Dollar Tree Customer Rings People up Because There Were No Employees at Registers

As a kid, I remember fantasizing about accidentally finding myself spending the night at the mall. When left to my own devices, I would try on whatever I want, hit the food court, and of course attempt to find a way to play free arcade games. A store was a magical place and with a little imagination, it could become anything I wanted.

Part of the fantasy also involved pretending to work at my favorite stores. Maybe it's the '90s kid in me talking, but the sound of a cash register was always oddly satisfying and understanding how they worked was a skill I wanted to master. One woman at a Dollar Tree store got to live out my dream when she took over the cash register because there were simply no employees available. How did she do it? Let's check it out.

In an empty Dollar Tree in parts unknown, one brave customer took it upon themselves to keep the store going when there were seemingly no employees around. A woman who goes by @misslate004 on TikTok documented what felt like a dystopian future, where no one was minding the store.

Her TikTok briefly scans the aisles devoid of humans, but fully stocked with products. If I was feeling philosophical, I might remark on the fact that this sends a clear message about how we as humans often value things more than people. Our stores are full, yet our hearts remain empty.

"There are absolutely no workers here," @misslate004 says ominously. "None, the whole store is open." This begs the question, if a store is open and there is no one there to work, is it actually open?

The video swings over cash register number 1 where a blonde woman gleefully stands behind said register. But wait, she doesn't work here. Like the @misslate004, she is a customer and she has figured out how to get into the register. She has crossed over to the other side where more power lies!

At the tail end of the video, we hear a single Dollar Tree employee's voice claim they had been there the whole time. Where is "there" exactly? If there is an employees-only room in the store, does that count as being there? The TikTok showed zero Dollar Tree employees. The note of panic in the employee's voice tells me they were caught slacking.

My reaction in this scenario would be entirely dependent upon how quickly I needed to get in and out of that Dollar Tree. Context matters! If I was in a hurry, I would be very annoyed. If I didn't have anywhere else to be, I would undoubtedly be highly amused. One woman replied that she would have walked out with her stuff. That's one option!

A few Dollar Tree employees jumped in with some very helpful information. "As someone who used to work for DT, the girl behind the register is more than likely a cashier. After so long the machine will sign you out." That is until the machine becomes self-aware again, in a dystopian future.

The alleged customer behind the register is wearing a grey shirt which might be why @misslate004 thought she was not an employee. However, Dollar Tree employees no longer have a uniform. "Sometimes they will allow you to wear back to school color shirts, holiday shirts, etc.," replied one TikToker. "Normally it will be posted in the office."

Regarding the single employee, @Kristian0220 had some insight about that. "I worked for Dollar Tree for a week a long time ago," she revealed. There was "one person on each shift and they expect you to stock and clean in-between customers." Yikes! Hopefully that isn't true. Regardless, someone certainly enjoyed their time at the register that day, employee or not.