A woman says another Walmart customer asked if he could go ahead of her in line at the checkout because he didn’t get a shopping cart. TikTok user Lauren (@lauren1xoxo) posted a video on June 18 detailing the situation.
“What the heck is wrong with people?” she asks at the beginning of the video. “I come to Walmart to pick up some things for dinner and they’re busy as usual.” Lauren says that because of the volume of customers, the store has limited the self-checkout to people with 10 items or less.
Unfortunately for Lauren, she had 14 items, so she had to wait in a regular line. She says she was next in line after waiting about seven or eight minutes. “I was the next person to go to the front and put my stuff on the conveyor belt, and this guy came up to me and said, ‘Hey, can I go ahead of you?'” she says.
How did the exchange go?
Lauren admits that it’s common sense for people with lots of items to let someone with one or two items go ahead of them in line. “But that wasn’t the case,” she says. “A guy comes up with an armful of (expletive) and says, ‘Can I go ahead of you?'” Lauren says she directed the man to the back of the line and also to the self-checkout, but the man responded that he had 11 items and couldn’t do that.
After some back and forth, the man decided to just cut in without permission. To make matters worse, Lauren said the man’s card was repeatedly declined when paying. She adds that the man argued with the cashier for a minute and eventually put some items back. According to the TikToker, payment for $17 worth of goods eventually went through.
“Why do people act like this? If you’re someone who thinks it’s OK to act like this, then I’m here to tell you it’s not (expletive) OK to act like this. That’s my rant. Thanks for listening,” Lauren says at the end of the video.
@lauren1xoxo I just feel like I’m presuming… Side note: My son saw me editing this video and said “Mom I bet your video will get 20k views, I believe in you!” **SO CUTE!** #walmart #rude #customer #shopping #rant #storytime #viral #viraltiktok #foryou #foryoupage #fy #fypシ゚viral #fypage #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ Original sound – GrungeKitty
Viewers react to the man’s behavior
As of Friday morning, the video had been viewed more than 281,000 times. In the comments section, viewers questioned the man’s behavior and said what they would have done in Lauren’s situation.
One viewer wrote: “I would have paid for his stuff… and then taken it home.”
A second viewer said: “He was probably waiting for someone to come behind him and pay. Also, I think the cashier should have intervened and said, ‘No, you have to take your things and get in line.'”
A third viewer said, “After working in customer service, I realized that most people think they are the main character in our shared lives and their wants and needs are the only thing that matters.”
Is Walmart restricting self-checkout options?
Walmart does indeed have limited self-checkout options. According to an April CBS article, Walmart and other major retailers are reviewing their strategies around self-checkout, which in some cases includes limiting self-checkout to customers with 10 items or less.
The Daily Dot contacted Lauren via TikTok comment and direct message. Walmart was also contacted via the contact form on its website.
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