A video showing a Target store cluttered and in disarray due to alleged understaffing issues has gone viral on TikTok.
The video, posted on on Sept. 6 by Charles Frank (@thecharlesfrank), shows the cluttered aisles of one Target location. Scattered throughout the store are U-boats (carts used for stocking shelves), pallets, and unopened merchandise boxes awaiting restocking.
“As a former Target employee, this really hurts my heart seeing a store look like this,” Frank narrates, panning across the messy aisles. “The fact that Target’s OK with letting their stores look like this instead of just staffing their stores … [is] upsetting.”
The clutter, according to the TikToker, was so overwhelming that he had to abandon his shopping trip altogether. “Honestly, Target should be super appalled by this. They should be embarrassed. Literally every aisle had a U-boat or a pallet or just something blocking the way,” he adds.
@thecharlesfrank Oh @target 🥲 #target #targetaudience #shopping #sad #dobetter #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – TheCharlesFrank
Target shoppers report similar experiences
Frank’s video currently has over 114,500 views and more than 1,700 comments. In the comments section, many users shared having similar experiences at other Target locations.
“I went to two targets one in Cape cod and the other in Kearny and both looked like late stage K-Marts. the decline is real,” one commenter wrote.
“Hadn’t been inside a target since the pandemic started, always do curbside, but I went in a couple weeks ago and I was FLOORED it was like a whole other world,” a second added.
“Literally. I can never do any shopping because the uboats block everything and none of the shelves are ever stocked. Like am I just supposed to pull em out of the boxes myself,” a third remarked.
Other users drew comparisons to Dollar General, with one commenter noting, “Its looking VERY Dollar General up in that target.”
Dollar General has previously faced public scrutiny over viral videos of cluttered stores and employees complaining they’re understaffed.
In previous Daily Dot coverage, one Target employee accused the store chain of turning off the A/C during peak temperatures to cut on electricity costs. In another instance, a shopper filmed themselves confronting a “secret shopper.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Target via press email and to @thecharlesfrank via TikTok comment.
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