Family Dollar

Hello,

The event took place between the hours of 3pm and 4pm CST on August 5th, 2023. The store manager of the address I have inserted which this event had taken place, (And let me elaborate to why I was wearing what I was) did not take kindly to me wearing a non - red T-Shirt on my very first time I've ever been to this store location. The store I normally work was shut down due to dangerous heats rising above temperatures of 100 degrees within the store, and an employee having passed out in the stock room for about an hour total before he'd been checked on. We were informed that we may wear something comfortable at my usual workplace, and then especially to try and wear something comfortable, preferably with shorts after the incidence with a fellow employee. A/C units had been down in multiple locations, and at another store even, I was also informed to wear something comfortable there too, but soon was corrected after I had explained the incident with my own SM about what just happened between me and another store's SM. She stated that at other stores, they're more relaxed on Truck days about clothing, which was why on that day, everyone was wearing non-red shirts.

I had informed the SM if the store in question that I was here to work at 4pm (I was almost an hour early) but I had brought lunch with me to eat in the break room. She immediately gave me a wtf look and stated something like "In that?" I explained to her that I was told to wear something comfortable, and thought all local Family Dollar stores were complying with this due to the heat (And this store also has a unit down). She let me by to the drink isle like it was fine at first, then I come back with a drink to purchase from the store to have with my lunch, and she continued on explaining that it was store policy that I should wear a red shirt. I told her that I could go home and get one if it's an issue, and she paused and stated that she guesses it's fine for today, but then she went outside instead of allowing me to purchase the drink at first, which I can only guess was an attempt to go either ask someone if it were truly the case, or rat on me, taking no time to do so as I'm left waiting at the register with my Simply Lemonade sitting there, clearly open as she'd clearly just taken a customer before me, which should very obviously be proven on camera that she sort of ditched and left me hanging for who knows what.

Now, I come back probably closer to around 3:40pm after finishing lunch in the break room, and she still seemed to be a bit annoyed, so I elaborate further to hopefully create some sort of understanding between us, rather than to keep silence as if I was going to somehow be a problem for her. I explained how my store that I usually worked is currently shut down due to the heat conditions and the incident with our employee passing out, which is WHY I was informed to wear this, and thought it applied here as well. She responded (Somewhere in the middle of my sentence cutting me off) reiterating "BUT this is MY store, and you must abide by company policy here. Here we wear red T-Shirts or Polo shirts. Other branded shirts are not allowed here whatsoever."

Next, I continue to assure her that I know that "now", but I am just explaining why I came in like this. (Which again, she cut me off around the but part when I was just assuring her as to why I was wearing what I was wearing.) "You know what, you can just get out and go home then, go." The elderly employee next to her was trying to be sweet and defend me, telling the store manager not to do that, but I had stated before them that it's fine, and that I couldn't work with her (the store manager) anyways. The store manager then makes some other comment on my way out which I could barely hear, and I was on my way home to explain what happened at the store to my usual store manager what happened with the woman who wasn't even kind enough to greet herself when I had given her my name on arrival so she knew who came in to work, since it was our first meet, which my own store manager informed me was the store manager of that store that I had the interaction with. I messaged my store manager back stating "Yeah, but she's a Karen. Just being honest."

This store manager seemed to be quite unreasonable, unreceptive (as she couldn't bear to hear anything out), and quite power trippy.