-->Brandon, Florida<!--p:BodyJustified-->; <!--p:BodyJustified-->Pico Rivera, California<!--p:BodyJustified-->; <!--p:BodyJustified-->Midland, Texas;<!--p:BodyJustified--> and <!--p:BodyJustified-->Livingston, Texas,<!--p:BodyJustified--> were all closed Monday, with just hours notice given to employees.<!--p:BodyJustified-->
In every case, various Wal-Mart spokespeople said the locations had plumbing problems. News outlets in Midland and Pico Rivera were told the stores had “two years” worth of plumbing problems, the same as the Tulsa World was told Monday.<!--p:BodyJustified-->
All outlets also received the same statement on the closure, attributed to various Wal-Mart spokespeople, which read: “As part of an effort to ensure all of our stores are fully serving the needs of our customers, we regularly assess the conditions of our stores. Due to ongoing plumbing issues that will require extensive repairs we are temporarily closing the (store).”
The various outlets were also all told by the company that the stores would be reopened as soon as possible, but the estimated closure time would be six months.
Local employees were told they could apply to transfer to other locations, though if they weren’t eligible, they would receive regular pay for 60 days and might receive severance benefits based on how long they’ve worked for the store, company officials said.
The Tulsa store previously employed 400 full-time and part-time associates. When the store reopens, individuals will have to reapply for the jobs.
Erica Jones, the spokeswoman for Wal-Mart who spoke to the Tulsa World, said all five stores had the highest number of plumbing issues in the chain.
“It’s all the same thing,” she said. “We have attempted to address these plumbing issues without disrupting operations, but determined that due to the number of incidents, the costs associated with the plumbing, and the ongoing impact to the shopping experience, it was in the best interest in the stores to take the time and invest the resources needed to resolve these issues.”
However, Elizabeth Nutt, division chief for environmental public health with the Tulsa Health Department, said the last issue reported at that Wal-Mart was a rodent sighting in 2013 the department couldn’t confirm.
Inspections are done at the facility quarterly by the Tulsa Health Department, with the last held in February.
“We didn’t notice any problems then, though that’s not to say they didn’t have any kind of plumbing issues,” Nutt said.
The inspections cover all manner of facility plumbing, including the toilets, drains, ice machines and dish washers, she said. When a business is closed for any kind of problem — either failing three rounds of tests in a row or a sudden infrastructure emergency — it’s rare to be closed for 30 days or more.
“The only thing that would close a facility for us would be if sewage was backing up into the facility, or if they didn’t have hot water, or any water at all,” Nutt said.
Wal-Mart officials contacted the department Monday and requested the store be completely closed out of the Tulsa Health Department’s system, she said.
“If they were to reopen, they would have to reapply for their licenses,” Nutt said. “But their renewals were coming up soon, so they might not have wanted to deal with that while they were closed.”
Gary Davis, a project manager for York Plumbing, said it would be unusual for a plumbing problem to take six months to fix, even at a supercenter.
“I can’t even imagine what it could be, unless it’s under the floor,” he said. “That means they’d have to cut the floor and remove the existing piping. That would take awhile, but that wouldn’t take six months.”
Davis said he believes even extensive plumbing problems under the slab could be tackled section by section, without having to close the entire store.
At this point, the five targeted Wal-Mart locations have little in common. The Admiral and Memorial location had been a headache for the Tulsa Police Department, as <!--p:BodyJustified-->crime statistics indicate there were 1,500 larcenies committed there<!--p:BodyJustified--> between 2012 and 2014, far above the number reported at other Wal-Mart locations.
However, Matt Parrish, public information officer for the Livingston Police Department, and Sean Geske, a sergeant with the Pico Rivera Sheriff Department, both said they hadn’t had problems with their Wal-Mart locations.
“We’ve had a good working relationship with them, and there hasn’t been any spikes in shoplifting that we know of,” Geske said.
In November, 23 protesters were arrested in front of the Pico Rivera Wal-Mart. The protest was organized by OUR Wal-Mart, a group of employees calling for higher wages and better treatment of employees.
