When it comes to saving money, consumers often consider Dollar Tree vs Dollar General. Which store offers the better deals? Which one will actually help you save money? While there are similarities between the two, they are not identical and have issues, according to online reviews.
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Number of Dollar Tree reviews – 2.3K |
Number of Dollar General reviews - 3.2K |
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Dollar Tree rating – 2.6 ⭐⭐⭐ |
Dollar General rating – 2.6 ⭐⭐⭐ |
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Claimed losses - $1.5M |
Claimed losses - $1.3M |
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Successful calls – 7%/9.8K |
Successful calls – 8%/6.1K |
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Resolved issues - 15 |
Resolved issues - 23 |
While both sell many overlapping items, they are not direct competitors. Many products in Dollar Tree stores cost just over $1, at $1.25. This means they are essential and inexpensive but have a limited selection due to the cost point required at dollar stores. On the other hand, Dollar General, which has become the parent company of Family Dollar, operates as a discount store resembling small grocery stores. You can find a range of groceries, hardware, cosmetics, toiletries, and home goods with a range of discount price points, most of which are higher than the $1.25 of all items at Dollar Tree stores.
Concerning dollar stores, consumers often ask questions regarding their services, product quality, and reliability. They read feedback, including Dollar Tree and Combo stores - Dollar General and Family Dollar reviews.
Customers want to know: Which is better and more reliable, Dollar General or Dollar Tree? So, we took customer reviews on our platform to compare the stores and identify the top complaints about each.
Key Insights
- Despite convenient locations, only 16% of customers would recommend Dollar General to friends or colleagues.
- 70% of Dollar Tree shoppers claim they won't use these stores in the future.
- Both stores face poor customer service, expired products, rude employees, and price issues.
- To shop smartly at Dollar Tree or Dollar General, check price tags, use coupons, focus on quick-use items, and avoid unnecessary browsing.
Substandard Customer Service and Rude Employees
In the Dollar Tree vs Dollar General discussion, there doesn’t seem to be much difference when it comes to customer service. Consumer complaints center around customer support in both locations. In fact, 50% of store customers believe that Dollar Tree customer service needs improving. Shoppers specifically cite employee attitudes in their complaints.
For example, in one of the Dollar Tree reviews, a customer explained their issues with the staff representative, whose behavior they considered“disgusting” and “embarrassing”:
…She was giving me eyes like she was ready to fight me over something like that night…
It happened after the reviewer refused to "to put the green cart away," which was left by another customer, and mentioned that "its your [shop employee] job to put it back."
Dollar Tree complaints aren’t alone in mentioning bad customer service and rude employees.
In one complaint about Dollar General customer service, a frustrated customer explained that they arrived at a store at 9:41 only to be told they had "four minutes to shop" despite the posted closing time of 10 pm. When the customer went to the car to get their driver's license, as "the system was down," the manager closed the door with the customer's arm. In the attempt to return, the store's employee "pulled the door."
The customer filed an official complaint about the treatment to corporate Dollar General customer service, claming:
I think I have been discriminated because of my age... I feel hurt and let down…I have never been treated this way.
Poor Dollar Store Conditions
While the stores function slightly differently in terms of price, their range of merchandise is wide. So, regarding Dollar Tree vs Dollar General on store offerings and cleanliness, it’s not a surprise that both have complaints about items being out of stock, shelves being blocked by boxes and clutter, and overall dirty conditions. While Dollar Tree receives complaints about stock and blocked shelves, its opponent fields most of the complaints about dirty stores.
For example, a recent complaint about a Dollar General in Pennsylvania explained that the store was hard to move in as you “almost trip over those boxes to get somewhere.” The customer also noted that
you almost trip over those boxes to get somewhere and you have to move their crates in order to get what you need…the floors are dirty all the time.
When the customer brought the concerns up to an employee, the employee said she couldn’t help it and “started bombing [the customer] underneath her breath.”
A Dollar Tree complaint has a similar tone, explaining that almost “every isle was cluttered with shopping carts, empty carts or store cards full of [merchandise] that needed to be stocked.”The aisles were so cluttered that the customer started to move them to access items on the shelves and was told, "Don't touch things."The situation escalated to the point that the customer was followed into the aisles, and police were called. The customer does not plan to return to the store and claims it is not the first issue with this particular place:
I'm fine with NOT going back to shop there. This is something I have heard from others within the last couple of years about just how bad this store has gotten [Montana].
Expired Products and Other Quality Concerns
The conflict over the better deals at Dollar Tree and Dollar General isn’t going to be solved by considering the freshness of the food items. Both stores have complaints about expired items being sold.
For example, at Dollar Tree review #5321083, a customer discovered that they are "selling, expired milk" - the expiration date was 09/18/2023, and the accident happened "on Saturday November 11th." When she called, she also learned, "the phone lines are down so I cannot get a hold of anybody."
In a similar Dollar General complaint, a customer discovered that items they purchased at one location were expired. When she went to a different location, “the same products were expired also.”The customer called corporate, and the company called back a week later to reassure them that they "could dispose of the bad products" since the consumer had receipts. Unfortunately, later she was told
now that I didnt have the products (which was many many days later) that I couldnt get a refund…So Im just out of the money I spent at the store for bad unusable inedible products.
Raising Prices and Discrepancies
Comparing Dollar Tree vs Dollar General, they are discount stores, but both have their share of pricing questions and complaints. At Dollar General, a customer complained about the items stocked in the cooler, as well as rising prices on all of the merchandise. The customer couldn’t understand:
DG prices are climbing higher than WalMart's prices, something that really surprised me. The reason I started shopping at DG was for the lower prices plus availability of products.
Dollar Tree doesn’t escape the complaints about prices, however. A recent reviewer claims in feedback #5518585 that the store recently
Raised prices without notifications to public or stating on door of price increases.I was charged $150 more than I anticipated due to price increases.
Coupon Challenges
Many customers know that shopping with coupons can save quite a bit of money. When you combine Dollar General or Dollar Tree coupons with the already low prices, customers can save even more. While Dollar Tree accepts manufacturers’ coupons, per their FAQ on the company’s website, there are no specific Dollar Tree coupons for customers to clip.
Dollar General, on the other hand, accepts both manufacturers’ coupons as well as specific Dollar General Coupons. On the company’s website, there are Dollar General coupons you can “clip” electronically and coupons that can be printed before shopping in the store. Perhaps it is these store-specific coupons that boost the number of complaints. Currently, there are more coupon complaints at Dollar General than at Dollar Tree stores.
One Dollar General customer accused the company of “ripping people off” when they tried to use a digital coupon that didn’t work in complaint #5514579. They explain
a digital coupon did not give me a discount and there was no manager in the store that could refund me my money for the product. The customer service was awful and it happens every time I go in the store
Tips for Smart Shopping at Dollar Stores
Want to be sure you will have a positive shopping experience at Dollar Tree or Dollar General? Consider these tips:
Watch the price tags. Not everything is a dollar at dollar stores, and your bill can creep up quickly if you’re not watching the actual price on many of the items.
Use coupons. Use digital or manufacturer’s coupons to get even bigger savings on already inexpensive items.
Don’t look for quality. Dollar store items are cheap, and they aren’t made to last. Focus on finding items you are going to use quickly or only use two times to avoid constantly replacing something you need to use for years or even weeks.
Avoid temptation. It’s easy to spend extra money in dollar stores because everything seems cheap. Work with a list and avoid browsing the aisles because you’ll easily pick up an extra ten, twenty, or fifty items that explode your final bill.
Finding What Works for You
Everyone likes saving money, but to make the most of shopping at dollar stores, you need to be practical, understand how the stores work, and avoid the temptation to buy things you don't need that might run up the bills. If you've had a great experience, or perhaps one that wasn't so good with Dollar Tree vs Dollar General, leave a review on PissedConsumer or join the conversation in the comments below this article.
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