The situation and the ride I am about to take you on happened 2 months ago. I’m obviously still upset about the situation. I should let it go, but I can’t.
BUCKLE UP! Here we go:
- I worked in ODP at Walmart and got fired in a way that felt shady, avoidable, and handled with all the grace of a shopping cart in traffic. I’m posting this because I’m still trying to process what happened, and maybe someone else has dealt with the same circus.
The basics:
I was never formally coached in person. No real sit-down conversations, no genuine corrective discussions. The only “documentation” I’m aware of was whatever my Team Lead entered into Workday.
- I did sign an attendance-related agreement after leaving 15 minutes early when we were slow on a few occasions. That part is on me. I own it.
That said, I’ve historically had excellent attendance my entire life. School, jobs, life in general. I’m not someone who treats showing up casually.
- Management issues:
My Coach was on a cruise during the final week I worked there. The same day they returned was the day I was terminated. Convenient timing, because corporations do love dramatic reveals.
- My Team Lead and I did not get along. We were too similar in personality, and it created friction. More importantly: my Team Lead would yell at me, belittle me, and speak down to me publicly. In front of coworkers. In front of customers. Whenever the mood struck.
I reported this to my Coach more than once. I was told to “hang in there until after Christmas” because she might transfer stores, or they could move me out of ODP instead.
Which was wild, because I loved my department. I just didn’t love being verbally dressed down like a recruit in boot camp.
- Workplace culture:
I often felt isolated because around 90% of my coworkers spoke a language I didn’t. This is not a race issue. It’s a communication and inclusion issue.
Many coworkers had zero professionalism:
Regularly hours late
Extended breaks
Hanging in the break room endlessly
Ignoring work while others carried the load. Some male coworkers only acknowledged conventionally attractive women and ignored everyone else. Real mature stuff. A workplace built on emotional depth and character, clearly.
- What I gave that store:
Hired in October.
By Black Friday, I had keys/access to:
Electronics, Paint, Liquor, and even the
Electronics cage with high-value items (iPads, PS5s, etc.)
That’s a lot of trust for someone they later treated like a criminal.
I worked 60 hours during Black Friday rollout week.
I drove 45 minutes each way through brutal Midwest winter weather and made it in during snowstorms.
I showed loyalty and effort every shift.
- Mental health impact:
The job wrecked my anxiety.
I had panic attacks in the parking lot before shifts.
Even now, I avoid driving on the road where that store is located.
That’s not “I didn’t like the job.” That’s damage.
- Ethics / reporting:
Ethics was talked about like it was something you do not touch unless you want your life ruined.
Looking back, I genuinely think I was conditioned not to report issues.
-The firing:
The morning I was terminated, I checked my points and saw I was at 6.
I planned to discuss it with my Coach when they returned. Instead, I was blindsided and fired that same day. (I def could have fought it, but who wants to work with and for a bunch of people that don’t want you?) Then I was escorted out like I had robbed the place instead of helping run it. Humiliating doesn’t fully cover it.
-Irony:
I had personally helped stop shoplifters multiple times and was interested in joining Asset Protection. I even completed U-Learns related to it.
So naturally, they marched me out.
- Final thoughts:
Walmart didn’t just fire me. It drained me mentally, physically, and emotionally before doing it. I’m loyal to a fault. When I work somewhere, I commit fully. I show up, I care, I try. Walmart had someone willing to give effort, reliability, and heart. They chose dysfunction instead.
If anyone else has dealt with Walmart management retaliation, toxic Team Leads, point-system nonsense, or being discarded after giving everything, I’d genuinely like to hear it. Because this whole system feels broken.
(Thanks for reading. I already feel better)