A Burlington Coat Factory worker allegedly got aggressive with a customer for trying on clothes in the aisle.
The TikTok video is based in a Burlington located in Champaign, Illinois, and was posted by user Alannah (@Princessa923) and her sister Dani (@Daninchris). In the first clip, the Burlington worker is seen aggressively shaking Alannah and her sister’s shopping cart in the shoe aisle. He then walks towards the person recording, most likely Dani, and the screen goes black.
@princessa923 Yesterday my sister and i were shopping at the champaign burlington in illinois. they closed off their dressing rooms because “they didnt want to clean ip after people” and this is how we are treated for trying on a jacket in the asile.. the police didnt help and corporate acts like they dont care.. this is how a pregnant woman of color is treated.. slams the cart into ber stomach and he claims to be the owner!! Please blow this video up so we can receive some sort of justice! #fyp #assultedbyrmployee #burlingtoncoatfactory ♬ original sound – Alannah Lockett
The video has received 1.8 million views and 6,539 comments as of Friday.
Alannah has posted three other videos explaining what happened that day. According to her, she went to the store and since it was fairly new, she was surprised to see the dressing room open. Once she picked out some clothes to try on, she says she noticed that the dressing room was now closed.
That was when a worker suddenly informed them that the fitting rooms were closed because “you people don’t know how to keep these dressing rooms clean,” Alannah says the man told them.
As a result, Alannah, Dani, and her friend walked a few aisles over to try some items on over their clothing.
Alannah says she tried on a pair of shorts followed by a jacket. This is when the worker walks over, tells them they can’t do this, and that they’re being recorded, the TikToker says. What happened next was shown by the original viral video Alannah posted, where the employee grabbed the cart and seemed to try to ram it into the customer.
Alannah says the worker then pushed 8-month-pregnant Dani up onto the shoe racks. He then allegedly took their phones, and the cart with their purses to the back of the store.
Alannah said her phone called the police and she called their dad shortly after.
The creator believes they were more than likely treated this way because they are mixed-race women. In an explainer video, Alannah points out that it’s important to recognize the racial dynamics of the situation.
“There’s three mixed girls and there’s one white man,” Alannah states.
In another video, viewers see the worker in front of the store speaking to Alannah and her family as they wait for the police to arrive. According to Alannah, the police were not sympathetic to her family’s story.
@princessa923 to everyone saying theres a reason he treated us like this he states “but you cant try on clothes” he knew he was wrong!! that was his second attempt to calm us down before the police came
♬ original sound – Alannah Lockett
“I have anxiety because of the whole situation…l haven’t been able to rest right. You know, just late nights thinking about what happened,” Alannah shares.
While the police were not sensitive to Alannah’s story, many TikTokers are taking her story to heart.
“Just put my review and giving them a call! I’m sorry this happened to u, hope ur vid goes viral!” read one comment.
“So scary, i hope he’s fired cus that’s just absolutely insane,” another user wrote.
“Lawyer up baby! Y’all didn’t deserve to go through any of that!!! I’m so sorry,” one viewer commented.
“We’re really just looking for justice,” Alannah says in the last explainer video, saying how she will pursue legal action.
@princessa923 #burlingtoncoatfactory #fyp #assualt ♬ original sound – Alannah Lockett
The Daily Dot has reached out to Alannah, Burlington, and the Champaign police for comment via email.
