This thread is kind of pointless. Retail is a dime a dozen job. The economy has gotten better to the point that you can pretty much get a job at any retail/food service place by simply walking in the door. In my city, there is not a store I go to anymore that doesn't have a "now hiring" sign out front.
Frankly, I don't think it's a big deal when a TM just walks out. It's near minimum wage job with no benefits. So what? It's definitely not the only minimum wage job out there. Now, if it was a TL or above, that's a little bit of a different story.
I think people are just a little more shocked that this is happening more now because people have been used to the recession where even minimum wage jobs were hard to come by. Fact is, that time is fast coming to an end now. If you had worked retail prior to the recession, you would know this is nothing new.
I remember a year or two before the recession when unemployment was ultra low, we would literally hire something like 15-20 new TMs *at one time* and about only two or three of them were still there one day after orientation. It seems to me (at least at my store) that we are pretty close to that again. Which is a good sign for the economy, anyway.
(Disclaimer: Yes, I realize that there are still a few areas around the country that haven't recovered from the recession and it's still not easy. So no need for the "Hey, I live in the middle of the ghetto in Detroit and no one has a job still!" posts. Yes, we know... but 90% of the country is much much better off than it was just two or so years ago on the employment front)