A Walmart shopper says she left the store in tears after a store employee accused her of trying to steal a pair of shorts.
In a viral TikTok video, viewed 190,200 times since first being posted March 20, user Ginger (@gingerann417) is approached by a Walmart worker while at a self-checkout kiosk.
@gingerann417 Really #Walmart They didn’t even #apologize as you can see this Lady just walked away! The lady that sent her over had her phone up, looked like she was recording, guess trying to catch the moment of them saying I did something wrong!?😑 here’s 2 videos. 1st one is the Lady grabbing things out of my bags in the basket. 2nd is showing the same shorts I purchased for $1. You know how embarrassing this was? I about cried, well I did when I left. You can hear it in my voice 🥲 I’m guessing, they were saying I switched tags on the shorts to get them for $1 🤷♀️ I’ve purchased so many of these shorts at different Walmarts. The Lady didn’t even have a tag or vest, of any kind on! @walmart #walmart #mamatot @shoelover99 can you duet me please? #dobetterwalmart #fyp #clearance #unmarkedclearance #advice ♬ original sound – ❤️🤍❤️ GiNgEr ❤️🤍❤️
“We’re just going to check the price on the shorts because we’re not sure if that’s actually the price,” the worker can be heard telling Ginger in the video.
“Like I’m stealing something?” Ginger asks the worker.
“I’m not saying that at all,” they respond.
The worker says that she had not seen any of the shorts Ginger wanted to purchase on sale for $1, insisting that she had to check the price. Ginger directed her to the men’s department where she had found them, and the worker walked away without offering her an apology.
“You’re good, we’re just verifying,” the employee calls over her shoulder as she left.
Ginger then showed the rack where she had found the shorts, revealing the $1 price tag, and her receipt, which also listed them as $1.
“You know how embarrassing this was?” Ginger wrote in the video’s caption. “I’m guessing they were saying I switched tags on the shorts to get them for $1. I’ve purchased so many of these shorts at different Walmarts.”
She also revealed that the employee did not wear a nametag or vest indicating that she worked at Walmart, and that the woman who sent her over to check the price tag held her phone up the entire time as though she were recording the interaction.
Some users expressed sympathy for Ginger, stating that if Walmart did not trust its customers to scan their own items, they should put employees back in checkout lines.
Others pointed out that the employee did not directly accuse Ginger of theft. “They never once said that you changed the tag! They just wanted to confirm the price!!” one wrote.
“Just because they are mixed up or someone changed the price doesn’t mean you did it unless you have a guilty conscience,” another said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Ginger via TikTok comment.
