TikToker Bekki Vosper (@deebekksta) created a sketch that touches on the unrealistic expectations she presumably experienced while working in retail, and viewers are resonating with her experience.
“Working #retail was HORRIBLE,” Vosper captioned the video, which received over 4 million views.
Vosper’s initial TikTok begins with Vosper being “awakened” by a phone call from a manager.
@deebekksta Working #retail was HORRIBLE #shopping #manager ♬ original sound – Bekkii vosper
“Where are you?” the “manager” questions on the other line. “It’s your regional manager, where are you?”
Vosper, portraying the store manager, lets the regional manager know it’s 7am.
“OK, well I’m at your store right now, and I can see that it’s closed. There’s no lights on, and there’s nobody here. This reflects really poorly on us as a business, you should be here,” the manager says. “There is nobody here to open your store you do realize that we get a $30,000 fine if they find out if we’re not opening at the correct training hours you know that right?”
The worker then questions why she needs to be at the workplace at 7am.
“I sent a message to you last night letting you know that I was gonna be in at 7 o’clock this morning,” the manager says.
“Oh, I’m sorry I don’t actually answer the phone after working hours because I’m not … being paid, so I don’t really feel like it’s my responsibility to take on any external work outside of work,” the worker responds.
The manager lets the worker know she sent the worker the message at 9:30pm.
“Yeah, unfortunately, text message form is not a good form of communication for me, and, at 9:30, I was actually asleep, so I never actually received that correspondence,” the worker says.
The manager tells the worker she needs to “come in and open the store” and “help me out for the day.”
“Uh, unfortunately, I can’t do that ’cause it is actually my … day off, and I have my son, so I need to get him ready for daycare I can’t do that I’m sorry,” the worker says.
The manager calls the worker “unprofessional,” arguing it “reflects quite poorly on you as a manager.” She then questioned her reliability.
TikTokers who saw her video began naming various stores, stating it reminded them of their work experiences.
While companies like Target and Walmart have managed to overcome their under-staffing issues in 2022, others are still dealing with labor shortages. According to Business Wire, 36% of retailers stated that their business hours had to be altered as a result of employee staffing deficiencies.
Vosper’s follow-up videos touch on similar retail employee gripes, like being vilified for having to call out sick.
@deebekksta You guys wabted another one so here we go #retail #manager #staff #shopping ♬ original sound – Bekkii vosper
She also posted a third retail-centric clip that delineates how stingy higher-ups can be when it comes to allocating hours, especially when it comes to hiring other workers to help with surprise tasks that could severely inhibit workflow.
@deebekksta Guess the company #retail #shopping #manager #mortified #uppermanagement #fastfashion #fashion ♬ original sound – Bekkii vosper
The Daily Dot has reached out to Bekki Vosper via TikTok comment.
