A creator on TikTok just went viral after addressing a Kroger employee who humiliated her for buying $7.62 of gas, and now she’s urging her followers to avoid the Flowery Branch outlet in Georgia.
The economy is not doing great. We’ve all felt the financial crunch, perhaps just in different ways. And that’s what asiadonerella from TikTok was trying to point at in her viral post, which has now been viewed nearly 1 million times. She is having it particularly rough.
The creator explained in the post that she’s a single mother. She has been working hard from 6 am to 6 pm, working DoorDash rounds, living in transitional housing, but her ends just don’t always meet every day. That’s just how things are at this particular point in time — and it’s not like the bills passing Congress right now have people like her in mind.
On this particular day, she described doing her job and then having a meal before passing by Kroger to get some gas with what she had left over. She then goes on to suggest that the attendant who was serving her made a show about how little she was using for her gas — an act that made the creator feel ashamed. Asiadonerella went on to say, “I’ve never been so humiliated.”
@asiadonerella Humiliation is a horrible feeling. Where is the HUMILITY at your business @Kroger .. is that what you all stand for?????? CHECK your employees and managers. You don’t know what your customers are going through IN REAL LIFE. What if this was my 13th reason??? #kroger #customerservice #singlemom #judgement #unacceptable #badbusiness
♬ original sound – Asiadonerella
The TikTok creator went on to encourage her followers to avoid the branch. But she also took time to say she handled the situation in the best way she knew how — not fighting or yelling — but breaking the mold we usually see on social media all the time and actually reporting the situation to HR. HR apparently assured her that action would take place and gave her some complimentary credits on her account after a little back and forth with the manager at the original branch.
What’s noteworthy about the TikTok post is that during the entire post, the creator is in tears. One could debate about who and why someone is in the wrong, but the fact remains that someone in tears only gets there due to deep emotional pain.
The way the economy should work is whenever someone is at the bottom of the totem pole, opportunities and systems should exist to enable them to pull themselves up from that hole into another situation that’s more dignified. But nowadays, it’s entirely possible — especially within the gig economy — to work a job, as she clearly does, and still not be able to even afford personal housing. Meanwhile, the billionaires at the top of these tech companies are having a ball.
The creator is seemingly just asking for her grace and dignity to be respected as she finds ways to get out of the situation. Comments on posts like this have a tendency to be split down the middle because in a highly charged situation like this, where everyone can somewhat relate, comments can veer from empathy to outright cruelty.
But luckily for the creator, her comments were people just showering her with moral support — some were even sending her small amounts on her Cash App. Some people were assuring her that they’ve pumped gas for as low as $2 in their car. There’s no shame in being in a financially difficult spot. Kind people usually understand, and those are the only people whose opinion should matter to you anyway.
