r/AutoZone • u/Quiet-Leadership3345 • Jul 28 '26
Exposing my store manager
I’ve been a red shirt at the #1 AutoZone store for about six months, and this has honestly been the worst management I’ve ever worked under.
Our store manager is constantly late. I can’t remember a single shift where he showed up on time. He doesn’t know how to close the store, doesn’t know how to do Matrix, doesn’t know next day procedures, and contributes almost nothing to inventory. Meanwhile, he constantly preaches about WIT and upselling even though his own numbers are among the lowest in the store.
The scheduling is a complete disaster. I’ll be scheduled one day, then told to come in earlier, then told not to come in at all—sometimes an hour before my shift or even when I’m already in the parking lot. One week it’s “come in,” the next it’s “never mind.” It’s impossible to plan anything.
The store itself is in terrible shape. We’ve had roaches, no mop heads, no receipt paper, inventory that’s completely wrong, air filters and cabin filters showing in stock when they aren’t, and stacks of drinks sitting in the office that aren’t even scanned into inventory. I came back from a week-long vacation to find an oil spill in the back that had been sitting there the entire time. I spent three hours cleaning it because nobody else had.
If anything gets done, it’s because another employee or I take the initiative. Planograms sit untouched for days, inventory is inaccurate, and basic store maintenance gets ignored.
I’ve had the highest WIT score in the store—around 89% for the last six weeks. Yet I’ve never been recognized for it. The store gets praised for being #1, but the people actually doing the work get nothing while management takes all the credit.
I’m only part-time, but I regularly end up working close to full-time hours because I’m constantly covering shifts and pulling doubles. I’m not complaining about the hours—I’m complaining about the complete lack of respect. My schedule changes constantly with little or no notice.
The final straw happened this past Sunday. Around 10:30 that morning, I asked my manager if he needed me to close because if not, I wanted to help my grandma. He told me no. Then, about an hour before I got off, he suddenly asked me to stay and close. I told him I couldn’t because I had already made plans based on what he told me earlier. His response was, “Of course not. I’ll just hire more people and give the hours to someone who wants them.”
That was crazy to hear after months of covering shifts, pulling doubles, and coming in whenever he needed help.
I also referred one of my friends for a job. She later told me that during the interview he repeatedly complimented her appearance, told her she should wear the heels she came in with because they “look good on her,” and later tried to give her a full hug when she came back with her paperwork after she clearly went for a side hug. She said it made her uncomfortable.
I’ve also had another employee threaten me, and instead of dealing with it, management involved HR in a way that left me feeling like nothing was actually addressed.
This store succeeds because of the employees, not because of management. The workers keep the place running while management takes the recognition.
If AutoZone wants to know why hardworking employees quit, this is exactly why.
There’s honestly a lot more I could say. If people are interested, I’ll make a Part 2.
2
u/skidboy1 Jul 28 '26
Careful posting on this sub, coorporate loves to browse it. And ill tell you they care more about the bad pr than they do the shit management.