A TikTok video shows a heated exchange at a Goodwill store between an employee and a family. The argument centered on whether the family had permission to use a private employee bathroom for a young child. The video was posted by a user who identifies herself as the cousin of the woman seen in the clip.
The video, posted by the creator known as AnnieBanannie💗🇺🇸 with the handle @annie.kroger, features a woman with long brown hair listening to an off-screen argument. The conversation, as captured in the transcript, involves at least three people: a woman identified as “Mamaw,” a “Goodwill Employee,” and the person filming, identified as the “Filmer.”
The visible customer in the video, who is the cousin of the filmer, later states, “I said I was gonna give them a thousand-star review, but yeah, she said I’m not giving one.” The filmer responds, “I know.”
Dispute over bathroom permission and employee conduct
According to the transcript, the argument began with the Mamaw stating, “We asked that you could go back. No, we— she would have.” The Goodwill Employee interjected, “Ma’am, I’m still speaking. And when you have a 3-year-old, you don’t have time.” The Mamaw then asserted, “She gave her permission,” which the employee denied, claiming, “No, actually, I witnessed that, and that’s not how that went.”
The Mamaw maintained that permission had been granted. She said, “She did the first time. We’ve been here for like an hour. She gave her permission the first time we were here, and then she said this next time, do you go to ask the cashier? And she did. It happened.” The employee again contradicted this account, stating, “I witnessed. And that did not happen.”
The Mamaw insisted, “We asked, we asked multiple times.” The employee then said, “You don’t know if I have kids or not, so you can’t say that.” At this point, the filmer interjected, “Please don’t.” The employee continued, “I do. Don’t. No, I didn’t. I didn’t say you didn’t.” The filmer then stated, “I said don’t talk to her like that. Please don’t.”
The video’s caption, provided by the creator, offers more context. The caption states the employee “done fussed my cousin out for taking her THREE YR OLD to the bathroom right in front of the kids AFTER they got permission from the manager.” It also claims the Mamaw asked the employee, “who was just fussin at my granddaughter and her 3 yr old?!” The caption says the employee “wanted to pop off and tell us nobody gave them permission.”
Creator describes confrontation and subsequent criticism
In the caption, the creator describes her own role in the confrontation. She wrote that after the employee told the Mamaw, “ma’am you have no idea what I have” and the Mamaw began to walk away, the employee “PROCEEDS to go ‘ma’am. Excuse me, excuse me I’m not done talking to you’ aaaaaand that’s when I stepped In I said ‘alright what we’re not gonna do is talk to my mamaw like that, you better watch ya mouth’.”
The video’s description notes the conversation shifted, with the Mamaw asking, “Do we want this stuff?” The filmer expressed uncertainty, saying, “I don’t even know if we want it or not, honestly. I know I want my Canon set, but.” The visible customer then made the comment about the review.
The incident has drawn comments on the social media platform. According to the video’s creator, one user wrote, “My honest reaction to ‘ma’am im still talking’.” Another comment read, “Goodwill is off the hook these days.” A third commenter stated, “Goodwill a scam.” Public criticism of retail and service workers can take many forms, as seen when a large Idaho State University group stiffed two servers on a $700 bill.
One comment offered a potential explanation for the employee’s stance, writing, “not giving excuses but SOMETIMES the bathroom is a legit liability and used as extra storage and they CANNOT legally let you use it. i hated having to turn down customers but they could have sued BIG if we did.” Another comment simply said, “Another reason to stop going to goodwill, greedy, nasty, and unprofessional!”
