'I never finished her training': Retail employee quits after being denied 401K and offered a 15-cent raise, leaves untrained replacement behind and business falls apart

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
May 18, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Working hard for not much in return is an unfortunate reality for a lot of people out there. You pour your heart and soul into a job, take on extra responsibilities, and prove yourself time and time again, only to get a minuscule raise and maybe a disingenuous "good job." Promotions are dangled like carrots, but when you finally snag one, it's just a new title with less pay than you anticipated.

But sometimes, people hit their limit. And when you deny someone a 401K, offer them a 15-cent raise, and expect them to train their replacement? Well, good luck.

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  • That's exactly what happened to one retail worker who was unofficially promoted after colleagues in her chain of command left. They took on warehouse management duties, juggling multiple departments, and keeping the place afloat. But when they finally asked for fair compensation, they got laughed off. Employee satisfaction is a real thing, and it will save you from ending up in a disaster of a situation like this. 

  • 05 $ 3,321 MPETING 9.30 AM
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "You wanted me to train my replacement because you can't give me a 401K as per the employee handbook? Okay..."

    I worked in retail since November 2019 up until last month. I was made full-time in February 2020 when my supervisor was fired for insider theft and I took his place as fresh meat department supervisor. Two years
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  • later, our warehouse manager went AWOL and was a no-show due to management shifts so I was unofficially promoted because all the vendors knew me and I was the best possible person to work a borrowed inventory and tagging system. Ugh, whatever.
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  • Maybe I'll get a raise and then some. Half-truth, because I did, but barely covered much because everyone got hours cut due to budgeting issues with corporate (they shut down three stores and were renovating five in the course of three years).
    via totem-fox
  • Fast forward to March 2025. Corporate district manager says I'll be officially promoted to warehouse manager after proving myself competent and in spite of losing several departments due to budget cuts. I asked if I
    via totem-fox
  • finally qualified for the 401K outlined in the employee handbook regarding the position, along with a substantial raise that wasn't a mere +$.15/hr. I was barely making enough just to pay rent and my credit card bills.
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  • He then said it wouldn't be likely due to most of the budgeting gone to renovations and new suppliers (and of course, new idiot nepotism baby corporates who f....ed everything up with the new suppliers in terms of purchasing). I still would
    via totem-fox
  • be training someone else to run the meat department regardless because I would still be lead receiver minimal. F. I put in my three. weeks' notice and trained the former head of the
    via totem-fox
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  • deli department (replaced with a disgusting cave of American-only beers) to run the fresh meat section while another warehouse manager trained my replacement at another location.
    via totem-fox
  • Here's the current fresh meat department supervisor, "Dina": she's elderly, has only worked deli for four years, and has no understanding of how things work outside of that field. She stands around dumbfounded and can't read in
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  • simplified English despite being American-born and rasied. Dina fails at ordering from the suppliers because she thinks the store get deliveries daily when they only come every Tuesday and Saturday due to new contracts. Then she got
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  • the PLUS wrong on the scales despite me showing her the order guides and pricing guides with everything sorted out properly. And then she conveniently forgot how to stack meats just like in the deli. She had all
    via totem-fox
  • BEEF HED BEEF Beef Shanks RP Beef Shanks RP Beef Marrow Bones Beel Marrow Bones 11 HEB Beet Chuck Reast Grass HEB Beef Chack Shoulder Roast HEB Beef Top Round Roast Grass Top Round Roast Fed USDA Choice Boneless Grass Fed USDA Choice Boneless Fed USDA Choice Boneless WAGYU WAGYU Beef Chuck Shoulder Roast American Wagyu WAGYU WAGYU PRIME ral Chuck Roast Prime 1 Beef Chuck Reast Boneless WAGYU WAGY Beet Chuck Roast American American Wagyu Beef Round Tip Roast Tri Tip Roast Eye of Rou IME 1 PRIME 1
    via S. Laiba Ali For Unsplash+
  • the hands-on training and forgot everything lickety- split. Oh well. I got paid for "training" her, and still running the warehouse until April 11th when I finally left.
    via totem-fox
  • Everything fell apart pretty quickly. The replacement warehouse manager is vaping indoors and elaving pallets and paperwork scatteredand the vendors hate him, and Dina is retraining at another
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  • store while she's racking up an entire 144 square foot cooler full of outdates and damages. I get texts from my former co-workers and I'm glad things are falling apart there anyways. I don't shop there or any of their
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  • locations because I can find better deals 30% lower or more at higher- end stores not supplied by the same distributors. Edit: where's the malice? | never actually finished her training, because I spent
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  • most of my time in receiving with other vendors and filing paperwork. No one in current management has been trained in receiving either.
    via totem-fox
  • Pandoratastic This is the kind of structural rot that happens when you get corporate restructuring using role creep as a crutch.
    via Pandoratastic
  • It's like a game of Jenga where someone keeps removing more and more pieces from the bottom until the whole tower is precariously balanced on one or two little blocks. And then one of those blocks says, "Screw it. I'm
    via Pandoratastic
  • out of here." And somehow, the blocks at the top are surprised when gravity still works and the whole tower starts to topple.
    via Pandoratastic
  • Tremenda-Carucha It's wild how quickly things can unravel when someone's handed a promotion without the proper tools or support, especially when they're expected to train someone who clearly isn't ready for the role.
    via Tremenda-Carucha
  • InsaneBigDave running the warehouse and training employees is a big deal. make sure you highlight that on your resume and apply for warehouse supervisor positions. likely a big raise for you.
    via InsaneBigDave
  • phrankjones The employee benefit security administration loves to hear about companies that don't administer their retirement plans correctly
    via phrankjones
  • commentsrnice2 When you said fresh meat manager I thought you meant you were new to being the manager, not that you
    via commentsrnice2
  • managed the meat department. When you started talking about the deli section and the beer cave it finally clicked hahah
    via commentsrnice2

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