Woman shares PSA for holiday shoppers who complain about store understaffing

TikToker Amber Lord (@lifeandworkbutbetter) shared a video PSA warning TikTokers about the proper course of action for holiday shoppers concerned about messy or understaffed stores, and retail workers in the comments couldn’t agree more.

The holiday season is arguably the busiest time of year for both shoppers and retail employees, not to mention the most stressful. Between long lines and crowded stores, it’s easy to grow impatient when holiday shopping. For this reason, TikToker Amber Lord, who shares work-related content, recently posted a clip in which she breaks down the dos and don’ts for shoppers calling a store’s corporate offices to report an understaffed or disorganized store location.

“Guys, please do not call stores that you’ve been shopping at and let them know that there are hardly any workers on the floor, you couldn’t find help, and that there’s a million pallets and boxes that need to be put away,” Lord pleads with viewers at the beginning of the clip.

The corporate office and store employees

Lord continues explaining the consequences for store employees that can occur when customers call a store’s corporate offices to report such matters. 

She assures viewers, “Corporate is not going to go, ‘Oh man, we really need to hire some more people. We need to pay them better wages. We need to give them more time to do these tasks and take care of these things. We’re pissing off our customers.’ No.” 

Instead, Lord explains, “They’re going to come down really hard on the people that are in the store, even though it’s their fault for understaffing, underpaying and sending way too much product in with this crazy expectation of it all getting put away.”

For people who feel the need to call corporate because they’re concerned, Lord recommends connecting it to a staffing issue because the employees look “overworked, burnt out, [and] there are not enough hands for as much product on the floor.”  

“I would very much keep the blame off of the people in the store,” Lord suggests. “Let them know that they were friendly and they were busting their butts, but that you’ve noticed lately that there are a lot less people working there,” Lord says, reiterating, “Anything that’s going to make it fall back on corporate’s fault,” not the store employees or managers. 

“Trust me, they will come down on them, and they’ve already got enough stuff going on,” Lord mentions once more at the end of the video. 

Retail employees appreciated the support

Retail employees took to the comments, echoing Lord’s statements.

“As a retail worker, THANK YOU! The holidays are stressful enough as it is,” one user commented.

“So much, yes! I work in retail, and it’s the same. Way too much to do and not enough people. But it’s our fault we’re not moving fast enough,” shared one TikToker. 

“I did all of my Christmas shopping online just because I did not want to witness nasty behaviors from ‘customers.’ I’m not in retail. However, I do work in health care, and the principle is exactly the same,” one health care worker noted. 

Lord’s clip is an important reminder that a bit of kindness during the holiday season goes a long way.

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