Walmart Employee Gets Locked Inside Building, Turns to Reddit for Advice When Boss Refuses Help

What should you do if you get stuck at your job site after closing and your manager refuses to help you out because he values the front door more than your wellbeing? Ask Reddit, apparently.

When u/Zealousideal-Ebb-481 asked r/legaladvice for guidance while they were literally trapped inside Walmart, the comment section echoed the same answer: call the fire department. While OP was worried about getting fired, many stressed that OP's life would be in danger should an emergency arise. Unsurprisingly, the post eventually made its way over to r/antiwork, whose redditors had some thoughts of their own.

Posted by Mel Dawn

Redditors of r/legaladvice advised OP to call the fire department

“If there is a fire or some other emergency” emphasized u/griveaux, “you're going to have a bad time. Call 911 and have the fire department bust it open.”

Others chided OP's boss for even suggesting OP would have to stay overnight. “OP are there still other people around? The manager of the Walmart either needs to help you get out or contact emergency services to break down a door. You’re not staying there overnight!!” Said u/dev-246.

After OP updated their post explaining that they called the Walmart head manager, who said there was nothing he could personally do to help OP, u/dev-246 added: "I would text him (so you have it in writing) that “I cannot stay locked in the store overnight, since you cannot unlock the door, and the Walmart manager cannot help, I will be calling the fire department as a last resort”

Boss values property over employees

Redditors in the comment section were indignant on OP's behalf. u/throwawaypostal2021 stressed, “You are not a prisoner. Call 911 this is an emergency. Your boss can kick rocks and if theyre [sic] willing to leave you in a cage for a night, thats what they think of you. Find a new employer.”

u/dev-246 chimed in again, “…he’s valuing a broken door over your safety!” To which OP replied, “Yeah, really good point. He's valuing a broken door over my safety.. kinda leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Thank you.”

Fire department to the rescue

Thankfully, with the help of the local fire department and some encouragement from a handful of fellow redditors, OP was released from their Walmart prison despite their horrible bosses doing very little to help.

A new conversation starts after OP's story gets reposted to r/antiwork

Some redditors over at r/antiwork were interested in how OP might get their employer in trouble for negligence. According to u/mbronstein95, this isn't the first time the big-box behemoth accidentally locked people in. “Walmart got in huge trouble several years back for locking people in overnight. I'd love to see them fire you for this and if they do make it as loud and messy as possible and you'll be living very comfortably for a while.”

“I dream of the day that a company does something like this to me.” Added u/Alvarez09, wryly.

Read the original thread here.