A Home Depot employee’s viral TikTok video celebrating getting customers to open credit cards sparked a debate over the ethics of store credit cards, specifically Home Depot’s.
@jenniferwhitman2 is a Home Depot employee whose Jan. 19 video of Home Depot workers celebrating Home Depot credit card sales got over 716,000 views.
“When your co-worker sells a credit card,” the text overlay narrates as employees cheer for their colleague who is doing a victory walk to the Rocky theme song.
The video was intended as a lighthearted celebration of what happens when an employee gets a customer to sign up for a store credit card. However, the comments section quickly devolved into a debate over the ethics of opening a store credit card.
According to Bankrate, the Home Depot credit card is “best for Home Depot loyalists, as well as people who are looking to build or improve their credit at a lower cost. With no annual fee or minimum balance requirements, cardholders can practically forget about it and still reap the benefits of building credit.”If you miss a payment, however, there reportedly are steep fees. Moreover, it can also be easy for customers to forget they had a credit card open, especially if they only have a small balance. This can quickly add up to significant fees.
Home Depot has come under fire previously for promoting credit cards. One TikToker said they were rejected for a home loan because they opened a Home Depot credit card and forgot to pay off the $9 balance.
Many viewers, including alleged retail workers and former Home Depot workers, painted the promotion of store credit cards in a negative light.
“So glad I don’t work in retail anymore, I’m not looking to put anyone else in debt, this country has enough debt as it is,” @braziliancrystals1 wrote.
“Sad thing is when the customers said ‘oh I already have one’ we were told to say ‘oh you can have up to 5 CREDIT CARDS.’ Glad I don’t work there anymore,” @bbiegrl said.
“I remember when I worked there and I got in trouble for never trying to shill these on people,” @shaderfox alleged.
Some people pointed out that fees and interest rates only apply if you forget or are unable to pay off the loan.
“It’s actually 0% if paid off in 6 months ;),” @freedom_of_speech_ said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Home Depot via email and @jenniferwhitman2 through TikTok direct message.
Editor’s note: Due to a technical error, our original message to this TikToker may not have been delivered. We have since reached out.
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