Dollar General reviews show staffing, scheduling and pay complaints

An aggregation of tens of thousands of employee reviews refreshed Jan. 14, 2026 shows a continued pattern of low ratings for Dollar General across pay and benefits, work-life balance and management. The profile lists overall and category scores clustered around roughly 2.5 to 2.9 out of 5, and includes many short-form submissions from January describing irregular schedules, understaffing and frustration with pay relative to responsibilities.

Those entries, posted over the first half of January, reinforce recurring themes that frontline workers and store-level employees cite when discussing the day-to-day pressures of low-margin retail. Accounts filed this month mention unpredictable shift patterns, frequent open shifts and what employees describe as chronic short staffing that pushes remaining workers to cover extra duties and longer hours. While employer review platforms are voluntary and reflect subjective experiences, the volume and timeliness of the complaints make the pattern harder to dismiss as isolated gripes.

For employees, sustained low ratings and fresh negative commentary can shape morale and turnover. When scheduling is irregular and stores are repeatedly short-staffed, workers face higher risk of burnout, missed hours, and lost income consistency. Dissatisfaction with pay for added responsibilities further increases the incentive for staff to seek alternatives in competitors that offer steadier schedules or higher starting wages, or to pursue gig work and other local employment options.

For store managers and district staffing teams, the trend can complicate recruiting and shift coverage. Local managers typically bear the operational strain of filling same-day vacancies and managing coverage during peak hours. If negative review metrics deter applicants or prompt existing staff to leave, stores may see deeper gaps in service and more frequent operational disruptions, a cycle that can exacerbate the very complaints flagged in reviews.

The broader context is competitive labor market dynamics in retail and discount stores, where wage visibility and scheduling practices are key levers for recruitment and retention. Employer review scores are increasingly part of how job seekers size up opportunities, and platforms that aggregate employee feedback can influence applicant pipelines at the local level.

What comes next will depend on whether the company addresses scheduling practices, staffing levels and compensation concerns in ways visible to workers and applicants. For employees and prospective hires, these review trends are a signal to watch local staffing patterns and to weigh schedule predictability alongside pay. For managers, the immediate task is balancing daily operations with efforts to stabilize shifts and retain personnel before staffing shortfalls deepen.