A former Kohl’s worker says they were accused of “stealing” and fired after a customer gave them $30 in Kohl’s Cash in a viral TikTok.
In a video with over 263,000 views, TikToker @whyd0ieats0much says that a customer told her she could keep the Kohl’s Cash she earned from her purchase.
“I don’t really consider it stealing,” she says in the clip. “I was ringing up this customer, and she had $30 Kohl’s Cash. So I gave it to her…She was like, ‘No, I don’t want to come back. I’m done Christmas shopping.’ She was like, ‘You can have it!’”
The TikToker says that she accepted the Kohl’s Cash and thanked the customer, then used the Kohl’s Cash to purchase a pair of Converse.
The next day, she says that her manager took her into the office and asked her if there was anything she would like to confess. She said “no.”
The manager then informed her that she was being reprimanded for accepting a customer’s Kohl’s Cash, which they considered stealing.
She continues that she asked them to show her footage of the incident to prove that the customer had given her the Kohl’s Cash. They refused and informed her she was not allowed to work at any Kohl’s location ever again.
She says this incident occurred 3 years ago.
@whyd0ieats0much Replying to @brasil419 i was like ok i don’t wanna come back anyways 🙄 #employeeofthemonth ♬ original sound – ashlicious
While some users pointed out that her actions were against Kohl’s policies, others with experience working at Kohl’s said that they were frequently uninformed about various store policies.
“I’ve only been working at Kohl’s for a month, and I was already accused of stealing, cause I rang myself up and use[d] my discount…,” one user shared. “They never told me that [you’re not supposed to ring yourself up], they literally just threw me on the register on my first day and accused me of stealing a BLANKET.”
“I worked there for 1 year. I didn’t know you can’t do that. I would’ve done it too,” another wrote.
“You were just a kid, this is a stupid rule,” a third said. “They should’ve given you a reminder and sent you on your way.”
In response, @whyd0ieats0much wrote that while she now understands that what she did was against the store’s policies, a lifelong ban is gratuitous.
“I understood after a while, but a warning would have been fine,” she commented
The Daily Dot reached out to @whyd0ieats0much via TikTok comment and to Kohl’s via email.
Update 10:29am CT January 17: In a TikTok direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, the TikToker provided further clarification as to what happened.
“[The manager] asked, ‘Did you steal kohls cash from a customer?’ and I corrected her and told her the customer handed it to me,” she recalled. “Also, the managers were unorganized. I was a minor and had me working 8 hours when i could only work 4.”
That said, she also claimed that this was a learning experience.
“I was really young at the time. Now when I start other jobs, I read everything carefully and watch my training videos and actually take into consideration what they’re saying. I learned to be more cautious and careful with my actions,” she wrote. “I also learned that companies don’t care about you and that you’re just another number to them.”
