In a viral TikTok video, a Foot Locker worker shares why it seemingly takes so long for them to pull shoes from the back room.
In the clip, Nadia (@naddyuh) shows the precarious setup in her Foot Locker’s backstock room.
There are rows and rows of shelves stacked high with shoe boxes, and the already narrow walkway between the shelving units is made more difficult to walk through due to the multiple shoe boxes ad large cardboard boxes strewn about the floor.
Some parts of the floor are so covered that there is no visible floor space to walk on. In one part of the video, Nadia is seen having to shimmy through a ladder and unstable towers of cardboard boxes, explaining that there’s no way she can move quickly in that setup.
“When customers think we taking long but we really just fighting for our lives,” the text overlay reads.
@naddyuh its just a struggle rn fr 😔😔😔 #saveus #footlocker #xzybca ♬ SkeeYee (Cyberspeed – DjEss Mix) – Sexyy Red
On top of that, some shoes are placed so high up that Nadia and fellow workers have to use a ladder to access the footwear. At some points in the clip, workers are even seen climbing the shelves to access them.
The video has garnered more than 600,000 views and over 200 comments as of Tuesday morning.
“Its just a struggle rn fr,” the caption read.
Commenters shared their own experiences working and shopping at shoe retail stores.
“I’m convinced when they be like ‘we’re out of that shoe’ it’s cuz they don’t wanna look thru all them shoes,” a top comment read.
“Damn… 22yrs later and it’s the same stockroom. I do miss that commission on friends and family weekends!” a person said.
“Blessed I work in a brand specific store so it’s a moving grid (still have to climb),” another wrote.
The Daily Dot has previously covered other employees who lie about checking for items in the back room or put in minimal effort when looking—which doesn’t seem to remotely be the case at Foot Locker.
In one mega-viral video, viewers shared mixed feelings about a Walgreens worker who told a customer he’d check on an item for them but did a little dance in the employee-only area before returning and telling the customer the item wasn’t in stock.
In another TikTok, a Walmart worker was seen taking a break and mimicking a short nap when they were supposed to be checking on a customer’s item request.
The Daily Dot reached out to Nadia via TikTok comment and to Foot Locker via email.
