An altercation between a customer and a Walmart worker left viewers divided after she refused a receipt check.
The video, uploaded by TikTok user @thatctmom, shows how a Walmart worker stood in front of her cart outside of the store. The clip’s text overlay provided the alleged background to the situation: “I was on the phone and didn’t hear him ask for a receipt. He screamed at me all the way out and then ran in front of my cart and slammed it back into my abdomen while demanding a receipt and refusing to let me leave.”
“I am legally allowed to ask you for a receipt,” the Walmart worker said in nearly 6-minute video. “No, you’re not,” the content creator responded.
The content creator told the Walmart worker to “let this go” and the worker refused. This prompted @thatctmom to request he “call his manager.” At one point, she asked him to “let go” of her cart and the worker retorted with, “Let go of my item,” pointing to the large item in her cart.
“Bruce, you want to get someone from the front?” the worker asked a co-worker. The co-worker obliged.
“You’re legally not allowed to do this,” @thatctmom said. “I’m gonna follow this all the way through.”
She’s likely right. According to Lawyers.com, the Walmart employee’s refusal to let her leave could lead to a false imprisonment claim: “Suppose that store personnel asked you to show a receipt, and you refused. If an employee prevented you from leaving, you might have a false imprisonment claim. False imprisonment is both a civil violation and a crime… Store personnel should know that, in most circumstances, they can’t detain you for failing to show a receipt unless you’re at a membership store.”
After a few seconds of silence passed, the content creator stated, “I love this for you.” This confused the worker, saying he “does this all the time.”
“Billion-dollar corporation that doesn’t give a f*ck about you and you’re gonna stop me?” she replied.
According to the worker, he wasn’t “stopping” her, rather he was “asking” for her receipt. The two argued about the legal ramifications of “checking receipts” and “stopping people from leaving” the store.
Finally, another Walmart worker intervened.
“Calm down. What’s going on?” he asked.
Both @thatctmom and the worker asked the other employee to get security.
“He followed me out here, screaming at me, and then bumped up against my cart and would not let me leave,” she explained to security.
Then, more workers gathered around, one of them soon informing her that she was “good to go.” But, the content creator was not satisfied. She refused to leave, calling the original worker’s actions “illegal.”
“That’s fine. You can do what you need to do,” a female employee told her. This only ignited @thatctmom’s anger. She followed the workers inside, demanding to know how the situation was going to be handled and to speak with upper management. The video concluded with the female worker informing the content creator that they were contacting management.
@thatctmom False improsonment at walmart is the new trend 👏 #walmart #walmartreceipt #falseimprisonment #lawsuit #momlife #theftprevention #theftprotection ♬ original sound – Thatctmom
The Daily Dot reached out to @thatctmom via TikTok comment and Walmart via media relations form regarding the video. The video amassed 5.6 million views in the two days it’s been live, where viewers mostly sided with the content creator.
“Thank you for not backing down and literally stand your ground,” one viewer wrote.
“See it through!!!!!!!” a second commented.
On the other hand, some didn’t understand what the big deal was over a receipt.
“Just show the receipt!!! What’s the big deal!” one person said.
“you should show your [receipt] lady,” a second echoed.
In a follow-up video, she explained how she went through a cashier to check out her items. The Walmart employee in the original clip was in front of the self-checkout, she said, away from her and the exit. While on her phone, she was walking out the middle doors when she heard someone yelling. Then, the worker appeared in front of her cart and allegedly slammed into her. After hanging up, she confronted the worker. That’s when the content creator decided to record proceedings.
In the third video, @thatctmom reiterated that she paid for her items at a cash register and pulled out her receipt. While she was walking out, the content creator claimed that there was “no one at the front door.” When @thatctmom was outside, the worker allegedly “screamed” at her, asking about her receipt.
“It’s not the fact that he was asking for my receipt,” she said. “There is zero compliance in me once you assault me.”
No physical assault was captured on video.
@thatctmom had no idea what happened to the worker. She said she had a different experience talking to the higher-ups than the workers. “When I talked to the higher-ups, they were extremely apologetic. They assured me that this was not standard policy and they were going to be doing what they needed to do.”
