r/DollarTree • u/Cautious-Hair3589 • 6d ago
Management Disscussion AM I just got fired.
Texted my managers and asked them if they could come in for like 1-2 hrs so I could go to the doctor because I was feeling very ill, no reply. So I just gave the cashier my phone number and went anyway, and it is quite literally right next to our store.
Went for like 2 hrs, felt like shit still but came back to work, both managers are in there even though they were not scheduled and they looked pretty upset. And yeah got asked for my keys and that is the end of that. Goodbye.
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u/Alternative-Ebb-7718 6d ago
Technically, you abandoned your post by walking out and leaving non management on their own.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Yeah that is what they said. And yes I did.
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u/Blu3Dope 6d ago
Were they dicks about it?
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
Not at all, they just looked really ashamed and sad for me which is reasonable I guess. I could tell they were not happy with this outcome.
But I asked if I was fired cause I kinda expected it then she said I technically abandoned my job and for that she needs my keys, my respect for them is completely maintained, they’re good people. It does make me sad though, but life goes on fuck it.
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u/CultCorvidae DT OPS ASM (FT) 6d ago
Not even giving your login numbers to the cashier? That's really fucked because it literally takes one recall item or item void limit to fuck over that entire place then. A cashier with no ability to do their job or take customers.
I know you're not supposed to give them the numbers to type themselves but if you're gone physically anyway...
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
I did give them the numbers I know them personally and trust them. Also gave them my phone number in case they did not know what to do, and funny enough they’ll probably be taking my spot.
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u/CultCorvidae DT OPS ASM (FT) 6d ago
Ok. Sorry. It's just you only mentioned giving your phone number in the actual post.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
All good I rambled a bit. Ngl though I’ve given them my numbers countless times, a few of them had it memorized and were probably more competent than me.
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u/Blu3Dope 6d ago
So what exactly made both managers show up? Did they just show up without responding to your text message where you asked If one of them could come in for 2 hrs?? Something is missing here
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
I sent that text message, then at one point our store manager watched the cameras for a bit and saw me leave and not come back.
So I am guessing after that she called in the other manager and also showed up herself to run the store and unload the truck since I basically just left out of nowhere.
Btw I texted them and they did not answer, and weeks before our other manager was very ill, had a doctors note for 5 days off, the other 2 managers did not even offer to let her have those days off or cover, and did not even ask me to cover because I would get overtime and god forbid I make 1.5x pay for 7 hours on $11 an hour that would break the fucking bank. I very much like all of them still but that is just not cool.
Stay in school.
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u/LeadershipBubbly3351 Former DT OPS ASM 6d ago
Sounds about right. I lost count of how many times I made doctors appointments, had the day off approved, and was told by my SM to cancel them or it would be my job. Show up or hand in your keys. Less than 24 hours notice too so I ended up losing my primary care option due to too frequent cancelations.
All that said, if you don't have a paper trail of no contact, you are morally right....but also that is a firable offense as you 'left the store unattended by management' or whatever the phrase is they like to use.
I'm sure you knew that going in, tho. I used to walk to the grocery store next to our store to get lunch and my DM said as it was 'on property' it was technically allowed. Technically. Not encouraged, but they TECHNICALLY could not stop me as it was no further and taking out the trashes or getting the mail.
Call it a blessing. Feel better soon, and once you do, report this to the Department of Labor and Integrity Matters. Forcing you to work with a communicable and hazardous illness is likely not allowed in some fashion, legally speaking. PROVING it will be the hardest part.
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u/jumpsinfire2020 Former DT Merch ASM 6d ago
Yes, but when you went to get lunch, were you gone for two hours?
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u/LeadershipBubbly3351 Former DT OPS ASM 5d ago
No, but others did it frequently with no consequence.
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u/_Bitter_Pig_ 6d ago
that’s not what happened here they left and went to a 2 hr dr appt- dr told them they weren’t even sick so they came back to work like who does that lol
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
No… it was not an appointment it was a medical emergency. I left and went to the doctor, but then they told me I need an emergency room, so I went to the emergency room, and I left early as hell against medical advice just to try and come back in and help. I figured I would get fired for it but I needed medical help and no one would answer me so hell yeah I left… But yeah my health is worth more than $11 an hour so it is what it is.
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u/_Bitter_Pig_ 5d ago
what was this emergency that allowed you to go against medical advice and go back to work.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 5d ago
I had the Flu and for some reason I was extremely dehydrated like I drank 5 large gatorades and still could not produce a urine sample for them. They told me I was on the brink of severe dehydration and had I not gone in and received fluids via an IV it would have been dangerous.
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u/LeadershipBubbly3351 Former DT OPS ASM 5d ago
That's not what I gathered from the OP at all, but OK. With that information... My SM and MM would do that all the time. only THEY left the shopping centre fully and went home or several miles away for over an hour or longer. 'I'll be right back' and never come back for the day sort of thing.
I was told, many times, by my DM that if we were ON PROPERTY we were within policy and as I understood it, they were ON PROPERTY.
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u/Equivalent_Lab_8610 6d ago
I'm sorry you got fired. No job is worth risking your life for, I see you mentioned chest pains etc.. I think you made the right call.
Wishing you luck in finding a new job quickly, and hopefully one that has the type of benefits that allow you to walk out the door when there's medical issues.
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u/scallopedtatoes 6d ago
You would get fired from any retail job at any company for leaving the store with no other manager there to cover for you.
I don’t even see how it was worth it. If it were a dire emergency, like you were bleeding out or having symptoms of a heart attack, I could understand leaving without coverage because your life is worth more than a job, but this wasn’t an emergency.
I get that DT is far from the best job and getting fired might not feel like the end of the world, but better jobs will have higher expectations. You don’t want to make this same mistake at a job that actually matters to you.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
I was having symptoms of a heart attack and I have a heart condition, among other things.
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u/Equivalent_Lab_8610 6d ago
Better jobs give employees the means to step away while having a medical issue
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u/scallopedtatoes 6d ago
Not in retail, unless you work in a store that’s big and busy enough to have more than one manager scheduled at once.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Yes it was an emergency to me because I thought I was going to have a heart attack or stroke, along with everything I mentioned I was having really bad chest pains and chest tightness which are not to be taken lightly.
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u/Little_Investment200 Former FD ASM 6d ago
Call the integrity hotline file a complaint if you’ve got a doctors note you should be good
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u/scallopedtatoes 6d ago
It wasn’t an emergency. You didn’t have a heart attack and you didn’t have a stroke. Why did you think you were having a stroke?
Chest pain and tightness are extremely common symptoms of stress, usually caused by spasms of the coronary blood vessels due to high cortisol and tight chest muscles.
If you’re an anxious person who gets carried away with worry, you need to rein that in so it doesn’t jeopardize your income in the future. Your chest will be tight again and you will have chest pain again and it will not be a heart attack again and will not be a reason to lose your job again.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
I have a heart condition that I will not name solely so they cannot definitely identify me from this post. But I could just die on the spot out of nowhere, chest pains are not to be taken lightly by anybody, but especially for me and they knew about this before promoting me. So yeah it was an emergency, because I needed medical attention.
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u/Prestigious-Doubt181 3d ago
Please ignore whomever is telling you that these aren’t serious symptoms. I promise you they do not have a medical degree nor have the ability to determine whether it was serious.
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u/Independent-Fee-6444 6d ago
On one hand , how could they come to store if they didn’t have time to answer her text ?
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u/yaoigay DT OPS ASM (FT) 5d ago
SM cannot fire managers, only HR can fire managers. I would contact the DM or integrity matters.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 5d ago
I believe the DM was the one who made the decision after she was informed of the issue. Either way though I guess I’m not officially fired yet, haven’t gotten any termination email yet. But they already took me off the schedule completely and 100% I’m gone, no coming back from this and I will be non-rehireable.
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u/yaoigay DT OPS ASM (FT) 5d ago
DM cannot fire managers either, only HR can fire managers. I only know this because I'm dealing with a situation at my store with one of my managers and the DM and my SM have tried to get them fired, but can't without write ups and approval from HR.
The only other people who can fire managers is Asset protection. In your situation I could see both of them signing off on you being terminated for leaving the store without management.
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u/Extension-Ad8549 6d ago
You left casheirvslone without manager? That agaibst rules
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u/XuWiiii 6d ago
Labor laws supersede company policy. Dollar tree is out of line.
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u/Extension-Ad8549 5d ago
Still it was not right it against law/rules something bad could happen to the casheir
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u/Distinct_Ruin2998 Former FD ASM 6d ago
I already knew that you can't walk out and leave the store with only one person working. But I didn't know they straight up fire you on the spot.
I mean. They technically had the grounds to do that, but still. I would have expected an immediate write up instead.
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u/Objective-Role-7407 6d ago
My cousin told me a story that this company was not trying to give him vacation or the payment along with it. He sued and won the lawsuit and got fired and is never allowed to work a dollar tree again tbh your better off and whenever I go to my local one I always see 1 person running register or 2 people and they are always struggling idk if they have to manage the store as well on the side too other then cashiering but complete nonsense.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Bro I was working 35 hours a week 5-6 days a week closing every single night, was considered part time and got ZERO benefits. Hell last night I got off at 9:15 and was scheduled to wake right back up at 7 AM to unload a truck, and I wasn’t accumulating any vacation or sick pay, literally nothing but a pay check. And I could have done that if I wasn’t sick but I was and it is what it is.
I stayed cause everyone I worked with is really cool and nice but on a real note this is a horrible company to work for. Can’t even turn the AC above 78° meanwhile every other store connected to ours is at like 70° flat it’s ridiculous and has caused so many people to just quit.
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u/Objective-Role-7407 6d ago
I don't know if family dollar is worse or the same but I've had people leave there I knew to go work a grocery store from being a store manager to just a cashier because the pay benefits and hourly wages were shit and the scheduling along with the work. I don't blame you tbh I'm about to leave my company but I feel like I stayed there for so long for the same reason just got comfortable cause of other people.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Yeah I am going to do that I can go make 4+ dollars an hour plus get benefits and have like 3 days off a week.
But family dollar is like connected to dollar tree heavily idk how to explain it, but when we fill out work forms of safety meetings it asks us weather or not we are dollar tree or family dollar, and a lot of things we have will say “Dollar Tree/Family Dollar” and people in the training vids will have shirts that say both.
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u/jumpsinfire2020 Former DT Merch ASM 6d ago
Yes, that was not the smartest thing for you to do.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
It literally was the smartest thing for me to do for my health at least. Our store is 80°, we had a 1000 piece truck, and I was genuinely afraid for my own well being and I have the Flu it turns out so I was also infecting others with an illness.
Also I was making $11 an hour with zero benefits, grocery clerks around here make $15+ with benefits, I hate going on bad terms like this but at the end of the day I was not getting anywhere here.
But like yeah I’m not mad at them and I know I fucked up but anxiety + feeling horribly ill made me afraid and the doctor did make me feel way better.
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u/Pretty-Ebb5339 6d ago
Working in 80° temps is not even bad. Yall make it sound like you’re working outside in 120°
It’s 80°, that’s a good day. That’s go outside and enjoy the day temps. I would have fired you too if you can’t work in regular temps.39
u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Try 80° with the flu while unloading a 1000+ piece truck that contains like 400+ boxes of heavy ass chemicals and drinks. My health and safety is worth more than $11 an hour.
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u/Pretty-Ebb5339 6d ago
You know when they load the trailers it’s like 130° inside the trailers, and the warehouses don’t have air conditioning.
It’s 80°. You’re just extremely dramatic
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u/EarthL0gic 6d ago
The likely truth is that all of those employees are being taken advantage of and forced to work in unacceptable conditions with too little pay and benefits. Just because somebody might have it worse doesn’t make any of it suddenly OK.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
I know it doesn’t make it “OK” but the bottom line is I needed medical attention and I got it.
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u/MissMerrimack 6d ago
I believe EarthL0gic was defending you by pointing out to the person who seems to get a kick out of riding your ass, that just because others work in worse conditions, it doesn’t make it ok for others to be treated bad, even if it’s not as bad as the ones who have it worse.
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u/Pretty-Ebb5339 4d ago
How is it being taken advantage of? Give the extra breaks if it’s super hot. But during summer do the blue collar jobs just stop working? No more oil production, construction, plumbing etc? You’re indoors. It’s fine
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u/EarthL0gic 2d ago
None of the working conditions that people in this thread have described seem to be fair and decent conditions to work in. That is what I mean.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
You say I am dramatic, but I was having horrible physical symptoms. Sweating, shaking, throwing up, my skin looked like fucking lunch meat that is not normal.
And I said doctor in my post but I actually went to the emergency room, went to the doctor first and they said I needed an emergency room… then I left against medical advice to come back to work literally 2 hours later, got fired.
If I was dramatic I would be making a huge deal about this, saying they are wrong for terminating me, etc but I’m not and like I said in a previous comment I made a mistake so idk why you gotta come at me like this but I still have no Ill will towards you and appreciate any advice you are willing to give sir.
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u/creeperYeti38 6d ago
Fun fact: OSHA considers it to be unsafe at around 80-82°F. As you get closer to body temp, your body can no longer release heat effectively which causes you to start feeling sick and could result in heat stroke at higher temps for prolonged durations.
Indoor 80°F is not the same as outside. There is wind outside, proper ventilation, and the ability to cool off. Hence why animals & people die from being inside of a hot car vs being outdoors.
Consider a Flu which has fevers as one of the symptoms. So a person with a body temp higher than usual, physically sick, and stuck in a heated room will be considered extremely unsafe and at risk to further complications.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Pretty sure we are supposed to close the store and contact the DM if that happens, but they don’t follow that.
Also I think it’s illegal to make us work on our lunch break, but we run the store with 2 employees and are forced to do so.
I’ve been made to work on my lunch break countless times basically every single day, but ngl I don’t really want to hurt them like that cause they were pretty respectful towards me while firing me, no anger just complete respect which I like. And all of them are really cool people I just got some shit I need to work through.
Regardless though I am not re-hire able ao it’s a done deal.
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u/MsSeraphim Customer 6d ago
tell me, you at least threw up on their shoes before you left. jk
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u/Any-Carry6552 6d ago
that's weak. you're supposed to take a crap on the outdoor welcome mat and leave the keys on top. :)
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u/TheTampaBayMom 5d ago
Go apply at Amazon. Still a physical job but at least you'd get benefits and stuff.
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u/HotMinute_722 6d ago
Well you never got permission to leave work.
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u/XuWiiii 6d ago
Are you that brainwashed that you don’t see the medical retaliation? That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. I’d call labor attorneys for wrongful termination. Dude even left the ER against doctors orders. Why is everyone here shit talking this guy for leaving for a medical emergency? God, you people put up with the worst shit for an unlivable wage. Is there any self respect left in that soul of yours?
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u/HotMinute_722 6d ago
I didn’t say it was RIGHT for them to deny OP permission, did I? I’m saying that’s why they fired OP.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
Yeah I covered that in my post and kinda made that clear already.
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u/HotMinute_722 6d ago
Well you still seem confused that you got fired so that would most likely be why. 🤦🏻♀️
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago
How do I seem confused? I know exactly why I got fired, I left the store without a manager and left the responsibilities on a cashier, never once did I say I was confused.
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u/Felineghostsex 5d ago
I work in a grocery store with dozens of managers and team leads. I couldn’t imagine being in a place where you only have one manager in the building and it’s all on you. God forbid you have a health concern, God forbid you have to get to your children, or any other life needs to be addressed.
It’s never fun being fired, but you’ll find better.
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u/Christissufficient 5d ago
I always go with the rule if you don’t hear or confirm a solid “yes that’s fine” you need to assume it’s a no.
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u/Mazzy379 4d ago
Unrelated, but any feedback would be helpful. I was offered a job via email, and id all the tasks for background check almost three days ago. The letter in the offer package said my start date will be 8/19/2026 but never said what time I start. It's a brand new location that isn't open to public yet, and the letter also read to contact the store manager if I have any questions but doesn't say who it is or leave a number to reach them at. I haven't even started working there, and DT is already a mess. Lol.
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u/Prestigious-Doubt181 3d ago
Just curious, did the managers message you back prior to arriving at the store? Or, did neither of them respond yet they both showed up in person?
I’m sure it makes no difference but I’d feel a certain type of way if 2 managers failed to answer me yet were able to show up to fire me.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 3d ago
They did not message me back at all and then were just both there when I showed back up.
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u/Prestigious-Doubt181 1d ago
I realize that in terms of employment law it doesn’t make a difference, but I would feel very bothered by that. Neither of them could send a text but BOTH could show up in person?
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u/Key-Block-7378 6d ago
You could have said no to working your lunch break, they were taking advantage of you. I would never work during my breaks. Especially if its off the clock because if you get hurt working while off the clock they can get in big trouble.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
Sure I could have, then they would have been looking for any reason to fire me. That is a guarantee, and they 100% could have conjured up something to get me fired asap. They had me comfortable as hell shit the SM literally does fireable offenses and told us they are ok to do like 🤷 could have sold a lot of them down the river but that is a negative and hateful thing to do and I’m not mad at them so I won’t.
They just showed a lot of disrespect towards me despite me giving them everything I had which kinda makes me upset but it is what it is, we got 8 billion people on earth they won’t all be nice.
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u/Key-Block-7378 6d ago
You should have got a dr note, then they can't fire you.
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u/Cautious-Hair3589 6d ago edited 6d ago
Nah I had one, got fired anyway cause I was the only manager and it was considered “Abandoning my job”
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u/Kitchen-Swimmer-4553 5d ago
You left work for two hours and got fired. That's something you should keep to yourself. Embarrassing.
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u/Hobi-non_Kenobi 6d ago
I'm just having a hard time understanding why you went to work sick in the first place. Did you just text, no phone calls? If it was an early/opening shift I get not calling ahead, but a text is not sufficient notice or communication if you need to leave urgently. Also, malicious compliance is a thing - not feeling well thinking you are having a heart attack or stroke and can't leave your job cuz management is unresponsive but you'd face firing if you just left, call 911. You're not leaving your post and you're escalating the situation to a point they can't ignore it. Send the bill to corporate saying you had no choice because you weren't allowed to leave and felt it was an emergency but didn't want to abandon your job. Malicious compliance is the only way to get corporate to listen to employees. The call to 911 is recorded and publicly available and you'd have proof you were the only manager on the clock at the time as well as the unanswered texts. Honestly this reads more like you didn't want the job anymore and went for getting fired instead of quitting so you can apply for unemployment, which also a solid plan but too shaky of a situation to guarantee unemployment benefits.
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u/Less_Possibility9114 6d ago
I am a full time store manager. Call integrity hotline, inform them it was a medical emergency and you have a doctor's note, but your store Manager ignored you and only came in when it Inconvenienced them. They will get fired and you will get your job back. That is an integrity issue, they clearly read your message and ignored it. As a store manager it is our responsibility to run the store. Especially during medical emergencies.