A manager of a 99 Cents Only Store takes a customer to task over the store’s PA system for posing as the manager to other customers and possibly spreading misinformation regarding a sale.
In a TikTok with over two million views, content creator Jami (@jamilorraine) catches the disgruntled manager delivering a clarifying message to customers and a warning to the impostor manager.
“Management, he is not,” she says of the perpetrator over the loudspeaker. “So our store is not gonna start this sale until tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
Jami pans the store, showing the long lines of customers waiting in the checkout line.
“And the gentleman who’s walking around pretending to be management, you need to leave my store, or I’m notifying the police department,” she threatens. Jami and other customers in the store react with amused exclamations and laughter as the video ends.
The video’s on-screen text reads, “Oooh it’s going down at the 99.” Jamie’s caption elaborates, “I’m gonna miss the 99! But d*mn people, act right.”
The video has gone viral in the wake of this week’s announcement that all 371 99 Cents Only stores across California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada will be closing after over 40 years of operation. The company also filed for bankruptcy.
The news is a blow to penny-pinchers and bargain hunters across the four states the discount store chain served. A consolation, perhaps, is the slew of going-out-of-business sales happening at many 99 Cents Only locations, with deals reportedly ranging from 10% to 30% off. Some stores, like Jami’s, have plans for sales but have not yet rolled out their liquidation prices.
Interim CEO Mike Simoncic issued a statement on April 4 citing the “unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds” as causes that have “greatly hindered the company’s ability to operate.”
@jamilorraine I’m gonna miss the 99 so much!! but damn people act right. #99centstore
♬ original sound – jami
In the comments section, viewers shared their reactions to Jami’s video as well as their sentiments for the beloved low-cost store.
“The gentlemen pretending to be management needs to up his game and pretend to be corporate instead,” one viewer quipped.
“I work at the 99 and since they announced the closing of all stores it’s been hectic. You have people throwing fits about the prices,” one 99 Cents Only Store employee wrote.
“A guy from my local store was just hired as Assistant Manager a month ago,” another viewer said. “Got his benefit packet the same day he got laid off. Apparently they told the employees it was only a restructure. They did these people dirty!”
There seems to be some attempt to provide relief to employees who will lose their jobs as a result of the company shuttering. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to prepare a report this week on ways to help provide financial support to terminated 99 Cents Only Store employees in the area.
As for now, employees are doing their best to manage the bargain-hungry crowds and their interesting tactics to jump-start the sales.
“Customers are losing their minds,” one viewer commented.
The Daily Dot has reached out to 99 Cents Only via press email and Jami via Instagram direct message for more information.
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