A California woman recently joined Costco with a new membership and decided to buy some flowers. Unfortunately, one of her first times actually making a purchase at the warehouse didn’t go as she expected it to. Not only did she get accused of stealing by a worker, but a Karen also decided to get in on the action.
Ebony (@prettyphilthy) found out in the worst way that Costco takes its receipt checking very seriously. If you’ve ever been to one of these warehouse grocers, you’ve found that they will check your receipt upon leaving. An employee is supposed to scan your receipt to make sure that no items were missed and everything was paid for. Well, this isn’t how things went for Ebony. Forgetting about their strict rule, she threw her receipt away immediately after paying for two flower bouquets. When she left the store, an employee and a Karen chased after her, accusing her of stealing.
Ebony claims that the employee put his hands on her to stop her but the angry Karen customer says he didn’t. Instead of just minding her own business, the Karen decides to follow and berate Ebony. She says, “You’re stealing something” and starts recording her on her own phone. The angry customer then demands, “Where’s your receipt?? Show me your receipt!” Ebony tells her she doesn’t have to show her receipt to her. She also asks if she’s an employee, to which the Karen has no answer.
Ebony explains to a second employee what’s happening as everybody fights back and forth with her. She tells the second employee that she “just got the Costco membership” and this is her first time shopping here. She says she was unaware of their strict receipt rules. At this point, a bunch of employees are standing nearby and wondering what’s happening as the Karen tries to steal the show and continues to accuse her of stealing. Nobody can really figure out why the belligerent customer is following her and trying to accuse her of stealing.
One of the employees talks to Ebony and tells her they’re working on “verifying” that she actually bought the flowers since she threw away her receipt. As this is happening, Ebony asks the woman recording her, “Karen, what does this have to do with you? What do the rules have to do with you, Karen?”
In an update video, Ebony says they checked the videos and found that Ebony was “right” in that entire situation. They discovered she did, indeed, pay for the items. According to her, they also verified that he put his hands on her to stop her and are “handling” the situation. They decided to refund her for her Costco membership. She also said they were being “super apologetic” about it even after she says she was mistreated.
Ebony’s video sparked attention from thousands of viewers, many of whom shared their opinions on her video. Some commenters encouraged Ebony to speak with higher-ups, which she ended up doing with their help. Many commenters had opinions about the Karen who followed her through the store. One commenter asked, “Why is she even involved?” Another prompted, “I’d sue her and Costco for defamation of character.” Others stated that the employees could have handled the entire situation better. One explained, “As a lead I would have politely told that other customer to remove herself from the situation! Plain and simple. And I wouldn’t continue any conversation with her if it didn’t involve her!”
The video led to various criticisms of how everything was handled, as well as of Costco itself. Many people sided with Ebony, understanding that she’s a new member and was not aware of the store’s policies.
