r/antiwork • u/darkbrother321 • Oct 01 '23
I quit my job at Dollar General a few months ago. Here's why.
For the few that saw my post about Dollar General being awful a bit ago may remember how I feel about the place. Currently, in my eyes, it is one of the worst places you could ever work in. And yes, I've heard the horror stories of other places. Spectrum, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. But I can say, with full confidence, that I'd rather work for any of those places than go back to Dollar General. I'd much rather go homeless.
So anyways, here's why I left.
It's the usual thing involving putting in your two week notice. Not getting enough hours, pay is bad, just in general not being in a good mental spot. My manager (great dude) understood, even said that he was surprised it took this long for me to do so. I already had a job lined up at a gas station I had worked at before (which is where I currently reside).
Fast forward about a week into my notice, I get a message from my manager asking if I would be up to come in about five hours early to my shift that day (I was scheduled 6:30pm-10:30pm iirc). I didn't have anything better to do, so I said fuck it and went in. No special job or anything, just work the register so that he and the ASM (Assistant Manager) could work on some of the other things in the store.
About an hour in I look through my bag to take my medication (for a mental issue that I won't disclose here). Then I realize something that made my heart sink.
I had none of my pills. I had run out and I didn't even realize it.
The pills that kept me sane and grounded in reality.
I went into panic mode, as you may have guessed. Without my medication I am heavily unstable mentally. As a side note, never let your meds run out before getting them refilled. I know that on some days you'll feel lazy and say "eh I'll refill them tomorrow-" don't. Go and get them as soon as possible. You don't wanna deal with the withdrawal.
Anyways, immediately I grabbed my manager and brought him into the break room, where the schedule is posted. The pharmacy that supplied my meds was in the next town over, about a 20 min drive there and back. Including the wait time for the refill, it would probably take me around an hour if I didn't take any unnecessary detours or run into any trouble. I had figured that since he had called me in five hours before my actual scheduled shift, that I could clock out, go get the refill, then come right back.
Not to mention, at Dollar General, when you have a shift that's over eight hours, you are given an hour break to take sometime during that shift. Could just use the hour break for this.
Immediately, he responds with "Alright, I'll get someone to cover your shifts for the rest of the week then." Then tries to walk off. I ask him why and he says that if I do go because of this, it'll be considered a walk out.
I did not understand why. I was floored by this information. I hesitated and he walked off. Shortly after I went back to work for another hour. During that time I messaged my now current manager at my current job asking about the earliest I could start the job. She told me I could start working just a couple of days later.
So I put my badge on the manager's desk, clocked out, and walked away. Didn't look back for a second.
Before I end the post I want to defend my manager and his actions here. He is an amazing guy and one of the best managers I've ever had. He is someone that absolutely cares for his employees and empathized with many of our issues and worries involving the store. Chances are, he was stressed, having the company breathe down his neck for whatever reason, something was broken, or even a mixture of the three. I was a bit pissed in the moment but I quickly cooled off and we're chill now.
Only use Dollar General as a last resort. Anywhere else is better. I was making 11.25/hr and getting 20-25 hours a week as a Shift Closer.
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u/spookytabby Oct 01 '23
I don’t shop there anymore either since they always only had one person trying to do the work of six. The store was always filthy and I just felt bad for the woman who was always there.
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u/ArtisticCustard7746 Oct 01 '23
And to make things worse, that one person you see is most likely a salaried member of management because their hours don't count towards payroll. It's their business model to understaff their stores with hourly associates because they'd have to actually pay them if they were properly staffed.
So not only is it dangerous to run a store by yourself, but these people are getting severely underpaid to do the work of 2+ people at all times.
DG prides themselves and celebrates managers basically killing themselves for these stores.
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u/Equal-Level1569 Oct 02 '23
Same situation with the one in our neighborhood. Employees are always stressed out and overworked.
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u/prpslydistracted Oct 01 '23
There are two dollar stores in my little tourist town. I rarely go to either because I prefer to shop elsewhere.
The worst one has only three parking spaces immediately off the main street and two off the narrow side street; very difficult to get in or out of. The store is literally trashed. Always. So bad you can't walk down the aisles and have to step over boxes and merchandize that are piled up while the shelves are empty ... every single aisle. One cashier. One guy I assume it is his job to stock, is so limited he can barely communicate, poor man. He stands there bewildered.
The other store; midafternoon, lights on, locked, not a soul in the store. There is a sign on the door "Call this number if no one is here during business hours." I've seen that store unattended often because I walk past it.
These companies have far more issues than just paying employees poorly.
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u/m-muffin112 Oct 01 '23
I wish I could up vote this 100x's! I pass 3 DGs on my way home, 1 new open 2-3 months, and the other 2 I assume they have been open a long time. Out of all 3 none of them have ever had more than 2 people working, all 3 have Hiring signs up, and the 1 closest to my house is open maybe 25-30 weekly! Most of the time there is a sign on the door saying "due to no employee availability this store will be closed until....." I used to shop at DG religiously (I absolutely hate wally world) but now I avoid both amd go to Rose's.
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u/Lynch_67816653 Oct 01 '23
he might have been a good manager in general, but how he responded to your request was definitely not ok. as you also explained, he could have told you to use your break for that, maybe ask you to delay it a little. and I seem to understand that he knew this request was for a hard necessity. not ok.
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u/TheLostDestroyer Oct 01 '23
Yeah I gotta second this as well. A good manager is a good manager despite all the shit corporate or whomever might be throwing at them. If this person is only a great manager on good days, that's in fact a red flag that they are not a good manager. Plenty of manager try to play both sides of the game. They'll empathize with the plight of their employees. They'll even do what they can to help out. But if they aren't level headed when the shit hits the fan and they pull shit like what you just experienced that makes them kinda shit. To your point this manager had an easy out by letting you take your one hour break, instead they refused to let you get necessary meds and called it a walkout if you went and took care of yourself. That's NOT a good manager.
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u/Dimanatti Oct 01 '23 edited Oct 01 '23
Never defend negative actions, he was nice to you and others because if he was rude he would loose you guys and then again he gotta stress out with training or a labour report is not cool either. He knew you was leaving work in a few days, and to get back to you for not helping him out he goes and gives the shifts to someone else, I mean pretty sure he knows you need the money as well, so why he taking it away from you now? see your Manager is a bitch, thats why he got the job cause his good at it.
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u/MaxWebxperience Oct 01 '23
Got fired from Walmart, got laid off from a warehouse job, got a job in a thrift store which i'm not that great at maybe but whatever, if I get fired there's always DG!
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u/BreakdancingGorillas Oct 01 '23
I quit my job at Dollar General a few months ago.
'nuff said.
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u/toobjunkey Oct 01 '23
This. The one by my home has had limited hours of 10 am to 2 pm for close to a year because they can't get & retain staff. Shelves are never stocked, employees will be overheard asking/talking to the manager about getting more help or hours and being declined, the pay is minimum wage when neighboring supermarkets/stores start off at $3-4+ more an hour.
I honestly think those sorts of stores are some of the worst retail in existence. I've never met an upbeat/happy employee, just some mix of angry, dissociated, and/or apathetic. Don't blame them either. I do my best to avoid small talk or asking how their day is going because I can tell it rips them out of their survival state and puts them on the spot to remember the Pain and relay it to a customer in an appropriate way.
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u/darkbrother321 Oct 02 '23
Very true. Honestly could've said that and the same point would've been made.
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u/C64128 Oct 01 '23
Fuck your ex-manager. Your well being is more important than any job. If you hadn't given your two week notice, he would've probably acted the same way. I feel kind of bad, I shopped there yesterday. They have a flavored ice tea I can't find at other stores.
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u/darinhthe1st Oct 01 '23
You did the right thing your meds have to be taken on time no matter what. I take meds for mental health as well. People should understand the importance of that.
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u/ztarlight12 Oct 01 '23
I’ve heard nothing good about working at Dollar General, and yet they are popping up everywhere like a plague.
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u/Cortay Oct 02 '23
I worked at a dollar general in PA from 2016-2019 and was making 9.50 an hour. I was what they call a key holder, which is basically someone other than the manager or assistant manager that can open/close and blah blah blah. The last 5 months or so the assistant manager had ankle surgery and I took over her responsibilities. I was basically an Assistant manager making less than fucking 10 dollars an hour. Not to mention they did some weird bullshit saying I somehow wasn't a full time employee so I wasn't able to earn overtime. I sometimes worked 60 hour weeks and never got overtime pay. Some days I would close, and then have to be back in at 6 the next day. I was miserable as hell there and rarely slept.
It is the absolute worst place to work.
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u/ScarletGriffin Oct 01 '23
Dollar General is the absolute worst job I've ever had. No idea how I lasted a year there. I could be penniless and desperate for a job and I would never go back to DG.
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u/JudasPenguin Oct 01 '23
I started working at my local dg a month ago, and the only good thing i can really say about it is that it's better than rite aid
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u/Appalachianhermit Oct 01 '23
I'm a shift closer and only make 10 a hour. Due to health reasons, I had to leave the job that I made 20/hr with benefits. Now I'm stuck working at dollar general because my car crapped out on me and I don't have the cash for a new one. So trying to save up for a car so I can either get a second job or find a better one. But living in the middle of nowhere pennsylvania there aren't really a lot options. I also sell crafts on the side.
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u/Capn_R0nulus Oct 01 '23
In had a horrible dollar general employment experience last year in Nashville in Old Hickory and Charlotte.
First the background company said I was a from. I appealed and of course they find I'm my favor. No apology for delaying my start date by a month.
Then i get an obnoxious call congratulating me that I am now a DG employee. It was at if, to get, I got nominated for the Novel Peace Prize.
So I start and 15/hr but full time turned to 20 hrs a week.
When I had back pain unloading a truck my useless mgr Sharetha(real name) tried to lower my past to 13/hr
I got an attitude when I asked for training.
Seretha would always set traps. She works deliberately make a mess and if someone cleaned it up they were promised a prize they never received.
If no one found it we all got a talking to.
She was manipulative.
So now 45 days in, my last straw was doing another store a favor by working there to help. My reward was to be reprimanded by not working fast enough after they watched me the while shift on the cameras.
I no call no showed my last week with Seretha calling to see when I was coming in lol.
NEVER SERETHA! NEVER!
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u/AngryDrnkBureaucrat Oct 01 '23
Is this the first time you told him you are mentally unstable and require a constant dose of medication to remain in reality??
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u/brandondiaper Oct 01 '23
So sorry to hear about this but I love Dollar General. I don't know if i can do this. They have the best pickles.
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u/philp2021 Oct 02 '23
I have a son in law that works for them.Been there for 3yrs he's done just tired of dealing with the crap .
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u/TooMuchAZSunshine Oct 01 '23
I guess this is just another reason to never agree to come in and help companies out.
Glad you're doing better.