A Burlington customer has gone viral after accusing staff at a San Diego branch of concealing certain in-demand items from buyers. TikToker Leanna (@maebeeleanna) shared her story behind a green screen photo of a Burlington employee holding a bundle of Hello Kitty blankets near the stockroom. “I never thought I would ever make a video like this, but unfortunately, I do,” she began.
Leanna then went on to explain how she specifically went to the store in search of Hello Kitty merchandise. At first, it looked like her shopping trip would be successful, as she found a rack of viral Halloween blankets featuring characters like Stitch, Bluey, Chucky, and Hello Kitty.
What went wrong?
Then, according to Leanna, this one worker took the rack of blankets away to the stock room. She said when she asked the worker to take the rack back out, the worker only returned with individual blankets rather than the rack.
Leanna said her suspicions were aroused when another worker emerged from the stock room with one of the Hello Kitty blankets from the rack. However, when asked, the worker repeatedly said she could buy the blanket because she was off the clock.
Leanna claimed she also witnessed another worker giving a customer a suspicious nod before bringing out four blankets from the rack. This, Leanna said, made her “mad” and led to her requesting to speak to a manager. She went on to claim that a supervisor didn’t resolve the situation and acted suspiciously in turn.
So, Leanna eventually spoke to the manager. The manager, like the supervisor, was allegedly unhelpful. Leanna noted that she didn’t seem to care much and offered her a 15 percent discount. In the end, Leanna said she waited “an hour and a half” for the rack of blankets, which she never got. Leanna didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment. Burlington didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via contact form.
@maebeeleanna this is why we can bever find any blanekts at burlington. @Burlington DO BETTER!! 😭💔#hkdrama #burlington #burlingtonfinds #hellokittyhunting #hellokittyhunter #fypage ♬ original sound – Leanna Bautista
Retail staff go wild for Hello Kitty
People don’t mess around when it comes to Hello Kitty blankets. One commenter claimed, “Burlington and Marshall’s employees do this all the time.” They added that “a former coworker’s sister used to work at Marshall’s and she used to save Hello Kitty items for family and friends.” Furthermore, numerous other commenters alleged that this was a problem with Burlington employees. “I never find anything because of the staff,” one said.
Another shared, “I was just at Burlington, had two Hello Kitty blankets in my cart, and had a worker [follow] me to tell me they couldn’t sell me those because they were on hold for someone else.” An additional commenter said they “don’t bother” going to their Burlington because the manager is a reseller, and “nothing Hello Kitty never hits [the] floor.”
Similarly, in a viral TikTok, a HomeGoods customer accused workers of hiding Hello Kitty blankets “like Easter eggs.” Meanwhile, in another viral TikTok, a Goodwill customer and eBay reseller claimed this epidemic wasn’t limited to Hello Kitty blankets. He noted some sought-after Goodwill products like Lego never reached the shop floor, as a manager told him they put certain items straight on eBay.
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