Sad detail in Kmart store proves retail workers on the brink

A shopper spotted a troubling sign in her local Kmart store, leaving retail workers admitting it’s not an uncommon measure.

An Aussie mum has been left shocked after witnessing the mess left in her local Kmart store.

In a clip shared on TikTok, Emma, who posts as @themumsway_, took a late-night trip to Kmart, only to be confronted with aisles in complete disarray.

What shocked her even more than the shoes strewn over the floor and the hangers haphazardly placed back on the shelves was the fact that Kmart staff were forced to erect barricades – as they would for wet floors – to stop shoppers from tripping over the mess.

“This video is for all the poor Kmart staff,” she begins. “I can’t believe the state of the store tonight, and that is not a reflection of you – that’s a reflection of a lot of the people who are coming into this store”.

She says that while she understands it’s a budget store, that doesn’t mean you’re in a “rummage bin” and people should still act like humans and put things back.

The footage then shows clips of the kids’ clothing section, where there was more stuff on the floor than hanging.

“It’s like, what are we doing? If it doesn’t fit, don’t just throw it on the floor. Like, yes, it’s staff’s job, but the poor things …”

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A Kmart shopper has spotted a barricade in her local store. Picture: TikTok/themumway_

It was used to stop shoppers from tripping over the mess. Picture: TikTok/themumway_

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Emma said that she spoke to some staff members who told her it was like this every night, so they had to set up barricades so people don’t trip over the mess.

“We just need to do a bit better,” she urged her followers. “Kmart staff, I’m really sorry that you just have to deal with us grubs who just come in and think we can just throw everything over the floor. Absolutely appalling.”

After her video went viral, Emma told news.com.au that she’s realised that this is an issue happening across a lot of Kmart stores and also the retail sector at large.

“I've noticed that the stores are always quite neat and tidy in the morning but by late afternoon and evening, they are a complete mess with items all over the floor, customer’s rubbish just dumped and change room mirrors smeared with who knows what,” she explained.

She believes people act this way as they don’t have a personal responsibility over the items.

“They don’t actually own the items and they aren’t the ones who are responsible to clean it up,” she notes. “It’s just entitlement on a whole other level.

“I also think that proper morals and values are just not being taught to our future generations.”

A Kmart spokesperson told news.com.au: “At Kmart we take pride in creating stores that both our customers and team members enjoy spending time in.

“This particular store is not up to the standards we or our customers expect when they come to shop with us, so we are working now with our store team to ensure we do meet those standards moving forward.”

She said she spoke to Kmart staff who claimed this was a regular occurrence. Picture: TikTok/themumway_

Commenters on the video shared her frustration, especially former Kmart workers.

“I used to work for Kmart. Yes, the customers being like this doesn’t help, but it’s also because Kmart is so understaffed. They expect one person to do five people’s jobs, and I think it’s got to the point that staff don’t even care anymore – they are just trying to survive,” said one.

“As a Kmart worker who works in fitting rooms, every single shift I’m expected to do fitting rooms as well as all the clothing returns … so basically two people’s jobs for one wage. It’s ridiculous. They expect me to keep fitting rooms tidy and clean and get everything done, while also running rails,” said another.

“As a retail worker, thank you for this video … it takes so much time out of our days cleaning up other people’s messes,” another said.

Kmart workers lamented the fact stores were often understaffed. Picture: TikTok/themumway_

However, others said it doesn’t happen everywhere.

“Thank god my Kmart is never like this. I’d probably quit if it was always like this,” said one.

“It’s sadly the area and demographic. I’ve been to Kmart stores in higher-income areas and when compared to my local, the difference is astonishing. Very different shopping experience,” another said.

It comes after a similar scene was captured last week at the Sydney Paramatta store. Picture: TikTok/jadekizana

It comes after a video was shared last week of the “feral” state of the shoe section in the Paramatta Kmart.

Shoppers labelled the mess as a “nightmare” and demanded to know “what is going on?” with the chain retailer.

The clip was captioned: “One wrong step and you’re buried in $7 boots”, and showed hundreds of pairs stacked on top of each other, making the aisle unwalkable.

Originally published as Sad detail in Kmart store proves retail workers on the brink