Causing Quite A Stir
She noticed the teller who was making such a fuss by looking up and over the rim of her glasses. He shook the toothbrush in the air and demanded to see the boss, his voice trembling with self-important wrath.
As soon as she understood this, Tori realized she needed to take quick action before it was too late. The man, though, was adamant about actually fighting.
Intervention
Before a full-fledged tantrum became a problem, Tori knew she had to intervene. She was fully aware of how risky and awkward it may be to deal with a disgruntled customer, as well as how quickly it might occur.
However, after speaking with the man for a little while, he did something she never would have imagined: he reported her to the police.
Experienced
She thought she had seen it all as a Target manager in Swansea, Massachusetts. She learned how to deal with difficult situations with diplomacy and sensitivity by daily dealing with rude and entitled customers.
However, she had no idea that all those years spent working in retail would end up teaching her yet another unexpected lesson about how people behave.
Her Approach
In the service industry, Tori realized she would be walked all over by customers if she allowed it. Fairness was important, but firmness was essential.
However, never had a customer in all the years she had worked at Target made such an absurd demand and subsequently tried to ruin her life.
The Beginning Of The End
The incident began when David Levitt, an aspiring journalist, walked into Tori's store and caused such an unimaginable scene that the police had to intervene.
This outrageous clash between Tori and the entitled man would soon become a social media battle of epic proportions, with thousands of Twitter users scrambling to take sides.
My Way Or The Highway
It's clear that David Levitt was accustomed to getting his way. During his perambulation around Target's aisles, the infamous Twitter troll saw an Oral B Pro 5000 electric toothbrush that had been set up as a display.
He eagerly swooped in to make the purchase after noticing the demo model's suspiciously low pricing.
Not Having It
David waltzed up to the checkout counter and waited for the cashier to scan the barcode despite having little knowledge of consumer protection law and a strong sense of entitlement.
He was adamant about getting his way, whether it was because he was being frugal or simply trying to start a conflict. Tori, however, was not going to put up with it.
Not Listening
The agitated cashier quickly understood what David was doing, but she politely clarified that the electric toothbrush was only being used as a demonstration.
The price tag was set (by default) at $.01, which was clearly indicated by capital lettering above the price. He demanded to speak with the manager after huffing and puffing at the register.
Keeping Things In Check
Tori, who has been keeping an eye on the man for the previous five minutes, now enters. She could see how quickly things were getting worse. She knew, though, that she could manage it.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated how far David would go to get his way. After approaching him and attempting to reason with him, he pulled out his phone.
The Situation Was Worsening
David didn't agree with Tori's response; another man would have. His countenance changed from an irate to a defiant expression as she vehemently refused to be intimidated, and he pulled out what he believed to be an ace up his sleeve.
He thrust his phone into her face, snapped a picture, and tweeted it to his 210,000 followers.
He Went Even Farther
When Tori responded by rolling her eyes, it incensed David even more. In a blatant display to show her the extent of his power, he called the police on her.
To make matters worse, he was sure to document the situation as it unfolded with live tweets on his Twitter account. Little did he know, it was all about to backfire on him spectacularly.
Public Shaming
Underneath the photo of the unflappable retail worker, David angrily typed the caption: ‘this @target manager Tori is not honoring the price of their items per Massachusetts law.’
But when he saw that his intimidation and public shaming tactics weren’t working, he decided to try a different tactic. Not fifteen minutes later, he posted another smug update that had the Twitterverse rallying.
Not What He Expected
‘I just had to call the police because @target refused to sell me the toothbrush,’ David wrote obnoxiously. He obviously expected his fans to feel sympathy for him.
What he didn’t anticipate was the tweetstorm that followed. In an amazing show of instant karma, his followers immediately began to roast him online. But the show wasn’t over yet.
Backlash
Twitter users immediately jumped on the fact that David was clearly wasting the police’s time, which was much needed for more serious issues, with such a petty request.
David found himself scrambling to defend his actions, stating that he did ‘not call 911’ and had explained to the police that it ‘was not an emergency’ and they ‘could take their time.’
Not Getting Away With It
However, people were not willing to let him get away with it so easily. Immediately, some people commented on his post rebutting the argument David tried to support his position.
Eagle-eyed fans were also quick to point out that the law wasn’t on David’s side, either. In a stunning turn of events, they began to back Tori.
Reactions
One user retaliated with: ‘So, Let me get this straight. You’re bothering the police because of an obvious mistake Target made that you want to exploit?”
“Because we all know those toothbrushes don’t sell for .01. Then you went on Twitter and blasted the photo of a $15 per hour employee just doing their job?’
Trying Again
Clearly, David’s post didn’t gather the type of response he would have expected or wished. As a matter of fact, it caused the opposite type of reaction.
But David wasn’t willing to admit his mistake, apologize, and leave it at that. After seeing that his followers weren’t fooled, he tried the sympathy card one more time.
Justifying Himself
‘I have not been able to afford to go to a dentist in over three years,’ David retorted. ‘So yes I wanted a good toothbrush and was thrilled to see such an amazing prize on an @OralB but @target refused to honor it and now I have to take them to court.’
Well, the Twitterverse was about to see to it that that never happened.
“Are You Illiterate?”
‘How can you be an award-winning multimedia journalist and also be illiterate?’ another user wrote scathingly, referring to the obviously incorrect price tag on the toothbrush.
‘It’s for the display, not the item. Probably because that display is a spot on the shelf, and has to have a tag on it because of the store’s internal system.’ Then, Twitter users turned their attention to Tori.
Turning The Tables
‘I want to go give this woman a hug, one former retail worker to another,’ another user wrote. Clearly, David chose the wrong fight to pick when he decided to go berserk on a retail worker who was just doing her job.
Then, someone had an amazing idea that would turn the tables against the self-important “journalist.”
A Good Samaritan
One woman who read Tori’s story was so sympathetic toward her thankless occupation that she decided to do something to compensate her for the hard time the ill-willed, scorned journalist had given her.
The woman in question opened a GoFundMe account -- pledging to raise enough money to send the retail worker on a well-deserved holiday!
#TargetTori
Tori, whose full name was unknown to the Twitterverse at the time, earned the nickname #TargetTori. Soon, the internet was flooded with her story. Memes were made of her now-famous eye-rolling photograph and local news stations clamored to interview her.
People were so enamored by the battle between the rude man and the blue-collar worker that the donations began to pour in. But would they reach their target of $5,000?
Repercussions
Meanwhile, David Leavitt’s face also began to flood the internet. His appalling behavior had earned him an unflattering meme of his own, referencing the ‘let me talk to your manager’ temper-tantrum-throwing people that retail workers have to deal with on a daily basis.
And, just a few days after the story went viral, the GoFundMe account had garnered over $35,000!
Tori’s Reward
It wasn’t long before ‘Target Tori’ had been tracked down and the money that the GoFundMe account had raised was released to her.
She opened a Twitter account of her own under her new moniker to express her gratitude to all the netizens who stood up for her. But the story doesn’t end here. She had something else to announce.
Charity
She has since decided that instead of going on a holiday as originally intended by the creators of the account, she will donate all the money to charity. And all because Tori refused to sell him a demo toothbrush.
Another man would have accepted Tori’s response -- but not David. However, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
Thankless Job
Any current or former retail worker can vouch for how nasty and demanding some customers can get if things don’t go their way.
That isn’t fair. These people are just trying to do their job, and they often go above and beyond to satisfy the customer. However, some people can get so difficult to deal with that sometimes these retail workers are justified in taking some sweet revenge. That’s what happened to Sarah.
Christmas Season
It was one of the most intense days of the Christmas season, even though Christmas Eve had passed. People were rushing to buy late presents for their loved ones, asking for refunds after changing their minds, or just looking around without really buying anything.
Sarah Bélanger had been working in that store for some months now, and it was the busiest day she could remember. Nothing could have prepared for what she would live that day.
One Woman
Just like every other day, Sarah was standing behind her checkout aisle, dealing with customer after customer. The day was turning out busy, but not too stressful.
She smiled as she looked at the next customer; a senior lady who had been waiting in line for a while. Little did she know that all hell was about to break loose.
Intrigued
At first, Sarah thought the lady was coming empty-handed. Maybe she needed help to find what she was looking for? But then, she noticed something.
The woman was carrying a small Christmas-themed decorative item. Sarah smiled and prepared herself to check out the woman’s purchase and wish her a merry Christmas. However, what the woman said as she walked toward her shocked her to the core.
A Discount
After handing it to Sarah, the woman asked for a discount on the item, seeing as it was holiday time. Sarah looked at the label; it was just $0.50. And that wasn’t all.
The price had already been reduced; it used to be $1. Sarah patiently explained that to the woman, telling her that she couldn’t reduce the price any more than that. But her reaction left her speechless.
Starting A Fight
The woman didn’t take Sarah’s response lightly. She began arguing with the cashier, saying that there was no reason not to discount an item that was so cheap.
Sarah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What did that woman want? Did she expect to get that item for free? She tried to reason with her, but she was in for a surprise.
Not Budging
The woman wasn’t willing to budge. Even though Sarah tried to make her understand that the item she was trying to buy was already cheap enough, the woman still wasn’t willing to pay $0.50
Sarah had no other choice but to suggest to the woman that she come back the next day and try again. But the lady complained that the item in question might be sold out by then. It seemed like she wasn’t willing to give up without a fight.
She Had A Plan
Huffing and puffing, she announced that she would go to a different store and walked away. But Sarah had something in store for her.
In a matter of minutes, she had come up with a plan to take revenge on the woman for the hard time she had been giving her and the other customers. As her shift finished, Sarah took her phone and began dialing a number with a grin on her face.
Sweet Revenge
Instantly, Sarah bought all the existences in the store for the decorative item the woman wanted to buy. Then, she called every other store in the area and bought all the existences they had too.
She could visualize the woman’s anger when she realized she had to say goodbye to her much desired treats. But how much money did Sarah have to spend on her sweet revenge?
Just $30
The best thing about it was that it only cost Sarah $30 to give the whiny lady a lesson. That woman should have thought twice before giving the retail worker a hard time about something that petty.
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.