A customer at a liquor store discovered just how anxiety-inducing it can be to try to purchase booze after his service request was blasted loudly for the whole store to hear.
TikTok creator Andrew Leazer (@andrewleazer) detailed his experience in a recent video, taking the awkward situation in stride in a clip that’s accrued over 188,000 likes and more than 2 million views.
@andrewleazer ♬ original sound – AndrewLeazer
Leazer records himself pressing a customer service button in front of a refrigerator containing alcoholic beverages. Upon hitting the button, a loudspeaker announcement reverberates throughout the entire store: “Customer service needed in the liquor department.”
The ding, followed by the loudspeaker call-out almost seems like it could be part of a comedic bit, as the button alerts everyone in the immediate vicinity that Leazer, or whoever pressed the button, is trying to buy booze.
It’s a perception that Leazer is certainly aware of, as he flips the camera and comically states: “I’m an alcoholic.”
It would seem that some viewers who saw the clip thought that the issue went further than simply putting liquor buyers on blast. Some took issue with the notion of locking up products behind glass doors in the first place.
“If I have to ask someone to unlock my product I’m not buying,” one person wrote.
People on social media have been griping about stores that lock up their products for quite some time. One Walmart shopper detailed his frustrating experience in attempting to buy a $4 battery because it was placed under lock and key. Ultimately, the shopper decided to leave the store without buying anything.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Leazer via TikTok comment for further information.
For other folks who watched Leazer’s video, they couldn’t understand why the loudspeaker system was designed to broadcast to the entire store.
“IF I PRESSED THE BUTTON AND HEARD THAT ID LEAVE INSTANTLY,” one wrote.
While another penned, “My anxiety would [not] allow me to press that button.”
“They need a ‘needs emotional support’ button there,” one viewer remarked.
One TikTok user highlighted the difference in alcohol drinking policies in Germany versus the United States: “Bro in Germany we can drink beer at 14 if our parents allow it [and] you need to ring a bell if you want one.”
One employee of a retail store that carries liquor commented that they hear the same message, however, it isn’t placed over the PA system: “Our store only puts the message on the headsets.”
In 2022, Forbes reported an uptick in retailers electing to lock up products, which could be directly attributed to some parts of the country, like New York City, experiencing record levels of retail theft in recent years.
