Let's talk about things at work!
When 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 moreWhen managers forget what they asked for
Coach sent me to get a flatbed, so I ran across the store to find one. Took me five minutes because, of course, none were in GM. When I finally get back, he goes, “Why’d you bring that? We don’t need it anymore.” No problem, I’ll just file this under Wasted Time Weekly. #ShiftStories #ManagerLife
... read moreDoes Walmart cash personal checks?
Had a customer today ask if we cash personal checks. We don’t—it’s only payroll, government, and pre-printed checks through our MoneyCenter. They didn’t love the answer, but it’s good info to keep handy because people ask that a lot. #CustomerQuestions #MoneyCenter
... read moreThe secret life of the backroom printer
The backroom printer is either silent for hours or screaming nonstop like it’s possessed. I went to pick up one label today and walked away with a stack I didn’t even print. Nobody claims them, nobody knows who sent them, but the printer just keeps spitting them out. I’m convinced it’s alive back there.
Also, why is it that when you need it to print labels quickly, it suddenly forgets how to work? But when you accidentally hit print twice, it goes turbo mode and wastes an entire sheet. You can’t win with that thing.
#BackroomFails #TechMystery
... read moreOGP substitutions can get wild
Had a customer approve a substitution today where we swapped out vanilla yogurt for chicken broth. They said, “Yeah that’s fine.” I paused, re-read the order, and triple-checked. Still approved. Sometimes you just let it happen. #OGPLife #SubstitutionChaos
... read moreWhy is it always the same carts?
Why do the same carts always have wobbly wheels or that loud screech? I swear they get sent back out just to haunt us. #CartLife #RetailProblems
That awkward race to the time clock
You ever catch yourself lowkey racing another associate to the time clock at the end of shift? Nobody says it’s a race, but we all know it is. #ShiftLife #ClockOutRace
The real MVP: Maintenance
Maintenance doesn’t get enough credit. Whether it’s fixing a jammed baler, unclogging drains, or saving us from random floods, they keep the store from falling apart. People only notice when something’s broken—but I notice when they make it work again.
We had a major leak last week and our maintenance guy was there in like two minutes with the wet vac. Total legend.
#MaintenanceHeroes #StoreSupport
... read moreDoes Walmart pharmacy price match?
Had a customer ask me if Walmart pharmacy price matches other pharmacies. I actually had to look it up. Turns out they don’t—but they do offer some lower-priced generics. Just one of those things I should probably know off the top of my head by now. #WalmartPharmacy #CustomerQuestions
... read moreThat one endcap that never stays neat
We all have that one endcap that somehow resets itself to disaster mode every hour. You zone it, turn around, and it’s destroyed again. #EndcapWars #RetailReality
When a customer hands you a wad of cash
Why do some customers hand you cash like it’s a crumpled tissue? I spent a full minute unfolding five separate bills today. #CashierLife #CustomerHabits
Can we talk about how nobody cleans the registers?
Walked up to a register today and the entire screen was covered in fingerprints, dust, and something that looked suspiciously like ketchup. Nobody had wiped it down in hours.
I don’t get why we have sanitizer everywhere but people treat the registers like they clean themselves. I grabbed a cloth and started scrubbing, but it’s honestly a losing battle. Those things need their own support group.
#RegisterWoes #CleanUp
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