Dollar General Employee Only One to Show Up to Shift

A frustrated Dollar General worker uploaded a viral clip to TikTok where she, in angry disbelief, expressed how she was the only employee scheduled to work her shift who actually showed up to work.

Dani (@danisodope) not only criticized her fellow workers for their lack of follow-through, but also remarked how if no one else showed up for her job, she was simply going to close down the store, as she had previously manned the entire business by herself, and that it was a very unsavory experience, mainly due to the way customers treated her as she jugged various role simultaneously.

She begins her video by stating: “I showed up to this f—- job right? Tell me why I’m the only one that showed up today? The only one! I’m not supposed to be in here by myself. I’m the only person who showed up to work today so guess what? If my cashier is not here in the next ten minutes I’m closing down this store.”

She went on to say that she wasn’t interested in continuing to work her shift if no one else showed up at the store, intoning that she’s run the store by her lonesome previously and it was not an enjoyable experience: “I’m not running this store by myself. I’m not doing that, not again.”

Dani went on to say that during her previous solo shift, patrons weren’t exactly sympathetic to her plight: “I had to do this one time before and cussed out almost every customer who came through here because they were not understanding.”

The TikToker continued to list off all of the responsibilities she’d be expected to take on if she was the only worker running the establishment: “I’m the only one in here I can’t stock the shelves, run the register, manage the shift, all by my f—- self. Without people having to use self-checkout and people wanna be a——- ‘well you get paid to do that’,” she says in a tone mocking their lack of empathy.

“‘That’s her job let her ring you up.’ B—-, I barely get paid enough to show up. Barely get paid enough for that.”

She then finishes her video by vowing to quit her job: “Today’s my last day,” she decides before the video closes out.

Dani further explained her reasoning for her dislike of the job, adding that an added frustration is having to work for other people in order to earn a living: “And this is why working for other people is not for me. These companies will literally throw you to the wolves and tell you “good luck” and then have the audacity to be upset at you for not succeeding to their standards.”

A survey referenced in the above-linked Business Insider article suggests that while “poor pay and working conditions” played a large part in employees deciding to ultimately hang in their walking papers, “rude customers” also played a large part in their decisions to quit.

Another Insider article also writes that retail workers weren’t just subjected to verbal abuse and confrontational attitudes from shoppers, but that some were physically attacked by patrons as well.

The Center for Disease Control published a report on the high-risk nature of working in retail for many young workers, and it paints a dismal picture of a potentially violent environment some people are subjected to in their jobs: “Retail work is one of the highest risk jobs for workplace violence. Violence isn’t just hitting, fighting, and shooting. It can come in many other forms.

Dani’s concerns about working a shift alone, according to this data, seem all the more valid, according to the CDC: “Jobs that require you to work alone at night, handle money, and sell alcohol, particularly in poorly lit areas, will increase your risk for workplace violence. Workplace violence is more common, such as convenience stores and gasoline stations.”

The Atlantic also chronicled how “American shoppers are a nightmare,” suggesting that even though there were a rising number of cases involving irate shoppers during the pandemic, historically, US shoppers are more entitled than their global counterparts and are more prone to treating employees poorly.

“Although Americans at pretty much every income level have now been socialized into this behavior by the pervasiveness of consumer life, its breakdown can be a reminder of the psychological trap of middle-classness,” the outlet penned.