A woman is going viral on TikTok after sharing her experience attempting to pick-up a grocery order from Walmart.
Amy Hartness (@amyleigh_ann) recorded her video after leaving a local Walmart location. She said she was disappointed with the store after it failed to fulfill her online order and then refused to offer her an immediate refund.
In the end, she shared a PSA to customers who also want to place an online order with the store: “Don’t do it right now,” Hartness advised. “It’ll mess up and you won’t get your groceries.”
“No grocery money, no groceries to show for it, and I drove 25 miles from my house to pick them up,” she said. “I’m going home empty-handed.” As of Thursday, Hartness’s video detailing her predicament had amassed more than 195,800 views.
What happened at Walmart?
Hartness said she’s had “issues” with Walmart’s grocery pick-up system in the past, but still prefers it because she doesn’t like going into the store.
This week, however, Hartness said she’s living paycheck-to-paycheck and used her remaining money to order groceries. As a result, she said didn’t have the wherewithal to spend more than she already did.
But that didn’t stop Hartness from running into issues with Walmart.
“I get in line and they tell me they can’t pick my order,” she said. “I was like, ‘What do you mean you’re not going to pick my order?’”
When she asked for clarification, Hartness said a worker told her to cancel her order because Walmart’s “system was down” across the globe. By canceling her order Hartness is entitled to a refund—but she said she was told by Walmart that it would take up to 10 business days for the money to reappear in her bank account.
“That was my grocery money,” Hartness said.
She said she asked a manager whether she could un-cancel her order and pick-up her own groceries, but they told her no. She said she also tried to contact Walmart’s corporate office, but they offered no help either. “I can’t get my groceries. I can’t get my money,” Hartness said. “Just remember this if you’re going to Walmart.”
At the time of recording, Hartness said she had no money to get groceries because Walmart “kept” what little she had left.
“You just took my money for 10 days,” Hartness said of Walmart. “And I can’t get groceries with the money that I had for groceries.”
Customer says there was no resolve
In a follow-up video, Hartness said that she made her initial post to register her disappointment with Walmart and the workers’ customer service.
“It could’ve been handled a little better,” she said. “I know things happen… but it could be handled a whole lot better.”
She ended her second clip declaring that Walmart “will make things right,” though she did not elaborate on what the store would do. “I will keep you updated on what Walmart does. The ball is in their court.”
Was Walmart’s system down?
There’s no reporting online confirming the worker’s assertion that Walmart’s systems experienced a global shut down recently. But a situation similar to what they described happened earlier this year.
According to The Mirror US, Walmart’s app and website crashed in June, which left many customers unable to access their accounts or see the status of their existing orders.
“I truly expect compensation for both me and your employees for your app being down this morning,” one customer posted to social media at the time. “Been in the pickup for 2hrs while they scramble in the desert heat.”
In the comments of Hartness’s video, though, other users confirmed the shut down.
“Yeah, I deliver for Walmart and it’s been terrible today,” one worker said. “They been down since 10 a.m. that I know of.”
“System went down here in Delaware yesterday, too. It’s so bad,” another added.
“Our system was down today! It happens,” a third worker reported. “We couldn’t pick ANYONE’S order 10:30 a.m.-2p.m.”
Viewers encourage Walmart to take immediate action
In the comments section of Hartness’s video, a number of viewers reassured her that her money should show up in her account well before the 10-day waiting period. In case it didn’t, though, others said that Walmart should step in and help.
“They could have also refunded it on a gift card,” one man suggested.
“Have them give you a gift card for that amount and get your groceries,” another added.
“I’m with you on this. I have Walmart+ and they have canceled my order & I pay extra for delivery,” a third user shared. “But I’m on a fixed income & only get a check once a month. They need to do better.”
Others reported similar issues with Walmart’s online pick-up system.
“Walmart took 21 days to return my money before, and I had to call repeatedly,” one woman wrote.
“This is just one of the many reasons why I haven’t been in a Walmart since the pandemic started,” another user said. “I’ll never shop there again.”
@amyleigh_ann WALMART NEEDS TO MAKE THIS RIGHT. I HAVE NO EXTRA MONEY TO GET MY GROCERIES. @Walmart #WALMARTTOOKMYMONEY #NOGROCERYMONEY #WHATCANIDO #WALMARTNEEDSTOFIXTHIS ♬ 10 minutes, meditation, sleep, mindfulness, night(951759) – Gloveity
The Daily Dot has reached out to Hartness via TikTok comment and to Walmart through its online contact form.
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