“Would you like to sign up for our store credit card?” The overarching question that hangs over every shopper’s head when they go to check out at their local Marshalls, Victoria’s Secret, Dillard’s, Ulta, Nordstrom, Target, TJ Maxx… the list goes on and on and on.
You stare directly at the cashier, they stare directly into your soul. It’s a whole thing. And for some, the mere formality is easily dismissed with a polite “No, thank you.” But for others, like Jessica Butwick, it’s become quite the sore spot of resentment.
Posted on March 31, influencer Jessica (@jessicabuwick) shared a TikTok of her quick post-shop rant and has already received more than 505,300 views. Sitting in the driver’s seat of her car, Jessica bangs the steering wheel and aggressively turns toward the camera.
“Listen,” Jessica states firmly.
“I know it’s their job, I know they have to do it,” she says.
Jessica is referencing one of the alleged 329,000 recorded TJ Maxx employees in the United States who apparently asked the question just one too many times.
“But everytime I go into TJ Maxx, I don’t want to hear about the credit card program over and over every single time,” Jessica continues.
Straining to open her back popcorn, presumably one of the miscellaneous bags of seemingly infinite random TJ Maxx snacks by the check-out, Jessica failed to acknowledge that this routine may not be favored by employees either. And commenters quickly made note.
“Babe we [employees] get called into the office and threatened if they [management] hear we aren’t pushing it OK,” one commenter said.
“Tj Maxx employee here, we get screamed at if we don’t ask,” another commenter said, receiving more than 602 likes.
However Jessica did acknowledge that this was a struggle for all parties involved in her comment section. As she finally opened up her bag of popcorn, she began to emphasize her point with her hands.
“No thank you,” Jessica says. “OK well you could save… dadaaa, dadaa, dadaa, over and over and over… listen!”
Jessica then aggressively claps her hands together and thinks back to a darker period of her life. A time not forgotten by many viewers of her content. The era of the Maurices’ Credit Card.
“Listen Caitlyn. I had like 17 store credit cards when I was 19 years old maxed out. It took me a long time to crawl off of that Maurices’ credit card debt, OK?”
And supposedly this was a common learning curve for many millennials.
@jessicabuwick ♬ original sound – Lolamarie7
“The CHOKEHOLD that Maurices’ credit card had on us tho!!!” one commenter chimed in.
Now all this being said, the dreaded store credit card isnt always a bad thing. With 0 annual fees and an Average Annual Percent Rate (APR) of 29.89% in 2023, according to a WalletHub Senior Reseacher, these cards can be a great introduction for young shoppers into the world of shopping on credit.
Store credit cards can be a great way to build credit at a low cost. But, as of 2023, 39% of store credit cards have introduced a minacious feature known as deferred interest. This means that while a shopper can benefit from a reduced introductory APR, finance charges may be applied to the cost of purchases. Basically adding an introductory rate that was never previously acknowledged if a bill isn’t paid at the correct time.
This is where new credit card users can find themselves in a struggle. Which may be what Jessica was referring to when she mentioned her previous ongoing credit card debt.
“I said no, I said no.” Jessica repeats.
Quickly, she places a fistful of popcorn in her mouth and concludes her rant. While unclear, it can be assumed that Jessica has yet to open a TJ Maxx credit card, and she probably has no plan of it either.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jessica (@jessicabuwick) via TikTok direct message and TJ Maxx via its media relations phone number.