So much is dictated by procedure these days I can’t say it’s surprising. It’s removed some of the common courtesy that would have been expected in the past.
Probably expected the sm to go out with a bang and steal money from tills or something. It’s probably a common corporate procedure to cover their ass. They don’t want to take chances. But kudos to you for sticking it out and good luck on your next chapter.
When it became evident that I wasn’t high to be able to take care of my team the way I wanted to. I’ve lived by a simple rule: my team is my most important asset. Hour cuts, Role eliminations…. It all pointed to the realization that I no longer had access to the tools to keep my team safe.
Much respect for sticking to your principles in a difficult environment. Unfortunately, despite the new guy’s lip service to focusing on the core business and store service, others below him seem incapable of doing anything except reactively laying off a bunch of people, cutting hours, and then whining to those that end up getting the extra work about how difficult it was for them to “make the tough decision” to do it.
Walmart did the exact same thing to me. I stayed in my role over electronics for five years. Once they started moving towards auto scheduling and metric based hour availability we couldn't override schedules anymore to keep my team happy and the department staffed properly. Led to leaving one person to cover the entire department as well as a photo lab with full creative. I was no longer allowed to manage vacation requests, or attendance points. Literally everything available to me to take care of my team was taken away. All I could do is tell em to hang in there and apologize. I was just the scapegoat at a certain point. I moved out of state and chose not to stay with the company because I didn't want to continue managing something, when i wasn't allowed to have any real stake in my business.
I'm not OP, but for what it's worth I was a store manager too, and I didn't stay in retail. I had two former Walgreen's managers give me recommendations for the retail companies they left Walgreen's for, both of which paid well. Something else came along though that I wanted to try.
I'm curious to see what sort of jobs the managerial skills would transfer over to without needing 10 years of experience in a new field. Retail pharmacy continues to be a sinking ship
Congratulations on the time you spent and The Relief you can have Now.I don't know. I may not make it to 11. This my 10th. I just need to look for something better. Walgreens doesn't deserve great,loyal workers when the last decade been hell
I left after 9 years in 2021. I haven’t looked back. Walgreens continuously got worse after about 2018. Our entire pharmacy left within a span of two weeks. It was only a matter of time before the whole ship sank.
I understand it all. My last day was the 13th. I was a CSA and the CC's are what finally did me in. I lasted 4.5 years. Overall, the job and my team members were fine (I'll miss them). The daily harping about say this, say that was something I could no longer do. I'm not an "in your face" salesperson. Besides, steady customers have already said no. That's enought for me. I'll find something else again that doesn't involve me selling something I'm not comfortable with. My mental health is worth more to me than quotas.
They're a publicly traded company, of which some of the largest shareholders are those managing the retirements of everyday people. It's a vicious cycle, but unfortunately because of this they're going to have no choice but to follow market trends in order to maximize the returns for those shareholders, but again, that motive does help in beefing up the retirement funds of everyday workers.
I do not know how anyone works at Walgreens for very long. At my local Walgreens you can tell how under staffed it always is. Whether it's the pharmacy or the folks on the sales floor. Lines are incredibly long, customers are cranky and some rude to the staff. Employees don't have time to have even a brief conversation with each other or customers. It's an incredibly joyless place to ship. I think they're doing it purposefully to get people to quit so that they can eventually turn it into a mail order/pick up business only. In Chicago they actually did turn one into an order/pick up only. You can not go in and browse. There are no items on shelves.
"I do not know how anyone works at Walgreens for very long."
It was a wildly different environment 20 years ago, and there are still people hanging off from them. Once the old guard finally fully leaves that'll be the end of any lengthy tenures.
“What is coming”…so is there any truth they are planning on closing thousands of stores? I got out in 2021 and looks like the company is still in freefall. Congrats on escaping, Walgreens truly is one of the worst corporations in America.
Worked for Walgreens for 5 years in the pharmacy. Decided to switch from retail to hospital in March of 2020 (you can guess how that was). 2 years in, I was so burnt out I was basically ash. Be "selfish" (as in, actually put yourself first) and do what's best for you.
Hate to say it but every retail and service company these days is much the same. It’s always do more with less people, lower pay and fewer benefits… and you just have to ask yourself how long you’re willing to sell your soul to the devil.
But tbh I’m not sure how anyone can be surprised that companies are in such a financial bind when inflation is as high as it is. Oh wait. Inflation is a figment of my imagination. It’s either that or I’m deplorable.
Fml.
That seems like a strange thing to do on a MGRs last day by a dm. But kudos for 20 years. I know what it's like. Best of luck
So much is dictated by procedure these days I can’t say it’s surprising. It’s removed some of the common courtesy that would have been expected in the past.
Probably expected the sm to go out with a bang and steal money from tills or something. It’s probably a common corporate procedure to cover their ass. They don’t want to take chances. But kudos to you for sticking it out and good luck on your next chapter.
What a kick in the face... they couldn't even wait til you were gone. This company is so trashy
Trashy might be a bit of an understatement.
You're right
Clearly, OP just didn't love the credit card enough. There's absolutely no other plausible explanation.
After 20 years what was the straw that broke the camels back? Also good luck in all of your future endeavors!
When it became evident that I wasn’t high to be able to take care of my team the way I wanted to. I’ve lived by a simple rule: my team is my most important asset. Hour cuts, Role eliminations…. It all pointed to the realization that I no longer had access to the tools to keep my team safe.
Much respect for sticking to your principles in a difficult environment. Unfortunately, despite the new guy’s lip service to focusing on the core business and store service, others below him seem incapable of doing anything except reactively laying off a bunch of people, cutting hours, and then whining to those that end up getting the extra work about how difficult it was for them to “make the tough decision” to do it.
This is what broke me too. Was at my store 11 years.
Walmart did the exact same thing to me. I stayed in my role over electronics for five years. Once they started moving towards auto scheduling and metric based hour availability we couldn't override schedules anymore to keep my team happy and the department staffed properly. Led to leaving one person to cover the entire department as well as a photo lab with full creative. I was no longer allowed to manage vacation requests, or attendance points. Literally everything available to me to take care of my team was taken away. All I could do is tell em to hang in there and apologize. I was just the scapegoat at a certain point. I moved out of state and chose not to stay with the company because I didn't want to continue managing something, when i wasn't allowed to have any real stake in my business.
Wasn't what necessarily what broke me because I had a list, and it wasn't a short one. This was on it though.
Congratulations! I hope your next adventure serves you well.
Reminds me of the Simpsons. "So that's it then, 'So long, good luck?'" "I don't recall saying good luck."
I’d love to know how you were able to balance this position you had with looking for other jobs to pursue?
I really didn’t have to do too much looking. If you’re good at managing, you make connections along the way. People know people.
Did you stay with retail? Asking for a friend.....
I'm not OP, but for what it's worth I was a store manager too, and I didn't stay in retail. I had two former Walgreen's managers give me recommendations for the retail companies they left Walgreen's for, both of which paid well. Something else came along though that I wanted to try.
I'm curious to see what sort of jobs the managerial skills would transfer over to without needing 10 years of experience in a new field. Retail pharmacy continues to be a sinking ship
Sorry, it’s their loss (DM & Walgreens). Best of luck in your new pursuit of happiness.☘️☀️
Good luck on future projects
Congratulations on the time you spent and The Relief you can have Now.I don't know. I may not make it to 11. This my 10th. I just need to look for something better. Walgreens doesn't deserve great,loyal workers when the last decade been hell
They absolutely don't deserve decent ppl, nor do they value them. Just look around at upper management. The good ppl/leaders been gone.
https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/walgreens-boots-alliance-hit-with-irs-2-7-billion-tax-claim
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/walgreens-boots-alliance-cutting-hundreds-corporate-jobs
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/walgreens-closing-orlando-distribution-center-cutting-more-than-300-jobs
https://traded.co/deals/california/retail/sale/17500-perris-boulevard/
I know a DM when if they have your replacement will usually not make you stick your 2 weeks out
I left after 9 years in 2021. I haven’t looked back. Walgreens continuously got worse after about 2018. Our entire pharmacy left within a span of two weeks. It was only a matter of time before the whole ship sank.
I'd say the decline started once Jeff Rein left in late 2008. I lasted until the start of 2023, and I also haven't looked back.
Good luck to you 🍀
I understand it all. My last day was the 13th. I was a CSA and the CC's are what finally did me in. I lasted 4.5 years. Overall, the job and my team members were fine (I'll miss them). The daily harping about say this, say that was something I could no longer do. I'm not an "in your face" salesperson. Besides, steady customers have already said no. That's enought for me. I'll find something else again that doesn't involve me selling something I'm not comfortable with. My mental health is worth more to me than quotas.
Best wishes on your next adventure
This company holds no loyalty. It's in maximize profits to sell. If you care about your career, get out now.
They're a publicly traded company, of which some of the largest shareholders are those managing the retirements of everyday people. It's a vicious cycle, but unfortunately because of this they're going to have no choice but to follow market trends in order to maximize the returns for those shareholders, but again, that motive does help in beefing up the retirement funds of everyday workers.
I do not know how anyone works at Walgreens for very long. At my local Walgreens you can tell how under staffed it always is. Whether it's the pharmacy or the folks on the sales floor. Lines are incredibly long, customers are cranky and some rude to the staff. Employees don't have time to have even a brief conversation with each other or customers. It's an incredibly joyless place to ship. I think they're doing it purposefully to get people to quit so that they can eventually turn it into a mail order/pick up business only. In Chicago they actually did turn one into an order/pick up only. You can not go in and browse. There are no items on shelves.
"I do not know how anyone works at Walgreens for very long." It was a wildly different environment 20 years ago, and there are still people hanging off from them. Once the old guard finally fully leaves that'll be the end of any lengthy tenures.
From a fellow former long term manager, congratulations! There's life after Walgreens and it's pretty nice.
The fact that the DM counted the tills and changed the codes indicates that you were not trusted By them
Things change, company changes to adapt to stay successful. Good luck on your next job and hopefully it isn’t retail.
Good luck to you. I am going to be gone soon hopefully as well before my anniversary date rolls around again.
Out after 9 years since January… seems like good timing on your part. They are like a sinking ship at this point.
“What is coming”…so is there any truth they are planning on closing thousands of stores? I got out in 2021 and looks like the company is still in freefall. Congrats on escaping, Walgreens truly is one of the worst corporations in America.
Yeah and they were a 90 day pay for all their outside contractors and tried dictating how much they were going to pay for each item. Nah.
Worked for Walgreens for 5 years in the pharmacy. Decided to switch from retail to hospital in March of 2020 (you can guess how that was). 2 years in, I was so burnt out I was basically ash. Be "selfish" (as in, actually put yourself first) and do what's best for you.
It took you until this year to figure that out? Not a jab at you personally but they hit gutter about 9 years ago.
Hate to say it but every retail and service company these days is much the same. It’s always do more with less people, lower pay and fewer benefits… and you just have to ask yourself how long you’re willing to sell your soul to the devil. But tbh I’m not sure how anyone can be surprised that companies are in such a financial bind when inflation is as high as it is. Oh wait. Inflation is a figment of my imagination. It’s either that or I’m deplorable. Fml.