A male customer at a Journeys store inside Fayetteville’s Cross Creek Mall is accusing a female employee of making a religiously disrespectful remark toward him during a dispute over a shoe exchange. According to the caption on one of his TikTok posts, he said he purchased a pair of shoes from the store and was told at checkout that he could return or exchange them as long as they were not “damaged” or “heavily worn.” He explained that the shoes were intended for someone else, but after the person tried them on and realized they did not fit, he returned to the store the following day with the receipt to exchange them.
However, the customer alleged that when he arrived at the counter and explained the situation, the employee on duty refused to process the exchange and told him she did not care what the employee from the previous day had said. He also claimed that a manager supported the refusal without first hearing his explanation.
Things Got Heated Afterwards
Based on the videos he uploaded, the situation escalated after their initial conversation. In one short clip, the employee can be heard repeatedly telling him to leave the store, while the customer refuses and continues asking her to provide the corporate phone number. The employee, in turn, refuses and tells him to look it up on his own.
In another video, while they were arguing, the customer used the phrase “I swear to God” while speaking. Although it is unclear exactly what the employee said in response, the customer alleges that she replied with “oh, on Allah” in a mocking tone and laughed. He also claimed that she added the phrase “you Muslims” afterward.
Eventually, a police officer arrived at the store, and the employee asked him to have the customer removed. The videos do not show whether he was escorted out by the officer or if he left on his own, but the customer was informed by the employee that he was no longer allowed to return to the store.
Here’s What Netizens Are Saying About the Fayetteville Store Incident
In the comments, netizens appeared divided. Some defended the employee and suggested the customer must have done something to provoke the situation, arguing that “this doesn’t just happen.” One person who claimed to know the employee wrote, “Not too much on her, she the sweetest person ik. respectfully don’t do too much.” Another commenter, who said they worked at the store, claimed, “He came in heavily disrespectful and started to raise his voice and cuss and threaten my coworkers. The shoes were dirty and the employees have a right to deny any shoe that we see as dirty.”
Others said they did not hear any religiously disrespectful remarks in the video. “I def don’t hear anything about Muslim OR Allah,” one comment read. Someone else remarked, “She’s saying ‘I wish’ in Spanish 🥴.”
At the same time, several viewers felt the employee was still in the wrong. “She was wrong in the situation,” one netizen wrote. Another added, “Even if they were worn or dirty she had no right to make a comment about Muslims.” Some people also pushed back against those saying that they heard the employee speak Spanish, writing comments such as, “I’m Mexican and I heard ‘On Allah.’ I didn’t hear her say the J like in ‘ojala,’” and, “Ya’ll know damn well she ain’t say ojala she said on Allah 😒.”
