Four days ago, a Walmart employee who uses the TikTok handle @skylouieeeee described what happened when he tried to go for lunch. As a result of what he narrated, commenters are talking about the need to leave workers alone when they are not on the job. In the video, the creator wears a Walmart vest and describes the incident while in his car. At the time of publication, the post had around 39,000 likes.
The creator said that he was going for lunch and had taken off his vest since he didn't want customers approaching him when he was not on duty. He added that despite this, a customer wandering the bicycle section stopped him and asked him to help unlock a bike.
The Walmart employee then said that he was just having his lunch and didn't have the keys, but he offered to get another worker to help the customer. But the customer told him he'd already been waiting and pressed him to help anyway, even if it took about 20 minutes.
@skylouieeeee I don’t why he still needed me when someone was RIGHT THERE HELPING HIM #fyp #walmart #storytime #retail #retailworker
♬ original sound - skylouieeeee
The Walmart employee once more stated that he was off duty and that he would ask another employee to help. Thankfully, a person eventually turned up with the keys and opened the bike.
But that wasn't the end of the interaction. The customer then asked the TikToker for help with some other items. He again said he was on his lunch break and couldn't continue helping.
Both retail workers and customers in the comments said the employee had done enough by finding another colleague to help. "You are already giving that man too many words if you're off the clock," one commenter noted. They also suggested that employees should just say that they are off the clock and then keep walking.
Other commenters say they had experienced the same thing. One said that customers would come to them even though they were not wearing their uniform, and another said that customers would still ask for help even when they were clearly leaving work. Some also noted that a lunch break can make up a major part of an employee's limited time off.
One person said that spending 20 minutes helping a customer could use up most of a typical 30-minute meal break.
One commenter gave an overview of the other side of the problem too. They said that customers might just be reacting to an inconvenience and that employees could still come across people who need help while they are on break. That said, the consensus was that an employee who has clocked out should use that time as they intend.
