No Greeter at Wal-Mart?

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) breaks with a 30-year tradition started by founder Sam Walton and pulls greeters from the midnight shift. The founder started posting greeters at store entrances in 1980 to make people feel welcome. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC analyst David Strasser says, “It’s risky…” and “To a degree it defines Wal-Mart.”

A Walmart spokesman indicted the company has been moving greeters on the third shift to other jobs for six months. The company sees the move as a cost cutter and Matt Arnold, analyst at Edward Jones & Company says, “It’s probably a minimal impact on customer service…” and still recommends buying company shares.

Sales had declined at Wal-Mart for over two years until the quarter ending last October.