ECON Entire Dollar General Store Closes After Staff Quits Over Lousy Pay

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
Apparently they managed to find a whole NEW set of workers willing to work for lousy pay while the government's handing out free cash. Huh. How'd THAT happen?

Fair use cited so on and so forth.


Entire Dollar General Store Closes After Staff Quits Over Lousy Pay

by Tyler Durden
Wednesday, May 05, 2021 - 05:10 PM
Angry Dollar General employees at a store located in the small town of Eliot, situated in York County, Maine, plastered handwritten notes on the front entrance sliding door of the store that read they reached their breaking point of long hours and crappy pay. As a result, the employees walked off the job, and the store closed.

Facebook user "Bri Blanchet" had her smartphone handy and snapped a picture of the handwritten notes before they were ripped down.


One note read:
Google "general strike" and learn how we can take our power back. To our loyal customers who treated us with respect, thank you, we love you!
Another said:
Closed indefinitely because Dollar General doesn't pay a living wage or treat their employees with respect Read More: Upset Employees At Dollar General Store in Maine Quit In Unison
And this former employee blamed capitalism:
Capitalism will destroy this country. If you don't pay people enough to live their lives, why should they slave away for you?
A comment on Blanchet's Facebook post appears to be a former employee of the store who explained:
My manager was working 70+ hours a week we're getting paid for 40 salaried with no days off. I was supposed to be working 20 hours a week but they needed me working 31 with one day off a week.
Another former employer told local news WMTW, "I decided to quit because I was no longer gonna take the abuse that Dollar General was giving us. As the day progressed I got more upset."

So upset with long hours and low pay, the employees were barely scraping by, living underneath the poverty line - figuring that they could make a stand against corporate America. So why now?

Well, that's a great question.

Perhaps and thanks to the Biden administration, people are getting paid more to sit on their couch and play Xbox or trade meme stocks and crypto. These workers will likely file for unemployment and other benefits to receive stimulus checks in a much higher amount than their sub $10 per hour at the Dollar General.

It's not just labor shortages companies are dealing with today - the threat of workers walking off the job is rising.

WMTW has since reported the store has reopened.
 
Apparently they managed to find a whole NEW set of workers willing to work for lousy pay while the government's handing out free cash. Huh. How'd THAT happen?

Fair use cited so on and so forth.


Entire Dollar General Store Closes After Staff Quits Over Lousy Pay

by Tyler Durden
Wednesday, May 05, 2021 - 05:10 PM
Angry Dollar General employees at a store located in the small town of Eliot, situated in York County, Maine, plastered handwritten notes on the front entrance sliding door of the store that read they reached their breaking point of long hours and crappy pay. As a result, the employees walked off the job, and the store closed.

Facebook user "Bri Blanchet" had her smartphone handy and snapped a picture of the handwritten notes before they were ripped down.


One note read:

Another said:

And this former employee blamed capitalism:

A comment on Blanchet's Facebook post appears to be a former employee of the store who explained:

Another former employer told local news WMTW, "I decided to quit because I was no longer gonna take the abuse that Dollar General was giving us. As the day progressed I got more upset."

So upset with long hours and low pay, the employees were barely scraping by, living underneath the poverty line - figuring that they could make a stand against corporate America. So why now?

Well, that's a great question.

Perhaps and thanks to the Biden administration, people are getting paid more to sit on their couch and play Xbox or trade meme stocks and crypto. These workers will likely file for unemployment and other benefits to receive stimulus checks in a much higher amount than their sub $10 per hour at the Dollar General.

It's not just labor shortages companies are dealing with today - the threat of workers walking off the job is rising.

WMTW has since reported the store has reopened.
McDonalds here has a big sign outside saying will pay $15 an hour.
 

gunwish

Senior Member
I've worked those jobs before. If you are the "full timer or assistant manager you are expected to work anytime the store demands it. Oh yeah, you are making $0.50 more an hour but have all the responsibility.

Employee doesn't show up and the store is short staffed. You have to work.
Truck comes in late after closing. Guess who gets to unload.
Corporate wants a store reset....just come in at night. After all you did say in your interview that you are available anytime.

With all the extra work you are doing, the overtime starts racking up. Then you get called into the DM's office because of said overtime. So your hours get cut for the next week. With a write up in your file for violating their overtime policy. Everything is good for a week until the store is short staffed again and you go home to avoid overtime. Then back into the DM's office for letting the store family down. Rinse and repeat.

Some jobs that constantly hire and treat their employees like the lowest common denominator. Then they wonder why the good employees leave.....according to management it is because people are lazy and not loyal. Maybe if the store would pay the good people decently, staff accordingly, and not have schedules all over the map. Some of these ongoing issues might get worked out.....but that would cost the store a few extra 1000 a year. The CEO needs a jet. The 5 he has just aren't enough.

So yeah...this doesn't surprise me.
 

gunwish

Senior Member
I had a friend (now deceased) that worked for them about 15 years ago. She absolutely hated it and after 10 years of working for them was making the same as new hires.

Yep, they won't give you a raise for whatever bullshit reason, but hire new lazy people that are fired a month later for more than you make. When you talk to management all the sudden you aren't a team player
 

energy_wave

Has No Life - Lives on TB
The dollar general in my area has 2 to 3 people running everything. Sometimes there is no one at the counter and I have to hunt someone down to cash me out. I only buy maybe 15% to 20% of my supplies there. I've had a few items I was disappointed with. Canned chicken with black grease of some sort on the inside of the lid. Only bought that once. Black beans that were actually red beans. Crap like that. Makes me think they have canners or food processors that are working under the radar of health inspectors. How do I even know this food isn't being imported from China

I bought batteries for my atomic clock. Maybe a week later it was malfunctioning. I took a look at it and found liquid leaking from the battery compartment. The cheap batteries I bought were corroding the battery compartment and ruined the clock. I suspect the batteries came from China and used the wrong acid compound. Even the razors don't last more then a few shaves. Have to be careful what to buy there.
 

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
Oh give me a break. Call me harsh but my mother worked for Dollar General about ten years ago. It isn't a freaking glamor job and you need basically zero education and job skills to get hired. It is not a job to base a career on and it doesn't pay a living wage because you need zero skills to do it, especially since they put in the scanners and new registers a few years back.

Dollar Generals are about the only grocery store that some areas have easy access to. They serve their purpose. That's about it. They sure aren't around to make minimal skill employees rich.

I hope the employees that quit soon found out they do not qualify for unemployment. I also hope they find out from friends and family they just closed off a reasonable food location for their area and have to suffer the social consequences for that.
 

Luddite

Veteran Member
I see both sides of the argument. Personally, I can't fathom exchanging my time for such meager compensation.
People have reasons or excuses. None of my business...

With few exceptions, everything in "dollah gen" can be delivered to your door by the "fed ex" or "ups" man.

I still darken the door occasionally. I always have to wait at the register impatiently until the sole sloth on the floor finally looks up from stocking some aisle.

They mosey up to the register and always apologize for my wait.
I always leave mad.

My tinfoil hat has been telling me dollar general and family dollar will be distribution sites for goobermint aid in some future catastrophe. A good portion of rural Americans live within walking distance of one or the other.
 

SlipperySlope

Veteran Member
I don't think anyone would consider it a glamour job. It is the kind of job you usually need to survive. I myself have worked at factories where sexual harassment was rampant, so was hard work. There is no reason to treat people like they are nothing though. Just basic respect. There are still hard working folks out there but they are kind of invisible. There are more people than you may believe still making $7.25 an hour. I pity them but I also respect them for getting off their butt and trying. These days it is often too easy to use the system and give up.

As with most issues there is not one simple answer.
 

coalcracker

Veteran Member
My tinfoil hat has been telling me dollar general and family dollar will be distribution sites for goobermint aid in some future catastrophe. A good portion of rural Americans live within walking distance of one or the other.

Isn’t it funny how our tinfoil seems to fit so well these days? I think you are absolutely correct with this. Let me add some tinfoil from one of my old, larger-sized rolls before shrinkflation:

You’ll need your vaccine passport and your new Mark of the Beast, Great Reset financial ID in order to receive your weekly allotment from the divine beings on Mount Olympus, Capitol Hill.

And, of course, all our extra food preps will be deemed “criminal hoarding,” and will be collected and redistributed from Dollar General, perhaps as reparations to the poor.

I’ve somehow managed to irritate myself with these thoughts, but the truth is that there is a much different final chapter than the one they are planning. Let us keep the faith. Maranatha.
 

twobarkingdogs

Veteran Member
I do not have a problem with the wages dollar general or other low skilled companies pay to their employees.

But I do have a problem with the companies monkeying around with their hours. No one should have to work 6 days a week unless they volunteer. Schedules should be fixed from week to week even for parttime employees unless something abnormal comes up. things like that.

But again usually the employee knows about these types of issues before they are hired or learn shortly thereafter. And its the managers and as-managers who bare the brunt of working for these types of companies which depend on low skilled labor as they end up working 60+ hours a week. Thus the need for everyone to get either an education or a skill so that they don't have to work these types of jobs for their careers.

tbd
 

West

Senior
I do not have a problem with the wages dollar general or other low skilled companies pay to their employees.

But I do have a problem with the companies monkeying around with their hours. No one should have to work 6 days a week unless they volunteer. Schedules should be fixed from week to week even for parttime employees unless something abnormal comes up. things like that.

But again usually the employee knows about these types of issues before they are hired or learn shortly thereafter. And its the managers and as-managers who bare the brunt of working for these types of companies which depend on low skilled labor as they end up working 60+ hours a week. Thus the need for everyone to get either an education or a skill so that they don't have to work these types of jobs for their careers.

tbd

Often 99%of the time businesses give less than 40 hrs a week because it's less of a payroll liability. Liability mandated by socialists. Government even fines employers extra for working our employees overtime.

And get this, bonuses are treated just like regular payroll, so when a employer pays a good employee a extra $100 they have to send another $100 to all of the mandated payroll liabilities.

Just musing.
 

mikeabn

Finally not a lurker!
Where's Radio Shack now though.
True, due to changed technology and a business plan way behind the times. It was a really fun part-time gig. I worked with great people, we were all personally friendly as well. Full-time unless you were manager in a really top store, you would starve to death. Quickly.
 

naegling62

Veteran Member
My local DG has had a consistent staff since it opened. There are a few who have moved on but the base crew is still there. I don't know what they make but do know they have insurance so maybe that is why they stay.
I think Dollar General would make a great study for economic theory. Their model is about to implode soon. In my rural area they are building them way too close. The last few were 3 1/2 country miles apart, there is no way the stores can operate under that minimal amount of population load.
 

West

Senior
I think some states waived that for Covid.

Also if a ex employee that was fired or quits files a unemployment claim, they still have a really good chanch of getting their unemployment. Because the business will then be on the hook to fight the claim, sometimes they even have to send a rep to a hearing. Time is money even filling out paperwork to fight a claim.

And now days the UI percentage the employers pay in most states is just a flat rate, so it's monies that the employer is never getting back anyway, or getting lower % for less claims, it's just a flat ****ing rate.

Just venting..
 

patriotgal

Veteran Member
Our local DG employs our neighbors. We all support the store because it saves us time and keeps our friends employed. They could use more help but no one wants to work so current staff hustles and gets it done. Unfortunately for staff, a mask is now part of uniform. Elderly locals who cannot drive in mountain home's crazy traffic can easily get bread and essentials at DG. Staff recognize them and know their stories. Our DG has become the little country store for our neighborhood.
 

West

Senior
Our local DG employs our neighbors. We all support the store because it saves us time and keeps our friends employed. They could use more help but no one wants to work so current staff hustles and gets it done. Unfortunately for staff, a mask is now part of uniform. Elderly locals who cannot drive in mountain home's crazy traffic can easily get bread and essentials at DG. Staff recognize them and know their stories. Our DG has become the little country store for our neighborhood.

We call ours our mini-wallmart.
 

dstraito

TB Fanatic
What a sense of entitlement people have.

They have zero skills so they get a job that requires zero skills. The business model pays minimum wages because to stay in business they have to make a profit.

America the land of equal opportunity, not the land of guaranteed outcomes.

What that means to me is their are opportunities that a person can make available only some come with a prerequisite or requirements.

If you improve your skill sets, more opportunities will be available.

You can stay at zero skills and you will not be able to make a living wage.

You can improve your skills and get a better job.

Continue to ratchet up your skills and continue improving your lot in life.

Why do so many people expect to improve their lot in life with no effort on their part.

In the I world I improve my skills every year. I would learn a new language, application, or business skill. I became more valuable to my employer. I became more valuable to outside companies. With motivation, hard work, and effort on my part, I was able to continue to improve my situation almost my entire career.

Move away from a merit based system and that all goes away.

People advocating to move away from capitalism should watch Atlas Shrugged although they might not get it.
 
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mikeabn

Finally not a lurker!
I think Dollar General would make a great study for economic theory. Their model is about to implode soon. In my rural area they are building them way too close. The last few were 3 1/2 country miles apart, there is no way the stores can operate under that minimal amount of population load.
Back to the Shack- again in the latter part of the 80s- their business model was similar. Even as a manager-in-training (yuk!) I could tell that watering the milk wouldn't help my bottom line, which is why I switched to part-time. A lot more fun and the stock purchases were great. Changing technology and absence of the hobbyists did them in.
 

Faroe

Un-spun
People know what the wage is when they're hired.
If you don't want to work for that wage, don't take the job.
But don't be a dick about it.
Until you have been in the trenches with some of these companies, you don't know the crap they get away with. Never worked for DG, but dealt with bullshit from similar types of places. Yes, you can walk out in the middle of a shift, and for good reason! Most employees at that rung don't stand up for themselves.

NO sympathy whatsoever for DG. We have one right next to the welfare apartment development, and yes, they are always staffed with just one or two people at most. The place is always trashed, the checker is always busy trying to deal with the chaos elsewhere, and the store always has signs trying to hire people. I think it is only justice that a store that mooches off the .gov largess to the ghetto class can't find enough working class people to actually run the place.

Would love to see that place close! F*** 'em.
 
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