Dollar stores becoming neighborhood outlets

New York merchant F.W. Woolworth founded his first five-and-dime store in 1879, and his business grew to include more than 1,000 stores before the original chain went out of business in 1997.

[myrtle callaway]

i dont know who to inform. or to send a complaint to. while shopping in your silverhill ala dollar general. there was only one cashier. and a very long line waithing to check out. and there was not another employee in the store to be seen; the store is also dirty. thank you. i hope this message is taking care of. because when it first open it was very nice'

[undisclosed]

myrtle callaway wrote:

i dont know who to inform. or to send a complaint to. while shopping in your silverhill ala dollar general. there was only one cashier. and a very long line waithing to check out. and there was not another employee in the store to be seen; the store is also dirty. thank you. i hope this message is taking care of. because when it first open it was very nice'

Thats becuase dollar general corp itself makes key holding employees follow a schedual create that leaves us working alone a few hours at a time. The manager doesnt have alot of control on the matter. DG corp won't care if you mention that someone was working alone becuase they schedualed them to do so...thats dollar general for you. They know you will wait in line anyway so they don't care about the clerk or you as long as they get thier money.

[smiley]

myrtle callaway wrote:

i dont know who to inform. or to send a complaint to. while shopping in your silverhill ala dollar general. there was only one cashier. and a very long line waithing to check out. and there was not another employee in the store to be seen; the store is also dirty. thank you. i hope this message is taking care of. because when it first open it was very nice'

A lot of the dollar general stores are like this. DG just won't give the hours to work a store properly. You can call and complaint to Corporate. Call any DG store and they have to give you the number. I haven't managered a DG store in a while but I think the number is 1-800-678-9258. If you think there are some safety issues, you can call your code officer or OSHA.

[worker]

I have worked there for the last few months and,[no longer] you can bend over if you work there because you are going to get screwed, if you shop there you are going to stand in line because half of the people that work there can't count to ten without there fingers...

[ex-employee of DG]

I was a manager. I know one thing without a doubt, DG used to care about their employees, but that all changed with the "Easy Store" change. Now they have it to where the manager, assistant manager, or third key (if they have one) is to be there alone for a few hours leaving things open for a lot of theft, then they turn around and tell the employees (managers, assistants, and 3rd keys included) it is their fault that the theft happens. Instead of DG donating money for the libraries and other funds, they should try looking into protecting their merchandise. And the district managers...well...they do some work. I know one in particular that when asked for help he would go help other stores. He played favorites. I needed the help. I had 3 employees and I was working everyday trying to get the merchandise on the shelves, trying to get the plan-o-grams done on time, and trying to keep the store clean. I asked for help, he wouldn't give the help. Nor would he send anyone from other stores to help. I walked out. I put my keys in the safe, told the assistant manager I would not be back and I hope the DM would finally do something to help the store out.

A few days later, I went in to look. He was there working, he also had a few other managers there working along with some of their employees working. It was nice to finally see something happening in that store.

Although, I went in last week and the store is back to looking like it did when I left. I asked the manager what was going on, she said that she can't find the help she needs, she is about to loose her husband due to the job, and the DM isn't helping or giving any advise.

So, when customers go into a Dollar General store and see the mess that it is in. Don't jump the gun and think that it is only the fault of the employee or manager. Have patience with them.

[Hurt and Humiliated]

I am very upset about a situation that happened last night (May 4) at the Dollar General Store on Bell Road in Antioch, TN...I personally have never experienced racism, but I believe in my heart, this was definitely two cases of racisms—black-on-black and white-on-black. As a result, I am taking whatever the steps necessary to bring this situation to the forefront…My 13 year-old son and I were told by the cashier that the store was closed. A few minutes later another customer (white) came to the door. Not only was she allowed to enter the store, but she was allowed to purchase some items. I sat in my car and watched her go pick out some items and then proceed to the register to pay for her items.
I immediately went into the store and told the cashier that his actions against me were unfair and discriminatory. There was a young lady who was white standing off to the side. When I asked to speak with a manager, she replied she was the assistant manager. Instead of her taking my side as the customer and offering an apology of some sort, she defended his actions and agreed with him that the store was closed when I came in. How could it have been open for the other customer when she came in minutes after me...to make a long story short, the assistant manager started threatening me saying she was going to press charges against me for being in her store after hours...not only did she call the security guard, but she called the police on me. By this time, I was very angry and I told her to call whoever she needed to call, because I was not leaving the store...the police came (3-4 police cars)…I was crying and very humiliated when they arrived. Lastly, she wanted to press charges against me. After speaking with the police officers, they told me there were no grounds to press charges. Why would there be, when I did absolutely nothing to her.

[Hurt Continued]

I failed to mention the cashier was black.

I just wanted to ask everyone's opinion on how you would have handled this situation, and who should I contact to make sure these employees don't treat another customer like I was treated. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my experience with you.

[ex-DG employee]

I don't think it was a case of racism, I can tell you this. The employees play favorites when it comes to other employees going in as customers. They will run to the register if they see a fellow employee wanting to buy something, they will let them in the door if the store is closed to let them buy something, and they will disreguard other customers to talk to the employee that isn't working.

I have seen it done (in the store I was at). I wrote up the employee that was working at the time. Unfortunately, because of the favoritism, the real customers don't get the attention the are supposed to get. It is unfair and I am sorry you had to go through that.

[kevininclt]

Family Dollar and dollar general are totally seperate company's. Things are going well at Family Dollar, i guess that's why all of the trash is on DG.....

[Andrea]

kevininclt wrote:

Family Dollar and dollar general are totally seperate company's. Things are going well at Family Dollar, i guess that's why all of the trash is on DG.....

I do agree that Family Dollar is a good company, I can also say that Dollar General is not. I have worked at both.

[4 harris]

I love the dollar stores

[C H Bauer]

You have a store at 1248 W Church Street in Livingston, Texas. The
manager is some guy named Charles (last name unknown). He is rude
and always acts like he is mad at the world. One day while standing in line...a lady ahead of me really got all over him...asked him why he acted that way. His answer was he was tired out. he still continued on with his normal behavior! Before he came to the store, they had another manager named Jerry. he was
great....always so nice and friendly. I heard he deservedly moved up the corporate ladder. this current manager needs to be sacked!

[mad in ga]

I worked very hard to set up a new dollar general store in ga.I unloaded trucks every day for two weeks and worked very hard with hints from the manager that when the store opened he would keep me on.Well it did not happen.I was told I was'nt needed any more the day before the store opened.I was told this four days ago and was supposed to get payed for the work I did friday.As of today I still have not recieved a check.When I call the manager he is rude and says when he gets it I'll get it.

[JAH]

I LOVE THE DOLLAR GENERAL STORES THEY HAVE INTERESTING ITEMS AND GOOD PRICES

[Hope]

As a DG store management team member, I do apologize for the behavior of our company. We do the best we can, but most of us are burned up. I am afraid the next generation of DG empoyees do not look too promising either. What has happened to DG? How are they going to restore confidence in their stores again? Maybe a DG bigwig will read this and realize how hopeless we, as employees feel.

[Thiers hope]

I am currently a asst. manager at a DG in VA. This is the only DG I have been in or worked at so when I started to read these post a few days ago I was shocked. I decided to take a trip to the other DG's in the neiborhood. I was shocked to see that there stores are dirty and cluttered. I went to purchase a candle and the clerk was so rude, I asked to speak to the Manager and come to find out it she was the manager. I could not beleive she acted this way. I found the same sitiuation in 4 out of 5 I visited. I then realized if the manager is suppose to be who they look up too then that is the problem. If the manager doesn't care why would the employee's? Maybe shake these managers into shape. I don't have a perfect manager but she gets the job done and puts in as much elbow grease as we do.

[Mary Ann Hill]

I am a regular customer at the Dollars General Store in Louisville Ky, on Gilmore Lane and Preston Hwy. Just 10 Minutes ago one of your off-duty employees decided that she would interupt my conversations, which was a comment I made to myself allow. The comment I made was "This is ridiculous." Why did I make such a comment? I'll tell you! The cashier was slower than ever. The off-duty personnel that was being waited on,turned and said "YOU Talkin to Me! It went on from their, with her telling me to have a nice day and left the store. The manager was standing right there! She then waited for me to leave. Your employee acted very foolishly. She in turn SPED off. Blairing her horn, so close she could touch me. Now I could retaliate and be just as foolish as she, but I cannot lower myself to this "person." I went back inside and asked the manager to come to the back of the store to speak to him, in private and told him what had transpired outside. Other customers were leaving the store and notice the "stupidity of your employee. If this is the policy of your store employees, I can take my $40-50 dollars a week elsewhere. I am a Personnel Consultant for one of the hospitals in Louisville, I can tell you that this kind of behavior would not be tolerated.

[Judd]

July 15, 2006
Store Employees at :2430 South Harrison Road,

To Whom it May Concern,
Earlier this week, one of your shopping carts was in the street, about two feet away from the curb and in front of my mailbox.
So as not to have anyone hit it, I moved it off to the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street.
In the past two days, friday and saturday, several calls from numerous people were made to your store.
Letting them know that your cart was out here, the address where it is, and requesting that they travel the 1/4 of a mile to retrieve it.
Not only has noone come to pick it up, the last time your store was phoned, the clerk who answered the phone, became extremely nasty.
Told my neighbor that she didn't care about the cart, not to phone the store ever again, and then hung up.
The first phone call was approx 2:00 yesterday afternoon, I myself phoned at 11:00 this morning, my neighbor phoned about 4:00 this afternoon.
I know shopping carts are expensive, not only that, we have no idea who left the cart in the street, and it is begining to annoy the neighbors.
We all are busy people with jobs and homes to take care of, it is not our responsibility to return this cart to its rightful place.
However I did want to inform you about your employees attidude towards people phoning your store and your stores property.
Thank you very much.

[CONCERNED]

undisclosed wrote:

<quoted text>
Thats becuase dollar general corp itself makes key holding employees follow a schedual create that leaves us working alone a few hours at a time. The manager doesnt have alot of control on the matter. DG corp won't care if you mention that someone was working alone becuase they schedualed them to do so...thats dollar general for you. They know you will wait in line anyway so they don't care about the clerk or you as long as they get thier money.

IN RESPONSE TO YOUR QUESTION, THE EMPLOYEES ARE TO BE TRAINED IN EVERY AREA THAT HAS TO DO PERTAINING TO THE STORE TO AVOID THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS. BELIEVE ME I KNOW!!!

[Randy]

Hurt Continued wrote:

I failed to mention the cashier was black.
I just wanted to ask everyone's opinion on how you would have handled this situation, and who should I contact to make sure these employees don't treat another customer like I was treated. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my experience with you.

I think your concern is very valid. But let me say this. A couple of postings above someone states that most DG employees cannot count to ten without using their fingers. Judging from the spelling in the replies from some of the DG employees I would say that intellect is not running rampant by their own admission. These are the same people that you would be asking to have intelligence where racism is concerned. Whereas it might have appeared racist I would say it was just pulling a favor to a favorite customer or employee. As far as the manager's lack of rationale I would say it again. These people who cannot count to ten probably do not have enough understanding of racism to even contemplate how their actions could be perceived as such. But I can understand how your feeling were hurt. Racism is alive and well everyday in our society. But I do not think these folks in this case even realize their actions. The extremely unprofessional response from the manager shows you what you are dealing with. Process the situation and try to let it go. DG employees are mistreated and underpaid I am certain. Therefore quality individuals are not going to be on duty in many instances.