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A Dollar General store in Mineral Point, Wisconsin was forced to temporarily close after its entire workforce quit, claiming “a lack of appreciation, being overworked, and being underpaid.”
Six employees, including manager Trina Tribolet, all resigned on March 9, leaving notes in the store window to customers notifying them that no one would be available to open the store.
“We quit! Thank you to our amazing customers. We love you and will miss you!” read one note. “The whole team has walked away due to a lack of appreciation, being overworked, and being underpaid,” said another.
A longer note said that “policies, processes, and procedures need to change.”
Ex-Dollar General employees say they were overworked
Speaking to Spectrum 1, Tribolet says that the six employees had discussed resigning from Dollar General “for months.”
She also explains that before quitting, she had worked seven-day weeks for several months. “Until Friday night when we walked away, this weekend was my first time off since Christmas.”
Tribolet argues her exhausting schedule was due to tight budgets which meant she could only allocate a limited amount of paid hours to her team. When the allotted hours ran out, but shifts still needed to be filled, she stepped in.
Dollar General has released a statement, apologizing for any inconvenience experienced by its customers, and stating the store reopened at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning to serve the community.
The statement says Dollar General is “committed to providing an environment where employees can grow their careers and where they feel valued and heard."
Company policy triggered employee walkout
Having discussed resigning for several months, Tribolet says the “last straw” for the team was a dispute with Dollar General over a food donation policy.
Tribolet argues Dollar General’s policy on throwing items nearing expiration date in the trash required employees to throw a disturbing amount of items away that she believes could have been donated.
“You’re throwing out a box of Lucky Charms that you know there’s a whole world of kids who would love to eat those. But you can’t donate them out, because you’re supposed to throw them away,” Tribolet claims.
In another interview with Wisconsin TV station 9News, Tribolet explains that the team would label items as damaged to be able to donate products, but claims that when management discovered the workaround, they were told to stop, pushing them to resign.
Dollar General says “food safety is a top priority for Dollar General and Feeding America members, therefore, DG stores are required to follow Feeding America donation policies.”
A company spokesperson adds that Dollar General is “proud to serve local Wisconsin communities with donations through our Feeding America partnership at 21 stores across the state.”
Tribolet disagrees, claiming that items such as canned goods – listed on Feeding America’s corporate donation guidelines as a great donation – are thrown away at Dollar General.
“It’s sickening, and it’s saddening, especially for someone that has morals,” Tribolet says. “If you’ve ever been at the bottom and never had anything, you know what it feels like to see items get thrown away. That could have gone to somebody that needed them.”
Tribolet says her five former colleagues all lined up jobs before quitting, but adds she’ll take a mental break before planning her next career move.
