Let's talk about things at work!
Why do customers always pick the worst carts?
You know those carts that sound like they’re dragging an anchor? Why is it always those that customers insist on using the entire time?
That one day when everyone called out
Had one of those “perfect storm” days where half the department called out and the rest of us just had to power through. You know those shifts where the freight’s stacked high, customers are lined up, OGP is backed up, and suddenly you realize there’s literally four people working the entire floor?
That was today. Team lead was running around covering five areas. One of us was zoning and jumping on register backup every ten minutes. Every time the walkie called for help, we just had to ignore it because we were all tied up.
It’s wild how the whole store can teeter on the edge of collapse and somehow… it still runs. Customers have no idea how close we are to the edge some days.
... read moreThose moments when the zebra freezes mid-scan
I was flying through picks today and of course the Zebra froze on me mid-scan. I had to reboot, log back in, and it completely wrecked my rhythm. Happens every time.
The overnight snowstorm shift that broke us
Overnight shifts are already rough, but try doing one during a snowstorm. The snow was piling up so fast in the parking lot that by 3AM, customers’ cars were getting stuck. We had like four associates and a team lead outside pushing people out while also trying to manage freight inside.
Inside wasn’t much better. The floors were soaked, footprints everywhere, and the baler jammed right in the middle of it all. On top of that, we had a water leak near the loading dock. It was like every issue wanted to show up at once.
We ended up taking turns with mops and snow shovels all night. When morning hit, we looked like we’d survived a disaster drill. Freight was half-finished, nobody had dry shoes, and customers still expected everything to be business as usual. Overnight in a storm hits different. You just push through.
... read moreThe never-ending register tape scavenger hunt
Is there a store where register tape is actually easy to find? Ours disappears like it’s being smuggled out.
The day freight just didn’t show up
We had one of those days where the truck just never came. Everyone’s ready to unload, the backroom is prepped, and then… nothing. Turns out it was delayed by hours, but no one told us until the end of shift. So we basically spent the whole day shifting pallets and looking for ways to fill the time.
The worst part? The freight’s now showing up on tomorrow’s truck, which is already oversized. So tomorrow, we’re basically getting a double. It’s like the work just rolls downhill and lands right in your lap.
When the truck ghosted us, half the team just started deep cleaning the backroom because we didn’t know what else to do. That’s how you know you’ve run out of tasks. Some shifts you unload freight, other shifts you just stand around waiting for problems to arrive.
... read moreDoes Walmart accept Afterpay?
Had a customer ask if we accept Afterpay. Nope, not in stores. Walmart Online is where you can use it—but not for everything. Always good to double-check before you get to the register.
The self-checkout shift from chaos
Worked self-checkout this morning and it was the wildest shift I’ve had in months. First, three machines froze back-to-back. I fixed one, turned around, another one flagged immediately. You’d think I was spinning plates at a circus.
Then, I had one customer who refused to scan anything and demanded I do it all for them, while two others were arguing over whether someone cut the line. I’m running between registers like I’m playing defense on a soccer field.
Meanwhile, the walkie’s blowing up asking for backup, the printer runs out of receipt paper, and the soda machine started leaking right in the middle of the rush.
By the time backup finally came, I felt like I’d lived an entire shift in two hours. If you’ve survived a true self-checkout morning, you know the kind of chaos I’m talking about.
... read moreWalmart parking lot during holidays is chaos
Is it just me or does the parking lot during holidays turn into a free-for-all? No rules, no lanes, just vibes.
When the walkie’s just static all day
Some days you can’t hear a single clear sentence on the walkie. Just static, cut-offs, and random background noise. Love that for us.
When you can’t find a working printer anywhere
Today I spent almost 30 minutes trying to find one working printer. The backroom one was out of labels. The one near OGP was jammed. The service desk one was somehow offline. I ended up printing my labels from the TLE printer across the store. Wild. #PrinterHunt #RetailProblems
... read moreWhen the truck arrives but the dock is blocked
The truck arrived on time today, but guess what? The dock was completely blocked by random pallets nobody moved overnight. So we stood there watching the driver waiting for us to figure it out. The scramble to clear a path was a whole separate workout. #TruckDay #DockDisasters
... read moreThose mysterious price changes overnight
Why do prices change overnight without anyone telling us? I’ve had customers scan something at self-check, see a price difference from the sign, and then it turns out the system updated while I was on lunch. #PricingMysteries #FrontEndConfusion
... read moreCart pusher appreciation post
Shoutout to the cart pushers. Rain, heat, snow, doesn’t matter—you’re out there hauling carts like you’re training for the Olympics. Respect. #CartLife #StoreHeroes
Why is the compactor always full
Can someone explain why the compactor is always full first thing in the morning? Who’s filling this thing overnight and just walking away? #CompactorBlues #BackroomProblems
Morning rush will humble you fast
There’s something about the morning rush that hits harder than anything else. You walk in thinking you have a little time to ease into your shift, maybe grab some coffee, check the walkie, and get started. Nope.
The store’s already packed, you’re getting called to backup while still clocking in, and suddenly you’re checking out half-awake customers who are throwing coupons, substitutions, and price match requests at you all at once. Coffee? Didn’t even open it. The walkie’s screaming for more backup, the self-checkouts are flagging every other item, and you’re lowkey racing the clock just to make it to your break.
If you’ve worked a true morning rush, you know it’s like running a sprint with no warm-up. It’s pure survival until the pace finally slows down. I’ve learned to just keep my badge, my walkie, and my patience ready the second I step through the door.
#MorningRush #RetailReality
... read moreThat time the overnight shift turned into a cleanup disaster
Overnight stocking usually has a rhythm. You come in, unload, push, zone, clean up. But sometimes that whole rhythm falls apart in seconds.
Tonight, someone spilled an entire pallet of oil. It tipped halfway through unloading and poured straight across the dock and backroom floor. If you’ve never cleaned up cooking oil, let me tell you—it spreads everywhere. You can’t mop it up because it just smears, and putting down powder barely helps. It took us over an hour to just contain it, and then we still had to unload the rest of the truck.
While that was going on, we had two bailers jam, one of the receiving doors wouldn’t close, and the walkie kept cutting out. By the time management showed up, the backroom looked like a war zone. It took the rest of the shift just to get things semi-clean. Still got asked why we didn’t finish our freight. I just stared at them. Some nights, the store just fights back.
#OvernightLife #CleanupShift
... read moreThe shift that was a full-on scavenger hunt
Ever have a shift where you feel like you spent most of your time searching for things? That was me today. Came in to do my usual zoning, but we were missing a whole pallet of overstock. Looked in the backroom—nothing. Checked the dock—gone. No paperwork, no stickers, no idea where it went.
Then, I get pulled to the front because no one can find register tape. Go on a store-wide hunt. Found exactly one roll. Restock was “on the truck,” but guess what? The truck was late. Spent another half hour looking for a working handheld because the first three were dead, one had a cracked screen, and the other wouldn’t connect to the Wi-Fi.
By the time I finally got back to my aisle, I was behind, tired, and still missing the original freight. Turned out the missing pallet was in the wrong section the whole time. Perfect. Some shifts you don’t work—you just search.
#LostAndFound #ShiftStruggles
... read moreWalmart OGP in summer heat hits different
There’s OGP in general, and then there’s OGP in summer. People don’t understand how brutal it gets when you’re running orders in the parking lot at 1PM, sun blazing, blacktop radiating heat like an oven.
Today was a perfect example. We were short two pickers, orders backed up fast, and we had people double-parking just to get closer. I loaded twelve orders in a row without a break. I was dripping sweat just from walking from the cooler to the lot. And you know what really gets you? When customers complain that their groceries are “a little warm.”
We’re literally sprinting out here, dodging carts, hauling cases of water, loading SUVs that are packed to the ceiling, all while the heat index is pushing 40°C. OGP is no joke in summer. If you know, you know.
#OGPGrind #SummerRush
... read moreThe freight truck that broke all of us
Some days the truck shows up and you just know it’s going to ruin your whole shift. Today was that day. The truck was supposed to be a normal load, but instead it showed up fully packed, double-stacked, and about two hours earlier than scheduled.
The dock was already full because the morning team hadn’t cleared the last truck, so there was nowhere to put anything. CAP2 had four people instead of eight, one pallet jack wouldn’t charge, and half the freight was stacked wrong, so it kept collapsing while we moved it. It turned into the kind of shift where you’re sweating through your vest an hour in.
What made it worse? Management walked by once, said, “You guys got this,” and disappeared for the rest of the unload. No extra help, no adjustments to coverage. By the time we got the floor somewhat cleared, OGP was behind, the truck was late leaving, and we were told we needed to stay late to “catch up” on freight. It’s like, maybe if we had the right number of people we wouldn’t have fallen behind in the first place.
I don’t even remember what I ate for lunch. All I know is that my back is wrecked, the truck left late, and we’ll probably be behind for the next three days. Some days the truck wins.
#FreightLife #TruckDayChaos
... read moreWhy is the receiving door always stuck?
Is it just my store or does the receiving door love to jam right when you’re moving the heaviest pallet? It’s like it knows. Every. Single. Time. #ReceivingLife #FreightFails
When you scan the wrong label and ruin your whole flow
Scanned the wrong label today and the handheld acted like I broke the entire system. Had to delete, re-scan, and it completely threw me off my rhythm. #ScanGunTrouble #ShiftGlitches
Walmart curbside pickup on Saturdays is next level
There’s regular busy, and then there’s Saturday OGP busy. It’s like the entire city decided to order pickup at the same time. Pick times were getting behind, parking spots were full, and everyone was calling asking why their order wasn’t ready yet.
It was straight chaos for four hours. Shoutout to the whole OGP crew who pushed through it—y’all are warriors. Saturday curbside shifts build character.
#OGPGrind #SaturdayRush
... read moreZoning pet aisle is like a game of Jenga
Zoning the pet aisle is dangerous. One wrong nudge and the entire cat food tower can come down. Feels like Jenga with worse consequences. #ZoningStruggles #PetAisleAdventures
The mystery of the overnight coffee p^t
Does anyone else’s overnight crew have the haunted coffee p^t? Ours has been “out of order” for like two months but somehow there’s always hot coffee in it. Nobody knows who made it, nobody admits to touching it, but it’s always there. #OvernightLife #StoreMysteries
... read more