Usually corporate higher-ups think they know best, but their plans can come crashing down at a moment’s notice when reality doesn’t cooperate.

For one head cashier, compliance with nonsensical rules led to a hectic Black Friday, full of missed breaks, overtime mishaps, and a burning desire to walk away from the job completely.

Read on for the full story!

I let my bosses run the show today

I’m currently a head cashier at Home Depot. I work in a high-volume store that recently remodeled the “front end” where our registers are.

Now, our central checkout is entirely self-checkout registers (SCO), which they call “assisted” SCO.

They want us to assist as much as possible — especially with six items or more, high-priced items, and anything that could hide something inside — as well as push credit card applications.

But management wasn’t satisfied with cashiers’ performance so far, so they kicked things into high gear.

Here’s where the issues started: cashiers weren’t pushing credit card applications enough, so we fell behind on our goals.

To make up for it, my supervisor decided last week that everyone needed to be physically on a register, including head cashiers.

This meant letting other priorities fall to the wayside.

She didn’t even want us checking schedules to send breaks or send cashiers home, even though no one is allowed overtime. Unless there was money to handle, we weren’t allowed off a register.

Customers were already kind of on edge about the system, so experienced cashiers were mindful about stepping on toes.

As you can imagine, this was frustrating. It’s literally a self-checkout system, and customers are already annoyed when we assist them too much.

When the store transitioned to SCO, people were upset about the lack of normal registers. Now, there are only two or three normal registers open, located at opposite ends of the store.

The head cashiers decided to go against management slightly and do their jobs the best way they saw fit.

Me and the other head cashiers decided we weren’t going to comply fully. We prioritized keeping track of breaks and making sure cashiers went home on time, even if it meant getting in trouble.

Today, being Black Friday, the store was chaotic.

My supervisor, the store manager, and several other managers were lurking around constantly. A couple helped out, which was appreciated, but overall, it was a mess.

But it was clear priorities between the head cashiers and supervisors weren’t aligned.

Earlier in the week, I had asked my supervisor how we were supposed to send breaks or direct the lines if head cashiers were stuck on registers.

Her response? “Figure it out.”

She said if I had to check customers out and manage the line simultaneously, then I’d need to “keep my head on a swivel.”

So finally, the head cashier relinquished control and just let management do things their way – even if it was the wrong way,

So, I let them run the show.

They put me on a register, and I complied. I only left when told to cover for someone going home or to use the bathroom.

It was clear pretty quickly that important matters were being missed.

My lunch ended up being two hours late. I didn’t mention it until about an hour and a half after it was due because late breaks are pretty standard, but my lunch is mandatory since “no overtime” is the rule.

My late lunch wasn’t the only issue.

Other cashiers started getting their wires crossed, leading to even more confusion.

When I finally went on my break, one of my cashiers returned from the bathroom, and we noticed his fifteen-minute break was almost an hour overdue.

I apologized and explained that I wasn’t allowed to check the schedule.

I told him to go on his break but suggested he double-check with our supervisor since it would mean two people would be leaving at the same time.

No one was where they were supposed to be.

When I returned from my lunch, I discovered that one of our full-time cashiers had been forgotten on a normal register and was actively building overtime.

This never would have happened if I’d been able to do my job because she leaves at the same time every day.

But I wasn’t there — I was on my lunch. Two hours late.

The chaos continued.

Later, I was sent to the garden section to cover another lunch, which was over 30 minutes late.

When I got back inside, another cashier called because his fifteen-minute break was now almost 45 minutes overdue.

But it didn’t end there.

That’s just part of what happened.

I wasn’t allowed to do my job, so my cashiers were forgotten. Their breaks were delayed, and we even failed to send someone home on time.

By the end of the day, it was clear management’s bright ideas hadn’t actually helped them meet their goals.

Oh, and the kicker? We got the same number of credit card applications as we did earlier in the week before this new policy was enforced.

Turns out, it’s not about being on a register — it’s about actually asking customers. I may not like pushing credit cards, but I do it because it’s my job.

But this head cashier saw what they needed to see.

Or at least, it was. After seeing how these ridiculous rules affected my cashiers today — and after getting a call back from another job — I put in my two weeks.

I’m officially leaving “H*** Depot,” and I couldn’t be happier. I just worry about my cashiers.

They’re going to keep suffering under these rules, especially if anyone above them actually complies with them 100%.

As the clock ran out on their shift, so did their patience for a poorly run show.

What did Reddit think?

The corporate overloads will find their next victim soon enough.

This commenter thinks the head cashier should make their bosses pay for their bad management.

This commenter has some strong feelings about self-checkout.

When workers band together, they often enjoy better perks and are less likely to be taken advantage of by their neighbors.

Ultimately, the head cashier could leave satisfied, knowing they wouldn’t pay the price for bad management anymore.

This story proves that blind obedience often leads straight to disaster.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.