A former Walmart employee who goes by Rusty on TikTok said he was passed over for a department manager position despite being trained for the role. The video, which has over 21,000 likes as of publication, prompted comments about workplace favoritism and whether employees should train those who are promoted above them.
Rusty said that he had been working at Walmart for over five years and that about two years after he started, he was in the deli. He had been trained for the position of department manager when the present manager moved on to another role. Rusty said upper management had told him the position would be his when it became available.
But when the position actually became available, the store interviewed a number of internal candidates. The store ultimately hired a fellow Walmart employee from the bakery who had no deli experience, Rusty said.
@rustybonfire I worked for @Walmart for 5 years and I would like my time refunded. #walmart #departmentmanager #jobs #badexperience #no
♬ original sound - Rusty
Rusty was given the reason for their decision that the woman had applied for a number of other posts and management therefore wanted to give her a chance. But it was more frustrating when he was asked to train her for the post which he had hoped to get. "I train her [and] everything," Rusty said. Their relationship soon worsened as the new manager started to tell him how to do his job and accused him of not obeying her.
The dispute escalated to the point where an assistant manager had to intervene, but Rusty was told that he was not being fired. He went back to the deli and kept on working, but later, he said leaving Walmart after more than five years was "one of the happiest days" of his life. He added that he would not recommend working there.
Most commenters said that Rusty's experience at Walmart was something that some current and former workers could relate to. Others maintained that it was individual store management, not Walmart as a company, that was to blame. A commenter who had worked at Walmart for 10 years explained that they had applied for a team lead post, had passed the assessment and taken part in the interview, but the position went to someone from the maintenance department who had no front-end experience.
A different commenter stated that they had also received the same treatment on two occasions before leaving the company. Some explained that they had been repeatedly asked to train employees who had been promoted to the positions that they hoped to get.
Not everybody generally criticized Walmart, though. Some commenters said Rusty's experience was due to the specific store's bad management. One employee praised the benefits Walmart offers, like assistance with education and employee discounts.
Another commenter said their spouse had enjoyed working as a team leader at one Walmart location but did not after transferring to another.
This article is based on a TikTok video shared by @rustybonfire. The Daily Dot could not independently verify the events described, including the hiring decision, management's stated reasons, or the details of the workplace dispute.
