Dollar Tree Bashing

[TheFugitive]

Went into a Dollar Tree location the other day and was stunned to find the shelves stripped nearly bare!

When I go into a Dollar Tree it is usually to buy a few basic things.....shampoo, cleaning supplies,
stationery items, etc.   I have never before walked into one of these places and found the shelves
stripped literally bare of entire categories of stuff.

I asked the cashier whether the store was closing.  He told me no, that corporate had
cut their hours and the stock crew was getting only 1 to 2 days per week.  And since that is not
enough work to do anybody much good, most of them quit. 

It's nice to see how the short-sighted muddle-headed thinking of senor management has not changed
since I was in the business.

I imagine the days of Dollar Tree are limited (or at least the one-dollar price point).
If they can't come up with the payroll to stock the shelves now, what are they going to do
when minimum wage goes up?   ???

[ynkeesfn82]

I interviewed at the new one in Plainville Connecticut before they opened. They said you could be schedule for as few as 4 hours a week. Not only that but they told me "While it's good you have experience as a Cashier we cannot hire you because you have no experience stocking shelves." ---- Yeah as if you need a degree in "stocking shelves" in order to stock shelves. I've worked in retail for 15 years now. It's not that difficult to stock shelves.

[Chuck E. Cheese]

And I Haven't ever worked there-but I've heard they'll fire you If you don't stock shelves because you're not being a "team player"...

[TheFugitive]

I interviewed at the new one in Plainville Connecticut before they opened. They said you could be schedule for as few as 4 hours a week. Not only that but they told me "While it's good you have experience as a Cashier we cannot hire you because you have no experience stocking shelves." ---- Yeah as if you need a degree in "stocking shelves" in order to stock shelves. I've worked in retail for 15 years now. It's not that difficult to stock shelves.

The store I was in could have turned a bunch of trained monkeys loose on it.   That way
they would have had at least SOMETHING on the shelves.

I went in for some pretty simple things....some shampoo, cat litter, dish soap....
When customers don't find that stuff on the shelves they aren't generally coming back.

[giantsfan2016]

Went to the one on Queen Street in Southington yesterday. (Queen Plaza). The middle aged woman at the register was rude to the woman ahead of me who was having some difficulty with her debit card. Then when it was my turn she didn't even acknowledge me. They don't even have an email link on their website.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Went to the one on Queen Street in Southington yesterday. (Queen Plaza). The middle aged woman at the register was rude to the woman ahead of me who was having some difficulty with her debit card. Then when it was my turn she didn't even acknowledge me. They don't even have an email link on their website.

Bad employees at any store. Seems to be a local issue.

[TheFugitive]

So Dollar Tree has now completely broken with the single price-point format.  Prices are now all over the board.  I was in one that had some small kitchen appliances selling for up to $13.

One of the things I had always bought there were the small bottles of Dawn dish detergent.  They were a dollar, then went up to $1.25. They have now gone to $1.50.  That's for 7 1/2 oz.

I found the 18 oz. bottle for sale at Home Depot for $2.99.  Three ounces more for a penny less.  I guess Dollar Tree's new business model is ripping-off people who are too lazy to do the math?

They are now no different than Family Dollar (which they just sold) and Dollar General, but they don't do that format nearly as well.  I think this company is in serious trouble.

[BillyGr]

So Dollar Tree has now completely broken with the single price-point format.  Prices are now all over the board.  I was in one that had some small kitchen appliances selling for up to $13.

One of the things I had always bought there were the small bottles of Dawn dish detergent.  They were a dollar, then went up to $1.25. They have now gone to $1.50.  That's for 7 1/2 oz.

I found the 18 oz. bottle for sale at Home Depot for $2.99.  Three ounces more for a penny less.  I guess Dollar Tree's new business model is ripping-off people who are too lazy to do the math?

They are now no different than Family Dollar (which they just sold) and Dollar General, but they don't do that format nearly as well.  I think this company is in serious trouble.

Like most places, there will still be some items that are a better deal when compared as you did, and others will not be so good any longer.
Seems possible that at some point items might either get a small increase in size (now that they are selling for more) OR other stores will continue to shrink packages while these stores can hold the sizes due to the higher price, to bring them back into a better alignment. 

May just take time, much as it did over time for them to shrink (you'd often see two different sizes on the shelves at the same time, often with the older and larger ones in the back when those stocking didn't understand how to do so) :)

[TheFugitive]

There are some YouTubers who make videos where they comparison shop Dollar Tree with Walmart and Dollar General.  You're correct that the store with the best buy varies a lot by item.  And they have shown that manufacturers produce all sorts of different package sizes to further confuse the price-per-ounce issue.