A quick trip to Walmart left a California man questioning why he was treated differently from another shopper in the same section. Mike says an employee locked his cuticle cutters inside a security box, even though the customer before him was apparently allowed to carry a similar product without one.
TikTok user Mike (MikewillcutSMP) posted his quick visit to Walmart and ruminated on a brief experience he had with an employee. On the way to pick up cuticle cutters, an employee had to put them in a security box.
Mike shows his cuticle cutters inside the security box, something he clearly felt was overkill. He asked the employee, “Why didn’t the lady have to put her stuff in the box?” According to Mike, another customer just before him had picked up a similar product from the same area but didn’t get the same treatment.
The employee said it was store policy, even though both customers picked up their items in the same section. The employee tried to apologize to Mike for the inconvenience, but he didn’t accept that apology. He said, “Give me my item,” and walked away.
Now, he’s telling his audience, “This is what you have to go through at Walmart to get some cuticle cutters.”
Mike then records himself speaking with another employee, who he identifies as a manager, about what happened. The employee listens to his concerns and tells him, “I know exactly what you’re talking about.” He apologizes and says they’ll make it right.
According to Mike, the “whole situation made me feel like I was being singled out and racially profiled.”
How viewers reacted to Mike’s TikTok video
“Why was the procedure different for me?” Mike asked in the description of his TikTok video. Many viewers agreed with his suspicion that he may have been racially profiled, particularly because he said the customer before him wasn’t required to have a similar item placed inside a security box.
“That’s ridiculous. Racial profiling,” one TikTok user wrote. “I highly doubt that item is being stolen so much, they need to put it in a box.”
“I’m so glad you reported it to the manager,” another viewer wrote, validating Mike’s feelings of being “singled out.” The commenter got 50 Likes, including one from Mike.
Not everyone was convinced race explained what happened. “They did this to me and I’m white,” a user named Egg McMuffin wrote. After receiving pushback, the commenter added, “I hate that Walmart locks everything up,” explaining that the practice eventually drove them to avoid shopping there.
Mike’s video doesn’t explain why the two customers were apparently treated differently, but that difference is exactly what made him question the interaction. While some viewers immediately saw racial profiling, others said they’ve dealt with similar security measures themselves.
For Mike, though, the question remained much simpler: If another customer could pick up a similar product without having it placed in a security box, why couldn’t he?
