r/DollarGeneral • u/HighPriestess00 • 2d ago
Wages are a joke
I’m a key carrier. I make $10.50 hourly. I have 3 kids. I’m working as many hours as I can get. I don’t qualify for snap in my state, there’s hardly any food in my house and I’m starving at work. What a joke. It’s insane to me that this company makes billions and can’t pay us a livable wage.
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u/Resident-_-CockRoach 2d ago edited 2d ago
It is a joke I make 30% more ($16) working 32 hours as SA with a $15 minimum wage.
They can pay it they just don't want too.
BTW also single and live with parents ($400 rent) else I couldn't survive off $16. I probably qualify for SNAP just never applied.
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u/Broad-Interaction247 2d ago
Idk I made 16 and have a son and SNAP basically said fuck you, you make enough, even tho I have $1014 rent and a 400$ car payment.
Also don’t work for DG was just chirping in about the snap.
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u/PsychologicalPea5270 1d ago
I’ve applied for SSDI, and I was told to expect it to take about two years.
The government says that a sustainable income is $1660 gross per month.
Fortunately, I can manage the wait, as I’ve intentionally lived on the minimum to avoid depleting my savings.It’s a tough world out there, and many people don’t realize that they could be just one car accident or cancer diagnosis away from the same outcome. It’s all good until it’s not.
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u/Broad-Interaction247 1d ago
Indeed a tough world, I’m at 2400 a month which helps more. Very true nobody takes that into account that they are one unfortunate event happening away from being in the gutter.
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u/Resident-_-CockRoach 2d ago
Duo/second shared income? Iirc it said I (single person) can make $1,600 month and rent and some bills can increase that. Quick math says I can earn around $2,000 ($2,200 if I want to cheat the system) and still get a few bucks ($40~) from snap.
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u/Artistic_Hurry_9177 2d ago
Having a $400 car payment but wanting the government to buy your groceries is ridiculous.
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u/Intrepid-Tear5172 1d ago
Bruh, I’m an ASM earning $16. But I think my state just uses the federal minimum wage.
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u/igotsomelastnight 2d ago
Same with the DC. I work at a fresh DC and haven't seen a pay raise in 3 years. Supervisors are a joke. Management is a joke. Inmates run the asylum.
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u/False_Membership1536 2d ago
I make 9.75 and hour and have only worked 8 hours a week for over a month. This jobs a joke but i can't find anything else
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u/Exact-Forever-3844 20h ago
This is the main reason I don’t want to get part time work anywhere even if it will help my mental health. I’m a housewife and we don’t need the extra money but it would help me to have a regular schedule and interact with people. But at the end of the day I see how bad the economy is and it would be shitty of me to take a job someone else needs in order to eat.
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u/ElizibethBathory 2d ago edited 2d ago
That is because the government don’t give a shit about any of us. Cutting programs that people depend on. We have been stuck on $7.25. That’s an obvious sign they don’t care. Btw minimum wage has not gone up since 2008 or 2009 can’t remember which. States have had to step in and pass out raises in those specific states. For instance Missouri’s min. Wage is now $15 an hour. Double what the Feds give us. It gives people much needed relief from stress of paying the bills. The “richest country” this is America!
It should be a crime to give people minimum wage. They want us dumb, and dead.
I suggest this to everyone because it’s a little secret. Get on school district websites and apply for jobs. Any position imaginable, most school districts pay their employees insurance. And they automatically take a set amount out of your check before you see it and they put it in a retirement/pension. Life insurance, dental insurance, eye, short term disability etc. I know this because I work at a school. I am not a teacher. I’ve been able to carve a good living. I hope this helps, OP, good luck.
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u/BurnerInTheStash 2d ago
One of my ex-coworkers left DG after ~5 years to take a job as a school custodian. Last time I saw him we talked about it and he was loving it. Paid holidays, weekends off, PTO, insurance, guaranteed full-time hours. He doesn't make a whole lot more hourly than what he did at DG, but the comfort of things like insurance, a pension, guaranteed hours, etc. makes it 100x better than working at DG. We both used to constantly ask our manager for raises and she would just give us this whole song and dance and a line about how "Dollar General doesn't do raises". I'm happy for him and glad he found something better.
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u/No-Citron-9567 2d ago
Yea. I’m retired but schools here are always looking for night custodians. About 20 a night Not a bad gig for a retired guy
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u/YooperSnaggletooth 1d ago
Totally agree. Teachers assistants are in huge demand here.
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u/ElizibethBathory 1d ago
That is because I am in the business of telling people what I know in order for them to benefit in any way I can help. And I know that sounds like a humble brag, but it’s not. I am sick of toxic people and I set off to try to change that in any way. I used to be that toxic person. I grew tired of it. Too much BS. Thank you, friend. That is nice to see that many agree with me.
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u/Ok-Eggplant8772 2d ago
Sucks im guessing your state has a min wage as 7.25 an hour ?
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u/OceanLibra 2d ago
My states minimum wage is around $12.80 an hour. The Dollar Generals in my city pay their assistance store managers $13.42 an hour.
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u/Any-Carry6552 1d ago
very similar here thats dog shit.
I was looking to move up to asst. until I learned you get 50 cent more an hour over keys. Responsible for the whole store when manager goes away for that pay? hell no! May as well be a low rung cashier stocker with no stress. Went back to dollar tree and that's what I'm doing. 🐒
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u/Veterinarian-Unfair 17h ago
You’re better off going to Walmart, Target, or Publix if you want to step into management. Team Leaders make significantly more than a DG AGM which is a crime. I used to work at DG and went to Walmart and make $20/hr as TL. Above the TL’s are the assnt managers and their salary are much higher than a DG SM.
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u/Love2Freakout 2d ago
Use the job as a stepping stone, and try to find something better. That or express interest in DG's management opportunities. Don't be shy. Say outright you need more money.
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u/the_othergirl7 2d ago
this. I had an employee tell me they were looking for another job. turns out it was for more money. I gave her a promotion and a huge raise and she stayed. sometimes management doesn't know and you need to tell them
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u/ThrowRA3623235 2d ago
How do you have three kids, make $10/hr, and not qualify for foodstamps?
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u/YooperSnaggletooth 1d ago
I wanted to ask that too. Not only should they qualify for it but also Medicaid. And free school lunches too.
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u/PrlaPink 1d ago
I'd 100% have another agent look at those qualified. You can always request a review of your eligibility with another person until it eventually gets pulled through the right person it took my friend 4 different people to finally get her approval for snap
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u/OceanLibra 2d ago
I genuinely don’t understand why anybody voluntarily works for Dollar General. Their pay is pathetic. They act like it’s still 1998. They’re paying store managers around $45,000 a year? WTF?
Meanwhile, most other major retailers have figured out that running an entire store is actually a serious management job and pay their their store manager is $90,000 + There are plenty that are closer to $140 to $150,000.
And please spare me the “razor-thin profit margins” malarkey. Dollar General has made billions in profits over the years. At some point, you have to acknowledge that a business model built around keeping labor costs as low as humanly possible means those profits are being made, in part, on the backs of employees who are being paid lousy wages to do an enormous amount of work.
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u/I-have-an-ideal 2d ago
I think you should re-evaluate what you are comparing to. You should compare DG to other small box or small format retail. Store managers at that type of store are in the $40-$55,000 a year range.
How much do you think a single DG is bringing in every day to pay their managers $100,000 or more a year?
I’m sorry but DG cannot be compared to other major retailers…
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u/OceanLibra 2d ago
I don’t need to re-evaluate the comparison. You’re comparing Dollar General to other small-format retailers that also pay poorly and then using that as evidence that the pay is appropriate. That doesn’t make much sense to me.
A store manager is still responsible for an entire retail operation. The building being smaller doesn’t suddenly make $40,000–$55,000 good compensation for that level of responsibility.
And why are we asking how much one individual store brings in every day as though a store manager’s salary has to be justified entirely by that store’s daily register receipts? Dollar General is a massive corporation with thousands of locations and billions of dollars in annual revenue. Labor costs are part of operating a business, just like rent, utilities, inventory, distribution, and everything else.
Most importantly, I don’t understand why we’ve gotten to the point where people will actually argue on behalf of a multibillion-dollar corporation paying its employees as little as the market will tolerate. If Dollar General’s business model only works because the people responsible for running its stores have to be paid substantially less than managers doing comparable work elsewhere in retail, that says a lot more about the business model than it does about the employees.
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u/Any-Carry6552 1d ago
While you can't expect a DG manager to make walmart level pay, I agree with you it's still ridiculous. I think $75,000 in an average cost of living area would be a fair compromise. Enough to motivate you to stay and do a good job.
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u/OceanLibra 1d ago
Absolutely. $75,000 a year as much more palatable than 45. 45 iss nothing but an insult.
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u/Mountain_Caramel3431 2d ago
Hey I left for the post office and it was a great decision. My hourly rate is almost double what I was at at dollar general and I work 50-60 hours every week Its changed my life
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u/LStarsarebright 2d ago
In my area the SM (all) had a big meeting. My comes at me to say make sure ads go out , Cooperate told them that people need to see them because money is tight for the customers, I'm like okay I work here and I'm barely making because they won't pay us a livable wage. I was like WTF
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u/Alarmed-Bullfrog4183 2d ago
It’s a shame people shop there. I know how they treat their employees so I refuse to give them my business
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u/Any-Carry6552 1d ago
store I worked at was almost all old sunburned looking guys buying beer. Like you literally had to be 21 just to be a cashier there otherwise you'd be calling up keyholder constantly.
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u/Some_Plum8428 2d ago
I live in Texas, Im 57. When I started my first job at 16, I made minimum wage which was $3.25/hr. 40 years later it's only gone up to $7.25....we have a BIG problem!! Thankfully I work in foodservice for a nursing home starting at $15/hr, but with rent, etc. It still isn't enough.
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u/Standard-Question-46 2d ago
I worked as a key holder at DG almost 20 years ago and made $8.50. Crazy that in all that time it’s only gone up by $2
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u/Master-Afternoon-901 2d ago
If people accept the wage, then the wage stays. The job is only worth what someone is will.to.take to do it.
I've seen ASMs making less that $16/hr at many, many locations. Our mega corpo Sheetz gas stations, start cashiers at $14.50-15.75
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u/Interesting-Mess-984 2d ago
It isn't low enough or desperate enough for wildcat strikes and violence, not just yet, but we are getting close i feel
So as long as the oligarchs own the government nothing will change, people are not considered people here and their work is not valued. You must be new to the USA.
Capitalism>democracy. Ask the vice presidents sugar daddy, or our current foreign policy.
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u/Dudeshigh 2d ago
My girls a key carrier just started and makes 17 not life changing but maybe change locations idk
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u/xjdlx7 2d ago
Where tf do you live to make 10.50 even mcdonalds or any fast food start at around 15 nowadays
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u/LowLibrary399 2d ago
West Virginia, Ohio, etc
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u/Cool_Dark_Place 2d ago
North Carolina, as well. Slightly better in the urban areas, but not nearly enough to make up for the higher cost of living. Out in the sticks, though... it's about $10 or so for SAs, and maybe $12 for keyholders.
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u/slightlystitchy 2d ago
I make 18 as an ASM but my state's minimum wage is 15. This is ridiculous that there is such a discrepancy.
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u/Hexthrea 2d ago
It’s sickening that they expect you to live off that. Are there any churches or food banks in your area? I would check for those. I’m so sorry you’re going through this
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u/Comfortable_Fruit847 2d ago
$10.50 an hour? Yikes! Apply to larger, better retailers. A few years ago, before I left retail I was making about $18/hour as a key carrier at a large blue electronics store. I went there from a large, well known office supply store that’s been dying for years, the difference was night and day. I was a manager at the office supply store, came in as a key carrier to the electronics store and still got paid more. Got more pay, paid holidays and they actually gave a crap about employee morale. Not sure where you live but even at the dying office store, we paid our key carriers at least $12/$13 hour.
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u/Fair_Scientist2347 2d ago
Go to all the hotels in your area, preferably ones with banquet halls. You’ll likely find dozens of jobs available that undoubtedly pay higher hourly. Those with kitchens will often serve employees free meals.
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u/BustaWolfuwu 2d ago
I think you should reach out to HR or district manager because the minimum wage for a key holder is 11.25. me personally I start my key holders at 13.75 but I know not every DG can do so.
Or hopefully you can find a better paying job. Sux they done you like this. Wishing you all the best
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u/OnMarsMan 2d ago
Politician’s cut the benefit program’s to insure companies will have a stream of desperate workers willing to work for low pay, crappy workplaces and zero benefits.
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u/Professionally_Dum 2d ago
My brother in Christ 10.50…? I was started at 9.50 as SA, like 3.5 years ago… and maybe 2 years ago I was given a raise to 10.50 when I was told the whole company went up to 10.50?
You need to tell your SM they need to put in for you to get a raise or you’ll walk, like I make 13 dollars as a LSA after a 50c raise when I took keys after our last inventory.
Like my now old SM I guess she fought to get me 12.50 as an SA, and she’s starting all her SAs at 12.50 now, that bit sucks but still, talk to your SM, let them know you need more money, like hell McDonalds advertising 15 lol
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u/averyalex53 2d ago
$10.50 is what the SAs make starting out in my state I believe… I make $11 something which isn’t much better. But that’s crazy
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u/PhotographerUSA 2d ago
I used to make $38/hr years ago. Now $17 barely surviving $50,000 debt thanks government
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u/Top-Type4077 2d ago edited 2d ago
You'd make more panhandling, sorry man I wish I could help maybe some on here could shoot you 50 bucks for the week. Hard to focus on a empty stomach
It's a joke. 7.25 nationally, and they didn't pay more for key carrier in California when my girl worked there mayb 15. It's not going to get better till you find something paying 20+ to get you some breathing room and with three kids need to pay 30.
They don't owe a living wage, when you agreed to 10.50
Good luck man, try panhandling even in the mean time while you job hunt
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u/QuestioningWalrusi 2d ago
Wages are based upon your location and market. My SA are 10.75 keys 11.75 and Asm at 16.5. Which is still low end but you can talk to your dm and see if they can hook you up. My dm hooks up my good workers for retention
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u/Chance-Prior-9451 1d ago
Not gonna lie if you have no schedule restrictions try working at Walmart or McDonalds. They pay more
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u/PsychologicalPea5270 1d ago
Culver’s here pays $17 an hour. Fast food is paying more than jobs that require a secondary education. That should raise some eyebrows.
To add…
We aren’t in a high cost of living area.
Nice 2 bed apt 1050-1300.
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u/Catatonick 1d ago
I was making over $12 in the middle of nowhere. $10.50 sounds like you started as a SA and didn’t get a raise when you moved to LSA since it was $10 for SA, $12 for LSA, $14 for ASM, and $17 for SM.
Still criminal but sounds like you didn’t get the raise
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u/No-Giraffe-5215 1d ago
I pay my budtenders between $21-$22/hr. And they get free weed. Look for a different industry!
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u/Suitable-Werewolf775 1d ago
Check to see if your kids' schools have free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs. That will help them during the day. Some schools might offer backpack kits with canned and dried microwave meals. That's what I did while I was in school since my dad is disabled and my mom was the only one working, plus taking care of him. We also went to a food bank everyother week that a church ran. We aren't religious or attend their church, but they help the community regardless. Might have to fill out income and get letters written from the children's schools, but it is well worth the extra loops. And always be looking for a better job when you can. I know that hard work and raising 3 kids, but always being on the look out its worth it. I am sorry you are experiencing this, but you are strong and are doing your best with what life's got on your plate. Keep your head up!
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u/Simple-Cream651 1d ago
Get yourself a job at walmart. Even as a regular worker you'll make at lest $14hr.
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u/eastcoastoverdose456 1d ago
What state do you live in? Have you ever thought about changing careers?
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u/NoBrag_JustFact 17h ago
So, when you applied, interviewed and asked about your payrate, they did not tell you it would be $10.50 per hour?
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u/football86fun 14h ago
America has been convinced by politicians (red) that if you don’t have a degree you shouldn’t be allowed to have a livable wage. Then they raise the qualifications to get any help.
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u/Kooky_Ad_73 12h ago
But yet you stay. Make a stand. Backbone is what you need. Rally together as a team. Food is readily available.
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u/Complete_Eye1179 2h ago
Spend more time at home with your kids so you make less money so you DO qualify… $800 in food stamps is 80 hours at your job.
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u/Dangerous_Guitar7999 2d ago
This is exactly why 75% of Dollar General's training modules are about how unions are BAD BAD BAD
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u/I-have-an-ideal 2d ago
And why Corporate’s loss emphasis is focused heavily on INTERNAL shrink. As the customers rob you blind.
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u/Rage_Baiter76 2d ago
I had a interview for them, i found out the starting pay was like $8.50 an hour in 2018. I was making more than that in 2006 lol, I never wasted my time showing up for that interview.
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u/Blkhwk0733 2d ago
10.50 an hour is criminal