Being a developing company, Dollar General aspires to provide a positive work environment and encourages its staff to give it their all. However, there may be instances in which the company must take a stand against some of its employees; this type of situation occurred a while back when an employee’s video went viral.
Dollar General employee ends up being popular on TikTok:
In Tampa, Florida, Mary Gundel enjoyed running a store. However, the business and other staff members paid attention when she shared her difficulties on social media.
Mary Gundel got a letter from Dollar General’s corporate office in January 2021, thanking her for being one of the company’s top performers. The company presented Ms. Gundel with a lapel pin that said, “DG: Top 5%,” as a token of appreciation for her devotion and hard work.
Ms. Gundel enjoyed the fast-paced, unpredictable, and even exhilarating nature of her work. She really enjoyed the challenge of chasing shoplifters and settling down aggressive consumers. She made far more money than Tampa’s typical income, at almost $51,000 annually.
Nonetheless, there were drawbacks to the position, such as unexpected delivery trucks that left boxes stacked in the aisles because there weren’t enough employees to unpack them. She spent days alone, running the business for extended periods of time because the corporation only gave other staff a set number of hours to work. Angry customers ranting about things that were out of stock.
Thus, Ms. Gundel recorded a video early on March 28 as she was putting tags on clothes and operating the register. The outcome was a six-part analysis titled “Retail Store Manager Life,” in which Ms. Gundel exposed the working circumstances within the rapidly expanding chain of retail establishments, many of which are located in rural areas.
Ms. Gundel told her camera, “It’s actually kind of bad that I’m talking about this.” However, she went on, “Whatever happens, happens.” Otherwise, they will undoubtedly lose plenty of people. Something has to be said, and things need to change.”
Some of her videos, which she shared on TikTok, became popular, with one video receiving 1.8 million views.
How Dollar General took a stand against this employee
In an instant, Ms. Gundel went from being a devoted employee of Dollar General management to a vocal critic who jeopardized her career to explain working conditions that are common to retail workers nationwide. Dollar General immediately dismissed her as a result.
Dollar General released a statement that read, “We offer numerous channels for our workers to express their opinions, such as our open-door policy and regular engagement surveys. We apply this feedback to improve our working environment, comprehend and address problems more thoroughly, and offer our communities, customers, and employees better services. We consider it a disappointment whenever an employee feels that we have not lived up to their expectations, and we seize the chance to have further conversations and exchange knowledge.”
During an interview, Ms. Gundel stated that she was dismissed by Dollar General earlier this month and that her manager had warned her about some videos she had posted.
What caused the employee to make such a decision
When Ms. Gundel began working in her first Dollar General store in Georgia three years ago, she had grand ambitions for a long career there but soon everything went downhill when Ms. Gundel frequently had to run the store alone for extended periods of time since she could not devote as much time to her employees. She would normally work six days a week and up to 60 hours without receiving overtime compensation.
According to her, the business used to assign 198 hours a week to a workforce of roughly seven employees. However, towards the end of the previous month, she only had roughly 130 hours available, which was one full-time employee and one part-time employee less than she had at the beginning.
In the store parking lot, she told about a man who tried to yank her through the window of her car and a client who had drawn a knife on her but upon confrontation, the corporation buried problems in bureaucracy as a means of avoiding real difficulties.
Conclusion
Social media not only provides a forum for employees to communicate and vent, but it also enables regular employees, such as Ms. Gundel, to rise to the position of leaders in labor during the post-pandemic workplace. Moreover, a TikTok video that a customer recorded criticizing the messy condition of a Dollar General shop served as an incentive for Ms. Gundel’s protest. Ms. Gundel had heard these criticisms from her own customers.
She recognized their annoyance. However, she noted that the criticism of staff members is unfair. “Why don’t you speak with the real big shots in the company instead of getting upset with the employees for trying to manage their workload?” she had said in the video later on.