A TikTok video showing a Dollar General store that is apparently running on an “honor system” because no employees can be found has gone viral. The video, posted by TikToker Extravertedly Emily (@extravertedlyemily) on Wednesday, shows the store in a state of chaos, with no employees in sight and piles of merchandise everywhere.
The TikToker narrates the video using the text-to-speech feature, saying: “Dollar General is on the honor system today. No one was working the registers and can’t find any associates. Stock piles everywhere. Yikes!”
She also wrote in the description of the video: “This message is for the Dollar General corporate headquarters: do better! Your employees wouldn’t be walking off the job if you had their best interests in mind. At this rate y’all won’t even have any profits to reap when people walk out without paying,” while also claiming that one of the customers ran out without paying during the filming of the video.
The video has since amassed over 601,300 views in just one day. Many viewers expressed their sympathy for the workers and blamed the company for the poor working conditions and having a bad business model.
“Yeah, Dollar Generals are grossly understaffed because they treat us like shit and pay us like shit. We don’t even get holiday pay,” one commenter said.
“I was using self check out at Dollar General and asked the associate for a bag (there were none), he handed me a trash bag. That’s all they had,” a second commenter claimed.
“It’s been the exact same problem where I live. There’s usually only one person doing register, freight, zoning, and pulling from the back,” another commenter added.
A further commenter added, “this makes me so sad bc the next thing is closing them down.” This prompted a reply from the original poster of the video who said, “Unfortunately I think that’s what needs to happen so they can reevaluate their failed business model and come back stronger.”
@extravertedlyemily This message is for the Dollar General corporate headquarters: do better! Your employees wouldn’t be walking off the job if you had their best interests in mind. At this rate y’all won’t even have any profits to reap when people walk out without paying. PS: during the making of this video someone did walk out without paying. @Last Week Tonight ♬ Mii Music but It Makes You Uncomfortable – lukeitslukas
But Dollar General isn’t just facing criticism from TikTok users. The chain of variety stores has recently come under fire after Last Week Tonight host John Oliver dedicated an entire segment to criticize the company’s business model and the reported dysfunction that comes with it.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Extravertedly Emily via TikTok direct messages and to Dollar General via their press email for comment.
