A Georgia woman says a trip to Primark at Sugarloaf Mall turned into an upsetting experience after security stopped her at self-checkout to recheck her cart. Brianna, who posts on TikTok under the handle @keepingupwithbre, shared a video of the encounter that has since drawn a large response online.
In the video, Brianna can be seen at a Primark self-checkout station, with on-screen text reading “PRIMARK SUGARLOAF MALL!” A Primark employee, wearing a blue and white patterned shirt, glasses, and headphones, is shown scanning clothing items and placing them into a white Primark shopping bag while Brianna records the interaction.
Brianna said in the video’s caption that she had driven an hour to shop for her kids and had nearly $300 worth of clothes in her cart. She claimed that an employee stood there staring at her the entire time she used self-checkout, and that security then approached her. According to Brianna, security told her that “the light isn’t going off, so that means you’re not scanning everything.”
Brianna says she was watched, then had her entire cart rechecked
Brianna claimed in her caption that security went through her entire cart just to confirm that everything had already been scanned. She wrote that the experience left her feeling “watched, profiled, and inconvenienced for absolutely NOTHING.” She also said she had kids to shop for and other things to do, and that she would not return. “Don’t ever make me feel uncomfortable spending MY MONEY in your store again,” she wrote. “And I drove an HOUR for this s–t! Never again.”
In the video itself, Brianna can be heard expressing her frustration as the employee continues scanning her items. “I shouldn’t buy s–t. I should put everything the f–k back,” she said, repeating that she should put everything back. An off-screen male voice briefly agreed with her, and Brianna added, “Like, stop playing with me, huh?” The scrutiny Brianna describes at self-checkout has played out for other shoppers too, as a video shows a Walmart employee scanning toys for a child while the creator’s caption alleges racial profiling.
Brianna continued voicing her displeasure, saying, “I really shouldn’t, cuz now I’m pissed off. I don’t even want to spend my money. That sh–t’s up to $300. Stop playing with me.” The employee then asked, “Were these skim as well before I—” and Brianna firmly replied, “Yes, everything was skim.”
The employee continued scanning the remaining items and confirmed, “Yep, everything is here.” She then addressed Brianna, stating, “Definitely a system issue, and I apologize. I’m trying to do my job.” Brianna responded with a simple “No, get,” appearing to cut off the employee or dismiss the apology.
Viewers questioned why self-checkout exists if customers are rechecked
The video has drawn a wave of comments from viewers, many of whom questioned the point of having self-checkout if customers are going to be stopped and rechecked anyway. One commenter wrote, “Why have self checkout if you gotta do all that, that’s ridiculous !” Another pointed out, “And they would have been processing a refund.”
Several commenters focused on the fact that the employee did not appear to compare the items to a receipt. “My thing is she not even comparing it to a receipt…… what was the point??” one person wrote. Another said, “If you don’t trust people to use the self scanners, then don’t have them.”
Some viewers said they would have responded by asking for a full refund. “I would’ve waited and then said, now refund everything babe,” one commenter wrote. Another shared a similar experience at a different store, writing: “Sam’s Club tried me like that. I had $800 worth of items, literally pull and scanned each item and transferred everything from one cart to the next. Lady watched me and whispered something to security. They kept watching us and headed to the door when we were done. They let people with wayyyy more items than me walk right out the door and felt the need to check my items thoroughly and found NOTHING. I said since u need something to do, u can scan all that sh–t back in and give me my money back.” Shoppers being singled out by staff over their purchases extends beyond this comment thread, with a man alleging Target employees ignored him after he spent over $500 before security chased him outside for his receipt.
Primark has not publicly responded to Brianna’s video as of this writing.
