Putting in my notice at Lowe's after 2 years because "Managers" aren't "Leaders".
I finally put my notice ina few days ago and I’ve never felt more relieved, but I’ve also been feeling a little sad about it. I know how much I could have helped this place, and honestly, I know how much this place actually needs me right now. But today, I just proved exactly why I’m leaving.
I’ve been at Lowe’s for two years. I have Crohn's disease, and honestly, I was already burnt out before I even took my current role. I used to be a self-checkout and main line cashier, and I moved to Customer Service, hoping for a change of pace. I’ve been open about needing basic support for my health, but instead, I’m being neglected, ignored, and shoved into positions that aren't even my job.
Technically, my job is Customer Service. But they have me running the front end like a Head Cashier—without the title, the pay, or the actual system authority to fix anything. I’m stuck at the desk acting as a human buffer for every override and complaint, while the actual managers are nowhere to be found. I can't even do the things people are asking me to do because I don't have the access, but the cashiers still expect me to figure it all out.
What makes it even worse is that it’s not just me. I’m watching them run my other cashiers into the ground too. One of the girls on my main line is new, and they are working her even harder than they ever worked me—and that is saying something after my two years here. It’s only gotten bad like this in the last couple of months. We actually used to have fewer people and we still got our breaks back then. Now, we have more people on staff, and yet we’re not getting our breaks at all.
Today was the final straw. Not only did I not get a lunch, but almost all of my cashiers missed most of their breaks and barely got their lunches. It’s awful to watch them exploit people while we can’t even get a minute to handle a pee break or anything like that. I’m sitting here cramping and in physical pain because they refuse to work with me.
It’s infuriating because I know I could fix the workflow of this place in a heartbeat and people would be so much happier, but I don't even care anymore. I’ve realized Lowe’s has plenty of "managers" but zero leaders. The worst part is that I truly love my coworkers. They are the ones in the trenches with me every day, and it breaks my heart to leave them in this mess. Despite how I'm being treated, I’ve always been loyal to this store and wanted it to succeed—it’s a shame that a place with so much potential is run by people who don't care about the humans who keep the doors open.
I really need to stick it out financially until May 1st, even though honoring this notice period feels like a gamble with my health. Has anyone else dealt with being used as a "fake" Head Cashier while being denied basic medical accommodations? I’m about ready to just walk...