I am the assistant manager at a family dollar. We got a new manager about 3 months ago. Our last manager was transfered to another store. This manager is insanely rude! Has made our new assistant (who is still in training) cry and feel like an outcast. Uses phrases like "This is an A and B conversation so C your way out!" to her. Calling her names. Constantly picking at us and making us nervous. She has no customer service skills. Our customers can't stand her and we have even lost some. We do everything she wants but if we forget to do a small little thing... it's over and she wont forget about it. She leaves the new assistant alone for hours at a time. She is not fully trained. Ger register was short 15 dollars because she didn't do a return right and the manager was nowhere to be found to help her. I ended up having to fix it and she had nothing but negative crap to say about it the next day. We bend over backwards to make her happy while she does nothing but gripe. Our stockroom looks horrible because she wont make sure stock is getting put out through out the week if it is back stock. She has me do other things and I do nothing but close so I don't have time to every work on the backroom because we have to recover at 5. She brings her personal problems to work and some of her personal problems are putting us in danger.

I can't go to the DM because everyone at Family Dollar knows that the DM does not like AM to come to him about anything. You will end up getting fired. I can't work under these conditions but I can't quit my job either. No where to go. No one to talk to. FD's Open door policy is a JOKE

I was a Store Manager for Family Dollar in Knoxville, TN. I was an unofficial training manager, I worked anywhere from 52 upto 80 hours in a week. The payroll was horrible I could not give my cashiers the time that they deserved and therefore cause a very difficult time finding people that wanted to stay with the company.

My crew and I had the sales volume up and on track to make over 1 million the year I was fired, which proves that we were doing a good job. I was elected to handle a crew to remodel some store's throughout the district, I had reservations against it from the get go but had to do it. Once I was on my last store I was pulled off the crew and put back into my store. I found out that the DM had placed me on investigation for payroll fraud.

This came about because he was setting up a parking lot sale and had transfered merchandise from all 20 store's to this one store. The total amount transfered was massive, so I contacted Loss Prevention. Little did I know that the LP and the DM were working together. The DM called me and required my crew to help set up this sale. I was told that I needed to tell my crew that overtime would be part of the deal. So, we went to work this sale and my crew ended up with around 20 hours of overtime each.

This is when the DM placed me on investigation. I contacted the Alert Line that is a huge joke, so don't even bother! I found out later that it just makes upper management mad to have to deal with a problem. I was never contacted back and I ended up loosing my job. When the LP came to interview me he gave me 10 or 12 questions that were writen out so that no matter how you answered it you would saying that you had done the exact thing they were accusing you of. When I brought this up he insulted me by questioning my education level (basically calling me ignorant). He then got mad because I would not sign the documents and asked for my keys and name badge.

I tryed to contact the regional and of course I got nothing, he would not even answer or call me back. I live in TN and this state is an At Will State. Meaning they can terminate with or with out cause. So if you are looking at this company for employment I would really advise against it. The upper managers are just looking for fall guys. By this I mean anyone below the DM can and will loose their job at anytime for any reason. The worst part is corporate DON'T CARE! Be ADVISED you are taking you career into your own hands.

First off, I hate Family Dollar and all of their stores. Their products are temporary fixes to the necessities of most households and their service is disgusting. Recently, I bought two hampers out of desperation from the local Family Dollar store. A day later, my husband found similar products at a different store for a cheaper price. When I tried to return the product, the manager of the store told me that i had to wait 14 days from the time I purchaed the items so that she could give me cash back. When the manager told me this I was dumbfounded because with the latest and greatest technology (debit cards) I don't handle cash and the funds from other returns are placed back onto my debit card and into my account. I told the manager (yes, i made sure the manager was available so that I wouldn't have much trouble) that I had my debit card with me and asked her why the store didn't have the ability like many other stores. Even a mom and pop store was able to refund a double charge on my debit card the minute I checked my receipt. The manager then said that "she didn't have access to my account" and then offer "store credit." I mentioned earlier, I HATE FAMILY DOLLAR, therefore, I rarely shop at any of their stores and store credit would be a waste of my hard earned cash. I then showed her that I had my debit card and said that she did have access because I have my debit card. She refused to do the refund and then said that it was "company policy" to wait 14 days to check if the money cleared. I was still amazed at how the manager didn't know the difference between a debit transaction, a credit transaction, a check transaction or a cash transaction.
I went home and immediatly called the company phone number to file a complaint. The lady first asked if I wrote a check for the transaction and after clarifying for the ump-teenth time that it was a debit transaction she said that she would have the Regional Manager call me immediatly. Over 24 hours later, I called the same number to see what was going one because the Regional Manager didn't call me and the matter was still not resolved. The lady on the phone then advised me that the Regional Manager had "3 DAYS" to respond to my complaint. I inquired about anyone else that may have the authority to assist in my situation and she informed me that the Regional Manager was the "ONLY PERSON" that "MIGHT" be able to resolve this situation. I interpreted that as a magical fairy who was able to waive their magical wand but I first have to go through a thicked of bristle bushes in order to find them. I was awe struck by the hassle that this company was putting me through. Family Dollar policies seem hell bent on a "NO RETURN POLICY" by putting consumers through a rigorous obstacle course of red tape and waiting periods.

I worked for FDS for 8 years, the idea of how things are to work is great. all of the programs developed should work, but they get lost in the implementation. they go from VP to RVP to DM and at this point SURE becomes SH**. and the only one that gets the blame is the store manager. the tools provided would be more than enough but the RVP takes from them and then the DM takes some just to look good. and the manager must make do with what is left over. 52hrs or more at salary pay. if only they would follow the program the way it is ment to be. there would be no better place to work. if only they valued their most valuble asset, THE STORE MANAGER. by not taking care of the manager it just makes it a bad place to work were everyone fends for themselves in the store and this can be a financial disaster from a LP point of view. this is another area that is not running as the books say it should. Just about everyone who works there starts to still from the company because of the way they are treated or because they see that no one cares, if you report it you get investigated and you get fired. do not rock the boat, do not bring attentiion to this region or district because you will be fired... what is that all about? you must play their game or you will not be in the game for long and they will make sure you do not find work anywere else.

The past couple of months I have shopped this store; every time I have been in there the manager is there and a taller blondish woman. If you ask the manager a question she rolls her eyes and sighs loudly like I am a idiot! They both talk on the phone to whomever and igbnore customers lined up at register. The blonde lady never smiles and is rude and hateful and I have never gotten a thank you from either one of these people. I will never shop in that store again! I will travel 17 miles to the store in Caldwell, ID. if I need something from your store but I will not go out of my way to shop at any of your stores! THANK YOU!!!
I also do not appreciate dogs frequenting you store, very unhealthy.
June 11, 2010