The existence of secret shoppers has risen significantly over the past few years and is no longer an open secret in the retail world. Now, customers expect to come across one or two during their shopping experience–whether they are OK with it or not.
Their existence is controversial, but one thing most customers can agree on is never wanting to be the target of their investigations. A pair of pre-teen girls wasn’t so lucky when they popped into their local Target.
‘Can you come back to the office with me’
In a viral clip, TikToker @just4laughs1111 shares the time a Target secret shopper stopped them from exiting the store after she and her friend had finished shopping. The creator notes the video was a “throwback” and adds in the caption that she and her friend were only about 12 years old.
Despite the time frame, vlogging was already quite popular, as that is what @ just4laughs1111 says she and her friend were doing. This is why they were able to capture the man on camera.
In the clip, @just4laughs1111 films a man by the door, who simply introduces himself as Michael, “Target’s security.” He dons jeans, a black jacket, and a beanie.
“Can you come back to the office with me real quick?” he tells them. The girls start giggling, one of them mid-way through a cup of Ben & Jerry’s. Throughout their walk to the back, the girls giggle while one of them holds the Target shopping bag.
When they arrive at the back, Michael asks to see their receipt. The girls oblige. The clip concludes with them walking back outside.
Viewers lay into Michael
Several viewers started roasting Michael and his very “hipster” look while trying to appear serious.
“Bro thought he was really undercover,” a top comment read. “I’m crying,” another added. “He thought he ate.”
One user earned 43,000 likes on their comment that read: “Hey so, never follow a man in a beanie to an isolated area.”
A viewer claimed that Target workers’ false accusations don’t just go away. “They lose money on false accusations lol like Michael got his paycheck docked,” they said. While the Mary Sue was unable to verify this information, it is unlikely Target would punish via wage deduction, as it may violate labor laws.
Target and the war against shoplifting
Target is projected to lose $1.2 billion annually to retail theft. It’s no surprise, then, that the company is grasping at ways to curb the shrinkage. Secret shoppers became another way to monitor retail theft. Target, however, isn’t the only one receiving backlash for it. Walmart has made headlines after customers became outraged at constantly being followed around the store.
In a viral TikTok, one Target customer confronted a secret shopper who was following her around the store. In another case, one man said a secret shopper forced him to cut his shopping early and check out after only grabbing one tube of toothpaste and perusing the store.
@just4laughs1111 Tb to Michael from target security thinking we were stealing, we were also like 12 years old #targetbewack ♬ original sound – smarglessby
The Mary Sue reached out to Target via email. It was unable to reach out to the creator as her TikTok account is restricted to non-mutuals.
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