TikTok user Michael (@mister_twister_55) is known for listening in on various stores’ walkie-talkie systems and sharing those conversations with his 67,000 Followers.
Previously, he filmed himself using a walkie-talkie to eavesdrop on Kohl’s employees talking about their co-workers. Before that, he tapped into Target’s walkie-talkie system, capturing employees uncovering a potential thief.
Now, in another viral video with over 176,000 views, the infamous TikToker has camped in the parking lot of a strip of retail stores, including the Express Factory Outlet and an Old Navy, capturing employees talking about customers.
The video begins with the TikToker sharing, “Retail worker complains about annoying customer on walkie.” Then viewers are launched into a conversation between two employees “complaining” about a customer over the walkie-talkies.
“That guy… right there… look over. … That guy right there is a pain in the ass,” an employee starts. “They threw these out of the way so that her child could sit there,” the employee continues.
A second employee chimes in, “I’ll just say I rather you work on recovering,” suggesting that the first employee shifts their efforts from assisting the “annoying” customers to “recovery,” the act of tidying up the store.
As the conversation unfolds, it is apparent that the first employee has contacted the second employee to check on backstock, additional inventory that is not on the store floor, on behalf of the customer, but they are both hesitant because of the customer’s behavior.
“I want to say we do have them in the back but…” says the second employee before trailing off. The first employee, chimes in, “If you do find the jacket back there, or whatever they are looking for, I wouldn’t even bring it out .. because they pissed me off.”
@mister_twister_55 The ☕️ gets so 🥵🌶️ by the end lol
♬ original sound – mister_twister_55
Numerous TikTok users related to the employee’s lack of desire to assist the customers, sharing similar experiences.
“I WORKED AT OLD NAVY THIS IS SO TRUE,” one viewer shared. Another shared, “I had a friend that would say he would check in the back, go back there and stand there for a minute, then come back out and say he didn’t find it.”
Others expressed that talking about customers is an essential part of the retail experience. “Spent a decade working retail. Wasn’t a day that passed where either I or my coworkers trash talked at least one customer,” a user commented.
Update 8:36am CT, Jan. 9: Michael told the Daily Dot that he thinks this is “a good video for every day customers to watch.”
“It puts into perspective what the retail workers have to deal with. Even if you aren’t a problem customer maybe be a little extra nice to the workers knowing that they deal with crappy people like the ones in the video. Just be a little extra nice!” he said.