Walmart “floor walkers,” also known as secret shoppers, undercover loss prevention, or big-time narcs, have been oft-discussed on social media from a number of shoppers who say that they can’t help but shake the feeling that they’re being watched while in stores.
So what exactly is a floor walker? They are, as some have argued, folks who work for Walmart’s security team by posing as shoppers who amble around the store under the guise of picking up products, when their real function is to keep a watchful eye on anyone they may suspect of stealing.
The problem that many folks have with floor walkers, is that they only seem to be basing their clandestine close surveillance practices on a hunch. A hunch that one TikTok user believes is rooted in discrimination over the way a person looks. For this individual, it’s because he was covered in numerous tattoos, including the one on his neck.
However one TikTok user named Shug (@realshugg) decided to let folks on the platform know just how much he dislikes floor walkers. So he decided to flip the script on the purported security workers by floor walking them.
In the first video, Shug posted that shows him pulling the floor walking Uno reverse card. Shug and another man can be seen keeping tabs on the store security worker who he believes was intently watching him while he pretended to shop for liquor. “He was following us whole time so we did it him,” Shug writes in a caption for the video.
As the suspected floor walker continues to allegedly pretend he was perusing items in the store, Shug and his friend are right there with him, picking up some products, taking a brief look at them, and setting them down. At several points in the video, Shug beams a smile to the camera in the middle of his own floor walking routine, before locking right back into work as a mock secret shopper.
Shug also mimics the floor walkers’ patterns: Standing in the middle of the aisle and not making eye contact with the suspected security employee. Towards the end of the clip, Shug’s friend in the white puffy jacket pantomimes what looks like a temper tantrum, and then the video ultimately cuts out soon after.
@realshugg He literally was everywhere watching us to obvious my boy😭😭#fyp ##foryoupage #relatable #capcutvelocity #capcutvelocity #fypシ #trend #foryou #trending #floorwalker ♬ original sound – SHUG
In a follow-up video, Shug and his friend turn their attention to someone else they believe is a floor walker. Like the previous clip, the security employee in question is also looking at liquor. The two TikTokers grab a gift box of Casamigos, the same product the floor walker is holding, and approach the man to ask him what he thinks of it. The man says he isn’t sure, but he thinks it’s good. After his friend engages in some brief small talk with the shopper he returns the Casamigos box to the shelf. Shug asks his pal in what appears to be a jocular question if he’s going to purchase it after calling out how expensive he thinks the liquor brand’s product is.
Shug then over enthusiastically points out other booze brands on the shelf as the man can be seen in the background of the video. The TikToker mumbles under his breath, asking why the guy keeps following him throughout the establishment. Shug’s friend grabs a bottle of Patron off the shelf after it seems like Floor Walker #2 has up and left to peruse another part of the store. Shug quips that his friend should hurry up and steal it before security arrives again. Then, from the other side of the aisle, the purported floor walker can be seen again. This time the friend asks him about the Patron. The man says, “It’s good.”
They record the man for a few more seconds, who still has the box of Casamigos in his hands as he looks at the shelves before finally cutting the clip. Shug explains further in a caption that the guard was “everywhere watching us” which outed his true purpose in the store as being much too obvious.
@realshugg He was following us whole time so we did it to him #foryoupage #foryou #trending #viral #floorwalker #fypシ #funny#relatable #bruh #comedy #entertainment #xybca ♬ original sound – SHUG
Several commenters who saw the clip appeared to agree with Shug’s assessment of the situation, stating that they, too, thought that the floor walkers were outing themselves with their behavior. “The fact that he didn’t even wanna look at y’all,” one person wrote.
Another user said that there is a telltale sign one can always look for if they’re attempting to discern whether or not someone is keeping tabs on you in a store. “My dad would always say you can tell a secret shopper in the winter cause they never have jackets on,” they wrote.
However, some folks said that seeing Shug’s videos stressed them out as they don’t want to be perceived as a secret shopper. “God, I hope people don’t think I’m a floor walker. I have anxiety that causes me to zone out in the aisles when there’s someone in front of what I need.”
Another person penned that this type of response to being follower in retail stores was a game changer: “Lissssttten!!! Yall just changed the game with this one wait til I go to the hair store tmro it’s up for everybody in that mfka!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Walmart via email and Shug via Instagram DM for further comment.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/news/floor-walking-the-floor-walker-walmart/