Trotwood Mayor raises concerns after witnessing deplorable conditions at local Dollar General

TROTWOOD — Dollar General stores are under fire again, this time from the Mayor of Trotwood.

Mayor Mary McDonald’s video went viral along with her concerns about deplorable conditions and employees who are overwhelmed due to a lack of training. Now, she’s pushing for better training to improve customer service.

McDonald told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that she saw two dogs, filthy conditions, and heard vulgar music playing when she recently went into a local Dollar General. She posted a Facebook Live video after the store and regional managers assured her that her concerns would lead to change. It didn’t, so she documented the blocked aisles and what she called inappropriate music.

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“These companies seem to not necessarily train their employees that it’s important to treat people with dignity and respect, regardless to what store it is,” McDonald said.

The mayor said she spotted children terrified because of two pit bulls, not service dogs, in the store.

“A pit bull in the store, children afraid of it, that really did bother me,” she said.

McDonald also said there is no way for older or handicapped shoppers to navigate the aisles that she recorded, loaded with boxes and inventory.

“They can’t get through. If I can’t get through, I know they can’t get through,” she said.

Campbell asked the mayor what reactions she’s received to her comments and viral video. She said most of them have been good.

“Everywhere I’ve gone, people have stopped me to say thank you for saying something,” McDonald said.

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Dollar General has been under fire in Ohio for months as Attorney General Dave Yost accused them of purposely failing to match prices on the shelves with prices on the same items at checkout. The I-Team previously showed viewers how it happened to us and it happened during county auditor inspections.

Now the trouble is store conditions and customer service. McDonald doesn’t blame the workers. She wants to help them, but she said all Dollar General managers on all levels need to make sure customers are treated well, no matter where they are spending their dollars.

“We want their experience to be the same they will have in any other area of town,” she said.

The mayor and city manager are working with Goodwill Easterseals to offer customer service training for employees at all Trotwood businesses. They are hopeful that Dollar General will take them up on the offer.

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