A Walgreens pharmacy tech trainee says she was fired after refusing to cover the register and telling managers, ‘You don’t own the business’

A pharmacy technician trainee says she was fired from Walgreens just two weeks into her new role after refusing to work as a front-end cashier. Her video, posted by a creator who has not been identified, was recently reshared to Instagram by comedian Maurice Shaw (drofcomedy), where it racked up tens of thousands of views.

In the video, the woman explained that when she was hired as a pharmacy tech trainee, she specifically requested during her interview to avoid retail cashier duties because she wanted to build an actual career. She claimed management agreed to these terms. However, a day before her firing, she said that they asked her to swap roles with another employee to cover the front of the store. She refused, telling them, “I was very clear upon interview that I was not wanting to be a cashier.”

The next day, she said that she was called into a meeting where management reportedly told her she was not being a team player. She claimed that they got offended when she pointed to their verbal agreement, so she told her managers, “I’m setting a boundary for you because I set that boundary from the beginning.” She says management countered by stating that they set the boundaries because they manage the business.

The woman pushed back at their argument

The woman responded by telling them, “It’s not your business. You don’t own the business. You don’t get profit for Walgreens. You’re a worker just like me.” She claimed that she was then asked to hand over her badge. In the video, she explained that her biggest frustration was that she enjoyed her role and had believed she was doing well because of the feedback she received.

She noted that she was “sick” of cashier jobs, which can come with difficult customer interactions. She also claimed that she found similar stories online from others who felt they were promised pharmacy roles only to be moved into cashiering, and she felt like Walgreens lied to her.

The post drew some support for the creator. One user told people to avoid Walgreens and CVS “like the plague” and thought that the woman was smart because “Boundaries are essential.”

Others offered a different perspective on the operational side of retail pharmacy. One person identifying as a pharmacy manager explained that store rules often require staff to be cross-trained as part of the business model. Another user agreed, noting that sharing work and swapping roles are “part of the job and yes also team work.”

Shaw himself took a critical view of the creator, writing in his caption, “Gen Z trying to tell the employer what she will and wont do for the job they are paying for. No wonder half of them ain’t working or they get fired right away.”

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify Walgreens’ side of the story, as this account comes solely from the woman’s video, which Shaw reshared on Instagram.