What do retail workers really do when customers ask for help? Well, they usually try to give it to them.
However, sometimes, a situation arises where a retail worker’s hands are tied, and they might need to get a bit performative to please the customer.
At least, that was the case for Lowe’s worker Mini Made @minimade on TikTok.
A lie at Lowe’s
While working at the Returns desk, she says a customer asked for an employee to help them with grills in the Garden section. So, Mini Made called for their fellow employee on the intercom.
Little did the customer know, there was no one even working in the garden section at the time.
“Can I have an associate to Inside Garden for grills?” Mini Made announces. “Thank you.”
She added in the text overlay, “Me knowing darn well the inside garden associate went home 30 minutes ago,” followed by a shrug emoji.
Her video has garnered over 419,000 views since she shared it Monday.
“Sometimes you just gotta tell the customers you’ll call them someone over knowing no one is coming,” Mini Made added in the caption.
How frequently do retail workers lie to customers?
Several commenters said they frequently lie to customers while on the job.
“Gotta make the customers think we are being helpful,” one user said.
“As a Lowe’s customer service associate I lie to them customer all the time ‘yes ma’am somebody will be right over’ knowing full well nobody been in that department all day,” another added, followed by crying emojis.
“As a former head cashier, this was a daily thing,” a further user wrote.
And sometimes, it’s just a way to get customers off your back. “FINALLY ON LOWES TIKTOK. like even if i know they left im still gonna page so the customers can’t yell at me bc i ‘didnt do my job’ ma’am im a cashier,” one commenter said.
But several customers in the comments were not happy with Mini Made’s video.
“I’d much rather you tell me they aren’t there than waste my [expletive] time,” one user wrote.
“Just tell me straight up that no one is at that department then waste my time, I could go somewhere else within that time frame,” another said.
“Hate workers that cant be honest with customers. if you see short staffed say so dont try to waste my time,” a further user added.
Is this a result of being understaffed?
Like that commenter suggested, these customer service habits are often a ripple effect of understaffing at retail stores. This was echoed by several alleged Lowe’s workers in the comments.
“They didn’t schedule anybody the last two hours of the day in paint and I had to stay making my day 11 hours,” one user said.
“Why would they not schedule a closing associate during grill and mulch season,” another commenter wrote, followed by several crying emojis. “ITS HELL. when they keep paging for a loader and all THREE are in the mulch pit.”
“I used to work in tools/hardware and one night there was nobody in paint and my manager sent me there knowing i barely knew how to work it and it was a horrendous night [crying emoji] never again,” a third said.
“I work at lowe’s, it’s better doing this rather than getting cussed by the customer. Not associates fault that management can’t schedule anyone,” a further user shrugged.
@itsminimade Sometimes you just gotta tell the customers you’ll call them someone over knowing no one is coming 🤷♀️😂 #lowes #loweshomeimprovement #goviral #asmrvideo #fulfilment ##customerservice #phone #overheadpage #lowesclearance #goviral #blowthisup #blowthisupforme #college ♬ original sound – Mini Made
The extent of understaffing at Lowe’s
Several Lowe’s workers have complained about understaffing beyond Mini Made’s TikTok comments.
One Lowe’s employee called out the understaffing that made it difficult to get his own job done in a 2023 Truthout Op-Ed. It also became a topic of conversation on the r/Lowe’s subreddit. Many users reported understaffing at their stores, which often led to unhappy customer service experiences.
A 2017 Forbes report notes that labor practices like understaffing have led several retail workers to leave the industry. In fact, several experts note that understaffing also lowers a business’s profitability.
Understaffing impacts the safety of both workers and customers, too. Seventy-two percent of retail workers said they were not able to respond to a safety threat on the job due to understaffing, per a 2024 Theatro survey.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lowe’s via media contact form, and to Mini Made via TikTok direct message.
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