Target employee shares powerful lesson after run-in with ‘disrespectful’ customer

A former Target employee is going viral after sharing the “disrespectful” run-in she had with a customer at her store.

TikTok user sarah_teee8 detailed the encounter in a video, which she claims took place on her last day with the retail chain. Her clip has since been viewed more than 2.3 million times.

The story is being praised as a powerful example of why it’s important to respect retail workers. As sarah_teee8 claims, it began when she was working in the self-checkout line.

During the first half of her shift, the TikToker heard an older customer complaining about the store’s long checkout lines. She offered to help the customer, apologizing for the wait and helping to scan her items.

The customer, however, remained frustrated about the wait. Sarah_teee8 claims the customer went on to tell her that she wouldn’t be working at Target if she had worked harder” and “studied harder.”

@sarah_teee8

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Those comments left sarah_teee8 frustrated, so she responded in defense.

“I looked this woman dead in her eye,” she says in the clip. “I said, ‘I have my degree.'”

Sarah_teee8 says the customer responded by saying that she also has a college degree and that she “makes $100,000 a year.”

The argument clearly left the TikToker upset, but, as she explained in a follow-up video, her issue wasn’t with the customer’s “rude” comments. Instead, she took issue with the woman’s belief that working in retail automatically meant she didn’t work hard.

“That is the most disrespectful thing,” she says in the clip. “Without these people stocking these shelves, checking you out, cleaning these carts … you would not be eating right now.”

@sarah_teee8

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TikTok users seemed impressed by sarah_teee8’s insights, praising her in the comments and expressing their outrage over the customer’s behavior.

“Target is the best,” one user wrote. “How dare she. So what if she has a degree [too].”

“It’s classicism. They think they’re better because their job is more lucrative,” another wrote.

“GIRL PREACH!” another added.

If you liked this story, check out In The Know’s article on the former Target employee who spilled the tea on her celebrity customers.

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