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Antiwork

Store Manager Called Me Stupid

I want to know if it's worth doing anything about. Probably not, but at the very least I hope y'all agree that this was bullshit. Basically, I work at a thrift store and we have very strict rules about pricing items. Sometimes items on the floor won't have prices on them, and customers will come up with the typical “so is it free?” gag and then ask for an actual price on the item. Our rule for this used to be that we had to take the item to the back and find a manager to put a new sticker on it so we could give it to the customer or put it back on the floor if they no longer wanted it. I did this for every unpriced item. Again, the rules about pricing items are strict and I, as a cashier, am not allowed to change the prices…


I want to know if it's worth doing anything about. Probably not, but at the very least I hope y'all agree that this was bullshit.

Basically, I work at a thrift store and we have very strict rules about pricing items. Sometimes items on the floor won't have prices on them, and customers will come up with the typical “so is it free?” gag and then ask for an actual price on the item.

Our rule for this used to be that we had to take the item to the back and find a manager to put a new sticker on it so we could give it to the customer or put it back on the floor if they no longer wanted it. I did this for every unpriced item. Again, the rules about pricing items are strict and I, as a cashier, am not allowed to change the prices of anything, so I figured this also meant I couldn't price anything myself either. So several times a day, I would be in the back searching for a manager to give me a price on a cup or a purse or whatever.

One day, the store managers, aka the Big Bosses, are the only managers in. (I'm used to the team leads more, since they are friendlier and easier to talk to.) I go to the back like 3 times within an hour because so much stuff was unpriced. As I leave with the third item, one of the store managers (old Southern white woman, my greatest fear) calls my name and curls her finger in that “come here” gesture. She tells me that I don't have to come to the back for every little thing. She tells me “don't be stupid. Use your common sense to price the items yourself. It's not that hard.” (not word for word, but the “don't be stupid” and “use common sense” bits were absolutely word for word). I leave teary because 1. Scary, 2. SHE SUMMONED ME LIKE A WITCH, and 3. She was talking down to me and she called me stupid. I don't like to cause problems though, so I don't say anything about it and just go about my day. If an item is unpriced, I give it my best guess unless it's a high end item (like a purse or an electronic item).

Well, this all happened over a month ago. Last week, I find a clipboard under my register stating that any cashiers found pricing items on their own will be terminated for failure to follow the rules on pricing. If an item is unpriced, we are no longer able to sell the item and must bring it to the back to be processed and put out the next day. If we are found violating the rules, we and out managers can be fired.

My store manager called me stupid over something she was WRONG about. Something so wrong, it could have gotten me fired. I am autistic and finding any job has been extremely difficult for me. This job doesn't pay well at all, but it keeps me afloat while properly being able to accommodate my needs. (The other store manager is extremely understanding of my situation and allows me to wear earplugs and has backup jobs for me to do when I'm overstimulated). I almost lost my job because this lady was annoyed that I was interrupting her business.

I probably should have quit the moment she called me stupid, but I'm scared I won't find another job I can handle. This was also a while ago, so I imagine I can't make any complaints over the original incident. She hasn't said anything about it since then. I'm wondering if there's anything I can do about it, or anything I could have done to make sure this doesn't happen again. Minimum wage isn't enough to make me want to listen to her shit again, but it's also all I can find.

TL;DR, I got called stupid for doing my fucking job correctly and I don't want my manager to think this is acceptable.

I'm aware this isn't as serious as other posts on this sub, but I know this isn't a one time thing for her. She yelled at and wagged her finger in the face of a homeless customer who clearly had some form of cognitive delay for asking for money, even though the lady already told her she wouldn't do it again. Right in front of me. I don't want to one day be on the receiving end of that intense ableism and rudeness.

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